USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 111
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the life of a man who has been so deservedly successful in the business world and who. through all the changes in life, has main- tained so high a place in the respect and es- teem of his fellowmen. Modest and unosten- tatious as he is in private life he is a tower of strength to the community,- a man who, with seemingly limited opportunities, has made for himself a place and a name through- out the county. "Old Madison" has reason to be proud of producing so fine a specimen of American manhood. It is on such men as he that the country must rely for the conser- vation of its ideals and the preservation of republican institutions.
DAN M. STRASEN. The name of Dan M. Strasen occupies a conspicuous place in the annals of representative agriculturists in Pin Oak township, where the subject of this re- view has resided during practically his entire life time thus far and where he is widely re- nowned as a man of sterling worth and un- questioned integrity. Mr. Strasen is intensely loyal and public-spirited in the civic attitude and he never lets pass an opportunity to assist in the advancement of the progress and de- velopment of this section of the state. He is the owner of a finely improved farm of some two hundred acres in Pin Oak township. the same being located seven miles distant from Edwardsville. He has devoted the major portion of his time and attention to farming operations and to the raising of high- grade cattle and hogs.
A native son of Pin Oak township, Madi- son county, Dan M. Strasen was born on the 5th of January. 1856, and he is a son of Carl and Louise (Miller) Strasen, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom is now residing at Edwardsville. Mr. and Mrs. Carl Strasen were the parents of twelve chil- dren, of whom seven are living at the present time and concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated,-Dan M. is the immediate subject of this sketch: William is a resident of Edwardsville, where he is engaged in business; Louise is the wife of Jacob Papst, of Richards, Missouri; Anna is the wife of Richard Vogle and resides at Edwardsville ; Lena is the wife of Plum Laber- ton, of St. Louis; Julia married Henry Kahn and they maintain their home at Pin Oak; Amelia is unmarried and she remains with her aged motlier at Edwardsville.
Dan M. Strasen was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm, in the work and man- agement of which he early became associated
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with his father, and his early educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the neighboring district schools. He left school at the age of eighteen years and from that time until he had reached his twenty-ninth year he remained at home work- ing for his father. Shortly after his mar- riage, which occurred in 1884, he began to farm for himself. His present beautiful es- tate is comprised of one hundred and ninety- eight acres of most arable land, and the sub- stantial buildings and well cultivated fields in- dicate a capable and practical ownership. Mr. Strasen is engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of registered cattle and hogs. He is also a breeder of fine horses and has gained renown as an exceptionally good judge of a thoroughbred horse. He has figured in a number of important horse trades but has never received the worst end of a bargain. The splendid success Mr. Strasen has gained in life is his by merit alone, he having been the architect of his own fortunes. He has gained a splendid reputation as a substantial and reliable business man and all his dealings have been characterized by fair and honor- able methods.
On the 25th of September, 1884, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Strasen to Miss Emma Eppers, who was born and reared at Marine, Madison county, and who is a daugh- ter of Henry Eppers, a prominent and in- fluential resident of Marine during his life- time. Mr. and Mrs. Strasen are the parents of six children, concerning whom the follow- ing record is here inserted: August J. mar- ried Effie Howerton and he is now identified with farming at Pin Oak; Daniel F. is en- gaged in the machine business, in threshing, shredding and bailing, and when not absent on business his home is with his father; Emma is the wife of Frank Beser, of Pin Oak; Henry remains at the parental home ; Anna is deceased ; and Alfred is at home.
In politics Mr. Strasen accords a stanch allegiance to the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor. in all matters of national import, but in local affairs he maintains an independent attitude, preferring to give his support to men and measures meeting with the approval of his judgment rather than to follow along strictly partisan lines. He is deeply and sincerely interested in community affairs and as a citi- zen contributes liberally of his time and means to all matters projected for the good of the general welfare. In their religious
faith he and his wife are consistent members of the Evangelical church at Edwardsville, in the different departments of whose work he is an active factor. Fraternally he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he carries an insurance of three thousand dollars. He was incumbent of the office of road overseer for one year and for a period of six years was a member of the board of school directors. He is a strictly honest, upright citizen, who commands the unalloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow men, and it is but just to say that com- munities will prosper and grow in proportion as they put a premium on men of his mould.
