Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 24

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 24

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In the public life of this city Mr. Hanlon has taken a leading share of responsibility. He was a member of the council from 1898 to 1900, and for the past eleven years has been president of the board of education, in which capacity he has taken an important part in promoting the cause of education. As a Republican he has been delegate to county and state conventions a number of times. Mr.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

Hanlon is president of the Granite City Build- ing & Loan Association, a director of the Gran- ite City National Bank, and is one of the active members of the Commercial Club. He was one of the organizers and has since been offi- cially connected with the Niedringhaus Me- morial Methodist Episcopal church of Granite City. He is a prominent Mason and all his fraternal relations are with the branches of that order. He is a charter member and the organizer of Granite City Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Granite City Chapter, R. A. M., St. Alde- mar Commandery, K. T., and of Moola Temple of the Mystic Shrine at St. Louis.

Mr. Hanlon was married in 1883 to Miss Isabel M. Hull, a daughter of George M. and Edith (Gault) Hull, of Summitville, Ohio. Two children have been born to their mar- riage: George H., who is superintendent of the Western Fire Brick Company, in which his father is one of the partners ; and Edith Mary, in school.

CHARLES H. KNOCHE. The United States ranks as the foremost nation of the modern civilized world. It has served as the melting pot of the best characteristics of all other na- tions and the outcome is a fine, sterling Ameri- can citizenship, consisting of strong and able-bodied men, loyal and public-spirited in civic life, broad-minded and honorable in busi- ness, and alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with every measure tending to further the ma- terial welfare of the entire country. An essentially representative farmer and stock- raiser in Ft. Russell township, Madison county, Illinois, is Charles H. Knoche, who was born at Marien-Hagen, in Germany on the 6th of December, 1884. His father was summoned to the life eternal when the subject of this review was a small boy and in 1893 Mrs. Knoche, with her young son, immigrated to the United States. She came direct to Ft. Russell township, Madison county, where she passed the residue of her life, having passed away June 3, 1905.

Charles H. Knoche had attended school in his native land for two years prior to his ar- rival in the United States, and after coming to Madison county, he attended school here until he had reached his eighteenth year. He was engaged in farm work during the summer sea- sons and during the winter months was a most earnest and diligent student in the neighboring district schools. With the passage of time he eventually became the owner of his present home. In addition thereto he is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of arable land in

the state of Texas. He is engaged in general farming and in the raising of high-grade stock and in both those enterprises has been most re- markably successful. In his political convic- tions he is aligned as an uncompromising sup- porter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor. For a period of three years he was incumbent of the office of overseer and at the present time, in IgII, he has charge of the roads in Ft. Russell township.

On the 22nd of December, 1904, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Knoche to Miss Ida Engelman, who was born in Ft. Russell township, on the 3d of January, 1882, and who is a daughter of Ahrend and Marie C. (Knoche) Engelman, both natives of Germany. Mrs. Engelman is deceased but Mr. Engelman is living and he maintains his home at Ed- wardsville, Illinois. Mrs. Knoche received her . educational discipline in the public schools of Edwardsville township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Knoche have two children, Milton, whose birth occurred on the 3Ist of October, 1905; and Esther, born on the 6th of January, 1907.

In their religious faith the Knoche family are consistent members of the German Meth- odist Episcopal church of Edwardsville, Illi- nois. They are popular factors in connection with the activities of their home community and are esteemed for their worth and unques- tioned integrity.

WARREN LEVERETT, the father of John Lev- erett, of Upper Alton, was the one of the group of distinguished characters whose deeds and influence made Upper Alton what it was dur- ing the first half century of its history. As a center of culture and practical ideals, Upper Alton for years held a unique place among Illinois towns, and this was due to the resi- dence and activities of men like Professor Leverett. And the uplifting influence of such men has not yet ceased to bear fruit among a living generation whose early lives found in them faithful counselors and friends.

Warren Leverett was a twin brother of Washington Leverett, and in many respects their careers ran parallel and they both de- serve lasting honor in the history of Madison county. They were born at Brookline, Massa- chusetts, December 19, 1805, and were de- scended from old and prominent New England settlers. The original ancestor was Elder Thomas Leverett, who was an alderman of his borough in England, and who arrived at Bos- ton in the ship Griffin, September 4, 1633.

