USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 37
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county. His offices are in the Judd & Gonter- man building.
Dr. Zoller was born at Murphysboro, Jack- son county, Illinois, March 10, 1877, a son of Christian H. and Sarah (Layne) Zoller. Both parents reside in Murphysboro, his father be- ing a retired business man. After graduating from the Murphysboro high school Dr. Zoller attended the state normal at Carbondale, and from there entered medical college to prepare for his profession. He is the physician and surgeon for the National Enameling & Stamp- ing Company. He is a member of the Madison County and the Illinois State Medical Socie- ties and the American Medical Association, and fraternally is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the order of Elks at Granite City.
In 1907 Dr. Zoller married Miss Philippine Hoffman. They are the parents of one daugh- ter, Sarah Margaret.
CIIRISTIAN KNACKSTEDT. Daniel Webster once said : "Let us never forget that the culti- vation of the earth is the most important la- bor of men. Man may be civilized in some de- gree without great progress in manufactures and with little commerce with his distant neighbors. But without the cultivation of the earth, he is, in all countries, a savage. Until he gives up the chase and fixes himself in some place and seeks a living from the earth, he is a roaming barbarian. When tillage be- gins, other arts follow. The farmers, there- fore, are the founders of civilization. A rep- resentative of this independent and wholesome class in Madison county is Christian Knack- stedt, a farmer and stockman. He was born in Bond county in 1870 and is the son of Christian and Katie (Ludwick) Knackstedt. His parents were natives of Germany, but im- migrated to this country early in life and were married in Worden, later taking up their resi- dence in Old Ripley township. The father was a farmer and a veteran of the Civil war, hav- ing been first lieutenant of a company of Mis- souri cavalry. Fraternally he was a member of the order of Workmen. The children born to this worthy couple were as follows: Lena, now Mrs. Albert Gruner, of McPherson county, Kansas; Mary, now Mrs. Frederick Stalhutt, of Worden, Illinois; and Christian, the subject of this review. When Christian was but two years of age his mother died and his father married Johanna Roffmann, five children being born to this union, namely : William, Herman, Charles, Louis and Emma. The children of the Knackstedt household ob- tained their education in the Ray district
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school of Bond county, and.also in the Ger- man school.
Christian Knackstedt remained beneath the home roof until he became nineteen years old and then obtained employment of farmers in the locality. In 1891 he was united in mar- riage to Mary Hamann, who was born in Leef township in 1872, the daughter of Christian and Vina (Stolka) Hamann. The father was a native of Germany and a soldier in the Ger- man army for several years. The Hamanns were married in St. Louis and their children were Louisa, Henry, William, Emma and Mary, the latter the wife of the immediate subject of this record. All the young people received their education in the Rockwell school. The father was one of Bond county's agriculturists.
Following the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Knackstedt, they located on a rented farm in Bond county, where they resided for three years, and then removed to Madison county, where for nine years they rented land. Their energy and industry and thrift were such in the happy early years that they eventually found themselves financially able to purchase one hundred and seventy acres in Leef town- ship-fine productive land-and here they have ever since resided. In 1911 Mr. Knack- stedt purchased fifty-five acres in Saline town- ship. He has proved a sensible and success- ful farmer as well as a good citizen and his well-tilled fields are eloquent of his excellent methods.
In course. of time there came to share the home of these good people six children, namely: Emil, Albert, Edward, Nora, Or- ville and the baby, Martin, all promising and prepossessing young citizens. The oldest boy, . Emil, has finished the Old Ripley township schools.
The subject, being recognized as one of the township's stanch and high-principled citi- zens, has been called to fill several positions of trust. He filled the office of school direc- tor in most satisfactory manner for five years. He also served as township collector of Leef township and was the only collector to win the blue ribbon in Madison county for having collected every cent of tax due. His was the remarkable record of not having one delin- quent on his books. In fact, in all good move- ments he takes an active interest. In his po- litical affiliations he is a stalwart Republican and has ever given valuable allegiance to his party.
The fraternal relations of this representa- tive farmer of Leef township extend to the Woodmen's Lodge in Alhambra, and both he and his wife are members of the German Evangelical church of Old Ripley, in which he fills the office of trustee. In boyhood he hauled bricks to build this church. Although only now in the prime of life, he has witnessed wonderful changes here since the day he took dressed logs to St. Louis, crossing the Missis- sippi river on the ice.
