Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 62

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 62

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ville. Mr. and Mrs. Noah Jones had twelve children, two born in Wales and ten in this country. The two that were natives of Wales are living still and of the other ten six are living, as follows : Sarah, Simon, James, Noah, Jr., Mary and Benjamin F. Mr. and Mrs. Jones still live in Taylorville, rejoicing in the prosperity of their children.

From the time of his birth David was a sickly little fellow. He could not toddle about the mountains as his little neighbors did. When he was five years old his parents brought him to America and here, in the Kentucky hills, he soon became strong and well. When he was seven years old he went with his family to Iowa. There he attended the district school and worked on his father's farm in his spare moments. He was not espe- cially anxious to go to school, however, and his parents felt that the outdoor life was what he needed, so they did not insist. The result is that David never got much school- ing. In 1891 the family moved to Troy, Illi- nois, and David worked in the mines with his father. Later they all moved to Venice, and on May 5, 1898, he was put on the police force in that town, which position he filled until he was elected sheriff of Madison county He served one term in this capacity.

On December 25. 1906, David Jones re- ceived the best Christmas present of his life. On that day Elizabeth Hadfield gave herself to him in marriage. She is the daughter of John and Maria Hadfield, both of whom were born in England. No children have been born to this union.

Mr. Jones is a member of the Masonic orders in Edwardsville and East St. Louis. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias in Venice and of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Granite City. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America in Venice and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in East St. Louis. In politics he is a Republican and he is deeply interested in the well being of his county and state. He is a member of the Episcopal church in Col- linsville and a very regular attendant at its services. Mr. Jones has won the esteem and respect of all who know him and his per- sonality is such that he is very popular.

FRANK NICKERL. It is a very difficult thing for a young man to choose the line of work which he intends to follow throughout his life. A very little thing will often cause him to decide, but something just as small may cause him to change. A single stone may

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turn the rivulet of water to the right or the left. It is sometimes said that what we call providence shapes our careers. Undoubtedly something outside of ourselves has something to do with the general direction of a man's life, but the getting on is purely a private affair. Each individual is fated to work out his own career. If he is qualified by nature he cannot be kept down: if deficient he can- not by hook or crook be boosted up. Oppo- sition, adversity and hard luck are powerless to keep a big man in a small place and no set of outside conditions can keep a small man in a big place. Mr. Nickerl, the postmaster of Collinsville, has made many changes in his business since he first started out in life, but he had the mettle in him that is bound to succeed and come to the front. He is one of the most prominent men in Madison county.

He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on the site of the old French market, May 4, 1856. His father, Frank W. Nickerl, was born in Bohemia, in 1816. He was brought up there and there received his education. He mar- ried Anna Heubner, a young Bohemian girl. Soon after their marriage they came to Amer- ica to seek their fortunes. They went di- rect to St. Louis, Missouri, and stayed there until 1868, when they moved to Odin, Illi- nois. In 1870 they came to Collinsville. They had six children, all of whom are living (19II). He died in 1870, and his wife in 1897.

Frank was the third child born to his par- ents. When he was seven years old he went with his parents to Odin, Illinois, and the fol- lowing year came to Collinsville. He was educated in the public schools of St. Louis, Odin and Collinsville. He had a natural apti- tude for carpentering and as soon as he left school he learned the carpenter's trade. In 1873, when he was seventeen years old, he began to work as a carpenter, but he was not able to get enough work to keep him busy. He learned the trade of a cooper and worked at this for two years. In 1876; when he was twenty-one years old, he decided to work in the coal mines and for the next fif- teen years he divided his time between min- ing, carpentering and the cooper's trade and other things. He is a great believer in organ- ized labor and he organized the carpenters' Union March 6, 1891. He was the president of this organization and it was through his influence that the carpenters obtained the con- cessions which they required. He is still a member of this Union. For five years he

served as a clerk in a general store and he organized the Retail Clerks' Union.

In 1877 Mr. Nickerl married Lena John, a native of Collinsville, Illinois. They have been blessed with six children, all of whom are still living. In 1889 his wife died, and in 1890 he married Minnie Boedecker. She was born in Waterloo, Illinois. He has had no children by his second wife.