John, a son of Elder Thomas, was a major-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

general of Massachusetts troops from 1663 to 1673, and in the latter year was elected gover- nor of the colony. He died in office in 1778. He was Sir John, knighthood having been con- ferred upon him by King Charles II.

John Leverett, a grandson of Governor John, was a distinguished scholar. He grad- uated from Harvard college in 1680, and in December 1707, became president of that in- stitution, and continued at the head of thie first educational institution of the land until his death in 1724.

A later generation of the family was repre- sented in William Leverett, the father of Wash- ington and Warren. He died in December, 1807, when they were two years old. Their mother was Lydia (Fuller) Leverett. Both the sons graduated from Brown University in 1832, with the highest honors. Teaching was their principal life work, and both studied at the Newton Theological Seminary, where Washington graduated in 1836. The frail health of Warren interfered with the contin- uity of his studies.

Washington Leverett took the chair of matlı- ematics and natural philosophy in Shurtleff College in January, 1836, the beginning of the half a century during which his life was closely identified with the history and experiences of the college. He had previously been a tutor in Brown University and also in the Columbian College at Washington. In 1868 he resigned his professorship, but continued his work for the college as member of the board of trus- tees, as treasurer and as librarian. After fifty- three years of service he passed away, December 13, 1889. He was twice married. First in September 1836, when Miss Eliza A. Cole became his wife. She was a daughter of Cyrus and Susan Cole, of Rhode Island, and her death occurred in October, 1858. Of their three children, the survivor and representa- tive of this branch of the family is Cyrus W. Leverett, one of Alton's prominent lawyers. Professor Leverett's second marriage was with Mrs. Harriot (Abbot) Wilson, who died in December, 1865.

Warren Leverett followed his brother to the west in 1837, and in 1839 became principal of the preparatory department of Shurtleff. He subsequently held the chair of ancient lan- guages until 1868, with the exception of two years when he conducted an academy. During the closing years of his life he had a book busi- ness in Upper Alton. His death occurred November 8, 1872.

He married, in October, 1837, Miss Mary

A. Brown daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Clark) Brown, of New Hampshire. Before her marriage she had been preceptress of a young ladies seminary in Massachusetts, and for nearly sixty years her life was an exalting influence for Shurtleff and Upper Alton. Her literary attainments, with her gentleness of manner and sweet kindliness of disposition, en- cleared her to the hearts of all the students, to whom both she and her husband so cheerfully gave their thoughts, their labors and their lives. She died at Upper Alton, April 3, 1901. They had five children. William Warren, the oldest, was prominent as a lawyer. He en- listed in the Civil war as a private, rose to assistant adjutant and later captain, and his early death, in 1874, resulted from injuries sustained during his service.

Rev. A. K. DeBlois, former president of Shurtleff, in his book "The Pioneer School," pays merited tribute to the brothers who were so long identified with the college. He says : "Both Washington and Warren Leverett were identified with the college in every period of crisis through which it passed, and to their heroic devotion in times of great danger and stress is due the very existence of the institu- tion to-day. They were not mere lecturers, mere instructors, mere disciplinarians. They possessed the spirit and instincts of the true educator. They understood the use of the personal factor. They entered into the lives of their students as a directing force. They were wise counselors. Such men, in positions of responsible influence, guiding the destinies of young manhood, were in themselves a tri- umphant justification of the place and worth of 'the smaller college.' They were thorough in scholarship, and for years nearly all the teaching in the college was done by. them.

"Above all they were Christian men-and this accounts for all else. Their willingness to serve their pupils and their love for genuine scholarship were qualities which found their focus in a loyal devotion to the truth as re- vealed in the teachings and character of Christ. Concerning the spirit which ruled their lives the Hon. Thomas Dimmock, of St. Louis, a student of the '40s, writes: 'During its darkest days they literally carried Shurtleff on their shoulders, and bore the heavy load without a whisper of complaint-brave, true men that they were. My old college never has had, never will have braver and truer ones, if it lives a thousand years.' The character and work of such men are indeed 'a sweet savor of life unto life.' "

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

John Leverett, the second son of Warren Leverett was born at Upper Alton, August 16, 1852. He received his education at Shurtleff, and began business in his father's book store, which he managed for a number of years after his father's death. Since then he has been in the real estate and insurance business. Both as a business man and citizen he has for a number of years been a leader in the affairs of his town, and has large interests there.