Mr. and Mrs. Knackstedt have a pleasant hospitable home and enjoy the possession of hosts of friends, their pleasant personalities and useful, honorable lives making them well- deserving of the same.
JOHN A. SUTTER, a well-known and well- to-do merchant of Alton, is also one of its successful and active business men and an important factor in promoting its prosperity. As a citizen he is held in high repute, while by his excellent character and straightforward business methods he has fully established himself in the esteem and confidence of the people. A son of John Sutter, he was born in Alton, his birth having occurred January 21, 1860.
John Sutter was born in April, 1829, in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, where his parents spent their entire lives. He and a brother who died in early life were the only members of the family to cross the ocean. Completing the course of studies in the public school, he served an apprenticeship at the cab- inet maker and carpenter's trade, becoming an expert in the handling of tools. Embarking on a sailing vessel in 1854, he came to America, being several weeks in making the voyage. Af- ter following his trade in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, for a time, he sailed down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Tennessee, where he worked for awhile on a large plantation. Com- ing to Alton in 1857, he followed carpentering until 1864, when he engaged in the retail fur- niture and undertaking business. He succeeded well in his operations, and in 1870 started a furniture factory, which proved to be an un- wise proceeding, as in eighteen months he closed his plant and resumed the retail furni- ture business. In 1899, having acquired a fair share of this world's goods, he gave up active pursuits, and lived retired until his death, in February, 1907. The maiden name of the wife of John Sutter was Anna Schaefer. She was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, where her parents were life-long residents.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
The only child reared by his parents, John A. Sutter attended the schools of his native city as a boy and youth. Trained to habits of industry and thrift, he began assisting his father in the store while yet a lad, and ere many years had mastered the details of the furniture trade. Upon the retirement of his father, Mr. Sutter succeeded to the business, which he has since conducted in a systematic manner, finding both pleasure and profit in its management.
MATHIAS B. PEARCE. One of the most prominent and prosperous of the agricultur- ists and stock raisers and dealers of Madison county, Illinois, is Mathias B. Pearce, whose splendid farm of three hundred and sixty highly improved acres is situated in Olive township, of which for one term Mr. Pearce served as supervisor. This venerable gentle- man has ever taken an active part and inter- est in public affairs and stands high in local councils. He was born in Saline township, Madison county, on March 29, 1839, and is the son of James and Frances ( Martin ) Pearce. They came to Madison county among the pi- oneers, as early, in fact, as 1815, and located in Pin Oak township. They made two subse- quent removals, the first to Saline township and the second to Olive township, in 1848. The father resided here until his death, in 1864. The mother was born in the state of Kentucky and survived her husband for a number of years, her demise occurring in 1872. Of the five children born to these worthy Illi- nois citizens, four were still living in 1911, and are as follows : Sarah E., wife of Dr. Will- liam Olive, of Houston, Texas; Rachel M., wife of James Faber, of Texas; Mathias B., of this review ; and T. M. Pearce, of Burleson, Texas. These were the children of his second marriage, eight sons and a daughter being born to a previous union, but all of the num- ber being deceased with the exception of James Pearce, of California.
Mathias B. Pearce passed his boyhood days in Saline and Olive townships, and such edu- cation as he received was in the subscription schools. However, the educational discipline was of a decidedly limited character. but he has much repaired its deficiencies since those days by his own intelligent reading and study. Young Mathias remained under the home roof until his marriage at about nineteen years of age. Miss Margaret A. Keown becoming his wife, and the year of their union being 1858. Mrs. Pearce was born in Madison county and like her husband lived within its
pleasant boundaries throughout the course of her useful life, dying March 31, 1871. To them were born eight children, four of whom died in infancy, and the remainder are as fol- lows : Edward Pearce is a druggist at Worden, Illinois; Larkin A. Pearce is located at Al- hambra and is a rural mail carrier; George Pearce, a graduate of the St. Louis School of Pharmacy, died December 19, 1910, at Ft. Worth, Texas; and Mary Frances, who mar- ried Ellis Olive, died, leaving four children, three of whom survive.
The subject has lived on his present farm since 1858. This tract, as mentioned in a preceding paragraph, consists of three hundred and sixty acres. His dealing in live stock en- grosses him largely, his operations in the same being on a scale of many car-loads. In poli- tics he affiliates with the Democratic party, and aids in the promotion of business and so- cial harmony by a straightforward course as a citizen. He is not a member of any church.
