USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 72
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WILLIAM R. MICHAEL, D. V. S., whose citi- zenship is a valuable adjunct to Madison county, is a prominent veterinary surgeon at Highland, Illinois, in the vicinity of which place he has resided during practically his en-
tire lifetime thus far. Dr. Michael was born on a farm near Highland on the Ist of January, 1876, and he is a son of Nicholas and Mary (Hirni) Michael, both of whom are now liv- ing. The father was identified with the great basic industry of agriculture during the greater portion of his active career and he and his wife became the parents of eleven children, of whom the Doctor was the third in order of birth.
Dr. Michael was reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the old homestead farm, in the work and management of which he carly became associated with his father, and his rudimentary educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the neighboring district schools. In 1897, at the age of twenty-one years, he went to the city of Chicago, where he was matriculated as a student in the Chicago Veterinary College, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1901, duly receiv- ing his degree of Doctor of Veterinary Sur- gery. Immediately after graduation he re- turned to Highland, where he initiated the active practice of his profession and where he has won prestige as one of the finest veterinary surgeons in Madison county. In 1911 he erected his hospital in the eastern part of the city and he controls a large and lucrative pat- ronage. In connection with his professional work he is a valued member of the Illinois State Veterinary Society and of the American Veterinary Association. In his political pro- clivities he is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party and while he does not take an active part in public affairs he is deeply and sincerely interested in all that af- fects the good of the general welfare. He is a stockholder in the East End Bank at High- land and is also financially interested in a number of other monetary concerns of a local nature.
In the year 1906 was recorded the marriage of Dr. Michael to Miss Matilda Buchter, who was born and reared in Highland and who is a daughter of Catherine Buchter. Dr. and Mrs. Michael are the parents of two children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here entered,-Janett, born on the 29th of February, 1907 ; and William, Jr., born on the 13th of September, 1910.
In their religious belief Dr. and Mrs. Michael are consistent members of the German Evangelical church, in the various departments of whose work they are active and zealous factors. In a fraternal way the Doctor is af-
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filiated with Helvetia Lodge, No. 699, Knights of Pythias, in which he is past chancellor. He is a man of broad information and deep human sympathy and the list of his personal friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances.
WILLIAM H. PAUL. An industrious and well-to-do agriculturist of Fosterburg town- ship, William H. Paul has brought to his call- ing excellint business methods and good judg- ment, and in his operations is meeting with well-merited success. Like many other of Madison county's prosperous residents, he was born in the land beyond the sea, his birth hav- ing occurred December 1, 1843, in Germany. In 1851 he was brought to Illinois by his par- ents, Philip Henry and Catherine ( Maxheiner ) Paul, who settled on a farm in Madison county and here spent their remaining days.
The eldest child of the parental household, William H. Paul, began when young to earn money, which was scarce in those days, and, with his father, used to cut wood for fifty cents a cord. Patriotic and public spirited, he en- listed in the Union army in August, 1861, on account of the Illinois quota being filled becom- ing a member of Company I, Ninth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and was sworn in at St. Louis. The following spring he was trans- ferred to the Fifty-ninth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, commanded by Colonel B. Sydney Post, and took part in the engagement at Pea Ridge. With his regiment he then proceeded to Cape Girardeau, from there going by boat to Ham- burg Landing, thence to Corinth, Mississippi, where, after taking part in a hard fought bat- tle, he was in camp for a month. He was then sent with his comrades to Tennessee, thence to Kentucky, where his company, at the battle of Perryville, met its Waterloo, but three of its members escaping either injury, capture or death, Mr. Paul himself receiving a wound that kept him in the hospital a month. Rejoining his regiment at Nashville, Tennessee, he fought at the battles of Stone River, Lookout Mount- ain, Missionary Ridge, and was under General Thomas at the battle of Chattanooga. With his comrades he marched to Atlanta, Georgia, during the three months that he was en route having numerous encounters with the enemy. In September, 1864, at the expiration of his term of enlistment, he was honorably dis- charged from the service.