JULIUS ABENDROTHI is actively identified with contracting and building interests in Madison county, Illinois, his home and busi- ness headquarters being located at Highland, where he has resided during practically his entire life time thus far. He is deeply in- terested in community affairs and in every sense of the word he is a representative citi- zen and business man of marked capacity.
Born at Highland, Illinois, on the 5th of May, 1863, Julius Abendroth is a son of John and Mollie (Rausch) Abendroth, both of whom were natives of Europe, whence they came to the United States about the year 1852. The father was identified with carpentering during the major portion of his active career and he was called to eternal rest in 1890, his cherished and devoted wife having passed away in 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Jolin Abendroth became the parents of nine chil- dren, of whom four are living, in 1911, as follows: August is a resident of St. Louis, Missouri; Fred is a farmer in Madison county; Augusta is the wife of Charles Hoeffe, assistant cashier in the State & Trust Bank at Highland; and Julius is the imme- diate subject of this review.
Mr. Abendroth, of this notice, was reared to maturity at Highland, to whose public schools he is indebted for his preliminary educational training. As a young man he en- tered upon an apprenticeship at the carpen- ter's trade and for the past fifteen years has devoted his entire attention to contracting and building, an enterprise that contributes ma- terially to progress and improvement. In 1909 he associated with himself his son John, who was born in this place on the 14th of March, 1888 and who learned the carpenter's trade under the able preceptorship of his father. Mr. Abendroth has contracted for and erected some of the finest residences and business
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blocks at Highland and in neighboring towns, and he holds a reputation for unusual ability along the line of his particular work. In politics he is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Repub- lican party, and while he has never partici -. pated actively in public affairs he gives freely of his aid and influence in support of all measures and enterprises advanced for the good of the general welfare. In addition to his own beautiful home he is the owner of a number of fine residence properties in High- land and is interested in real-estate opera- tions on a small scale.
In the year 1887 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Abendroth to Miss Lena Hol- liger, who was born and reared in Madison county, Illinois, and who is a daughter of John Holliger. They are the parents of five children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,-John, Walter, Fiedas, Florence and Herbert, all of whom remain at the parental home except John, who married Rosa Warnecke and resides near the home of his parents. In their religious faith the Abendroth family are devout communi- cants of the German Evangelical church and they are liberal contributors to all matters tending to promote the best interests of that institution. Mr. and Mrs. Abendroth's lives have been exemplary in all respects and they command the unalloyed confidence and esteem of their fellow citizens throughout this sec- tion of the state.
MRS. HENRIETTA FREDERICKA CHARLOTTA HESS. Some of the heaviest property own- ers throughout the country are women, who have either earned what they possess them- selves, or increased the value of what has been left them by parents or husband. These women show a wise discrimination in the ad- ministration of their estates, and from them come heavy annual amounts in the form of taxes. Many of them thoroughly understand the possibilities of their properties and make their investments wisely and advantageously. Not only, however, are they noted for their business ability, but as the heads of beautiful homes, over which they preside with dignity and capable execution. In religious work they are to be found in the foremost ranks, while among the sick and afflicted their kindly sympathy and generous material aid are ever to be found. One of those who are con- stantly creating new reasons for added affec- tion from their neighbors and friends is Mrs.
Henrietta Fredericka Charlotta Hess, of Mitchell, Illinois.
Mrs. Hess was born in Holzfeld, Germany, December 25, 1836, a daughter of Philip and Charlotta (Poleman) Bruno, her father be- ing a linen weaver by occupation. When Mrs. Hess was six years of age her mother died, and she and her three sisters, Minnie, Katharina and Ricka, were obliged to look out for themselves, she being placed in a family to work as soon as she was old enough. Having been reared to thrift and economy, she closely saved her meager wages of eight dollars a year and ten yards of linen for clothing, the usual wages for a girl of her years, and when seventeen years of age de- cided to try her fortunes in that wonderful country, the United States, of which she had heard so much. She had not been able, how- ever, to save much money, but finally persu- aded an uncle, who was living in America, to send her twenty-four dollars, which, added to her savings, gave her enough with which to make her way to this country, whence she came with some young companions. Landing at New Orleans, the little band of immigrants took passage up the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they arrived December 4, 1853, and Mrs. Hess soon obtained employment with a baker, at eight dollars per month, which she carefully hoarded.
