USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 4
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CHRISTIAN H. KUNNEMANN, in the office of recorder of deeds of Madison county, has made a record of official service which has been convincingly approved by the people in his successive re-elections to the office since he first entered it in 1900. He is a native of this county, born in Nameoki township, December 3, 1865, and was educated in the common schools and at a commercial college in St. Louis. He began his business life as a clerk in a store at Venice, and in 1890 engaged in
business for himself at Nameoki, as a dealer in groceries and farm implements. Five years later he sold out, and afterward became a traveling salesman for the wholesale fruit and produce house of Shaw & Richmond, of St. Louis. His business covered fifteen states of the Union. He severed his connection with the firm in 1900 to become the Republican candidate for the office of recorder and has since devoted his attention to the affairs of office. His career from the start has been a steady progress in increasing responsibili- ties and faithful performance of duties. Be- sides his present office he has served as as- sessor of Chouteau township. He is one of the influential Republicans, and has served as central committeeman and as executive com- mitteeman.
Mr. Kunnemann's parents were William and Minnie ( Wessel) Kunnemann, both na- tives of Hanover, Germany. His father was a settler on the American Bottoms in this county in 1854 and for many years was en- gaged in farming. He was born February 11. 1829, and died October 31. 1899. His wife was born in January, 1831, and died December 5. 1896. They were the parents of nine children: August, who died in 1895; Henry, who died in 1873; William Albert ; John ; Christian H., Louis ; Dena ; and Minnie. The survivors are all residents of this county.
Mr. Kunnemann married, October 29, 1891, Miss Ida C. Kahle, daughter of Frederick and Katherine ( Habrock) Kahle, who were also natives of Hanover. Mrs. Kunnemann was born in this county in 1871, and is the mother of two children, Ivy and Myrtle. Mr. Kunnemann affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen, the Elks and the Eagles, and he and his wife are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church.
HERMAN KABEL, a retired farmer, residing at Bethalto, Madison county, Illinois, has made a record for himself as a thresher, in which branch of the agricultural industry he has been actively engaged for a period of forty years. In this age of specialization the man who becomes proficient in any one part of the calling which he follows is more apt to be suc- cessful than the man who indulges in more general efforts.
In the thriving town of Deutsch Krose, in Prussia, Herman Kabel began life on the 14th day of August, 1843. He is a son of Carl and Wilhelmina Kabel, both natives of Prussia, where they passed their youth, later were mar-
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ried and became the parents of eight children. In 1847 the father died, leaving to the widow the task of raising the family. For six years after her husband's death she struggled to keep her children together, and in 1853 she determined that she would see if she could not do better by them and for herself in America. Accordingly she bade farewell to her many friends, to her four eldest children, to the grave of her husband, and to her native land, and took passage for the new world, accom- panied by her four children,-Robert (now deceased), Minnie (who later married Mr. Witherhalt of Shawneetown), Herman and Bertha (wife of Mr. Manahan, of Streator, Illinois). On their arrival in America the mother and children went to Shawneetown, Gallatin county, and there they lived for the ensuing six years, coming to Madison county in 1859 and locating in Moro township. The widow Kabel was united in marriage in Ger- many to Nicholas Wagner, who died in 1891 ; on being bereaved the second time, Mrs. Kabel took up her residence with her son Herman, who filially cared for her during the remaining fifteen years of her life. She died May 13, 1906, at the age of ninety-two.
When Herman Kabel was four years of age his father died, and the little lad was too young to have any recollection of Mr. Kabel, Sr. The boy entered the excellent schools of his native town, receiving the ground work of an excellent education, but when he was ten years of age he accompanied his mother and brother and sisters to America, so that his further schooling was continued in the United States. He lived at Shawneetown, Gallatin county, until he was sixteen years old, when he and the rest of the family moved to Moro township. When he was twenty-six years old he commenced to farm for himself, buying a a place of eighty-eight acres in section 31, range 6, township 8, and on this farm he lived until 1908; during the years of his residence he found that the land was underlaid with coal to a depth of five and six feet, so he pro- ceeded to work this mine. As mentioned above, he threshed for forty years, and for about the same period he has also been en- gaged in mining. In 1908 he rented his farm to a tenant and bought a fine residence prop- erty at Bethalto, the commodious dwelling in which he may be found today.
