USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 74
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widow of Barnhardt Suppiger ; Carrie, Sophia and Louis are single; Emma is Mrs. Louis Steinegger ; and Bertha is Mrs. John Westoff. The sons are Otto, Louis and John Geismann.
Until fourteen years of age John Geismann went to school in Highland. Then, in 1879, he began to learn the tinner's trade and spent one year at it. In the fall of 1880 when the present station building was completed he started in railroad work as general utility boy and made himself not only useful but indis- pensable. He gradually rose until he is now in charge of the agency in the same building having served as messenger boy, station bag- gage master and day and night operator. In the thirty-one years of his work for the rail- road he has been agent at Pierron, St. Jacobs, Collinsville and Greenville, besides being eight years agent at Highland.
Mrs. Geismann is the daughter of John Long of Collinsville. She became the wife of Mr. Geismann October 28, 1890. Their family numbers three sons and four daughters. They are named Stella, Frank, Zitha, Joseph, Law- rence, Helen and Dorothy.
Politically Mr. Geismann is a Republican. He is a charter member of the order of the Knights of Columbus at Highland and is secre- tary of the order. His forty-sixth birthday was July 19, 1911, and though he has spent a good two-thirds of those years in railroad work he has by no means confined his interests nor his frends to any one circle. He is a man who well deserves the regard in which he is held by his large circles of friends and acquaintances.
C. E. HARNSBERGER, M. D., is a successful medical practitioner of Alhambra, Madison county, Illinois, and has there engaged in the work of his profession for a quarter of a century. Madison county is justly proud of its high standing in the state of Illinois, and one of the reasons of its prosperity is the fact that it contains so many capable men in the different professions. Alhambra points with pride to its physicians, and among the follow- ers of this noble calling Dr. Harnsberger has a high standing.
The worthy Doctor is today residing in the home where he began life on March 6, 1854. He is a son of Levi and Nancy E. (Tunnell) Harnsberger, the father a scion of a family of Swiss origin, one member of which family came to Virginia in the old colonial days and became the founder of the American branch of the Harnsberger family. Levi H. Harns- berger was born in Rockingham county, in
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the old Dominion in 18II. When he was four years old he accompanied his parents to Trigg county, Kentucky, and located near Cadiz, where he was reared and educated. In 1831 he came to Alhambra township, Madison county, Illinois, where he entered 160 acres of land from the government, which land has always remained in the possession of the Harnsberger family. When a young man Levi Harnsberger was married to Miss Nancy E. Tunnell, a daughter of James and grand- daughter of William Tunnell, an Englishman. James Tunnell was a native of North Caro- lina, but he was reared in Tennessee, and dur- ing the War of 1812 he served as captain of a Tennessee company. Mrs. James Tunnell, who before her marriage was Miss Dicy Hos- kins, was a native of Tennessee, and her father, Elias Hoskins, was of English birth. The Tunnell family moved to Madison county, where they were pioneers in this sec- tion of the country. Calvin Tunnell was a hunter of great repute, and in a history of his life, which was prepared by himself and left to his friends, he relates a thrilling experience which he once had with a panther. He was out on a little expedition when an exception- ally large specimen of that cat-like tribe was suddenly and unexpectedly discovered crouch- ing ten or twelve feet from Mr. Tunnell. The panther's muscles were quivering ready for the spring he anticipated making, his vast pro- portions revealed a mass of nerve and sinews and his great hollow eyes, with their lurid glare, were fastened upon the valiant hunter. Realizing the importance of making a certain shot, Mr. Tunnell found his whole system was braced for the occasion; his nerves had never seemed so steady; his mental powers seemed gigantic, while physically he felt as if he possessed the strength of a horse. In a moment he seemingly did more thinking than would ordinarily fill a week and the evolu- tions of thought rolled through his mind with the velocity of lightning. Taking deliberate aim, Mr. Tunnell fired whereupon the monster sprang into the air with a fearful cry, fell again in almost the identical spot, then rose once more in his death frenzy, leaped towards the redoubtable hunter and fell three feet from him, to rise no more. The panther measured ten feet and, inasmuch as Mr. Tun- nell was out alone on the prairie, where he had gone to find pasturage for the cattle, he felt that he might congratulate himself on his escape from death.
