Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 103

Author: Norton, Wilbur T., 1844- , ed; Flagg, Norman Gershom, 1867-, ed; Hoerner, John Simon, 1846- , ed
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago ; New York : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 868

USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 103

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In his boyhood days Leonard Hoehn had the advantage of the usual common school training, attending the district schools up to the time he was sixteen. After that he en- gaged in farm work, and remained a mem- ber of the home circle until he was twenty- six years of age. Farming has been his life occupation, and he now owns one hun- dred and eighteen acres of choice land in Chouteau township, where he carries on gen- eral farming and stock raising.

On May 12, 1885, Mr. Hoehn was mar- ried to Henrietta Huebner, daughter of George Huebner, of Chouteau township; and to them have been given three children, Catherine, Louis and Emma. He and his family are identified as members with the Evangelical church of Nameoki, in which he has long been a prominent and active worker, recognized as a Christian man of

high standard and standing, and both in the church and outside of church circles ap- preciated for his many excellent qualities. Politically he has always affiliated with the Democratic party, not, however, being classed as a politician.

CHRISTIAN HACKETHIAL. Madison county is admirably located for the successful prose- cution of farming, for the soil is exceedingly fertile, the climatic conditions almost ideal, and transportation facilities unsurpassed. However, although the agriculturist here has these advantages, he cannot compete success- fully with others unless he carries on his oper- ations according to modern ideas and takes ad- vantage of the use of improved machinery in his work. That the majority of the farmers are progressive here is proven by the number of finely developed farms to be found all over the county, a fact that has very . materially raised the standard of excellence and placed Madison county among the leaders in agricul- ture in Illinois. One of the men who has as- sisted in bringing about this desirable condi- tion of affairs is Christian Hackethal, of East Alton, a practical farmer and public-spirited citizen. Mr. Hackethal was born in Germany, in 1858, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Raub) Hackethal, and brother of Antone, Charlie, Henry, Joseph, Peter, Elizabeth and Katherine Hackethal.

When Christian was about five years of age the family immigrated to the United States, the father preceding the rest and purchasing a farm in Chouteau township, sending for his family when he had established a home. Work- ing industriously, he became one of the leading farmers of his day and developed a hand- some property. Christian Hackethal remained at home until he was about eighteen years of age, when he lost his mother by death, and at that time went to live with a widowed sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Treockler, assisting her in rear- ing her two children, Elizabeth and Theresa, and working on her farm. In 1890 he laid the foundations for a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Anna Zellermann, daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Sawgensnider ) Zel- lermann, natives of Germany. The Zeller- mann family came to the United States from the Fatherland in 1848, and here Mr. Zeller- mann became a wealthy and highly respected agriculturist. He had these children: Au- gust ; Frances, who married Frank Vorwald, of Granite City, Illinois ; Mary, Elizabeth and Anna. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hackethal began married life on the old Zel-

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lermann homestead, where she had been born and was reared, her father being dead. With characteristic German energy and industry they began to improve the old place, and this has become one of the finest farms in the county. A handsome two-story residence, costing $3,500, was erected, and $6,000 worth of improvements have been made thereto, and it is very conveniently situated, both the steam and electric lines passing near to it. Other buildings of a substantial nature have been put up, the finest picket and woven fencing surrounds the property, tiling has been re- sorted to in several parts of the land, and it is well graded and drained. The finest and most modern farming machinery is used in the development of this magnificent property, and Mr. Hackethal, who is a natural agriculturist, keeps himself well abreast of the times by his attendance at various meetings where farming methods are discussed, and by subscribing to a number of the leading farm periodicals. He and his wife are both well known and highly esteemed in Chouteau township, where they have the reputation of being excellent neigh- bors and the parents of a fine family of sturdy, steady children. In political matters Mr. Hackethal is a Democrat, and the confidence and esteem in which he is held by his fellow townsmen has been evidenced on various oc- casions when he has been elected to fill the positions of school trustee and road commis- sioner. In these capacities he showed a con- scientious effort to discharge the duties of of- fice, and his incumbency was satisfactory to all parties concerned. He and his wife have been active in the work of the Catholic church at Mitchell, and have identified themselves with movements of a religious and charitable na- ture.

Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hackethal, of whom one died in infancy, while the survivors are: Anna, Joseph, Mary, George, Francis, Helen and the baby, Frank. The children are being well educated, having been sent to the Franklin school, while Anna has attended Ursuline Academy, at Alton, where she studied instrumental music and voice culture, and has succeeded in attaining much efficiency as a pianist and vocalist.

FRANKLIN WALTER OLIN. The genealog- ical and biographical history of F. W. Olin is an interesting one, not only in the facts of his individual life, but in those of his ancestral line, which he is able to trace back to genera- tions that are considerably remote in point of time. John Olin, the founder of the family in

America, was born in Wales and immigrated to America, where, in 1678, he settled in East Greenwich, Connecticut. He was the father of four sons, one of whom, John Olin, second, married Susanna Spencer and moved to South Shaftsbury, Vermont. A son of this pair, Giles Olin, settled in Bennington, Vermont, where his son, Truman Olin, was born, where he lived with his family and there the subject of our sketch was born.

F. W. Olin has been a resident of Illinois since 1892. He graduated at Cornell Uni- versity in civil engineering in 1886, and began the building of powder mills in 1888. He is the president of the Equitable Powder Manu- facturing Company, with mills in different parts of the country ; president of the Western Powder Company, and also of the Western Cartridge Company. All these companies are of his creation and due to his efforts.

Mr. Olin's political affiliations are with the Republican party. He married Mary M. Moulton, May 28, 1889, at Toledo, Ohio, and has three sons; F. W. Olin, Jr., John Mer- rill Olin and Spencer Olin.

OSCAR JAMES ROSEBERY was born November 30, 1860, the son of William J. and Sarah J. (Lamb) Rosebery. Oscar's grandfather was Robert Rosebery, who migrated from the southern states and was of Scotch and Eng- lish descent. William J. Rosebery and his wife had ten children, six boys and four girls, of whom four of the boys and one of the girls are now living, as follows: Robert, born November 5, 1854; Samuel, born June 5, 1859; Oscar J., born November 30, 1860; Mark, born January 19, 1862, and Fannie, born September 20, 1864, now the wife of Joseph Staup.

William J. Rosebery had received a good education in his youth, being a graduate of Lebanon 'College, in the theological depart- ment. He became a Baptist preacher at Wor- den and in 1864 he moved to Edwardsville, where until 1868 he filled the positions of minister and county superintendent of schools. In 1868 he moved to Ft. Russell township, where he held the position of county superin- tendent of public schools and at the same time managed his farm.

Oscar J. went to school in Wanda until 1873, when he went to work on the farm, and has continued in life as a farmer.

On December 14, 1887. Mr. Rosebery mar- ried Lela A. Fahnestock, the daughter of William M. Fahnestock, now dead. Mr. and Mrs. O. J. Rosebery have had four children,

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

Mabel, who died in infancy ; Nettie and Ruby, who are graduates of the Alton high school : and Arnold, who is a student in that same school.

Mr. Rosebery is a member of the Court of Honor at Wanda, in which he carries in- surance. Politically he is a Republican and has served one term as school director. He takes a great interest in education, having realized the importance of acquiring knowl- edge, if possible, while one is young and at school, and is giving his children the very best he can give them.

SAMUEL CLAYTON, chief clerk for Donk Brothers Coal & Coke Company, Collinsville, Illinois, is one of the enterprising and up-to- date young men of Madison county.

Mr. Clayton was born and reared in Collins- ville, the date of his birth being May 15, 1886. Here his boyhood was spent in attending pub- lic school up to the time he was fourteen years of age, when he left school to become office boy for Donk Brothers Coal & Coke Company, in their branch office at Collinsville, and since that time has remained with this firm, having worked his way up to the responsible position he now fills, that of chief clerk. Promptness, accuracy and faithfulness were his chief as- sets when he started out a poor boy, and his promotion has followed as a natural conse- quence.

February 1, 1909, Mr. Clayton was married to Miss Margaret Jones, a member of one of the respected families of Madison county, and an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church of Collinsville, in which she has mem- bership. To them have been given one child, Caroline, born August 23, 1910.

Politically Mr. Clayton is a Republican, and fraternally he is identified with East St. Louis lodge, No. 664, B. P. O. E. He owns the at- tractive little home in which he lives, and is held in high esteem by his fellow townsmen as well as by the members of the company with which he is connected.