On the 29th day of December, 1868, Mr. Kabel was married to Miss Sarah Henderson, of Catlin, Illinois, where her parents, John and Mary Henderson, were well known and
highly respected residents. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kabel the following children were born,-Minnie, whose birth occurred April 23, 1871, and who is married to Mr. Largent; Charles, born September 8, 1872; May, who began life on the 16th day of July, 1877, and later became the wife of Mr. Mutz; George, the date of whose birth was May 5, 1879, who was a miner and farmer and mar- ried Margaret Green of Moro; Bessie, the date of whose nativity was August 12, 1884, and who became the wife of Mr. Ralph Green. Charles died September 10, 1899.
Mr. Kabel is affiliated with the Masonic Order, with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Modern Woodmen of America. In religious connection he has for years been active in the Moro Presbyterian church, where he holds the position of elder. He is deeply interested in all educational mat- ters and for a period of nine years he has served as school director, with a district ad- vantage to the schools.
JOHN ZIKA. At this juncture in a volume devoted to the careers of representative citi- zens of Madison county, Illinois, it is a pleas- ure to insert a brief history of John Zika, who has ever been on the alert to forward all measures and enterprises projected for the general welfare and who is now devoting his time and attention to diversified agriculture, his fine estate being located in Hamel town- ship, three miles distant from Edwardsville.
John Zika was born in Madison county, Illi- nois, in 1875 and is the son of Michael and Josephine Zika, both of whom were born and reared in Bohemia, whence they immigrated to the United States in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Zika came to Madison county, Illinois, and here the father was identified with agricultural operations during the greater part of his active career. Mr. and Mrs. Zika be- came the parents of eight children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth, - John, Joseph, Michael, William, Charlie, Frank, Anna and Mary. John Zika was reared to maturity on a farm in Madison county and his early educational training con- sisted of such advantages as were offered in the district schools of the locality. Soon after his marriage, in 1901, Mr. Zika established the family home on a finely improved farm in Hamel township. He is engaged in general farming and the raising of high-grade stock. He has been successful in his ventures and is recognized as one of the influential citizens of the county. In religious matters he and his
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wife are devout members of the German Luth- eran church at Edwardsville.
On the 19th of February, 1901, was re- corded the marriage of Mr. Zika to Miss Lena Eilers, who was born in Germany and who is a daughter of Tony and Hilda Eilers. Mrs. Zika accompanied her parents to America when she was a child five years of age and she was reared and educated at Alhambra, Illi- nois. She had three brothers, one of whom is deceased, namely, Tony. The others are Theo- dore and George. Mr. and Mrs. Zika became the parents of two children,-Esther and El- nora. The children grew up happily together until Elnora had reached the age of four years when she was killed by the accidental dis- charge of a gun, while at play with another little girl. Mr. and Mrs. Zika are esteemed as kind neighbors and good citizens. Their lives have been marked by those principles of in- dustry and honesty that command for them confidence and respect and make their names worthy of a place in the Centennial History of Madison County.
CHARLES BOESCHENSTEIN is a native of Madison county and was born at Highland, on October 27, 1864. Hle is of Swiss descent. His father, whose name was also Charles, was born March 9, 1829, and was a son of John M. and Anna (Singer) Boeschenstein, of Stein am Rhein, Canton Schaffhausen, and came to this country in 1848 to join an uncle, John Boeschenstein, who had come there some ten years before and who was engaged in the mercantile business at Highland.
Charles Boeschenstein, senior, worked for his uncle for some time, and then secured the contract to carry the mail between Highland and St. Louis, and in connection with this service operated a stage line between the two points. This was before any railroads were built through the county, and he made the journey from Highland through Troy and Collinsville, to Illinoistown, now East St. Louis, crossing the river by ferry as there was no bridge, the trip occupying a day each way, except at seasons of the year when the roads were very heavy. In 1861 he was elected justice of the peace, and he held the position until his death. He served at different terms as clerk of the board of trustees of the town, and was special collector of the tax that the citizens had voted upon themselves to aid in building the Vandalia railroad. He was for
many years a member and secretary of the school board. He died March 23, 1883.