Dr. Harnsberger's mother was born in Ten-
nessee, February 2, 1815, and when she was two years old she migrated with her parents to Madison county, Illinois, where they lo- cated in Wood River township. Mr. Tunnell made his own sugar, raised his own tobacco and supplied his family with meat shot by his own gun. The family experienced all the hardships and trials of pioneer life, but they succeeded in their farm life and became no- table in the community in which they resided. Mrs. Levi Harnsberger had one brother, Will- iam W. Tunnell, who married Letitia McKee and became the father of five sons and three daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Levi Harnsberger were married December 2, 1841, and com- menced their wedded life on the old home- stead where the Doctor resides. Father Harnsberger was one of the foremost farm- ers of Alhambra township and he had many exciting experiences in his pioneer days. At one time on his return journey from the grist mill situated about ten miles east of his resi- dence he was attacked by two fierce prairie wolves and it taxed all his powers of inge- nuity and bravery to keep the fierce animals at bay. He whipped his horses to a gallop and when he was near to the house the rave- nous beasts withdrew. On another occasion, when he entered the house in the evening, his wife suggested that he should go out and see what was the matter with the dogs, who had been barking so long; he went out into the prairie, where, to his surprise, he saw the largest deer that he had ever beheld. The deer, enraged by the barking of the dogs, rushed towards the man, who again set the dogs on to the frightened animal while he cut a green club, and when it attacked him again he succeeded in knocking it down; the dogs then held it until he succeeded in cutting its throat. When he returned to the house for a team and assistance his wife was very much surprised to see him haul to their door the largest deer he had ever killed. In those days the husband and wife could look from their house over the prairie as far as eye could see, and there was not a tree in sight; this vast wilderness the pioneers believed could never be built up. For years the Harnsberger place has been among the finest farms of Illinois and such incidents as the above serve to show the kinds of experiences which were common among the early settlers.
In his political affiliation Mr. Harnsberger was a stalwart Republican ; his religious sympathies were with the Methodist church, with which he and his good wife were united
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in 1858. On the ninth day of June, 1890, Father Harnsberger died, while his widow lived until 1908, when her life went out on the ninety-third anniversary of her birth. Her faculties were well preserved until the last, and she was mourned by a large circle of friends. She became the mother of four chil- dren: Josephine, who did not survive in- fancy : Mary J., who was a student of Green- ville College, and later of Lebanon College, and is now the widow of H. T. Wood, of Muskogee, Oklahoma : William Augustus, a graduate from McKendree College at Leba- non in 1874 and from the Union Law College of Chicago in 1877, now a successful attor- ney of Kansas City ; and C. E.
Dr. C. E. Harnsberger received his first educational training in the public school, later was at the Wesleyan University of Blooming- ton, Illinois : subsequently attended a course of lectures on medical subjects at Ann Arbor, Michigan ; and in 1880 was graduated from the Missouri Medical College. He forthwith commenced his active practice in Fidelity, Illi- nois, where he remained a year and a half, then removed to St. Jacobs, in which town he was a successful practitioner until 1886, when he came to Alhambra, Illinois, and here he has since remained, engaged in continuous, lucrative practice. In addition to his private patients he is examining surgeon for the Modern Woodmen of America, of the lodge situated at Alhambra.
In 1886 Dr. Harnsberger married Miss Grace D. Hayes, a native of Indiana ; she was a daughter of George W. Hayes, for many years an honored resident of St. Jacobs, Illi- nois, where the marriage occurred. Mrs. Harnsberger only enjoyed one year of wedded life, as she was summoned to her last rest in 1887. In February, 1893, the Doctor married Valeria Stevenson, born in Alhambra town- ship April 29, 1869, a daughter of Dr. Robert and Lucy J. (Stepp) Stevenson. Mrs. Harnsberger received her finishing educa- tional training in a convent school at Atchi- son, Kansas, and she is now an honored mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Dr. Pogue of Edwardsville is an intimate friend of Dr. and Mrs. Harnsberger, and they paid him the compliment of naming their son after him. Pogue Eugene, born November 19, 1895, is an interesting student in the eighth grade of the Alhambra school and he is an enthusiastic cornetist in the Alhambra band, in which he plays the leading Bb cornet.