Mr. Nickerl's fraternal relations have been of a very high order. He belongs to the in- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is a past noble grand. He is also a mem- ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, lodge number 664. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the Red Men and has represented this lodge in the Grand Lodge. He belongs to Mod- ern America and to the Eagles and served as a delegate to Seattle, Washington, from the Eagles fraternal order. There are few men in the state, or even the whole country, who have such a record as the above, and in all his connections Mr. Nickerl has made the best of reputations. Unlike the leaders of most labor unions, Mr. Nickerl is a Republi- can, and a prominent one, too. He has three times served as township clerk, and when he was only twenty-four years old he was superintendent of streets. On February 13, 1908, Mr. Nickerl was appointed postmaster in Collinsville, in which capacity he is still serving and doing excellent work. On Au- gust 1, 1910, the office became a free delivery station, No. 2 Rural Free Delivery. The Pos- tal Savings Bank was established in this city June 27, 19II, and this city was about the sixth in the state where the postal savings system was established. On the Ist of Jan- uary, 1911, Mr. Nickerl was appointed cus- todian of the government site in Collinsville. There is no man in Collinsville who has done more for its uplifting than Mr. Nickerl; there is no man in the county who has done more for its welfare; there is no man in the state who has done more for organized labor ; and there is no man in the United States who has done more to make of himself a man of use in the world. All that he has done is due to his own efforts and his own natural abili- ties. He has forged ahead in spite of all diffi- culties. He is a living example to the young men of Collinsville of what can be done if a man has the right stuff in him.

JOHN MUELLER is one of the honored old residents of Collinsville, where for many years

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

he followed his trade and is now living re- tired in comfortable circumstances. He is a veteran of our Civil war, and though not a native American he has always been a loyal, public-spirited citizen.

He was born in Bohemia, January 22, 1842, and the schools of his native land afforded him a fair education. When he was sixteen years old he landed in New York, in July, 1858. He came on west to St. Louis, and out of the sum with which he paid his way to this country he had but three cents left on arriving in this city. The poor but in- dustrious citizen always has a chance in this country, and he was almost immediately given a place with Schulz Brothers, a firm of painters at Park avenue and Broadway, with whom he began learning the trade, and received three dollars a week during his apprenticeship.

About the conclusion of this period of prep- aration the Civil war broke out, and he en- listed in the Second Missouri Infantry for three years' service, entering Company C of the Second Missouri Infantry. He was with the western armies during their terrific cam- paigns down the Mississippi valley, and among the important battles at which he was a participant were Wilson's Creek, Shiloh and the first and second battles at Corinth, besides numerous skirmishes. After he had served one year he was discharged under the special general order of August, 1863, and then returned to St. Louis. He moved to Collinsville on the 27th of January, 1871, and for a number of years was an industrious worker at his trade. He has taken an active interest in the organization and affairs of the old soldiers, and is now acting commander of Post No. 34. G. A. R. He is a member of the C. S. P. S. society, and in politics is a Republican.

At the close of his army service he was married in St. Louis to Miss Catherine Stumpf, who was born in Germany on August 17, 1843. Seven children were born to them. His son, Edward H., is connected with the Mort- gage & Loan Company of Kansas City, Kan- sas, and is married and has three children. Joseph F. Mueller, another son, was in part- nership with his father up to the time of his death, in August, 1908, when thirty-nine years of age.

WILLIAM H. GRAYSON, M. D. The history of the medical profession in Madison county contains the names and careers of many physicians of ability who in the past century have been identified with the county in the

performance of indispensable services to so- ciety. Of those whose names stand in the most conspicuous places one is Dr. William HI. Grayson, of Granite City, whose active career as physician and surgeon covers a period of forty years, and only a very few still in active practice began their work in this country at an earlier time than did he.