His wife was Louisa R. Leder, daughter of John and Marie Leder, pioncer residents of Looking-glass Prairie, south of Highland, who also were natives of Switzerland. They were married October 31. 1857. She died May 13, 1901. Their family consisted of six children, of whom three are now living-Charles, of Edwardsville: Adolph, of Marshfield, Wis- consin, and Mrs. Emily Iberg, wife of G. J. Iberg, of Los Angeles, California.
Charles Boeschenstein, the subject of this sketch, attended the public schools at High- land and Washington University at St. Louis. He manifested early a preference for the printing business and when fifteen years old purchased a small printing outfit, with which he printed cards which were sold through boys who acted as agents. He became publisher of the Herald at Highland, August 20, 1881. The paper had been started by business men in order to give the town an English publication, and they placed it in charge of a manager. After operating for several months this plan of running the paper proved unsatisfactory and it was sold to Mr. Boeschenstein. He set about reorganizing the plant and the paper built up a creditable circulation and business. One of the things advocated by it of a public nature was the construction of a telephone line between St. Louis and Highland by way of St. Jacob, Troy and Collinsville. The company agreed to build, if citizens of the towns along the line would subscribe $1,000 in return for coupons good for long distance service. This amount was made up and the line was built, it being the original long distance line through the county. The paper owned the first type- writer brought to Madison county, the ma- chine, a Remington, being purchased with a provision that the purchaser should receive a commission on every machine sold in the county within two years; however, not one was sold.
On January 26, 1883, Mr. Boeschenstein purchased the Intelligencer at Edwardsville, and merged the Herald with the Intelligencer, enlarging the latter from four pages to eight pages. The development of the Intelligencer has been steady and substantial. On January 2, 1893, the paper was changed to the twice- a-week form. On January 5, 1895, it was changed to every-other-day issue, Sundays ex- cepted. The daily issue was inaugurated on
Charles Borschenstein
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January 14, 1907, which is its present form, the edition being printed every afternoon ex- cept Sunday. The paper purchased the first linotype in Madison county, November IO, 1899, and had one of the early one-machine plants in Illinois. A perfecting press printing from stereotype plates was installed in Au- gust, 1905, and is the only stereotyping plant operated by a newspaper in the county.
Mr. Boeschenstein was elected mayor of Edwardsville on April 29, 1887, and served two years. During his term of office a con- tract was entered into for illuminating the streets by electricity, the city having had no public lighting prior to that time. During this period the last of one of the old series of railroad bonds was paid and the way was cleared for refunding another series that had been voted by the citizens upon themselves in the days when railroad building was a craze.
Mr. Boeschenstein was one of the organ- izers of the Madison County State Bank, which opened for business May 3, 1897, and he was elected a director and secretary of the institu- tion. This bank was consolidated with the Bank of Edwardsville, July 8, 1899, and he was elected a director of the latter and was afterwards made vice-president, serving in this capacity for seven years.
He was one of the organizers of the Ed- wardsville Water company. He started to advocate steps towards securing a plant some years before the movement took tangible form, but the supply presented a problem that re- quired several years to solve. When it was satisfactorily determined he was one of the incorporators of the company. He was chosen a director and officer of the company when it was chartered in April, 1898, and continues his connection to the present time, being the vice-president.
In 1903 he succeeded in securing a donation from Andrew Carnegie for the erection of a public library building, which was constructed on the west side of the City park. He was named as one of the directors and was made president of the library board.
He was one of the organizers of the South- ern Illinois Press Association in 1883, and was chosen secretary. He is a member and has been president of the Illinois Press Associa- tion. He is also a member of the Illinois Daily Newspaper Association. He enlisted as a member of the Illinois National Guard in 1885 and served six years, during the last three of which he was a member of the regimental staff.
Mr. Boeschenstein is a lifelong Democrat and has taken a deep interest in the prog- ress of his party. He drew his political in- spiration from Col. William R. Morrison, for many years a conspicuous figure in politics of the state and nation, and who was one of the early advocates of tariff reform in con- gress. Mr. Boeschenstein filled various posi- tions on county and district committees. In 1900 in a caucus of party leaders at the state convention he was chosen as the candidate for secretary of state, but he declined the honor.