In 1877 he married Amy E. Hamilton, daughter of Rev. B. B. Hamilton, of White Hall, Illinois, a young lady of Revolutionary ancestry upon her father's side, and upon her mother's side a descendant in direct line from both Miles Standish and John Alden, of the Mayflower. In addition to a devoted home life, Mrs. Leverett's superior genius for in- itiative and executive work has found expres- sion in the organization of a successful Village Improvement Association, and in an official connection extending over several years with the Dominant Ninth Choral Society of Alton and the National Federation of Musical Clubs, as well as a number of minor and local socie- ties. Their children are : Mrs. Elise (Leverett) Owen, widow of Harry Roach Owen, of Christian county, and Warren Hamilton Lev- erett, at present chief chemist with a large smelting company in Danville, Illinois, whose infant son, Myles Corrington Leverett, repre- sents the coming generation.

Professor Warren Leverett's two daughters both married Shurtleff graduates. The elder, Mary A., married Thomas W. Green, for many years a successful Baptist minister and at the time of his death president of California College at Vacaville, California. The younger daughter, Sarah B., married William H. Stifler, for some years president of Roger Williams University, Nashville, Tennessee, and at the time of his death pastor of the Baptist church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Both daugh- ters returned to their former home and are now residents of Upper Alton.

H. FRED DUSTMANN is one of the up-to- date farmers of Hamel township, and has a high standing not only among the agricultural- ists in the community in which he lives, but has a large circle of acquaintances in other parts of the county. He is both industrious and enterprising-the type of man who is sure to succeed in any walk of life.

Mr. Dustmann's birth occurred August 20, 1854, on a farm near Prairetown. His par- ents, Henry and Lena (Aden) Dustmann, were born in Germany and immigrated to

America separately, were married in Alton, Illinois, and became the parents of ten chil- dren, as follows : Herman (deceased), Henry, William, John, Louie, Mary and Minnie (twins, deceased), Anna, Minnie and Lena. The children all attended school at Prairie- town, near which place their father's farm was situated. H. Fred Dustmann, after con- cluding his educational training, assisted his father with the farm work until the year 1878. At that time he left the parental roof, pur- chased a one-hundred acre farm at Prairie- town, and commenced to cultivate the soil on his own responsibility. At the expiration of five years, during which time he succeeded in putting by some money, he bought a tract of land, one hundred and thirty-seven acres in extent, in Hamel township. During the quar- ter of a century that he has lived there Mr. Dustmann has made his farm one of the most prosperous looking places in that part of the country.

In the year 1878 Mr. Dustmann was united in marriage to Miss Katarina Halbe, a daugh- ter of Henry and Mary (Huppensack) Halbe, who came from Germany. Katarina had three sisters,-Anna and Mary (twins), and So- phia; her only brother, Henry, died. Mrs. Dustmann was a true helpmeet to her hus- band, at all times doing her share in promoting the wellbeing of the household. She died in 1906 and was laid to rest in the Galenbeck cemetery of Hamel township. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dustmann, four of whom died in infancy the names of the liv- ing are,-Mary, Louise, Katie, Emma and Melinda. Mary married Gus Meyer and is the mother of four children,-Maude, Frida, Delia and Wilder; Louise, the wife of Will- iam Gusewelle, has three fine boys,-Arthur, Edwin and Gilbert; Katarina, usually called Katie, is her father's housekeeper.

Mr. Dustmann is aligned as a Republican- a stanch supporter of the principles laid down by that party. His neighbors regard him as a kind and obliging man and they both respect and esteem him.