The Doctor is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America and of the Indepen- cent Order of Odd Fellows ; politically he ren- ders unwavering allegiance to the Republican party. By his skill the Doctor has won the confidence of his patients and by his sympa- thetic personality he has gained their affec- tions. He is one of Alhambra's public- spirited men, not confining his activities to his professional work, for in addition to being the medical examiner of several insurance so- cieties he is vice president of the Citizens State Bank of Alhambra and he is ever in- terested in the promotion of every good work that means an uplift to the community. Dr. and Mrs. Harnsberger are to be found today in their fine residence in Alhambra, situated one-eighth of a mile back from the main street. The house is approached by a fine co- lonial driveway bordered by over eighty large maple trees, monuments of the industry of the Doctor and his father. In this beautiful home they are always glad to receive the visits of their hosts of friends and admirers.
LOUIS KOCH. A man highly honored in the city in which he has spent the greater part of his life is Louis Koch, cashier of the State and Trust Bank, of Highland, Illinois. This is one of the monetary institutions which emphasize and exert marked influence in conserving the financial stability and commercial prestige of the place, and it is in no small part due to his discrimination and well directed administra- tive dealing that this institution has achieved success and high standing. Mr. Koch is a product of Madison county, his birth having occurred on a farm in Helvetia township, January 7, 1866, the son of Christian and Cath- erine ( Kirsch) Koch, both of whom were born in the Fatherland. These good citizens, at present residents of Highland, became the par- ents of thirteen children, nine of whom are liv- ing in 1911. Adolph is engaged in the furni- ture and undertaking business in Highland; Gustave P. is a barber of Highland : Christian E. is one of the exponents of the great basic industry in Helvetia township; Arthur R. is assistant manager of the Helvetia Milk Con- densing Company : Minnie, Clara and Alice are at home, and Emma is the wife of Theo Ittner, cashier of the Milk Condensing Com- pany. The last named and her sister Alice are graduates of the local high school.
Louis Koch received his educational disci- pline in the local public schools and in the Southern Illinois Normal University at Car- bondale, Illinois, which institution he attended for three years. He subsequently became a
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teacher and taught in the schools of Madison and St. Clair counties for eight years. Follow- ing his pedagogical work he took up farming for a time, for three or four years, at the end of which time he and his brother entered a new field of activity and bought the furniture and undertaking business in which they remained interested for quite a period, Mr. Koch selling his interest therein when he became identified with the bank. In 1903 the State & Trust Bank was organized and Mr. Koch, who had been one of the prime movers in the enterprise, was made assistant cashier, and in 1908 was advanced to the office of cashier, which he still holds. The other officers are Frederick Sie- grist, president, and J. G. Bardill, vice-presi- dent, and the directors are Fred Siegrist, Louis Latzer, J. G. Bardill, J. P. Streuber, M. J. Schott, Adolph Meyer and Louis Koch.
Mr. Koch is a valued factor in public affairs and can ever be depended upon to give his sup- port to all good and helpful measures. He is one of Madison county's stanchest champions of good education and he has served as school director, supervisor of Helvetia for four terms, and during the years 1906 and 1907 was chair- man of the county board of supervisors. In his political faith he has ever given hand and heart to the policies and principles of the Re- publican party. According to the reasoning of the Bard of Avon Mr. Koch is by no means "fit for treason, strategem and spoils," for he is not only interested in all things musical, but is also a talented musician himself. He is a leader of vocal music and director of the local Maen- nerchor Harmonie and Harmonie Damenchor ; is active in providing music for all festive oc- casions : and is a member of the Helvetia Sharp Shooters Society.
On the 8th day of August, 1889, Mr. Koch laid the foundation of an exceedingly happy household by his marriage to Lena Appel, of Summerfield, St. Clair county, Illinois, daugh- ter of George H. and Elizabeth (Kaiser) Appel. Mrs. Koch received her education in the Summerfield schools. To the subject and his wife have been born five children, as fol- lows: Elmer H., born in 1890, bookkeeper in the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company of- fices ; Stella, stenographer in the State & Trust Bank ; and Gertrude, Alma and Belmont.
