Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 23

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 23

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Mr. Stelzel and wife are members of the Granite City Baptist church. He affiliates with the Elks lodge of that city. In politics he has been one of the stanch Republicans of the county ever since casting his first vote. To the promotion of the welfare of both cities in which he has spent his life he has been a gen- erous contributor of time and means. Broad in his views, public spirited in the best sense of the term, and optimistic as regards the future, he is a type of citizen and business man whose influence and services are among the most im-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

portant factors in the community's progress and welfare.

HENRY CURTIS GERKE, whose ancestors were among the first settlers of Madison county, were born near Marine, November 14, 1862, and has been a resident of the county ever since. His great-grandfather, Dr. Henry Christian Gerke, was a man of learning, vari- ous degrees having been conferred upon him by the Universities of Germany and England. He was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1765, made a number of visits to the United States and became the owner of considerable land in St. Jacob and Marine townships. He was the author of a number of works on agriculture, including the "Nord Amerikanischer Rathge- ber;" a copy of the latter is still in the Belle- ville, Illinois, public library. This book attained a wide circulation, especially in Germany, and was instrumental in inducing a large number of settlers to leave the Fatherland to locate in this and other counties of Illinois. Dr. Gerke's death occurred December 8, 1842, on his farm south of St. Jacob. He had four years prior to his demise dug and walled up his own grave on his farm. His wife, Maria Gerke, died March 26, 1871. She was an active worker in the Evangelical church of Marine, and the bell which she donated to the congregation was · christened "Maria" in her honor. In 1831 Dr. Gerke and his eldest son, William H. J. P. Gerke, who was born in Hesse Cassel, Ger- many, June 24, 1808, visited Madison county, and the latter remained, locating on a farm two miles south of Marine. William H. J. P. Gerke was also a man of fine attainments ; he was married April 1, 1832, to Lavina Blake- man, daughter of Captain Curtis Blakeman. Both William H. J. P. Gerke and his wife died in early life, the latter November 20, 1836, and the former April 29. 1839. There were two children: Henry C. Gerke, the father of the subject of our sketch; and John Phillip Gerke, the latter dying in infancy. Henry C. Gerke resided in Madison county all his life except the last few years. He was engaged in farming near Marine until the spring of 1881, when he moved to Edwardsville. He was widely and favorably known, and while he had no inclination to seek public office he was elected and filled the office of associate justice of the county court from 1869 to 1873.

There have been few more public spirited men than he. He was a strong supporter of the public school system and the erection of a fine public school building at Marine was due to his efforts. His death occurred in St. Louis on

August 19, 1904. His wife, who still survives, was Matilda I. Gerke, daughter of William and Helena Weber, of St. Louis, to whom he was married November 20, 1861. Her father, William Weber, was widely known in St. Louis. He was the first proprietor and editor of "Die Anseiger des Westens," a German daily newspaper. The family has in its pos- session a copy of the first issue of this journal.

Henry Curtis Gerke, the subject of this sketch, obtained his education in the public schools of Marine and afterward attended St. Louis University, graduating from the scien- tific course in the class of 1881. The same year he entered the office of the county clerk and was appointed deputy county clerk on at- taining the age of twenty-one years. He served through several administrations, being in charge of the revenue department. He made the subject of taxation a close study, and became an expert and authority on the subject. He has been for a number of years associated with the tax departments of sev- eral of the large railroad and industrial cor- porations and in 1910 was invited by Gover- nor Haskell, of Oklahoma, to suggest changes and amendments to the revenue laws of that state. He is engaged in the land title business, owning abstract books of the county and en- joys the confidence and respect of a large clientele.

Mr. Gerke was united in marriage, Novem- ber 14. 1888, to Miss Matilda Vollrath, of Ed- wardsville, and they have three children, Wil- bur Curtis, Henry Clarence and Matilda Eliza- beth Gerke. The family possess oil paintings of both ancestors of the Gerke family for four generations, beginning with the great- grandparents of the subject of this sketch. This unusual circumstance is due to the fact that Phillip Gerke, a great uncle, was an artist.

