USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 14
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Mr. Owens is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Bethalto. He can- not fully ascribe to the platform of any polit- ical party, although he is inclined towards Democracy in national politics. In local af- fairs he always considers the man's suitability for the office rather than the party to which he belongs. Mr. Owens is now serving his second term as supervisor and at one time he was school director for four years. He owns
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one hundred and eighty acres of land and is interested in general farming and in stock rais- ing. He also engages in buying and selling of stock. He seems to have inherited many of the characteristics of the Welsh, being en- terprising, faithful, affectionate and religious, in addition to which he has many more good qualities that are distinctly his own.
PHOEBE E. MONTGOMERY, who is a native of Madison county and has lived here all her life, is a daughter of the late Nelson Mont- gomery, and bears a name that has been con- spicuous in the county for almost a century. Nelson Montgomery was remarkably success- ful as a farmer and stockman, and in his day had some of the finest horses in the county. In this respect Miss Montgomery follows in the footsteps of lier father, and is the owner of a stable with a reputation among horsemen the country over. "Joe Joker," owned by her, has gained fame as the "guideless harness champion of his class," and has been one of the attractions at race meetings both north and south. He races without driver or sulky and holds the world's record of 2:1634 for this performance.
This branch of the Montgomery family originated in England, where Thomas Mont- gomery was born. With a brother he came to America in 1769, and served as a soldier throughout the war of the Revolution. His cousin was the General Montgomery who fell at the storming of Quebec. The home of Thomas Montgomery was in Virginia but he afterwards migrated to Kentucky. His son, William Montgomery, was born in Virginia, November 20, 1786, and at the age of ten ac- companied the family to Kentucky. In 1809 he followed the westward movement to St. Louis, where in 1814 he married Miss Sarah Rattan. The young couple then moved over to Madison county and founded the homestead where their large family were reared. Will- iam Montgomery died in this county October 10, 1849. Beginning life poor, he accumulated an estate for his children which is said to have been one of the richest in this county. He was the father of eleven children, and a num- ber of his descendants still live in the county. One of his daughters married the late Z. B. Job, of Alton.
His oldest child was Nelson Montgomery, who was born on the old homestead August 1, 1815, and died January 30, 1895. The farm where he spent the greater part of his life, four miles from Edwardsville, was one of the
best improved estates in the county and on it was the railroad station known as Montgom- ery. lle was owner of other lands in this county, besides large tracts in Coles county and in Missouri and lowa. He was a farmer- business man of the strongest type, was a tire- less worker to an advanced age, and with his business success he combined a public spirit which made his own prosperity a benefit to the entire community. In politics he was a Demo- crat. Nelson Montgomery was a rugged char- acter, one of the old school of pioneers, a man of strength and tenacity of purpose, of uncom- promising uprightness and integrity. Ile was a tireless worker and considered one of the best farmers in Illinois. His home farm, four miles south of Edwardsville, consists of five hundred and seventy-three acres of land, as fertile and rich as there is to be found in the state. He was very fond of cattle and horses, and his stable was famous in this and neigh- boring counties for many years. He was never , idle. He worked hard and understood how to husband his resources. Ile was a man of gen- crous impulses and enjoyed the company of friends. His home was noted for its un- bounded hospitality.
Nelson Montgomery was married, March 22, 1838, to Miss Eleanor Kinder, a daughter of George and Isabelle Kinder, early settlers of Madison county. Eight children were born of their marriage: Ann M., deceased, who married Francis M. Wood; Nancy J., who married John F. Jarvis; Mary Matilda, wife of Henry C. Barnsback ; Phoebe E. ; Zephaniah J. : Robert N. ; William T .; and Sarah Isabel.
THE WILLIAMS BROTHERS, Irby and Joel M., are progressive, scientific farmers, who occupy a beautiful home situated on an emi- nence above Wood River ; the house, which is equipped with light, heat, water and telephone service, both Bell and Kinloch, is approached by means of a beautiful driveway, bordered by grand, old maple trees, and one glance around the farm is sufficient to gain the impression that it is managed by men who have introduced system into its every detail. The man who possesses the ability to organize will succeed in any undertaking. while the one who leaves things to adjust themselves in a haphazard way is at best not apt to rise above mediocrity. The Williams brothers do not claim to know more than other farmers, but they have or- ganized their knowledge and regard the re- sults as a science.