Returning home, Mr. Paul assumed the man- agement of the farm, his father having died in 1863, and assisted in supporting his mother and the family, continuing there until 1869. After his marriage he rented the land which
he now occupies, and in 1882 became its owner. In 1906 he bought the old home farm of twenty acres, and has now a valuable farm of one hundred acres, which he devotes to general farming and dairying, keeping fifteen cows. He has been engaged in the milk business for forty years, having begun that industry soon after beginning life for himself, and is meet- ing with good success, the products of his dairy amounting to about two thousand pounds of butter a year. He makes a specialty, how- ever, of raising poultry, having about three hundred white leghorn chickens, which are considered the best egg producers known.
Mr. Paul married, in 1869, Mena Madden, who was born December 28, 1844, a daughter of John Madden, of Madison county, Illinois. Mrs. Paul died in 1899, leaving seven chil- dren, namely : Mrs. Emma McCauley, born in 1870 : Philip, born in 1873 ; John, born in 1876; Louise, born in 1880; Hattie, born in 1882; Kate, born in 1886, and Herbert, born in 1889.
Mr. Paul is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to Fosterburg Post No. 746.
HENRY BERNHARDT. There are turning points in every man's life called opportunity. Taken advantage of they mean ultimate suc- cess. The career of Henry Bernhardt is a striking illustration of the latter statement. Diligent and ever alert for his chance of ad- vancement, he has progressed steadily until he is recognized as one of the foremost agri- culturists in Jarvis township to-day. Here he is held in high esteem by his fellow men, who honor him for his native ability and for his fair and straightforward career. Henry Bernhardt was born on a farm in Jarvis town- ship, Madison county, Illinois, on the 10th of August, 1860. His parents, Peter and Mary A. (Schwerdfeger) Bernhardt, were both born and reared in Germany, whence they im- migrated to America in early youth. He came to Jarvis township, Madison county, Illinois, in 1852 and located at what was then known as "Black Jack," where he began to work out as a farm hand. Beginning life with practi- cally nothing to back him except his own pluck and indefatigable energy, he made the most of circumstances and in time became the owner of a tract of forty acres of land. Prior to this time he had married and for a number of years farmed on rented land. At the time of his demise, which occurred in 1902, he was the owner of a fine rural estate of one hun- dred and sixty acres, all of which he had ac- cumulated through his own well directed ef-
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forts. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bernhardt became the parents of five children, concerning whom the following brief data are here inserted,- Elizabeth is deceased; Henry is the imme- ciate subject of this review ; John is engaged in farming in Jarvis township; Fred is en- gaged in the blacksmithing business at Collins- ville; and Peter maintains his home at Ed- wardsville, where he is also identified with blacksmithing. The devoted wife and mother passed to the life eternal in 1897.
Henry Bernhardt grew up on the old home farm in Jarvis township and he attended the district schools until he had reached the age of fourteen years. At that time he began to assist his father in the general supervision of the old homestead and he remained under the old roof-tree until he had reached his twenty- ninth year. Since that time he has been in- terested in farming and stock-raising on his own account and he is now the owner of a fine farm of eighty acres, the same being eli- gibly located some two miles distant from Troy. In his political proclivities he is a stanch Republican and at the present time he is a member of the Jarvis township board of school trustees. In a fraternal way he is af- filiated with the time-honored Masonic order, in which he is a member of Troy Lodge, No. 588, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, in ad- dition to which he is also connected with the Court of Honor and with the Modern Wood- men of America. His religious faith is in harmony with the teachings of the German Evangelical church, at Troy, and he has ever been an active and zealous factor in connec- tion with the work of the church, having served with the utmost efficiency in various official capacities. Descended from a sterling old German family, Mr. Bernhardt is thrifty and industrious in his business affairs and by reason of his square and honorable dealings he has won the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.