CHARLES S. LEECH has been identified with the business life of Alton for half a century, and is one of the prominent officials of the Woodmen order both in this city and in the country. He was one of the first to join the order in Alton, becoming a charter member in 1885, and has been clerk of the Robin Hood Camp. No. 135, M. W. A .. since January. 1890. He has the distinction of being one of the old- est clerks in point of length of continuous service, in the records of the order in the United States.

Mr. Leech was born in Alton, October 13. 1841, and represents one of the old families of this city. His parents were Charles S. and Ruth Ann (Hutton) Leech. The Leech ances-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

tors were of Quaker stock and came over with . individuals cannot be distinguished. At the William Penn, settling about Germantown. C. S. Leech, the father, was born at Philadel- phia in 1812, came to Alton in 1833, and died here May 19, 1851, being one of the first victims of the cholera epidemic of that year. He was a carpenter and contractor, and was a member of the old firm of Beall, Tuttle & Leech, the senior member of which was the father of Senator Beall. Ruth A. Leech, the mother, was born at Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1818, her family coming to Alton about the same time as the Leeches, and she was married in 1837. She died in 1897, the mother of three children, Isaac E., Charles S. and Mary.

Mr. Leech began his business experience in the City Shoe Store of E. L. Dimmock, being five years in that employment. At the time of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 he was a young man with political ideas pretty well ma- tured, and he was in the audience about the old city hall when these two candidates en- gaged in their last argument. He remembers that Douglas was to him the more impressive of the two debaters and he was somewhat ner- vous as to the outcome of the contest until Mr. Lincoln had begun his address. After leaving the Dimmock store he was five years a clerk for the E. F. Sneeringer dry goods house, and later became a member of the R. W. Hawkins & Company, which bought out Mr. Sneeringer. In 1870 the firm became Hawkins, Auten & Leech. Several years later he retired from this business, and for twenty-one years was a salesman for the H. J. Bowman Dry Goods House, finally resigning in 1908. Mr. Leech has been a member of Piasa Lodge, No. 27, A. F. & A. M., since 1865.

He married, in 1877, Miss Jennie A. Frost, of Jerseyville, a daughter of Henry Frost. Their one child, Charles S., Jr., was born Oc- tober II, 1883. After finishing school he was in the grocery business at Alton two years, and for the past three years has been travelling for the Nichols Scharff & Sons Grocery Com- pany of St. Louis. He married, in 1904, Miss Mamie Tomlinson, a native of Alton and daughter of D. G. Tomlinson. They have one son, Charles S., the fourth to bear that name.

JOSEPH RAPP. There is no kind of a man that nature hates so much as a quitter. The start in life is like a horse race where oppor- tunity is equal. The racers are all bunched at the first turn, but from there they begin to scatter. At the second turn two stop and two are seen forging ahead. There is still a goodly bunch to be seen from the grand stand and

third turn the bunch has elongated itself to a single file and each individual can be seen. Several have quit. As the leaders turn into the home stretch you see only two horses out of the dozen that started. These two come on with a steady, sustained patter of hoofs, one just a length behind the other. They keep their places until within a hundred wards of the wire, when the horse that is behind seems to let out an extra kink and he forges ahead and comes in under the wire, an easy winner by two lengths. With men as with horses the supreme test is the ability to stay in and to give the extra burst when it is required, thus qualifying to start in a higher contest. Mr. Rapp is one of the kind who has stayed in from the first up to the present time. He has never been a quitter.

Mr. Rapp was born on July 15, 1853, in Madison county, Illinois, the son of John, Jr., and Sarah E. (Coleman) Rapp. Joseph's grandfather, John Rapp, Sr., was born in Germany, where he married and with his wife and son, John Rapp, Jr. (the father of Joseph), came to the United States. Mr. ‘ and Mrs. Rapp had seven children, all of them born in America except the eldest, John. The names of the seven children are as follows : John, Jr., Jacob, Andrew, Charles, Valentine, Catherine and Nancy. The only one of this family living now is Valentine. After he came to the United States, John Rapp, Jr., was en- gaged in the huckster business, buying produce up in the country and selling it in St. Louis. He did a good business and saved as much as he possibly could, so that he managed to pur- chase a farm in St. Clair county, where he died. His son John moved with his family to Jefferson county, Illinois, where he stayed four years, coming, on March 8, 1858, to the farm in Chouteau township where he lived until his death. His wife died April 19, 1876. He was married twice, first to a Miss Smith, by whom he had one child. Later he married his second wife, who became the mother of ten children, only two of whom still live, Jo- seph and John H. of Granite City.