EDWARD BARNETT, one of Edwardsville's enterprising business men, represents one of the early families that settled and developed Hamel township. Thomas Barnett, his grand- father, was a Kentuckian, and locating in Madison county early in the last century made a homestead which has since been one of the well known farms, and most of the members of the family have engaged in agricultural pur- suits. The late K. T. O. Barnett, whose death

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

occurred in 1902, and was the father of Ed- ward, was born on the old homestead in Hamel township in 1826. He married Sarah Kell, who was born near Worden and died in No- vember, 1893, after becoming the mother of eight children, as follows: Emma, who mar- ried F. A. Maxey; Mary ; Ethel, wife of I. C. Squires, of Edwardsville; Edward, Frank J .; and three others.

Edward Barnett began his education in the Quercus school near the farm in llamel town- ship, where he was born March 9, 1857. His studies were continued in Shurtleff College, at Upper Alton, and after an interval he entered a commercial college in St. Louis and was graduated in 1870. From college he returned to farming, which has been the principal busi- ness of his career. In September, 1891, he located on the old Barnett homestead of two hundred and eighty acres, and for several years continued in general farming and deal- ing in live stock. Later he moved to his home in Edwardsville, and has since been engaged in the himber business and as a dealer in live stock. His material success has been sub- stantial.

In politics Mr. Barnett is a strong Republi- can, and has given much attention to civic dluties of his community, having served as township collector and as a member of the school board. He was married in 1891, to Miss Lila Davis, of Edwardsville daughter of I. A. and Sarah (Judy) Davis. They have three children, Ray E., Edward J. and Sarah.

ROLAN P. HARRIS, vice president of the Ginter-Wardein Company, large dealers in lumber, represents one of the old families of Alton. His father, William L. Harris, was born at Alton in 1832, a year before the set- tlement on the river bluffs had been incor- porated as a town. The family had settled here, therefore, during or previous to 1832 and was among the comparatively small number of that period which still have representatives living in Alton. William L. Harris married Elizabeth Pope, who was born in England in May, 1846, and at the age of eight years ac- companied her family to Alton. She was mar- ried in 1868, and they had nine children : Effie, wife of Hugh Jameson, of Sault Ste Marie ; William A. W .; Jessie May, who died in February, 1909, the wife of William T. Boynton, of Alton; Roland P .; Frank E .; Bertha I .; Melvin J .; Harvey P. William L. Harris was a carpenter and contractor and died January 21, 1891 ; his wife and the mother of the above children is still living.

Roland P. Harris attended the Alton high school three years. He began his business ca- reer in 1891 as pressman for the Sentinel Democrat, two years later became pressman at Kansas City for the Haskell Show Printing Company, remaining there one year, and for two years was with the C. H. McKeel Pub- lishing Company, of St. Louis. As express messenger for the American Express Com- pany, he had a run on the Big Four for five years, and two years as local agent. In July, 1904, on the death of his father-in-law, the late L. I. Ginter, he was made vice president of the Ginter-Wardein Company, and has been actively identified with the business of that firm to the present time. Mr. L. I. Ginter was for thirty-eight years a member of the firm of Wheelock & Ginter, whose planing mill, lum- ber and building business was the foundation of the present establishment of Ginter- Wardein. The old firm was burned out in 1904, and in April of the same year the busi- ness was incorporated under the present name.

Mr. Harris is a member of the Alton Fish- ing Club, the Alton Manufacturers Association and the Retail Merchants Association. He married, May 24, 1900, Miss Virginia Ginter. At her death, June 18, 1903, she left two sons -Louis G., born June 5, 1901, and Roland F., born April 17, 1903, and who died February 10, 1909. On November 7, 1906, Mr. Harris mar- ried Elizabeth Ginter, sister of his first wife. They are the parents of three children: Vir- ginia G., born September 18, 1907; William E., born October 12, 1909, and Elizabeth G., born June 8, 1911.