ALBERT HRUBETZ, mayor of Maryville, Illi- nois, is a native of Bohemia, Austria, but is thoroughly Americanized and is keenly alive to the work of advancing the best interests of his town, being duly appreciative of the honor that has been bestowed upon him.

Mr. Hrubetz was born September 10, 1871, son of Frank and Anna Hrubetz, with whom he came to America in 1882. His father settled on a farm in Edwardsville township, Madison county, Illinois, and here Albert was reared from a boy of eleven years. His ad-

vantages for obtaining an education were lim- ited, but he kept his eyes and his ears open, and in the broad school of experience he acquired a fund of useful information which he has had the good judgment to utilize for his own advantage and also for the general good of those with whom he is associated. He worked on the farm until he was sixteen, from that time until he was twenty-six was em- ployed in the mines, eight years of that time being spent as a laborer, and then he engaged in business, opening a general store at Glen Carbon. After two years spent at Glen Car- bon he came to Maryville. That was in 1900. Here he has since been prosperously engaged in business. He owns the building occupied by his store, has residence and other property here, and in Texas has a hundred-acre farm.

November 23, 1899. he was married to Miss Anna Matyas, like himself, a native of Bo- hemia, Austria. She was born July 26, 1877, and has been a resident of the United States since her sixteenth year. They are the parents of three children, Rudolph, Albert and Frederick.

Politically Mr. Hrubetz is a Republican, and ever since he has been a resident of Maryville he has been actively identified with local affairs. Previous to his election to the office of mayor, which was April 18, 1911, he served as trustee and village treasurer of Maryville. He is at the head of every move- ment which he believes to be for the welfare of the town, and naturally is held in high favor by his fellow citizens. Fraternally he is identified with the C. S. P. S. and the I. O. R. M., having membership in Prasa Tribe, No. 124, at Glen Carbon.

JOHN WEDIG. Madison county is more than ordinarily fortunate in the number of her citi- zens of German ancestry who have worked so faithfully to develop the resources of this favored region and to make it the thriving lo- cality it has become, and among that number Mr. Wedig fills a place by no means unim- portant. His parents were natives of Han- over, Germany, John and Elizabeth (nee Henke) Wedig, and his home circle included a brother, James, and a sister, Josephine. Sev- eral other children died in infancy. John Wedig was born in Hanover, on the 7th of January, 1825, and lived in that place until he was twenty-one years old. He then heard of the opportunities of America and decided to come to the new country and try his fortunes here.

On January 10, 1845, John Wedig arrived

John Weekly

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in St. Louis and set about looking for work. He secured a position at the salary of six dol- lars a month, which was scarcely a wage to encourage extravagance, even sixty years ago when money was not so cheap as it is at pres- ent. Two years later came the Mexican war trouble, and the young man promptly enlisted under the flag he had so recently adopted, and became a member of the First Dragoons, Com- pany B. He went to Santa Fe and was for two years in the service, being in the famous battle of Santa Cruz and in a number of other engagements, during one of which he was se- verely wounded in the shoulder. In August, 1848, he received his honorable discharge at Chewahuo, Mexico. In May of the following year he went to Oregon and sailed from Port- land to California with the other "forty-nin- ers," and for three years was engaged in gold- mining and met with considerable success.

In 1852 Mr. Wedig returned to St. Louis and the following year was married to Miss Libertha Beck. She was born in Baden, Ger- many, in 1835, and was one of the five chil- dren of John and Mary (Wiedman) Beck, who came to the United States in 1847. The other children were John, Louis, Hugo and Rosa Beck. Libertha Beck received her edu- cation in France, where she made her home with an uncle. Mr. and.Mrs. Wedig went to housekeeping on a farm of forty-six acres in Madison county, leaving St. Louis, where they had both previously lived. Half of their place was cleared and under cultivation and the re- mainder was heavily timbered. With the per- sistent industry and thrift which characterize their race, they bent their efforts to the im- provement of their farm, and have now as the result of that toil a farm of two hundred and seventy-five acres of as fine land as is to be found in the county. They have watched the country's transformation from a sparsely set- tled, raw expanse of wild land to a prosperous agricultural district, thickly dotted with mod- ern homes and supplied with the best of mod- ern appliances and equipments, among which their own home is one of the most attractive.