He was elected a member of the state central committee at the convention in 1900, and on the organization of the committee was chosen vice chairman. He was reelected in 1902. In 1904 he was again elected as a member of the committee and was made chairman. He was reelected in 1906, 1908, and 1910, serving eight years as chairman. In 1912 by unanimous vote of the delegates to the Baltimore national convention he was chosen as a member of the Democratic national committee for Illinois.
Mr. Boeschenstein was the first to suggest the idea of a public observance to commemo- rate the Io0th anniversary of the establish- ment of Madison county, and the inauguration of representative government in Illinois, and to advocate the erection of a suitable memorial in honor of the early settlers, and the notable men who had lived in the county. He was elected president of the Madison County Cen- tennial Association, which, during the week of September 14-21, 1912, signalized the anni- versary. The state of Illinois participated formally, unveiling a memorial monument on the public square in Edwardsville.
On November 10, 1892, he was married to Miss Bertha Whitbread, of Edwardsville. Her parents are James and Mina Rinne Whit- bread. John Whitbread, her grandfather, was a native of London, England, and came to Edwardsville in 1842. He established the stock yards at Venice, which was the first en- terprise of that kind in this section of the country. His son James, who was born October 1, 1839, started in the stock business and was also for some time connected with other members of the family in the wholesale grocery business at Quincy. He subsequently returned to Edwardsville and engaged in the stock and meat business in which he continued until his retirement in 1895. Mrs. Whitbread was born June 3, 1842, and is a daughter of William and Sophie Rinne, who came from
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Stadthagen, Germany, in 1848, and located on Liberty prairie, a few miles north of Edwards- ville. They were married October 29, 1861, in Edwardsville.
Mr. and Mrs. Boeschenstein have three children, Eleanore, Harold and Charles Krome.
ANTONE DENZER, superintendent of the Madison Coal Corporation, started to follow in his father's footsteps, but he has made tracks of his own, branching out in other directions than those taken by his father. He has seized every opportunity to fit himself for whatever might turn up. Each man catches fish that are just as large as his line will allow. The ques- tion is are we going to angle for minnows or for whales. Education will change the fish- erman's cotton string into a steel rope that will hold any catch. Education does not comprise simply the things that one learns while at school ; it signifies the drawing out of what is best in a man and putting his resources to the best possible use. His success cannot exceed the efficiency of his line and he cannot borrow another man's line. Mr. Daenzer, although he did not have very much schooling, is, never- theless, an educated man in the most compre- hensive sense of the word. He has observed and studied as he went along and he has achieved more success than the man who has been to school more and thinks that the training obtained there is going to carry him through without further effort on his part.
Antone Daenzer was born in Fredeburgh, Germany, March 10, 1850. His father, Frank Daenzer died on the 27th of April, 1826, at received his education in Germany. He mar- ried Catherine Kerchner, a young German maiden. He was a practical miner and worked in the mines in southern France and in South Africa. He was a born linguist and at the time when he came to America could speak seven languages. He and his wife and family came to the United States in 1850 and went at once to the mining district of Illinois. They located in Belleville, Illinois, and there Mr. Daenzer worked in the mines and together they brought up the family. Mr. and Mrs. Daenzer had three children, all living. Mr. Daenzer died on the 27th of April, 1826, at West Belleville, St. Claire county, and his wife in November, 1903. They were both buried at Belleville. Mary, the second child, married John Routh, superintendent of the Missouri and Illinois Coal Company, and they live in Belleville. Caroline is single and lives here too.
Antone was the eldest child, and he came to America from Germany when he was very young. He came to this county in 1861, in a sailing vessel, spending forty-two days on the ocean, and landed in New Orleans. He went to the public school in Belleville and got a fair education, but after he began to work he realized the necessity of further learning and he attended night school. He was a skilled mechanic and a practical miner and when he was very young he became superintendent of the Missouri and Illinois Mining Company, located at Belleville. In 1892 he came to Glen Carbon as district superintendent of the Mladi- son Coal Corporation, owning two mines and a washer. He is a practical miner and that added to his business capacity has given him the responsibility he now possesses.
In 1874 he married Susanna Neutzling, a young woman of German parentage, but she was born in Belleville, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Antone Daenzer have three children. The eldest, Tillie, is the wife of Joe Kistner, a machinist in the Illinois Central Railroad shops at East St. Louis. John, the second child, is married to Miss Henshaw and they live in Glen Carbon. The youngest, E. R., is married and has a position as clerk with the Dunks Coal Company in St. Louis.