H. D. WETZEL, proprietor of a hardware store in Alhambra, is regarded by his fellow citizens as a man of uprightness and honesty of intent and deed, and his business methods are a reflection of his character. No business can be upright while it leans to doubtful meth- ods, and the fact that Mr. Wetzel's store is receiving the large share of patronage which it enjoys is indication of the satisfaction which is felt by his customers. Mr. Wetzel is not one of those who thinks that to take undue profit from a customer is a sign of astuteness, any more than it is a sign of financial genius to give a blind man short change.
Mr. Wetzel was born on a farm one mile north of Alhambra, June 7, 1859. His grand- father, Frank Wetzel, was one of the pioneers of St. Clair county, Illinois, and he was sub- ject to numerous hardships and privations such as were characteristic of life at that date. At one time he was driving his oxen across the Mississippi river, which was frozen over; as he was about to step on the ice he discovered that it was very thin, and, unable to recall his cattle, he saw the ice break and the animals drown, while he was powerless to render any assistance. He had in his wagon a dollar's worth of green coffee, a luxury for his good wife; the coffee went down with the wagon, and although Grandmother Wetzel regretted the loss of her coffee, she was only too thank- ful that her husband had been spared a like fate. Grandfather and Grandmother Wetzel were natives of Germany and had immigrated to America in 1844, with their son, John, then
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a young man. He remained in St. Clair county, Illinois, until his marriage to Miss Gertrude Tripple, likewise of German birth. The couple commenced their wedded life in Alhambra township, where Mr. Wetzel en- gaged in farming and where they reared their nine children, five sons and four daughters, as follows, -- Philip, Mary, Frank, Lizzie, Sophia, Johnnie (deceased), Clara, Johnnie and Henry (whose name initiates this biogra- phy). The children grew in an atmosphere of industry and contentment; their home was the scene of much merry-making and at times of sadness. One event in particular was such a shock to the father that his hair turned white in three days; he was engaged in team work one day, accompanied by his sixteen-year old son, Johnnie ; the lad fell from the wagon, head foremost ; the blow rendered him unconscious and he never rallied again. When Father and Mother Wetzel migrated to Alhambra town- ship they found an unbroken wilderness and Mrs. Wetzel often quaintly remarked that all she could see was the prairie and Heaven. With characteristic industry and perseverance they worked industriously to make their home ; they had both been accustomed to the rigors of pioneer life and they expected all sorts of hardships. Their first bedstead they made of walnut wood, which they themselves nailed together. Father Wetzel recognized the bene- fits of religious training in the community, and he was active in assisting to build the first German Evangelical church in Alhambra, which stands today as a monument to the energy and zeal of these pioneers. Mr. Wet- zel and his wife were both honored members of the church. In the course of the years of Father Wetzel's residence in Alhambra town- ship his industry was rewarded by success and at the time of his death he was the owner of a thousand acres of good land.
The first twenty-four years of the life of H. D. Wetzel were passed on his father's farm, during which time he received some schooling and learned also how to do all kinds of farm work. He today owns a farm of one hundred and sixty-four acres of finely cultivated land, two miles from Alhambra in Olive township. He is also the proprietor of the well-known hardware store in Alhambra, where he is con- ducting a successful business and he himself is regarded as one of the enterprising mer- chants of Alhambra.
In 1883 Mr. Wetzel was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Henties, of Marine, Illinois. She was a daughter of Fred and Catherine
Henties, honored residents of Madison county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Wetzel became the parents of three children,-Edwin, married to Hilda Sager, now residing at Trenton, Illi- nois ; Mabel, who died at the age of six years ; and Joseph, fourteen years old, at home with his father. On the 17th of February, 1897, the mother of these three children was summoned to the rest eternal, and in 1899 Mr. Wetzel was wedded to Miss Gussie Tripple, of Tren- ton, Illinois, where she was born in 1865. She is a daughter of Philip and Eva Tripple. To this second union two sons were born,-Clin- ton, aged eight years, and Madison, who did not survive infancy. All Mr. Wetzel's chil- dren have attended the Alhambra school, which is said to have produced more teachers than any township in Madison county.
In his political sympathies Mr. Wetzel has ever been stanch in his allegiance to the Dem- ocratic party, while his religious beliefs have remained true to the faith in which he was trained (that which is taught by the German Evangelical church), and his membership, as well as that of his wife, is in the church which Father Wetzel helped to establish. Mr. Wetzel is classed among the representative business men of Alhambra; his good-natured and genial manners have won for him many friends and his commercial integrity has com- manded the confidence of the community.