Dr. Grayson was born in Wytheville, Vir- ginia, October 17, 1846, a son of William E. and Lucinda ( Bates) Grayson, both of whom were natives of Virginia. His father was a farmer and tobacco raiser and in 1860 moved from the Old Dominion to Illinois, locating on a quarter section of Madison county land, where he continued a prosperous farmer until his death. He died while on a visit to Ken- tucky. The mother died in St. Louis in 1887. There were eight children in the family, all of whom attained maturity, namely: Dr. W. H. ; B. F .; T. M .; J. A .; George W .; Charles A .; Mary, the wife of Thomas Barnes ; and Sarah.

While a boy in Virginia Dr. Grayson was educated under a private tutor, and after the family had come to Madison county he at- tended McKendree College at Lebanon until 1868. His medical studies were begun under Dr. John T. Hodgen, a prominent physician of St. Louis, and he graduated M. D. from the St. Louis Medical College in March, 1871. As a young medical graduate he had unusual opportunities for that time, as he was con- nected with the staff of the St. Louis City Hospital for six years after his graduation. In 1879 he located for practice at Venice and soon became one of the best known and most reliable practitioners of that locality. In 1900 he moved his office and residence to the new manufacturing metropolis of Granite City, where he has since cared for his large prac- tice. In the line of his profession he is a member of the Madison County and Illinois State Medical societies, the Tri-City Medical Association and the American Medical Asso- ciation.

Dr. Grayson has for many years taken an active and influential part in the public life of his city and county. He is one of the promi- nent Democrats of the county and has sup- ported the party both locally and in the state. In 1884 and again in 1892 he was appointed to the postmastership of Venice. His fra- ternal affiliations are with the order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He is the owner of considerable property in Granite City and vicinity and is one of the prosperous citizens of the county. On July 4, 1871, Dr. Grayson

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married Miss Mary E. Watson, a daughter of John A. Watson, of St. Louis. They have one son, William F., who is also a physician and engaged in active practice at Granite City.

The subject is one of the valued contrib- utors to medical journals. His work on "The Texas Fly," published in 1892, is known over all the United States. The Grayson family had its origin in England, but at an early date in the history of this country located in Vir- ginia, Grayson county of the Old Dominion being named for them. The maiden name of the subject's mother was Lucinda Bates and her uncle, Edward Bates, was a member of Lincoln's cabinet and one of the prominent figures of his time.

AGUSTIN P. McQUILLAN. In the prog- ress and prosperity of Collinsville as a busi- ness center during recent years one of the group of enterprising men who have devoted themselves whole-heartedly to the best inter- ests of the city is Agustin P. McQuillan, the real estate man. He has been a resident of the city only five or six years, but has iden- tified himself with all of its progressive move- ments. At the present time he is the youngest president that the Collinsville Business Men's Club has ever had, all his associates recog- nizing his ability and energy in getting things done for the general good of the city.

Mr. McQuillan was born in Redbud, Illinois, October 17, 1883, and is a son of John B. and Rose (Dinan) McQuillan, both of whom are now residents of Collinsville. He was the , third of the four sons in the family, and was reared in Redbud, where he graduated from the high school, after which he was a student in the East St. Louis high school two years, and also in the St. Francis College-Solonas- three terms. He had liberal advantages and was well equipped for a business career. His first experience in the real estate business was with the Lindon Trust Company, of St. Louis, with which he remained until he came to Collinsville in 1906. On September Ist of that year he engaged in the real estate business with Mr. William G. Burroughs, the attorney. After two years and a half they dissolved partnership. Mr. P. J. Sweitzer was his partner until October, 1909, and then Mr. Renfro until May, 1911, since which time he has conducted a large business on his own account in real estate, loans and insurance. He is individual owner of real estate, and is also a stockholder of the Collinsville Opera House Company. In politics he is Repub- lican. He is a member of the Catholic church, Vol. II-21

has taken the third degree of the Knights of Columbus, and belongs to the Elks Club of East St. Louis.

HENRY W. EBERHARDT. One cannot think of Henry W. Eberhardt without at the same time thinking of a "go ahead" business man. Not only has he been engaged in the con- tracting business all of his life but his father before him was a first class contractor and builder. He imbibed commercial principles from his babyhood; he observed them in his youth and he has practiced them in his ma- turity. The people of Collinsville feel that they have a proprietary interest in him, as he was born here and has spent the best part of his life in their midst. They have watched his development and that of his business. They have seen him grow from being his father's son to a man who has made his own reputation and not content to live upon that of his father, however good that might be.