The grandfather of the Williams brothers
ELEANOR MONTGOMERY
NELSON MONTGOMERY
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
was Samuel Williams, who settled at what is now Dorsey's Station, coming from Knoxville, Tennessee, in ox wagons, about the year 1834. His son was Madison Williams, who, when a young man, came into possession of eighty acres of wooded land on Wood River ; he was temperate, industrious and efficient, and after great efforts he cleared this tract, thereby lay- ing the foundations of a substantial fortune. He became a man of note in the locality, was looked up to as a leader by the members of the community in which he resided, being fre- quently called upon to settle local disputes, to tender advice and to act as arbiter among his fellow men, and when he died, in 1868, there was no man who was more beloved or more greatly respected. He was one of a large fam- ily, and his brothers all settled in the prairie country of Illinois and became prosperous men. When a young man Madison Williams married Miss Lydia Moore, daughter of Cap- tain Abel Moore and a sister of Major Frank- lin Moore. Two of her brothers, William and John, were killed by the Indians July 10, 1814, and the Williams brothers have in their pos- session the original stone which marked the site of the place of burial; the stone reads ---- "WILLIAM AND JOHN MOORE WERE KILLED BY INDIANS, JULY 10, 1814." The spot where the massacre occurred is today marked by a handsome monument which was erected by the descendants of Captain Abel Moore. The Captain operated the first grist mill in Madi- son county and people came in their ox-carts from miles away, in order to have their grist ground. The old stone of this mill is still in existence on the Cartwright place.
Irby Williams was born June 8, 1840, edu- cated in the public schools and later attended Shurtleff College. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army; on August 7, 1862, he became a member of Com- pany B of the Eightieth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, under Colonel A. F: Rogers, and served in Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia; he was in the Army of the Cumberland under General Thomas. He was a participant in the follow- ing battles,-Perryville, Missionary Ridge and The most closely con- Lookout Mountain. tested conflicts in which he was engaged were the battles of Franklin, and Nashville and the Atlanta campaign, which continued for a pe- riod of four months and the hostilities ex- tended from Chattanooga to Atlanta. After leaving Atlanta his company went to Nash- ville, fighting Hood's army on their return
journey. His regiment (the Eightieth Illinois) walked six thousand miles and participated in twenty-six battles. On the Ioth day of June, 1865, the company was mustered out at Camp Harker, Nashville, Tennessee. To the younger generation the above mentioned names are merely a list of battles, but to Mr. Wil- liams each place brings vividly back to his mind the scenes of bloodshed which he saw enacted. He has continued to feel an interest in his companions at arms, and has for years been a member of the Bethalto Post, No. 509, G. A. R., which now contains only three mem- bers, W. W. Head, commander, Mr. Williams, its adjutant, and John S. Culp, the quarter- master. In addition to his affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, Mr. Williams is a member of the Masonic Order, his direct association being with Franklin Lodge, No. 25, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Upper Alton. In his political sympathies he is a Republican, stanch in support of the party to which he offers allegiance, but with no de- sire for political honors for himself.
Joel M. Williams' birth occurred on the 17th day of September, 1848, and he too at- tended the district school and Shurtleff Col- lege. He is a Republican, a member of no fraternal order, but is connected with the Up- per Alton Baptist church and for the past ten years he has been president of the Madison County Farmers' Institute.
Neither of the brothers has ever married but they have always lived together, and their sister, Luella, who was born August 29, 1856, is their companion and housekeeper. Miss Williams is a refined, cultured lady, her edu- cation having been completed at Almyra Col- lege, at Greenville, Illinois. The brothers own nearly four hundred acres of land.
JACOB A. LEEF. Closely identified with the history of Madison county has been that of the Leef family, whose industrious and progres- sive members have been prominent in the work of its development ever since Jacob Leef im- migrated to Illinois from Switzerland in the first half of the nineteenth century and intro- duced into our cosmopolitan citizenship the admirable strain of those sterling qualities for which the Swiss have ever been noted. His wife, too, Ragenia Reikert Leef, was born in Europe, being a native of Germany. They were married in Saline township and began life poor in money but rich in ambition and energy. From working for others Mr. Leef saved enough to purchase his first forty acres of gov-
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ernment land and built his first cabin. There were no railroads and St. Louis was the near- est market. There Mr. Leef, and later his sons, used to haul butter, eggs and fruit to market.