On the 15th of September, 1855, Mrs. Hess was married to Theodore Simpson, who was employed in a wholesale grocery estab- lishment, and two children were born to this union : Henry, who died at the age of eleven years, and Dora, who grew to womanhood and married Fred Barmeier, and now resides in St. Louis, having three children: Charlie, Lottie and George. Later, Mr. Simpson's health failing, he moved to Missouri, but the step was taken too late and he soon died, his widow returning to St. Louis with her two little ones. Finding homes for them, she obtained employment and bravely set to work to support herself and them, and in 1860 she was married to Charlie Hess, a well-known farmer of Chouteau township, and seven children were born to this union, three dying in infancy, while Charlie, Louis, Lena and George survive. Mr. and Mrs. Hess sent their children to the Mitchell high school, and Lena finished her education in a convent at St. Louis, while George received a collegiate education in that city. Charlie Hess married Dora Ahrens, is engaged in farming, and has
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two children. Christian and Della. Louis H. Hess was married April 29, 1896, to Miss Fredericka Herzog, who was born in Harri- son county, Texas, March 1, 1877, daughter of Philip and Paulina (Daring) Herzog. Lena Hess married Michael Link, a prom- inent politician and ex-member of the Illi- nois state legislature, and has one child, Freda. George Hess married Minnie Strack- eljahn, and has two children, Alvera and Georgia.
On June 7, 1888, while Mr. Hess was in St. Louis with his wife, she being at the time visiting at the home of a friend, the team of horses which he was driving became fright- ened at something, soon were unmanageable and finally ran away, throwing Mr. Hess from the buggy and killing him. Mrs. Hess, thus bereaved, returned to the old homestead, where she has continued to reside. Her hus- band is buried in the cemetery at Namcoki. Mrs. Hess has always been considered one of the prominent women of her neighborhood, and surely none are better known or more highly esteemed. She has never regretted the step she took in young girlhood in coming to America, and here she has carved out her own fortune. Alive to all the topics of the day, Mrs. Hess has always been interested in political matters and has a knowledge of ex- isting conditions that would do credit to many politicians. In the work of the Ger- man Evangelical church she has been partic- ularly active, and no worthy call for charity has ever been refused by her. Having known the pinch of want herself, she is compassion- ate for others, and is ever ready to help those who have met with sickness or misfortune. Although in the evening of life, "Mother" Hess, as she is affectionately called, is in the full enjoyment of all of her faculties, and her keen, alert mind is as active as it was a half-century ago. Surrounded by her family, taking pleasure in the comfort that comes from a sense of duty well done. she is a type of American womanhood that has no equal, and is held in the highest esteem by all who know her as one of Madison county's most representative women.
JOHN A. FRUIT. In view of the nomadic spirit which is growing to animate all classes of American citizens to move about restlessly from place to place it is gratifying to here accord recognition to a man who has passed practically his entire life thus far in the locality in which he was born and reared and where he is well known as a man of sterling worth
and unquestioned integrity. Through his own well directed endeavors Mr. Fruit has made of success not an accident but a logical result. He is the present popular postmaster at Fruit, Illinois, where he is also the owner .of a grain elevator and a general store, in addition to which he has a fine farm of one hundred and three acres in Pin Oak town- ship.