Henry W. Eberhardt was born in Collins- ville, Illinois, July 18, 1865. His father, Mathias Eberhardt, was born in Germany and came to the United States when he was a young man, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania. He obtained a position with a con- tractor and builder, having learned the busi- ness in the old country of Germany, and he followed it the rest of his life. In Philadelphia he met Susan Bush, a young girl who was born in Germany and had come to America with her parents. The acquaintanceship re- sulted in marriage in 1855, and two years later they went to St. Louis, where Mr. Eberhardt started out on his own account as a con- tractor and builder. About 1859 they moved to Collinsville, where they spent the rest of their lives, Mrs. Eberhardt passing away in 1888 and her husband in 1905, they having left seven children to support the honor of the family.

Henry was the youngest child. He attended the public schools of Collinsville, after which he went to St. Louis to a private college, where he received special training in architecture. He had a natural genius for architectural drawings and for designing work, which led to his speedily becoming proficient in the arch- itectural profession. He came back to Col- linsville and worked with his father, being taken into partnership in 1887. Whether he holds arguments against marriage as an in- stitution or not, the fact is he has never been guilty of attempting it. Several times his friends began to shiver, the tailor to write en- couraging letters and the parents of the girl

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

to take a supercilious interest in him, but there have always been difficulties. He lives with his sister, Sophia, at 207 East Main street, ab- sorbed in his business and in various other in- terests. He is a member of the Business Men's Club ; he is a stockholder of the Opera House Company ; a stockholder of the Herald Publishing Company; a stockholder in the State Bank and in the First National Bank ; he owns four business rooms on east Main street and owns eighty acres of land in Col- linsville township, which he rents to a farmer. In politics he is independent, believing that the right man in the right place is the first consideration. He has never had any desire for political honors himself, being content to leave politics, like marriage, for other peo- ple to look after. He is greatly respected in Collinsville, being absolutely straightforward. in all his dealings with any one with whom he comes in contact and a gentleman of fine personal traits.

JAMES BAILEY. Honesty is the best policy. That truism has been corroborated, vindi- cated and exemplified many times. Perhaps the one characteristic that is most conspicu- ous in James Bailey is his absolute honesty. He does believe it to be the best policy, but that is not his reason for being honest. It is a question whether any one who is honest simply from policy ever succeeded very much. Mr. Bailey is honest simply because his na- ture will not permit him to be anything else.

He was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, November 5, 1869. He is the son of Isaac Bailey, a native of England, who came to this country with his parents when he was a child. The family located in St. Clair county, where he grew up and was educated. He worked in the mines in St. Clair county and later came to Madison county, locating at Collins- ville. While he was at school in St. Clair county he met Hannah Harrison, a young girl who was likewise born in England and had come to the United States when she was a child. Her family had settled in St. Clair county and she was sent to school there. It was natural that the boy and girl with such similar history should become friends and that this friendship should result in marriage. They are both living in Collinsville and have had a family of ten children, six of whom are now living.

James Bailey was the second child of his parents. When he was about five years old the family moved from St. Clair county to Collinsville. He was educated in the Web-

ster School, receiving a good grammar school education, graduating when he was fifteen. He then learned the printer's trade, which he worked at most of the time for seven years, during which time he was compositor of a local paper and also a jobber. After this he went to work in the mines for several years, feeling that although the work was not as congenial as some other kinds, yet he could make monty and have an opportunity for advancement as a miner. He has been engaged in various lines of work since that time and is at present the city clerk of Col- linsville, having been elected on the Labor ticket in the spring of 1909 and re-elected on the same ticket in 1911.

In 1900 he married Mary D. Kohr, likewise a native of France who came to this country at an early age. Four children have been born to the union: Elizabeth, born No- vember 17, 1900; Margaret, born November 8, 1902; Edna, born March 8, 1905; and Salena, born June 14, 1909. Mrs. Bailey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Collinsville, in which she is an active worker.