In Jarvis township, on the 20th of Novem- ber, 1888, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Bernhardt to Miss Ida Hoge, who was reared and educated at Troy, where her birth oc- curred on the 4th of November, 1867, and who is a daughter of Fred Hoge, long a repre- sentative citizen of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Bernhardt have two children,-Henry P., born on the 15th of March, 1893, is single and remains at home with his parents; and Ida E., whose natal day was the 2d of July, 1900, is a pupil in the neighboring district school. The Bernhardt home is the scene of many
merry social gatherings and here is dispensed the most generous hospitality.
THEODORE ITTNER. Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial development it is im- possible clearly to determine. Yet the study of a successful life is none the less profitable by reason of the existence of this uncertainty and in the majority of cases it is found that ex- ceptional ability, amount to genius, perhaps, was the real secret of the pre-eminence which many envied. So it appears to the student of human nature who seeks to trace the his- tory of the rise of Theodore Ittner, a typical American of the best class. He is yet a young man but has achieved a success that many an older resident of Madison county might envy. For fully a score of years Mr. Ittner has been identified with the business of the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company at Highland, Illinois, and at the present time, in I9II, he is cashier of that company, being also a stockholder in the same.
Theodore Ittner was born at Highland, the date of his nativity being the Ist of April, 1875, and he is a son of Andreas and Elizabeth (Job) Ittner, both of whom were born and reared in the kingdom of Bavaria, where was solemnized their marriage and whence they immigrated to the United States in the year
1855. Mr. and Mrs. Andreas Ittner became the parents of seven children, of whom Theo- dore was the second youngest in order of birth and two of whom are living at the present time. Mr. Ittner is now living retired at Highland, having reached the venerable age of seventy- five years. Mrs. Ittner is a woman of seventy- three years of age.
To the public schools of Highland Theodore Ittner is indebted for his primary educational training, and at the age of fifteen years he en- tered the employ of the Helvetia Milk Con- densing Company as office boy, receiving fif- teen dollars per month in compensation for his services. With the passage of time he was promoted to the position of bookkeeper of that concern and in 1907 he became cashier. He is also a stockholder in the company, in addition to which he is likewise a stockholder in the State & Trust Bank at Highland. His ad- vancement in the business world is entirely due to his own well directed endeavors, for he has himself built the ladder by which he has risen to prominence. The beautiful Ittner home near the milk factory is one of the most attractive residences in Highland and is strictly modern
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in all its appointments. In his political al- legiance Mr. Ittner is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party and in a social way he is affiliated with the Sharpshoot- ers, the Turners and the Singers. He is a man of mark in all the relations of life and is eminently well deserving of representation in this volume devoted to the careers of promi- nent citizens of Madison county.
On the 22nd of September, 1903, Mr. Ittner was united in marriage to Miss Emma Koch, who was born and reared at Highland and who is a daughter of Christian Koch and a sister of Louis and Adolph Koch, of this place. Mr. and Mrs. Ittner have three sons,-Francis, aged seven years, in 1911 ; Vernon, aged four years ; and Robert, aged six months. The re- ligious faith of the Ittner family is in harmony with the tenets of the German Evangelical church, to whose benevolences and charities they are generous contributors.
MAURICE MARCOOT, who is now living vir- tually retired from participation in active busi- ness affairs at Highland, Illinois, is an hon- ored veteran of the Civil war and at the pres- ent time, in 1911, is serving with the utmost ef- ficiency as justice of the peace of Helvetia township, having been elected to that important office in 1880.
A native of Madison county, Illinois, Mr. Marcoot was born on the 18th of March, 1845, his parents being Martin and Agnes (Risch) Marcoot, both of whom were born, reared and educated in Switzerland, where their marriage was solemnized in 1837 and whence they im- migrated to the United States about the year 1840. After their arrival in the United States Mr. and Mrs. Martin Marcoot located at High- land, Illinois, in the vicinity of which place he entered a farm and where in addition to agricultural pursuits he also taught school for a number of terms. He was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1866, and his cherished and devoted wife, who survived him by a numbered of years, passed away in 1873. They were the parents of nine children, of whom but two are living in 1911, namely,-Rosina, who is the wife of Charles N. Bardsley, of Idaho, and Maurice, the immediate subject of this review.