Faithful work and intelligent attention to the business of agriculture brought prosperity to the young couple. Their forty acres in- creased tenfold and they constantly improved their surroundings. Nine children were born to them : Susan, Joseph, Jacob A., Mary, Kate, Francis, John Sylvester and one who died in infancy. All these went to school at the little schoolhouse built on the Leef farm. Life was full of hardships for the pioneers, but they only developed resourcefulness and strength in those who endured them. All the Leef chil- dren married and settled near their parents except one daughter, Frances, who lives in Portland, Oregon. The county has no more valued citizens than the members of this fam- ily, for whom Leef township has been named, and in that honored family no representative is worthier of a place in the county's annals than Jacob A. Leef.
The year of Jacob A. Leef's birth was 1853, and until he was eighteen he spent his time on the home farm. At that age he learned the blacksmith's trade and a little later was married to the woman who has been his life companion and true helpmate, Mary Reudy. She was born in 1853, twenty-one years before her marriage. Her parents were natives of Germany, Daniel and Mary ( Marguth ) Rendy. Mrs. Leef was one of a numerous family ; there were Charles, Louis, Emil, Robert, Kate, Emma, Eva, Maggie, Carrie, Louise, Bertha, Anna and Mary, besides three who died in infancy.
Ever since his marriage Mr. Jacob Leef has lived in Alhambra. For twenty-four years he worked at his trade and for two years more was a carpenter. During this period he was called upon to serve in various public offices. He was five years tax collector, twelve years constable and ten years deputy sheriff. He filled all these positions with honor to himself and to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens. Nine years ago he was appointed by the gov- ernment to act as mail carrier and he has not only filled this post to the approval of the government but has won the universal good will of those who live on his route by his hearty manner of performing his duties.
Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob A. Leef, Jacob and Robert. Both learned
telegraphy in Alhambra. Jacob spent a year and a half in California, going out at the age of seventeen to visit his uncle, Charles Rendy, who is owner of an orange grove in that state. When the boy returned to Alhambra he learned telegraphy and was for a time agent and operator at Alhambra. He is now assis- tant cashier in the Hitz Bank of Alhambra, residing in town with his wife, Rilla Crown- over Leef, daughter of Garrett and Fidelia Crownover. Both Mr. and Mrs. Leef are among the best known and most popular of Alhambra's citizens.
Robert Leef, when sixteen, began a four years' term of service in the Alhambra post- office. The work did not demand all his time and with characteristic enterprise he set him- self to work to improve his leisure. Machin- ery was more interesting to him than the occu- pation which is popular with lazy people, whose jobs chiefly furnish them an ex- cuse for not working-that of sitting about swapping stories with other persons of heavy responsibilities. He installed an instrument in the post office, connected it with the depot wires, and under his brother's instruction learned the art of telegraphy. He mastered this so thoroughly that he was employed by the Clover Leaf railroad, with which corpora- tion he held various positions of trust. In 1906 he accepted a position with the Santa Fe at Manzanola, Colorado, where he remained five years.
Having a genius for mechanics, Mr. Leef has recently patented an invention which prom- ises to make great improvement in the art of telegraphy. This is an automatic closing tele- graph key for which he was granted the patent right March 30. 1909, and for which he has received many proposals regarding the manu- facture and sale. At present Mr. Leef is en- gaged as foreman of the Foundry and Garage Company of Collinsville, Illinois, having charge of the automobile department, where his knowledge as an expert mechanic is of the highest value.
Mr. Robert Leef's wife was formerly Miss Olive Pierron. She was born in 1883 and is the daughter of August and Barbara Rinderer Pierron. The town of Pierron was named in honor of her grandfather, Jacques Pierron. Two daughters, Flavia Mary and Dorothea, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Leef. The former was winner of the special prize for being the prettiest baby in Colorado of ten months of age. She attained this honor
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at the state fair in Pueblo, September 18, 1908. In 1911 Mr. Leef returned to his home in Al- hambra, where his two daughters enjoyed the pleasure of visiting their grandparents, prev- ious to taking up residence at Collinsville. Mrs. Leef is an exceptionally intellectual woman, who is destined to be a worthy par- taker in the brilliant career which her husband has started upon.