LOUIS W. DUSTMANN. In the list of those who have laid the foundations of the pros- perity of Madison county by their thrift and wise management of the agricultural resources of the county is Louis W. Dustmann, who be- sides farming his own seventy acres has charge of the fertile home farm of his father, and tends to outside interests as well. Louis Dust- mann is a native son of Ompghent township, having first seen the light of day in that town- ship on the day before Christmas, 1870, the son of Henry and Helena (Eden ) Dustmann and the grandson of Herman Dustmann, Henry Dustmann grew to young manhood in the Fatherland and lived there until his eight- eenth year. In 1847 he decided to try his for- tunes in the broader field of a new country and immigrated to the United States, coming to this country by himself and locating first at Alton, Illinois. For about two months he en- gaged in various kinds of work and then went

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

to Greene county. After several years in Greene county he settled three miles north of Edwardsville in Madison county. While in Alton Henry Dustmann was united in mar- riage to Miss Helena Eden, and they became the parents of eleven children, six of whom are now living, namely: Fred, Henry, Will- iam, John, Louis and Helena, the latter now the wife of William Velsman, of Hamel town- ship. All of the family make their homes in Hamel township except William and Louis. The father and mother make their home with Louis. Henry Dustmann first lived on the Gardner place for a period of two years and then moved to Fort Russell township, to the Flagg place, and later moved thence to his present residence.

On the 22nd of April, 1900, Louis Dust- mann was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Uelsmann, daughter of William Uelsmann, of Omphghent township. Four children have been born to share their happy household, three boys and one girl. Their names are Hilbert, Albert, Lester and Esther, the latter two being twins. All the members of Mr. Dustmann's family are of the German Luth- eran faith and attend the church of that de- nomination at Prairietown and New Gellen- beck.

In the field of politics Mr. Louis W. Dust- mann may be found beneath the standard of the "Grand Old Party," whose interests he has helped to direct for over eight years as a mem- ber of the Republican central committee. His interest in the public welfare has had oppor- tunity for active service to the community during six years in the office of school direc- tor. He is now in his second term as road and highway commissioner.

Mr. Dustmann is the owner of seventy-five acres of most arable land in Ompghent town- ship and he also farms the old Dustmann farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Besides his agricultural holdings he has outside interests in the county, which make of him a very busy man.

MICHAEL SMITH LINK. The death of Michael Smith Link in the centennial year of Madison county's history has taken from it one of the foremost of its citizens. His useful life was a factor in the development of the county and his sincere kindliness of heart and cordiality of manner made him one of the popular men of the district and one whose place cannot easily be filled. His father, Lewis Link, was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth

Davis, was born in Illinois. She was the mother of three sons besides Michael, John, George and Charles. When Michael was ten she died and the father remarried. Another son, Louis, was born of the second union. The father was a farmer, and was proprietor . of a flour mill in Gillespie, Macoupin county, Illinois.

Michael Link was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, in 1858, and went to the public schools of Gillespie. He early went into business for himself as superintendent of a large farm near · Gillespie, and later had charge of an estate near Mitchell. On the 2d of April, 1891, he married Miss Lena Hess, a well known and es- teemed young lady of Choteau township, the daughter of Charles and Charlotte Bruene Hess. Her parents had immigrated from Ger- many before their marriage and were wedded in St. Louis. Later they came to Choteau township and engaged in farming. Their fam- ily consisted of two daughters, Lena and Dora, and three sons, Charles, George and Louis. All were educated in the Mitchell school and carefully trained by their parents. Lena Hess was twenty years of age when she became the wife of Michael Link to whom she was a com- panion and helpmate until his death.

For thirteen years after his marriage Mr. Link continued to superintend the two thou- sand-acre farm of J. J. and William H. Mitch- ell, of which he had previously been in charge, and the young couple lived on this place. They then moved to their own farm of ninety- seven acres, Mr. Link continuing to superin- tend the Mitchell place, which he had so suc- cessfully managed for the long time in which he had been at the head of it. The new home was made as attractive as the youthful enthu- siasm and the prosperity of its owners could make it. The grounds were beautified with shade trees and a handsome and picturesque residence was built on the banks of Long Lake, a spot famous as a summer resort in this part of the country. The careful attention to the conduct of their farm made it a paying propo- sition and they were able to add to their acre- age until they had one hundred and twenty- seven acres of fine productive land and one of the most attractive country places in all Madi- son county.

One daughter has blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Link, Frida Lucile, to whose educa- tion they have devoted their best thought and energy. She attended the Mitchell schools for a time and then entered the Ursuline Aca- demy of Alton, Illinois, from which she gradu-

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Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 24

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