Although it has never been given to Mr. and Mrs. Wedig to be the parents of any children of their own, yet they have made a home for ten orphans and given them all the love and care which the truest fathers and mothers bestow on their little ones. Five of these were children of Mrs. Wedig's sister, who was taken from them by the stern angel of death. Another was the child of a niece and the four remaining were the children of

strangers. The sister's children were Liber- tha, Tillie, Tenie, Amelia and Augusta. The dead niece's daughter was Rosa, and the names of the children out of the family were John, Lena, Alma and Amanda. All these were sent to the Braden school, and Rosa was also a student at St. Vincent's Academy at St. Louis. They grew up to useful citizenship and have since settled in homes of their own. The service which the large-hearted man and woman who brought them up rendered to the state cannot be measured. They might have used their means to procure luxuries for them- selves, but they preferred to invest in hu- manity.

Mr. Wedig has served the county in the office of constable and for a long time was a member of the board of levy commissioners of Madison county, in which organization he held the office of secretary and collector for sixteen years. He has also been school direc- tor and supervisor over an extended period of years. Politically Mr. Wedig holds to the principles of the Republican party, by whom he was elected to the legislature in 1886. His fraternal affiliations include the lodges of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, of which he is the treasurer, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 87, of Nameoki.

While Mr. and Mrs. Wedig are not mem- bers of any church, their lives are religious in the highest sense and they show forth in their everyday conduct the loveliness of the Christian spirit. In their advancing years they are enlivened and comforted by their grandniece, to whom they have been father and mother, and by their niece, Augusta, now Mrs. Walter Roman, of whose husband a brief sketch follows, for no history of the strong and progressive men of Madison county could be written and omit the name of Walter Roman.

WALTER ROMAN was born in the little Swiss republic which has sent so many fine and sturdy men to build up the glorious fortunes of the new world, on the 22nd of January, 1854. He was the son of John and Saline (Keller) Roman, both of whom had spent their lives in their native Switzerland be- neath the shadow of the Alps. In 1854 they left their European home and immigrated to the United States, finally settling in this coun- ty in Nain township, and the husband took up his occupation of farming. Walter was a member of a large family and his brothers and sisters were Mary, Otto, Salina, Arnold, Ed- win and Louie Roman. Walter Roman ob-

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tained his early education, which was to serve him as a ground work for all that actual exper- ience and reading could teach him later, at the public school of the township. Of that once happy group of boys and girls all the sisters have passed away and only the boys remain.

Mr. Roman for twenty-six years has rented the Wedig estate, and worked it in a most successful manner. His well-tilled fields show an application of the most advanced and pro- gressive methods of agriculture, and are the result of well managed industry, all the tal- ents in fact that go to make up the really successful farmer of today. He rents his own farm lands. Of his union with the neice of Mr. and Mrs. Wedig, five children have been born-Arthur, Elmer, Mata, Walter and Oscar. Elmer died at the age of eighteen, the victim of an untoward tragedy, for he was drowned after breaking through the ice while skating with a number of young companions. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Roman have all had the advantages of solid educations and have graduated from the Granite City high school. Mata also attended the state normal school at Normal, Illinois, and graduated with honors. Arthur became a student at the Jones Business College at St. Louis, and is now employed as one of the partners in a firm do- ing a pig iron and coke business in the city of St. Louis. Walter and Oscar are now stu- dents at the University of Illinois at Cham- paign, Illinois.

Mr. Roman has always been known to have the most reliable and absolutely honorable business principles and as the result he has been chosen to many offices of public trust. He was the township commissioner of high- ways of Nain township for a period of twenty years. He has never varied in his political allegiance to the Republican party, believing the measures of that party to indicate the greatest good to the community.

Mr. Roman is a member of the German Evangelical church of Nameoki, and he is known as one of its most liberal supporters in whatever good works it has undertaken. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 87, of Name- oki, and is a member of Blue Lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, and holds the Knight Templar degree. As a Shriner he is a member of Moolah Temple of St. Louis, Missouri. He is also connected with the Woodmen's lodge at Mitchell.

Mr. Roman has been one of the directors of the Granite City National bank since the

date of its organization. His daughter Mata has since her graduation from the state nor- mal university held the responsible position of principal of the school at Cerro Gordo, Illinois.