Jacob A. Leef, senior, is doubly happy in his own life, which has been crowned with the respect and esteem of his neighbors, and in the success of his sons. He is a loyal adherent of the Republican party in politics and both he and his wife are devoted members of the German Evangelical church. In all respects this family is representative of what is best in our American life.
JOSEPH BERNHARD STECK. Worthy of espe- cial mention in a work of this character is Jo- seph Bernhard Steck, of Alton, an intelligent and capable business man and a highly re- spected citizen. A son of Michael Steck, he was born November 24, 1877, in Saint Louis, Missouri, coming from distinguished ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Bernhard Steck, was born in Alsace-Lorraine, while it was yet a province of France, the son of a loyal Frenchman who served as a soldier in the French Army, being, it is said, an officer of rank.
Having a strong preference for Germany, Bernhard Steck conceived a prejudice against France, and in 1854 immigrated with his fam- ily to America, settling in St. Louis, Missouri, where he resided until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years, during his active career in that city following the trade of a cooper. He served as a member of the Missouri Na- tional Guards during the Civil war. His first wife died soon after her arrival in this country, leaving two children, Michael and Katherine. He subsequently married again, and reared several children.
Michael Steck was born in Alsace-Lorraine, and with his parents came to the United States. During the days of his boyhood and youth he attended the parochial schools, and at the age of twenty years took a course of study in a commercial college. Embarking then in mer- cantile pursuits in Saint Louis, he was for a number of vears a member of the firm of Janis-Saunders & Company, but at the present time is connected with the Carleton Dry Goods Company, of Saint Louis. He married Anna M. Kress, who was born in Munich, Bavaria, which was the birthplace of her father, Joseph
Kress, and the life-long residence, as far as known, of his parents. Joseph Kress was born, reared and married, in Munich. Just after his marriage he immigrated with his bride to the United States and lived for awhile in New Orleans. He subsequently went back to his old home in Munich, where he and his wife resided four years, during which time their daughter Anna was born. In 1860 he returned to America with his family and subsequently resided in Saint Louis until his death. He married Anna Scherer, who belonged to a family of wealth and influence, her father hav- ing been burgomaster of her native village, and she was forced to elope, it is believed, when she married Mr. Kress. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Steck are the parents of two children, namely: Joseph Bernhard and Leo Joseph, the latter of Saint Louis, Missouri.
Having acquired a practical education in the parochial schools, Joseph Bernhard Steck be- came a clerk in the wholesale dry goods house of Janis Saunders & Company, a firm of which his father was then a member. In 1896, in partnership with his father, he em- barked in the dry goods business at Alton, and continued here as a merchant until 1904. Since that time he has been prosperously em- ployed in the insurance and real estate busi- ness, having a suite of offices in Alton.
Mr. Steck married, in 1900, Irene Head, who was born in Madison county, Illinois, a daughter of Augustine and Julia (Montgom- ery ) Head, and a descendant on the maternal side of prominent pioneer settlers of this part of the state. The union of Mr. ad Mrs. Steck has been blessed by the birth of two children, namely: Thelma Irene and Henry Joseph. Fraternally Mr. Steck is a member of Alton Lodge, No. 746, B. P. O. E.
THE SPRINGER FAMILY IN MADISON COUN- TY are of Swedish-German descent and trace back their lineage to Otto, the Great, Em- peror of Germany, born in 912, A. D. Chris- topher Springer, a lineal descendant of the twenty-first generation from Otto, the Great, was born A. D. 1529, in Germany and sub- sequently by cession of German territory to the King of Sweden, became a subject of and attached to that kingdom, where he became prominent in the councils of the king and a successful and influential officer in the set- tlement of treaties with foreign nations, greatly to the advantage of his sovereign, for which he was munificently rewarded by grants of large landed estates by the king.
His son, Charles Christopher Springer, the
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
first to come to America, was born at Stock- holm, Sweden, A. D., 1647. When he was twenty years of age, having completed his edu- cation in Swedish language, he was sent by his father to London to finish his education in English and was placed in charge of the Swed- ish ambassador and became an inmate of his family. In an unguarded moment he was pressed on board an English merchant vessel, brought over to America and sold into slav- ery to an English planter in the colony of Vir- ginia. From Ferris' llistory of the Swedes on the Delaware (pg. 281), are taken the sub- joined particulars of the kidnapping of Mr. Springer.