When Joseph was very small he went with his parents to Jefferson county, Illinois, where they stayed four years, coming to Chouteau township March 8, 1858. Here Joseph at- tended school in Chouteau township at the old Marysville school until he was sixteen years old, when he began to work on his father's farm, and he has been engaged in farming ever since. He now owns one hundred and

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

forty acres in Chouteau township, having im- proved the land and bought more since he first began to farm. He is a progressive farmer, who believes in investigating all the modern improvements.

In April, 1876, Joseph Rapp married Corde- lia M. Bennett, daughter of John A. Bennett, of West Virginia, Jackson county. To this union were born ten children, seven of whom are still living, as follows: Margaret, now the wife of J. A. Segar ; Myrtle ; John A .; Joseph F .; Edna Alice, now the wife of Kelly Orum; Bertha V. and William L.

Mr. Rapp is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, carrying insurance in this order. He was brought up in the Metho- dist faith and still retains the old beliefs. In his political views he is liberal, not feeling that he cares to fully ascribe to the platform of either party ; he is, however, deeply interested in public affairs and is anxious for the man who is best fitted to fill a position to be chosen. He has been a member of the directors' board of the Mitchell school since 1892. Although not anxious for honors for himself. he is at all times ready to do his share in bettering the con- clitions of his townshin and his county, whether in the educational way or in any other direc- tion. He is still a young man in spirit and has not yet reached the place where he is con- tent to sit still or to be laid on the shelf. He is in the race and will keep on to the end.

EDWARD RODGERS. Distinguished alike for his own life and works and for the honored ancestry from which he traces his descent, Edward Rodgers, one of the leading manu- facturers and farmers of Alton and Wood River township, occupies a foremost position among the worthy and esteemed citizens of Madison county, wherein he has spent the larger portion of his long and pleasant life. Since attaining manhood he has been conspicu- ously identified with the best interests of town and county, and while attending carefully to his private affairs has ever been mindful of the welfare of the general public, generously using his influence to promote the good of the people. A son of Reverend Ebenezer Rodgers, he was born August 18. 1839, at Upper Alton, Madison county, Illinois, being a descendant, several generations removed, of Roger Will- iams, a noted Baptist clergyman who became the founder of Rhode Island.

A son of Reverend William Rodgers, a Baptist minister, Ebenezer Rodgers was born in Wales, and was there educated. Immigrat- ing to America in 1815, he settled first in Ken-

tucky, becoming a pioneer preacher of the Baptist faith. Going from that state to Mis- souri, he located in Howard county, where in addition to preaching to the pioneer settlers, traveling on horseback to settlements any- where within a radius of fifty miles and hold- ing services in groves or log schoolhouses, he bought land and carried on general farming with the aid of slaves. In 1834 he settled at Upper Alton, Illinois, where he continued life as a farmer and minister, and took an active part in the advancement of the educational in- terests of the county, having been largely in- strumental in the establishment of Shurtleff College. He died in 1855, at the age of sixty- five years, leaving much property, a part of which was in land, he having been the owner of several good farms.

Reverend Ebenezer Rodgers married Amelia Jackson, who was born in Kentucky in 1805, a daughter of John and Parmelia ( Pig) Jack- son, and died in 1855, in Alton. Her father, John Jackson, was an own cousin of General Andrew Jackson, under whom he fought at the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.

Acquiring his rudimentary education in the public schools, Edward Rodgers entered Shurtleff College, intending to complete the full course of study in that institution, but, at the age of seventeen, on account of ill health, was forced to seek an out-door life. Being penniless, he looked about for a favorable opening, and was ere long making money as a dealer in live stock. Successful from the start, he was never content to let his honest accu- mulations lie idle, but wisely invested in lands, and today has title to three hundred acres of valuable land in Wood River township, on which he has a beautiful residence and all of the improvements and equipments needed by a modern up-to-date farmer, his estate being, without doubt, one of the finest country homes in the state.