John .A. Fruit was born in Hamel township, Madison county, Illinois, on the 29th of May, 1862, and he is a son of John and Judith ( Wilson) Fruit, both of whom were born and reared in Kentucky, the former having been born on the 8th of September. 1816, and the latter on the 13th of December, 1825. Mr. and Mrs. Fruit came to Madison county with their respective parents and here was solemnized their marriage in the year 1841. They became the parents of ten children, five of whom are living. in 1911, namely,-Mary, who is the wife of Samuel Reid, of Edwards- ville; Eliza, who is single and who remains at home with her mother; Maggie, who is the wife of F. W. Shaffer, of Tudor, Canada ; Judith, who is now Mrs. H. Belk and who resides at Hoxie, Arkansas : and John A., the immediate subject of this review. The father was a farmer by occupation and he was decidedly successful in his various busi- ness projects. He was summoned to the life eternal on the 4th of April, 1891, at which time he was seventy-five years of age, and his cherished and devoted wife is still living, her home being at Edwardsville, Illinois.
Under the invigorating influences of the old homestead farm John A. Fruit was reared to adult age. He attended the district schools during the winter terms until he had reached his eighteenth year and for a period of one year he was a student in the high school at Edwardsville, Illinois. In 1885 he started in business on his own account at Fruit, Illinois, where he became agent for the Clover Leaf Railroad Company and where he was also ap- pointed to the office of postmaster. In 1885 he opened a general store at Fruit and in this connection he controls an extensive and profit- able patronage. He is the owner of an ele- vator in this district and is greatly interested in the buying and shipping of grain. His beautiful home, a modern nine-room house with basement. at Fruit, is situated in the midst of attractive grounds on a seven-acre tract of land. Mr. Fruit is also interested in farming and in that connection is the owner of a fine estate of one hundred and three acres
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
of most arable land in Pin Oak township, the same being eligibly located a mile and a half east of Fruit. Mr. Fruit is a man who at- tends strictly to his business affairs and by honest thrift and industry he has accumulated a competency.
In the year 1901 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Fruit to Miss Lillie Dzengolew- ski, who was born and reared in Alhambra township, this county, and who is a daughter of Fred Dzengolewski, long a prominent agriculturist in this section of the state. Mir. ' and Mrs. Fruit are the fond parents of six children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth .- Irene, Warren, Mildred, Clyde, Maurice and Roy, the eldest child being eight years of age (in 19II) and the youngest being two years of age. Irene and Warren are both attending school at Ed- wardsville, Illinois.
In politics Mr. Fruit accords an uncom- promising allegiance to the principles and policies of the Republican party. He is not an active politician and the only public office of which he has ever been incumbent is that of postmaster of Fruit, a position he holds at the present time under appointment by President Taft. In their religious affiliations Mr. and Mrs. Fruit are consistent members of the Presbyterian church in Hamel township. They are both zealous and active workers in connection with all philanthropical move- ments in this community and are held in the highest regard by their fellow citizens on ac- count of their exemplary lives and genial characters.
ALEXANDER WILLIAM MORRISS, born and bred in England, has been a resident of the United States since 1869, and in the years of his affiliation with America and things American he has done as much for the ad- vancement and upbuilding of the country as any native born citizen of similar means and abilities. Granite City owes much to his pro- gressive and philanthropic spirit, and his ยท labors have tended to stimulate the growth of good fellowship among the toilers, the while they have helped to relieve their condi- tions in many ways, financially and socially, as well as industrially. He has contributed much, by reason of his unselfish interest in the future of Granite City, to its best develop- ment, and he has been an important factor in the financial and industrial advancement of the city.