The young Swiss immigrant has indeed be- come one of the prosperous and honored citi- zens of the country with which he chose to cast his lot. Mr. Roman is not unlike Mr. Wedig. Together they stand as two excellent examples of worthy American citizenship. They enjoy a success that is the fruit of their own labor and character and their names hold prominent places on the list of names of those whom Madison county is proud to have honor her and proud to honor.

JOHN G. WEBER. The present efficient in- cumbent of the offices of justice of the peace and notary public at Marine, Illinois, is John G. Weber, who also conducts a barber shop in this place. Mr. Weber was born at Marine. on the 17th of March, 1858, and he is a son of George and Catherine (Weber) Weber, of the same name but no kin. The father was born in Bavaria and the mother in Switzer- land, and, coming to America, their marriage was solemnized in Madison county, Illinois. George Weber's demise occurred in the year 1861, and Mrs. Weber is now living at High- land, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Weber became the parents of two children-George G. is the immediate subject of this review; and Emma, the widow of Henry Hagermann and resides in the city of St. Louis, Missouri.

John G. Weber was a child of but three years of age at the time of his father's death and immediately after that event he accom- panied his mother to Highland, where he was reared and educated. As a young man he learned the barber's trade, under the able preceptorship of his uncle, and later he owned and ran a barber shop at Highland for a period of three years. On the 6th of February, 1882, he purchased a shop at Marine, where he has since resided and where he controls an ex- cellent business. He was honored by his fel- low citizens with election to the office of jus- tice of the peace of Marine and he is acquitting himself with all of honor and distinction in discharging the duties connected therewith. He has also been notary public for years.

On the 15th of February, 1883, was solemn- ized the marriage of Mr. Weber to Miss Louisa Delbert. Mr. and Mrs. Weber became the parents of eight children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Victor J. is a clerk in the general delivery de-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

partment of the St. Louis post office; Verona is the wife of J. C. Brown, of Springfield, Illinois; Meta is the wife of O. Rindmer ; Aaron D. is unmarried and is a barber by occupation ; Jennings V. attends school at St. Louis, Missouri ; and Adolph and John G., Jr., are at home.

In politics Mr. Weber is a stalwart in the ranks of the Democratic party and in a fra- ternal way he is affiliated with Marine lodge, No. 1355, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma- sons ; the Modern Woodmen of America ; and the Marine Turnverein. In the latter organi- zation he was gymnastic instructor for a period of twenty years. He is a man of pleasant ad- dress and generous impulses and all his busi- ness dealings have been characterized by fair and honorable methods. He is unusually popular as a citizen and is everywhere es- teemed for his sterling integrity and high moral worth.

GEORGE WENDLER. Among Madison coun- ty's influential farmer-citizens George Wend- ler is prominent. His eighty-one acre farm in Collinsville township is a valuable and ad- vantageously situated estate and one of a good deal of historic interest, several well-known landmarks making it noted in the section. Mr. Wendler belongs by descent to the German element which is so numerous in the town- ship, and he shares those excellent traits which are characteristic of the German-Ameri- can citizen. He is a self-made man and credit for his success and standing belongs to no one but himself.

Mr. Wendler is a native son of Collinsville township, Madison county, Illinois, his eyes having first opened to the light of day on April 27, 1866, on his father's farm located · three miles east of Collinsville. He is the youngest son of John and Rosa (Kalbfleisch) Wendler, the father a native of the German kingdom of Bavaria and the mother born in New York. The subject's grandfather, Jacob Wendler, immigrated from his native land to the United States in 1848. He landed in New Orleans and then went to St. Louis, coming thence to Collinsville, where he located with a family of several children. He engaged in farming, but was not to enjoy long residence in his adopted country, his death occurring about five years after his arrival. Young John assumed the management of the farm after his father's demise and he followed this vocation until his retirement in 1891. He. then lived with his son, the subject, for eleven

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Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 103

Author: Norton, Wilbur T., 1844- , ed; Flagg, Norman Gershom, 1867-, ed; Hoerner, John Simon, 1846- , ed Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago ; New York : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 868

Author: Norton, Wilbur T., 1844- , ed; Flagg, Norman Gershom, 1867-, ed; Hoerner, John Simon, 1846- , ed
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago ; New York : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 868