Mr. Marcoot, of this notice, was reared to the invigorating discipline of the old homestead farm, in the work and management of which he early began to assist his father. At the age of ten years he became errand boy in a groc- ery store at Highland and when he had reached his fifteenth year he was an itinerant merchant,
running a peddling wagon on the prairies. He was a lad of sixteen at the time of the incep- tion of the Civil war and his boyish enthusiasm was immediately fired for the cause of the Union. At the first call for volunteers he en- listed as a soldier in Company B, Fifteenth Missouri Infantry, and subsequently he veter- anized in the same regiment. He served con- tinuously until January, 1866, when he re- ceived his honorable discharge and was mus- tered out of the army. He participated in all the important engagements marking the prog- ress of the war in which his company took part, and during the period of his service he trav- eled three thousand, two hundred and ninety miles by railroad and two thousand three hun- dred and thirty-four miles by water. Among some of the battles in which he took part are those of Pea Ridge, Perryville, Stone's River, Missionary Ridge, Knoxville, the Atlanta cam- paign, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. He was wounded at Missionary Ridge and after his convalescence was promoted from the rank of private to that of sergeant. He ac- quitted himself with the utmost honor and dis- tinction as a soldier and after the close of the war he returned to his old home in Madison county. He was still under twenty-one years of age but initiated his independent career as a farmer, continuing to be engaged in that line of enterprise during the greater part of his active career.
In politics Mr. Marcoot is aligned as a stal- wart supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor and he has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in community affairs. In 1882 he was elected township clerk of Leef Township and he was the efficient incumbent of that im- portant office for a period of twelve years. In 1880 he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of justice of the peace of Helvetia township, serving in that capacity at the present time. In fraternal channels he is affiliated with Highland Lodge, No. 583, An- cient, Free & Accepted Masons ; and Highland Chapter, No. 169, Royal Arch Masons, of which latter organization he is secretary. Mr. Marcoot is one of the old and honored residents of Madison county, where he is well known as a man of sterling integrity and worth and where he and his wife are accorded the high regard of their fellow citizens.
On the 4th of October, 1866, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Marcoot to Miss Mary F. Long, whose birth occurred in this county on the 26th of March, 1849, and who is descended
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from a fine old Virginia family, her parents having come from the Old Dominion common- wealth to Illinois in the year 1827. Mr. and Mrs. Marcoot became the parents of nine chil- dren, of whom seven are living at the present time, in 1911,-Louis A. is a railroad con- ductor by occupation and resides at Fort Worth, Texas; John is a farmer in Bond county, at Smithboro, Illinois ; Maurice, Jr., resides in Salt Lake City, Utah; Martin, who was a soldier in the Spanish-American war, maintains his home at Enid, Oklahoma ; Ben- jamin F. lives at Trinidad, Colorado ; Mary is the wife of Samuel Michael, of Highland, Illi- nois ; and Charles W. is a railroad postal clerk, his headquarters being at Caldwell, Kansas. He served for eight years in the United States navy. The beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. Marcoot is located on Pestolozzi street and the same is the scene of many attractive social gatherings. In their religious faith they are devout members of the Free-thought church and they are generous contributors to all char- itable and benevolent projects.
ALBERT H. KYLE, D. V. S. It may almost be said that Dr. Kyle, of Highland, Illinois, is a veterinary surgeon by inheritance, his father and grandfather having been ardent devotees of that profession and four of his brothers being now most successfully engaged in the practice thereof. He is a scion of an old and distinguished family of Madison county, Illi- nois, where the name of Kyle has long been one of power and influence.
Dr. Albert H. Kyle was born on a farm three miles east of Highland, the date of his nativity being the 11th of May, 1860. He is a son of William F. and Mary (McLillie) Kyle, both of whom were likewise born in the vi- cinity of Highland, in Madison county, and both of whom are now deceased. The father was a farmer and veterinary surgeon by occu- pation and he was a man of note in his home community. He and his good wife became the parents of eight children, of whom the sub- ject of this review was the third in order of birth and eight of whom are living at the pres- ent time. William F. Kyle was called to eternal rest in the year 1898, and his cherished and devoted wife passed to the higher life in I900.