In 1854 Mr. Rodgers embarked in the manu- facture of brick, and has built up a large and important industry, having now three plants in operation, their capacity being from four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand bricks daily, and employing four hundred men in these plants. Mr. Rodgers has also one of the largest machine shops in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he manufactures en- gines and diversified machinery, employing sixty men in the shops, fortv of whom are skilled mechanics. He has likewise a con- trolling interest in the Illini Hotel, a prominent and popular public house. Possessing keen

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

foresight, excellent judgment, and unques- tioned business ability and acumen, Mr. Rodg- ers has accumulated property valued at a half million dollars, from which he receives an an- nual income of sixty-seven thousand dollars.

Mr. Rodgers married, in 1872, Ella Hewitt, a daughter of Franklin Hewitt, who came from Ohio, his native state, to Madison county, Illinois, in the forties, locating at Upper Alton, where he was for many years engaged in the mercantile and insurance business. Three chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers, namely: Ebenezer, born in 1873, resides in Alton, and is superintendent of the factories in this section of the county; Hewitt, born in 1877, has charge of the factories located at El Paso, Texas; and Ethel Hortense. Politically Mr. Rodgers is a steadfast Democrat. He takes an intelligent interest in everything re- lating to the agricultural progress of his county. For the past twenty-five years Mr. Rodgers has been engaged in scientific farm- ing, and has made a specialty of growing fine apples and other kindred fruit.

LOUIS SPECKMANN is another of those excel- lent citizens whom Germany has given to America. Though born in the other hemis- phere, Mr. Speckmann is a loyal American, having grown up in this country and having contributed to its welfare those qualities of devotion to the home and interest in matters of public weal which, combined with unflagging industry make the descendants of his race one of the most valuable elements in our cos- mopolitan character.

Mr. Speckmann's parents were Ludwig and Gertrude Speckmann, natives of Germany. Louis was born in 1855, on September 10. His father died when he was eleven years old and his mother then came to America with her two sons, Louis and John, the latter being the older. They settled in Bond county where they lived six years with an uncle, M. F. Kuhl, a farmer. After this period had elapsed they rented a farm which the boys cultivated while the mother kept house. The older brother, John, died when he was twenty-four leaving only Louis to care for the mother. In 1884 Louis Speckmann and his mother went to Mis- souri and stayed four years, continuing to follow the occupation of farming. From 1888 to 1898 they farmed near Marine, Illinois, renting land. Mrs. Speckmann died in 1906, at the age of eighty-three years. She had been a devoted mother and had had the de- votion of her son. Her death occurred in

February, and on July 31 of the same year, her son was married to Mrs. Mary Kile Determann.

Mrs. Speckmann is one of the four daughters of Oswald and Ann (Kile) Kile, both natives of Illinois, Mr. Kile having served in the Union army during the Civil war. She was born in Leef township September 30, 1864. There were seven sons and four daughters in the Kile family but Annie, Frances and Mary, being the only ones that grew to maturity and were wedded. In 1894, Mary Kile was married to Edward Determann, whose father and mother were born in Germany. He lived but ten years after his marriage and died March 4, 1904, leaving his wife and two children, Edna, born in 1895, and Raymond, four years younger. Mrs. Speckmann's parents lived at Grant Fork for a number of years. The mother died February 3, 1895, after which the father made his home with his daughters, Mrs. Annie Immer and Mrs. Determann. It was at the home of the latter that he died on April 21, 1905, and was laid to rest in the Grant Fork cemetery beside the wife of his youth.

Mr. and Mrs. Speckmann first lived on a farm near Saline after they were married and then moved to a place of one hundred and thirty-two acres one mile east of Alhambra, which had belonged to Mrs. Speckmann and her first husband. Here they have made their home ever since, sending their children to the Rockwell school. In addition to attending the English school Edna Determann has also gone to the German school of Alhambra.

Mr. and Mrs. Speckmann are faithful at- tendants on the services of the German church of Alhambra, in which the children have been confirmed. Their interest extends to all move- ments originated for the uplift of the com- munity. In politics Mr. Speckmann is a Re- publican but he believes in voting for men and measures rather than for a party.