CHARLES O. NASH, merchant tailor at Ed- wardsville, was born in the city of St. Louis, in January, 1874, and has lived in Edwards- ville since he was four years old. His educa- tion was obtained in the public schools of this city, and he began his career as a clerk and has worked his way to independence in busi- ness. He is a practical tailor and his shop has a reputation among a large patronage.
Mr. Nash is a son of Charles H. and Sarah B. (Williamson) Nash. They are natives of Ohio, came to Illinois in early life, and in 1878 located at Edwardsville, where they still reside.
In 1909 Mr. Nash married Miss Fannie Mahler, of Edwardsville. Mr. Nash is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
EDWIN H. RIEHL. One of the most valu- able and interesting citizens of Godfrey town- ship, Madison county, is Edwin H. Riehl, a florist, horticulturist and expert fruit grower. Mr. Riehl has experienced no small amount of material success and prosperity, but he is over all and above all a scientist who loves his work and whose investigations and discoveries in
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
his delightful field have made the world richer, and particularly that portion of it known as Madison county, Illinois. He is a constant student of his calling and keeps in touch with what florists and horticulturists are finding out over all the world.
Mr. Riehl was born May 31. 1869, in Jersey county, Illinois, and is a son of E. A. and Ma- thilda (Roesch) Riehl. The father is a native of St. Louis county, Missouri, and the mother of Stuttgart, Germany. The subject is fol- lowing in the paternal footsteps, for his father also holds high rank as a horticulturist. The date of the elder gentleman's exodus to Illi- nois was 1865 and shortly thereafter he pur- chased a farm in Jersey county, which was the scene of his enlightened operations in fruit growing. His fine fruit farm is situated on the border between Madison and Jersey coun- ties. E. A. Riehl was the father of nine children. Frank is a resident in Washington state, where he is famous as a crack shot and where he represents the Union Metalic Arms Company ; Helen, now Mrs. McLennan, makes her home at Corvallis, Oregon; Alice, Mrs. Starr, resides at Olympia, Washington ; Anna, now Mrs. Thompson, is a teacher and mission- ary at Wonsan, Korea; Amelia, Julia, Emma and Walter as yet remain beneath the home roof.
Mr. Riehl, immediate subject of this review, resided with his father until his thirty-second year and under the excellent tutelage of that gentleman received his training in the depart- ment of agriculture, of which he is at the pre- sent time such an ornament. In 1901 he es- tablished himself upon a more independent footing and came to Godfrey township, where he purchased a small but valuable farm, forty- five acres in extent, upon which to grow flow- ers and fruit. The place which was known as the John Howard Nursery, had previously been used for this purpose, but was run down and neglected, but Mr. Riehl, with character- istic energy and enterprise proceeded to build it up and has been wonderfully successful in this. He is widely known as an experimenter and propagandist of new fruits and his nurs- ery is a rarely interesting place. He is now engaged in conducting an experimental station for the Illinois State Horticultural Society and it is his distinction to have originated hundreds of varieties of new strawberries which are recognized as the best on the mar- ket. The love of discovery was innate in him apparently, for as a boy he originated the Ruby Strawberry. Other fine fruits of which
he is the originator are the Monarchi and Gor- geous Mulberry, the Illinois Peach, Riehl's Best Pear. Ile also has thousands of seed- lings, unnamed, but numbered. The open se- cret of his success is the fact that he loves his work.
Not the least interesting of Mr. Riehl's la- bors are those with flowers. His ten acres of peonies is one of the show places of Madison county in blooming time, his being particu- larly of the May varieties. He is a whole- sale florist. He also raises the finest sweet potatoes, his field with its even vine-covered rows being a beautiful sight. He raises thou- sands of roses, and over one hundred thou- sand gladiolas, peonies and dahlias yearly.
Mr. Riehl has for ten years been president of the Alton Horticultural Society (the second oldest society in the United States) and for the ten years previous he was secretary of the organization. He is talented as an editorial writer, was formerly assistant editor of the Rural World and is a member at the present time of the Advisory Board of the Farmer's Voice, published in St. Louis.