"Mr. Springer was in the family of the Swedish ambassador in London. Driving home one evening in a post-chaise, he was seized and carried on board a merchant vessel in the Thames, bound for Virginia. He was there sold as a servant for five years; at the expiration of his term of service he was set at liberty, when he joined his countrymen on the Delaware, and afterward by his sterling virtues and fine capacity, became honored and influential and elected justice of the peace in the district of Christina." It was by his ener- gy and perseverance, together with the assist- ance of the minister in charge of the Swedish . class leader of that society, which position he congregation, that the old Swede church of continuously filled to the time of his death, which occurred June 25, 1849. A man of the strictest integrity, firm in his convictions, ener- getic, devoted and faithful in filling all trusts, Mr. Springer was well-known for his benevo- lent spirit and honored and beloved by all. Wilmington was built about the year 1697. He served the church as vestryman and kept records during his life. He came to America about the year 1667. A. D. He was a devout Christian and a useful and active member of the Swedish church, and being prominent in both religious and civil circles, his memory has ever been revered by his countrymen. His death occurred on the 26th of May, 1738, at the age of ninety-one and his remains now repose beneath one of the arches of the old Swedish church at Wilmington, Delaware. His grandson, Charles Springer, was mar- ried to Susannah Seeds, at Wilmington, April 7. 1752, and soon after removed to Frederick City, Maryland, where he died, leaving a fam- ily of eleven children, six sons and five daughters.
John Springer, the second son, served in the war of independence as private in a com- pany of militia directed to be raised in Fred- erick county, October 3, 1776, Captain Val- entine Creager. (From Adjutant General of- fice, Annapolis, Maryland). He also was with Daniel Boone two years in his early exploring expedition in the wilds of Kentucky and after- wards, with his wife and two children, emi-
grated to Kentucky in 1783 and was among the first settlers around Harrod's Fort, in said state. He afterward removed to Wash- ington county, Kentucky, where he died in 1812. His son John was born in Harrod's Fort, January 8, 1784, and was married July 13, 1809, to Susan Sage. By this marriage he had four children. The family migrated to Illinois in October, 1816, and settled in Jones' Fort, in what is now Bond county, Illinois, near Old Ripley.
On the breaking out of the war of 1812 Mr. Springer was enrolled as a home guard and served as first lieutenant of Captain Jones' company, which was stationed at the fort. In the fall of 1814, in company with Captain William Jones, he removed to Fort Russell township, in Madison county, and settled on a farm two and a half miles north of Wanda. He at once engaged in the vocation of agri- culture and was recognized as one of the most advanced farmers of his time. For many years he discharged the duties of justice of the peace, always prominent in matters affecting the interests of the community in which he resided. When he came to Fort Russell town- ship he at once united with the Methodist church at Salem and was soon after selected as
Ilis first wife died July 8, 1825. On the 16th of March, 1826, he married Elizabeth Biggs, nce Byrd, a native of Alabama. By this union ten children were born, to-wit : Thomas O., William M. T .. Levi C., Martha E., Nancy E., Emily P., John Wesley, Lu- cinda, Joshua S. and Joseph E. In 1849 an epidemic of cholera was raging in the neigh- borhood where he lived and he and his wife while ministering to their neighbors, who were stricken with the disease, succumbed to it themselves, Mrs. Springer dying on June 24, 1849. and his death occurring on the fol- lowing day. They were buried in the same grave in the private burying-ground on the old Springer homestead. Of their children we will take up only those active in the early his- tory and those who have descendants now living in the county.
Thomas O., the eldest, was born in Madison county. March 2, 1827. He was deeply in- terested in all matters affecting the commu-
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nity and was prominent in all affairs that per- tained to the political and social welfare of the county. After attending the public schools he entered McKendree College, at Lebanon, Illi- nois, and graduated in July, 1849 .. On the Ioth of October, 1855, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Emily M. Thompson, who died January 21, 1858. He was again mar- ried November 7, 1872, to Miss Ella J. Ran- dall, who died without issue in 1903. Politi- cally Mr. Springer was an old-line Whig, but upon the organization of the Republican party, joined its ranks. In 1856 he was elected clerk of the circuit court and was re-elected in 1860. He early in life became a member of the Meth- odist church, and was the last surviving char- ter member of the Masonic lodge, No. 99, of Edwardsville, Illinois, organized in 1851. He died February 22, 1910, at the home of his sister, Mrs. S. P. Irwin, of Compton, Cali- fornia.
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