Dr. Kyle, the immediate subject of this re- view, passed his boyhood and youth on the old homestead farm, in the work and management of which he early became associated with his father. After a good common-school educa- tion he studied veterinary surgery under the
able preceptorship of Dr. Crowley, of St. Louis, for a time and subsequently he entered the American Veterinary College, in New York city, remaining as a student in that in- stitution for a period of one year, at the ex- piration of which he was matriculated in the American Veterinary School at Chicago, being graduated in the latter institution as a member of the class of 1892, with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. For a short time Dr. Kyle was engaged in the practice of his pro- fession on the old home farm but late in 1892 he established his professional headquarters at Highland, where he conducts a hospital in connection with his work and where he con- trols a splendid patronage. He has the reputa- tion for being the first graduated veterinary surgeon at Highland. His beautiful residence and hospital are located on the corner of Lemon and Truxter streets, and it is worthy of note here that the house is an old historical landmark, it having been the stopping-place of Abraham Lincoln when that great man was in Highland; the place was then owned by Joseph Suppiger. In addition to his profes- sional work Dr. Kyle is a stockholder in the First National Bank at Highland and he is also interested financially in the John Wildi Milk Condensing Company.
At Highland, in the year 1892, Dr. Kyle was united in marriage to Miss Lena Fellhauer, a native of Madison county and a daughter of Matthew Fellhauer, long a representative cit- izen of Highland. Dr. and Mrs. Kyle have three children : Wilbert of St. Louis, Missouri, and Raymond and Mary, who are both at the parental home, attending school at Highland.
The Kyle family are devout members of the Congregational church, to whose good works they contribute liberally of their time and means. In politics the Doctor accords an un- swerving allegiance to the principles and pol- icies promulgated by the Democratic party, in the local councils of which he is an active and interested worker. Dr. and Mrs. Kyle are prominent in connection with the best social activities of Highland and they are everywhere accorded the unqualified confidence and esteem of their fellow citizens, who honor them for their exemplary lives and sterling integrity of character.
LOUIS J. RUHR. As secretary and treasurer of the Highland Embroidery Works, Louis J. Ruhr holds distinctive prestige as one of the representative business men of Highland, where he has passed the greater portion of his life thus far. Mr. Ruhr was born in this city
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on the 18th of October, 1872, and he is a son of Louis and Mary (Spindler) Ruhr, the former of whom was born in the great Empire of Germany and the latter of whom claimed Highland, Illinois, as the place of her nativity. The father was reared to adult age in his native land, whence he immigrated to the United States about the year 1869. Imme- diately after arriving in this country Louis Ruhr proceeded to Madison county, Illinois, and at Highland he was for some years en- gaged in the mercantile business. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1886, and his beloved wife passed to the great beyond in 1892. Louis J. Ruhr was the only child of his parents and he received his elementary edu- cational training in the public schools of High- land. At the age of sixteen years he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he secured- work in a prominent business house as bookkeeper.
The Highland Embroidery Works was es- tablished at Highland, Illinois, in the year 1882, and two years later it was incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois with a capital stock of fifteen thousand dollars. In 1892 Mr. Ruhr returned to Highland from St. Louis and here accepted a position as bookkeeper in the office of the above company. After a lapse of two years he showed such a splendid knowledge of the business of the embroidery works that he was made a member of the firm and elected to the office of secretary and treas- urer, which important position he has retained during the long intervening years to the pres- ent time, in 1911. The directors of the com pany are J. J. Spindler, Bertha Spindler and L. J. Ruhr, J. J. Spindler holding the office of president. Eighty per cent of the output of the factory is sold in the east, mainly in New York city, Boston and the New England states, and the same consists of embroideries of every nature and description. A large sales office is maintained in New York city and the same is managed by Mr. Spindler. Mr. Ruhr has proved himself to be a business man of unusual executive ability and tremendous vitality, and inasmuch as his advancement is the direct out- come of his own well directed endeavors it is the more gratifying to contemplate.
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