Mr. Riehl was happily married in 1899, the young woman to become his bride being Olive M. Lowe, daughter of Samuel S. and Belle (Cooper) Lowe, old residents of Upper Alton, where they were born and reared. Samuel Lowe is a son of William C. Lowe, a pioneer of this locality, and the mother is a daughter of L. J. Cooper, one of the first sheriffs of Madison county. Mr. and Mrs. Riehl share their delightful home with the following quar- tet of children: Norma, Archie, Virginia and Allan E.
N. O. NELSON, founder of the model manu- facturing village of Leclaire, near Edwards- ville, was born in Lillesand, Norway. Septem- ber 11, 1844. He was two years old when his parents and a party of seventy neighbors came to this country by way of New Orleans in 1846, in pursuit of that larger activity and lib- erty which the far-famed prairies of the west and the republican doctrines of the country offered to all who were fitted to use them. They settled at St. Joseph, Missouri, where his father carried on farming for a number of years, and where N. O. Nelson was reared and received his early education. During the Civil war he served in the U. S. Quartermaster's Department.
In 1868 he married Almeria Posegate, the daughter of a leading citizen of St. Joseph. There were five children, only two of whom are now living-Julia Nelson Lawnin and
nonelson
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Charlotte Nelson Burroughs, who reside in Edwardsville.
In 1872 he moved to St. Louis and within a year was partner in a thriving business. The Jay Cooke panic of '73 disposed his partner to give up the business, but Mr. Nelson persuaded him to make a stand till' they were over- whelmed. They made the stand and weathered the storm. In 1877 he started his own busi- ness on Second street in St. Louis. Since that time his business of manufacturing and job- bing of plumbers' supplies has grown to enor- mous proportions.
Mr. Nelson was a member of the St. Louis citizens committee that helped to settle the great railroad strike of 1877, when riot and ยท destruction swept from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi. The irrepressible conflict that then waged between Capital on the one side and Labor on the other is what determined Mr. Neison to his plan of profit-sharing with his employes, and later caused him to better their living as well as their working conditions by establishing the manufacturing village of Leclaire in 1890. In another portion of this work is given a sketch of this community, which is the only one of its kind in Madison county and has features which are of particu- lar interest to the world at large. Here are located the principal factories of the N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Company. The general offices of the company are at St. Louis, and an- other branch of the manufacturing department is at Bessemer, Alabama. They maintain branch jobbing stores at San Francisco, Los Angeles, Memphis and Pueblo. The principal officials of the company are: N. O. Nelson, president; L. D. Lawnin and A. B. Pierce, vice-presidents, and J. B. Chambers, secretary and treasurer.
Through his original ideas on profit-sharing and co-operation, and his ability to have his plans carried out on a practical and paying basis, Mr. Nelson has achieved a world-wide reputation among circles interested in social and industrial economics.
In 1895 he was a delegate to the meeting in London, England, of the Co-operative and Profit-sharing Associations the world over. From 1887 to 1890 Mr. Nelson was a member of the St. Louis city council, but aside from this has never been identified with politics, ex- cept on the board and independent basis of standing for the best in men, methods and ideas, regardless of party affiliations. His in- terest in profit-sharing, co-operation and phil- anthropy has grown with years, and at' the present time is particularly directed toward Vol. II -- 13
ameliorating the condition of the poor in New Orleans.
Mr. Nelson's home is at Leclaire, adjoining Edwardsville, where he is one of the most esteemed citizens.
JOSEPH LUDWIG. To be numbered among the prominent, prosperous and progressive cit- izens of Madison county is Joseph Ludwig, whose finely improved farm of two hundred acres is located three and three-fourths miles north of Saline, and who in addition to gen- eral farming raises stock extensively. He is a native son of the county, his birth having occurred here in 1868, the son of John and Eva (Aebly) Ludwig, natives of Germany. The elder man was also a farmer by occupa- tion and made his residence in Leef township. He and his capable wife were good and indus- trious people and their right living was re- warded by prosperity which enabled them to purchase several farms, together comprising some one thousand acres, all of this having grown from the most modest beginnings. Their union was blessed by the birth of a number of children, as follows: Mary, Bar- bara, Anna, John, deceased, David and Daniel, twins, who died in infancy ; Christian, Adolph, Emil and Joseph. This family proved one creditable to the community and they were characterized by true German thrift and en- ergy. The subject's father and mother were excellent citizens and contributed very mate- rially to the upbuilding of the interests of the community in which they lived. They were members of the German church of Grant Fork. They trained their children in the way they should go and when they arrived at manhood they were counted as men of sterling char- acter, honest and industrious and commanding the respect and confidence of the community.
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