Born in Suydenham, Kent, England, on April 23, 1852. Alexander William Morriss
is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Morriss, the father being a surgeon of some repute in Kent. The boy was given excellent edu- cational advantages, which, had he been of a studious turn of mind, might have turned the scale of his future life in an entirely dif- ferent direction, but he disliked the irksome- ness of school and study and at the age of fourteen and a half he left school and went to work. The years of his schooling were passed at Harrow Preparatory school, and he was a student at Elm House College. Ed- monton, near London, when he broke away from the discipline of school life and com- menced work on his own responsibility. He secured employment in a grain and brokerage house in London and worked there until he was in his eighteenth year, saving his earn- ings carefully with the intention of emigrat- ing to America when he had put by sufficient for that purpose. On November 9, 1869, he sailed from Liverpool, with New York as his destination. Arriving in New York city, he immediately bought a ticket for Omaha, Ne- braska, which was then the farthest western point to which the railroads had penetrated, and on December 10th he arrived in Omaha. The young man's desire was to travel and see the west and become acquainted with the prairies and mountain ranges of the country at first hand, and with that end in view he took service with Colonel Miller on his cat- tle ranch about one hundred miles from Omaha. He remained thus employed until 1872, the cattle business appealing to his inter- est, and he learned much in those years that was of benefit to him later. In 1872 he took charge of a shipment of cattle to Chicago for his employer, and he was so impressed with the possibilities of the cattle trade in Chicago that he remained there, and in 1873 became a salesman in the business for Denny Redman, then a prominent cattleman. In 1875 he went into the cattle business on his own responsi- . bility, buying and selling live stock. Two years later he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he engaged in the business, and he is still conducting a cattle business at the Na- tional Stock Yards, in that city.
During these years Mr. Morriss had be- come interested in real estate matters and had carried on a trade in that line in con- junction with his cattle interests. In 1902 he gave up his active part in the livestock business he had been managing for so long and embarked in a lively real estate business in Granite City, Illinois. That part of his
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business is controlled or managed by his sons, V. S. and A. W., Jr .. and a nephew, R. A. Morriss, who act for him as trustees under the name of the Morriss Realty Company, while Mr. Morriss himself is giving his more detailed attention to the matter of home build- ing in Granite City. He has since 1902 built several hundred houses in this city, which he has sold on casy terms to the laboring men of the community, thus assisting them to in- dependent ownership of their homes on terms that are reasonable and fair to all concerned. Mr. Morriss has been active in other lines of endeavor also, having aided in the organi- zation of the Granite City National Bank and the Granite City Trust Company, in each of which he is a member of the board of di- rectors. He has also extended his interests to the oil fields of Crawford county, and he is there the sole owner of about twenty valua- ble oil wells. Much credit is due to him for his successful efforts in the matter of secur- ing a franchise and right-of-way for the Leb- anon & O'Fallon Electric Railway, which has meant so much to the growth and develop- ment of O'Fallon and Lebanon, and he has proved his genuine worth as a citizen and a man on more than one occasion when he has been instrumental in adjusting labor difficul- ties between employer and employe, both! be- fore and after strikes have been called. He has always displayed a strong tendency to stand between the strong and the weak, and his sympathies and labors have always been of a character that has tended to evolve bet- ter conditions for the laboring man, and thus make of him a better citizen and a better work- man. In that part of his work he has been quite as successful as in other branches, and his life thus far has been a well rounded sphere of useful endeavor in whatever com- munity he has found himself.
Mr. Morriss is a Republican in his political views, and while he is always active in the best interests of the party, he is never an office seeker and has no ambitions in that re- spect. He was reared in the Episcopalian faith, but in later life lost faith in the claims of orthodoxy, and leans rather to the views of an agnostic.
On New Year's day, 1875. Mr. Morriss was married in Chicago to Miss Julia Louise Burton. Four children have been born of their union : Herbert A. Morriss, born Decem- ber 31, 1875: Edith M., born January 26, 1877: Vernon S., born January 27, 1882; and Alexander William, Jr., born April 27, 1884.
As previously mentioned, Vernon S. and Alex- ander William, Jr., are engaged with their cousin in the conduct and management of the Morriss Realty Business, founded by Mr. Morriss and are particularly successful in that work, guided as they are by the more ma- ture judgment and unusual business ability of the elder man.
HENRY A. GIPPERT. Madison county owes to its agriculturists a debt of gratitude for its present prosperous condition, as the farm- ing interests of the county are by all means its most important asset, and it has been the energetic and intelligent work of the farmers that has kept the county's agricultural stand- ard so high. Henry A. Gippert, who is carry- ing on operations in section 33, Nameoki township, is one of the representative men of the county. He was born in Madison county, in 1871, and is a son of Antone and Catherine (Steinemeyer) Gippert, natives of Germany.
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