Mr. Koch and his family are members of the German Protestant church. He is a Mason, belonging to Lodge No. 583, and exemplifying in his living those ideals of moral and social justice and brotherly love for which the order stands. He also belongs to the Modern Wood-
men of America and other societies. He is both popular and prominent in the community, which is dear to him with all the happiest and most important associations of life.
MARTIN HUBER. Education and financial assistance are very important factors in achiev- ing success in the business world of to-day, where every faculty must be brought into play, but they are not the main elements. Per- sistency and determination figure much more prominently, and a man possessed of these qualities is bound to win a fair amount of suc- cess. Martin Huber, whose name forms the caption for this article, earned his own educa- tion and during the latter years of his life has climbed to a high place on the ladder of achievement. He is one of Highland's most prominent citizens and at the present time is secretary and treasurer of the Highland Mill- ing Company, of which important concern he is also member of the board of directors.
Martin Huber was born on a farm a short distance north of Grantfork, Illinois, the date of his nativity being the 23d of January, 1877. . He is a son of Adam and Margaret (Kopp) Huber, the latter of whom is now residing at Highland. The father died April 14, 1907. Adam Huber was born and reared in Baden, Germany, whence he immigrated to the United States as a young man, about 1873, locating on a farm near Grantfork, Illinois. Mrs. Huber was born in the state of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Huber became the parents of thirteen children, of whom twelve are living in 1911,- Martin is the subject of this notice; Emma re- mains at the parental home; Anna is the wife of John Cain, of Chicago, Illinois ; Joseph is in the United States navy; and Mary, Selma, Charles, William, Isabelle, Clarence, Hannah and Marguerite are all at home.
When the subject of this review was a child of three years of age his parents removed to Highland, Illinois, where he received a thor- ough training in the common branches in the parochial schools. As a young man he became interested in the milling business and began to learn the business end of that line of enter- prise. For eleven years he was in the employ of C. H. Seybt, an exporter of flour, and at the expiration of that period he went to Marissa, Illinois, where he was in the employ of the Meek Milling Company for the ensuing two years. In 1903 he went to Rice Lake, Wiscon- sin, where he became manager of the Wis- consin Power Company mill and whence he went to Menominee, Wisconsin, to assume charge of one of the largest mills of that con-
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cern. In 1906 he returned to Highland in order to accept the position of sales manager of the Highland Milling Company, in which he is now a stockholder and one of the directors.
On the 8th of November, 1910, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Huber to Miss Ida R. Burke, who was born in the city of Du Bois, Pennsylvania, and who was educated in the parochial schools of Altoona, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Huber was graduated in King's School of Oratory of Pittsburgh, and for a time was a teacher of elocution at Pittsburgh. She was also graduated in The Chicago Conservatory of Dramatic Art. Mr. and Mrs. Huber are prominent and popular factors in connection with the best social affairs of their home com- munity, where they hold a high place in the re- gard and esteem of their many friends and acquaintances.
In politics Mr. Huber accords a stalwart al- legiance to the cause of the Republican party and, while he is not an office seeker, he is un- usually alert in connection with all matters projected for the good of the general welfare. In his religious faith he is a devout communi- cant of the St. Paul's Catholic church at High- land, and fraternally he is a valued and appre- ciative member of the Knights of Columbus, in which he is Grand Knight.
AUGUST C. LOHMANN. It is a subject for congratulation that the young men in Illinois are coming to the front in such a prominent way, as it augurs well for the future of the state. August C. Lohmann, secretary and treasurer of the Artic Ice and Fuel Company, and secretary and treasurer of the Abbey Coal Corporation, has already shown the mettle there is in him. He has already won the esteem and the good will of all who are brought in contact with him, and he has built up a pros- perous business connection for himself.
He was born in Nameoki township, Madison county, Illinois, September 22, 1883. He is the son of Frank Lohmann, a native of Ger- many, who came to this country as a young man, engaging in farming and in the mercan- tile business in Madison county, successively in Nameoki township and in Collinsville, where he still lives. He married Mary Vornholdt, of German descent, but of American birth. Mr. and Mrs. Lohmann have had eight children, of whom five are living at this time. Mrs. Loh- mann is living in .Collinsville with her hus- band, happy in the progress of her children.