Mr. Bailey is a member in high standing of the Knights of Pythias, holding member- ship in Mizpah Lodge, No. 86. He is past chancellor. In politics he is a Democrat in national affairs, but in local matters he votes on the Labor ticket. Personally Mr. Bailey is a man of very pleasing manners and of most affable mien. He is fully qualified to fill the duties which his position involves both as to personal characteristics and business abilities. He is held in high esteem by all who know him, both in his official and pri- vate capacities.

CHRISTOPHER A. HARTMANN, cashier of the State Bank of Collinsville, Illinois, although a German by birth is an American at heart; not that he loves Germany less, but that he loves America more. It is natural for a man to have tender feelings for the land which gave him birth, but he has still more reason to feel attached to the country where he gained his education; made his friends ; and has earned not only a competence for himself and family, but it has appreciated his efforts by showing him honors. Mr. Hart- mann has become well known in Collinsville and in Madison county in general, not only through his business connections, but because he has public spiritedly devoted himself to doing everything in his power for the good of his district, his county, his state and his

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

country. Collinsville, Madison county, Illi- nois, the United States, are all his both by reason of adoption and the service he has been to them and they to him.

Christopher A. Hartmann was born at Albertshausen, six miles southeast of Stutt- gart, in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, in the southern part of Germany, October 17, 1848. His father, Christopher Hartmann, was born and grew up in the same little town, where he was a cloth manufacturer. He married Agnes M. Kiebauer, a German girl, and they had four children. Mr. Hartmann died in 1852, in Germany. After his death his widow did not care to stay in the little town where they had lived together. She went to France and there married Christian Roth, a German by birth. The marriage took place at Paris, France. Mr. Roth regarded the four chil- dren as his own and he considered there was more chance for him to give the family a good living in America than in Germany. Accordingly, he and his wife with the chil- dren embarked in a sailing vessel for the United States. They landed at New Orleans and came up the Mississippi to St. Louis, Missouri, and thence direct to Collinsville, Illinois, reaching that town May 10, 1857. Mrs. Roth died December 16, 1876.

Christopher lived the first eight years of his life in his native town. When he was six years old he went to the public school and remained there until his mother brought him and the other children to the United States, when he was eight years old. After the family settled in Collinsville Christopher attended the public school there, and he also went to the public school in Troy, Illinois, and to the Jones Commercial College, St. Louis. After he left school he clerked for a while and for some years he engaged in various kinds of business in different places. On January 13, 1896, he entered the employ of the State Bank at Collinsville, and is now the cashier.

On April 13, 1875, he married Annetta Bachmann, a young woman of Swiss parent- age, but she was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She was educated in the public schools of Hillsdale, Michigan, where the marriage oc- curred. Mr. and Mrs. Hartmann have had ten children, of whom eight are living (19II) : May A. is unmarried and lives at home with her father; Annetta is the wife of Louis Wittenfeld; Reuben C. is a book- keeper in the bank where his father is cashier; C. A. Hartmann, Junior, is the pay-

ing teller in the National Bank of St. Louis, Missouri; Cora B. and Pearl R. are both graduates of the Webster school; Roy O. is not intending to enter the banking business, like his father and brothers, but is taking a course in civil engineering at Valparaiso, Indiana; the youngest child is Homer C. and he is still in the public school.

Mr. Hartmann is a member of the German Lutheran church and the whole family at- tend there. They are all actively engaged in carrying on the work of the church, Mr. Hartmann being a trustee. In politics he is a. Democrat and has held several offices in the town. During the administration of Grover Cleveland he served as post-master, holding the office four years and four months, from 1886 to 1890, and he served five years as tax collector. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Hartmann is interested in real estate. He has a most interesting family and might well congratulate himself on their success and feel that he had done well if he had nothing to be proud of on his own account. As a matter of fact, however, he is a man whom his associates say is pos- sessed of a very high sense of honor, and along with this goes a pleasing manner that has made him popular in public and private life.

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Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 62

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