Though naturally of a retiring disposition Mr. Speckmann has a wide circle of friends who are attracted by his whole-souled and genial personality. He is, moreover, an indus- trious and progressive farmer and one of the representative men of the community. His wife is equally admired and esteemed, both as a member of the social circle of the neigh- borhood and as a home maker, and theirs is one of the pleasant homes of the county.

REINHOLD GOSSRAU. Conspicuous among the popular and progressive citizens of Alton, Illinois, is Reinhold Gossrau, who has won distinction not only as an important factor in

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

advancing the business interests of this thriv- ing city, but for the prominent part he has taken in developing and promoting the musical talent of the people while following his pro- fession of a music teacher. A son of Gott- fried Gossrau, he was born, December 5, 1845,. at Schkoelen, in the province of Saxony, Germany, the birthplace, likewise, of his father.

Gottfried Gossrau, who spent his entire life in Schkoelen, was engaged in mercantile pur- suits during his active career, being proprietor of a shoe store. He married Dorothy Schnitz- ler, and to them children were born as follows : August, Gustav, Bruno, Emilie and Reinhold, and of these Gustav and Reinhold were the only ones to leave the Fatherland.

Leaving school at the age of fourteen years, Reinhold Gossrau made a special study of vocal and instrumental music for four years, developing the wonderful talent with which he was by nature endowed. He then entered the German army, becoming a member of the Fifty-seventh Regimental Band and was with the regiment in its various marches, campaigns and battles, being present at the battle of Sa- dowa, in 1866, and was with the command, in 1868, at Hanover, where he received his hon- orable discharge. Coming to America, Mr. Gossrau settled in Alton, Illinois, and ere long won distinction as a teacher of music and be- came a recognized leader in musical circles and also an important figure in the business world. He was one of the founders of the Alton Ger- mania Building and Loan Association, which was organized October 25, 1890, and of which he has since been the secretary. He is also a director in the Alton Maennerchor, in which he takes an active interest.

Mr. Gossrau married, in 1872, Katherine Herrmann who was born in Alton, Illinois, a daughter of B. Herrmann, a native of Schles- wig-Holstein, who was for many years a promi- nent contractor and builder in Alton. Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gossrau, namely : Otto, Emil, Herrmann, Walter and Frieda. Otto, who is assistant cashier in the South Side Bank, at Saint Louis, married Wilhelmina Joesting, and they have one child, Irma. Emil, agent for the Houston Terminal Railroad in Texas, married Capilola Linkogle. Herrmann, who is engaged in the real estate business at Saint Louis, married Pearl Garde. Walter, assistant cashier in the Alton Bank and Trust Company, married Elsa Bratfisch. Frieda, the youngest child and only daughter, is the wife of Otto Kramer, who is bookkeeper for the Alton Bank and Trust

Company. Mr. Gossrau and his family are members of the German Evangelical church.

WILLIAM W. HANLON. Every community has its group of citizens who bear the large burdens of progress and are most prominent in the business and institutional life of such com- munity. The history of Granite City more than any other city in Madison county, since it is a comparatively new town, has among its present active citizenship those who have most prominently identified themselves with the best interests of the community from the beginning of the city's growth. Of the number who would deserve to be classed in the above group at Granite city one of the first to be mentioned by anyone familiar with the city's past is Mr. William W. Hanlon, superintendent of the Granite City National Enameling & Stamping Company and prominently connected with other important business and civic affairs of this. locality.

Mr. Hanlon was born at Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, December 23, 1857. His parents were James and Mary Ann ( Badger) Hanlon, the father born in Ireland and the mother in Scotland, and they were married in this coun- try, to which they came when young. The mother died in 1909. The father, now in his eightieth year, was connected with the iron business at Pittsburg and vicinity until he re- tired, and is now living in Columbiana county, Ohio.

The public schools of Pittsburg and then of Ohio gave Mr. Hanlon his early advantages, after which he attended a business college in Ohio and also at Pittsburg. During all his active career he has been connected with the steel business in one branch or another. He began with the Shoenberger Steel Company of Pittsburg and remained with the company for sixteen years in the manufacturing department. He resigned in 1895 to come west to the newly founded industrial center of Granite City, where he entered the steel works as assistant superintendent. Two years later, in 1897, he was promoted to superintendent, and has been directing the manufacturing department of this great enterprise to the present time.

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Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 23

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