August Lohmann was the second born of the children. His first years were spent on the farm in Nameoki township, but his parents
moved to Collinsville, in Madison county, be- fore he was old enough to go to school. He was educated in the parochial schools of Col- linsville and of Venice, remaining in school until he was fourteen years of age. At that age he began to work for his father, who had engaged in business in Collinsville. After he had gained some experience in the way of bookkeeping and other business methods he went to work for the Star Brewing Company, in the capacity of bookkeeper, a position which he still holds. The first of January, 1911, the Arctic Ice and Fuel Company was organized and incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois. The Abbey Coal Corporation was incorporated on March 29, 1911, under the laws of the state of Minnesota. Mr. Lohmann had made such a record for himself that he was elected to be secretary and treasurer of both of these concerns. The full list of officers and directors of both companies are as fol- lows: Jesse Long, president ; W. E. Hadley. vice president ; August C. Lohmann, secretary and treasurer. The directors are John A. O'Connell, George F. Nichols, Jesse Nichols, Joseph Long and G. A. Long. Mr. Lohmann is a member of the Business Men's Club at Col- linsville, being one of the active workers in the club. He holds membership with the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks in East St. Louis, with the Knights of Columbus at Ed- wardsville and with the Catholic Knights of America at Collinsville.
EMILE CHIPRON. One of Highiland's most highly respected citizens, a native born son who has spent his entire life here, is Emile Chipron, grain buyer for the noted grain firm, the Highland Milling Company. Throughout his long and useful career Mr. Chipron has dis- played those characteristics which make for good citizenship, and his activities have been so conducted as to be of benefit to his com- munity. He was born at Highland, in 1848. and is a son of John G. and Eugenia ( Thierry) Chipron, natives of Paris, France. Mr. Chip- ron's parents were wedded in their native country, and immigrated to the United States in 1847, with their children, Charles, Mary, Louise. Adele, Henry and Laura. While crossing the ocean, Henry fell overboard and was drowned. The family landed at New Or- leans and then came up the river to Highland, where Emile was born during the following year. The older children had been educated in France, and the younger were sent to the schools of Highland and were instructed in the French language by their mother. Emile
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subsequently became a student of Washington University, St. Louis. John Chipron's occupa- tion was that of a farmer, and he was an hon- est, industrious workman. In 1852 his first wife died, and he was married (second) to Mrs. Sarah Galliard, also a native of France, and they continued to reside on the homestead, which was located two and one-half miles south of Highland, until the death of Mr. Chipron, at which time his widow moved to St. Louis and there spent the remaining years of her life.
After completing his education Emile Chip- ron worked on the homestead, continuing to assist his father until he was twenty-two years of age. On November 25, 1871, he was mar- ried to Miss Henrietta L. Gleyre, who was born at Rolle, on the border of the beautiful far-famed Lake Geneva, Switzerland, in 1843, a daughter of August and Mary (von Berg) Gleyre. The latter's father, Sebastian von Berg, an energetic and active politician, be- longed to the party that was in the minority in his country and his goods were confiscated and he was forced to flee to America. Mr. and Mrs. Gleyre came to this country with seven chil- dren: Armand, Louie, Adele, Henrietta, Henry, Ferdinand and one who died young. Mrs. Chipron received her education in the public schools. Her father, who was engaged for some years in the hardware business, died in 1852, and his wife followed him to the grave in 1884. After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Chipron they settled down in Highland, and he interested himself in the grain business. He became connected with the Highland Mill- ing Company in 1891, as grain buyer, a posi- tion in which he has shown his business energy and capability. He was township collector for two terms, and for nine years was a member of the school board, during which time the fine large high school was erected on plans of Mr. Chipron's choosing. Not the least of his in- terests is the Congregational church of High- land, in the work of which both he and his wife have been very active. During the thirty-four years that he has served as a teacher in the Sunday-school one hundred and sixty-eight young ladies have been students of his classes. The life of Mr. Chipron has been that of the average unostentatious business man. He has been successful in the things that he has under- taken ; he is a man highly honorable and with a scrupulous regard for his word; he enjoys the reputation of being a business man of great ability and of high integrity. Politically he is a stanch Republican.
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