Mr. Daenzer was brought up in the Catho- lic faith and he is a member of the Catholic church. He belongs to three fraternal orders, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ma- sons. He holds membership in the Freeberg Blue Lodge and in the Edwardsville Chapter, No. 146, Royal Arch Masons and the Con- sistory at Chicago, having taken the thirty- second degree in masonry and is a member of the Mystic Shrine at Peoria.
Mr. Daenzer has risen to the top of his pro- fession. He has raised a family to be a credit to the community. He may justly feel that his life has been worth living, for he has been of use in the world.
WILLIAM D. ARMSTRONG in the field of musical culture has contributed to his native city no less substantial benefits than the prom- inent manufacturers and business men have accomplished in their respective spheres. A representative of one of Alton's old families. and for many years the possessor of a na- tional reputation as a composer and teacher, by choice he continues his residence here and through his work and a public-spirited influence promotes the welfare of Alton.
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Born February II, 1868, educated in the Al- ton schools and by private tutors, his talent for music was displayed in childhood, and his first training was received in his home locality. He learned organ building under Joseph Gra- tian at Alton. He was successively the pupil of Benedict Walter, Charles Kunkel, E. R. Kroeger, P. G. Anton and Louis Mayer of St. Louis, Clarence Eddy of Chicago, and Dr. G. M. Garratt of Cambridge, England. He began teaching at Forest Park University, St. Louis, and at the same time was organist in one of the city churches. In 1891 he became musical di- rector of Shurtleff College, and has also been an instructor of music at the Western Military Academy. The W. D. Armstrong School of Music was established at Alton in 1910, and has been successful in all its departments. As- sociated with him in this school are Mr. E. R. Kroeger, Mrs. C. B. Rohland, Mrs. G. G. Craig, Mr. W. E. Yates, Mr. D. E. Stoeckel and Mr. Paul E. Harney.
Mr. Armstrong has published over one hun- dred and fifty compositions. Among them are :- Evening Service in A. Nunc Dimittis in F (Novello Ewer & Co., London). Three compositions for piano, Pastoral for organ, four arrangements for organ, Star of Glory quartette for female voices, and Intermezzo for piano and organ (Arthur P. Schmidt, Bos- ton). Impromptu a la valse for piano, Gon- dellied for piano (G. Schirmer, New York). Fantasie for organ, Andante religioso for or- gan, three songs for soprano, Jubilate in G, Benedictus in F (William E. Ashmall, Phila- delphia ). Three male quartettes, Awake My Soul quartette (J. M. Russell, Boston). Ga- votte B flat, Forest Scenes, La Jota, album of five pieces, twelve chromatic studies for piano, Fair Poland piano duet, Gloria in Excelsis quartette, and thirteen songs (Kunkel Bros., St. Louis). His orchestral works have been played by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Theodore Thomas Orchestra of Chi- cago.
The music world recognizes in Mr. Arm- strong a teacher of unusual ability from the fact that a very large number of his pupils are now filling responsible positions in leading col- leges and conservatories. These pupils, by the work .they have accomplished, have proved that their instructor ranks among the foremost teachers in the country.
He is a member of Guild of Church Or- ganists of London and American Guild of Or- ganists ; has served as vice president of the Music Teachers National Association and
president of the Illinois Music Teachers Asso- ciation. He is a member of the Episcopal church of Alton; in politics, a Republican.
The Armstrong family has been identified with the citizenship and business history of Alton and vicinity since the pioneer era. George Armstrong, grandfather of W. D. Armstrong, was a native of Leeds, Yorkshire, England, and settled in Philadelphia about 1830. He was married in the latter city to Catherine Dawson, who was a native of New Jersey. During the decade of the '30s he mi- grated to Illinois. In the east he had followed the trade of cloth finisher, but after locating in Alton conducted one of the early hotels here. A strong anti-slavery man, George Armstrong lived in Alton long enough to become a friend of Lovejoy. He died in August, 1865, and his wife, April 23, 1868. Their children were: Mrs. Hannah Johnson, Mrs. Elizabeth Soule, Thomas, William, John and Catherine.
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