USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 75
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Mr. and Mrs. Chipron have had five chil- dren, two of whom died in infancy : Daisy L. married Arthur Carriere, who is connected with the St. Louis Asphalt Company ; Eugenia, who married Carl Huegy, employed with the C. Kinne Company at Highland; and Thierry E. married Emma Willhawk, and was a baker for a number of years at Trenton, Illinois. He died in 1906, and left three children : Thelma, Esta and Lucille.
HENRY HERMAN. One of Highland's native sons, a man upon whom devolves to a large ex- tent the management and control of a great and growing industry, is Henry Herman, vice- president of the Highland Milling Company, which has the second oldest mill in the state. Henry Herman was born in Highland, July 12, 1860, and is a son of Henry and Susan (Leder) Herman, natives of Switzerland, who immigrated to America at an early day. They became pioneers of Highland, where Mr. Her- man was engaged in the milling business, being the promoter of the Herman Milling Company, which operated here successfully for many years. Seven children were born to the par- ents of Mr. Herman,: John, Emil, David, Rob- ert, Hermenia, Louisa and Henry.
Henry Herman received his education in the common schools of Highland and Engel- man's Academy, Milwaukee, and on his return to Highland learned the milling business with his father. He was married in 1890, to Miss Nettie Todd, daughter of Henry and Mary (Ryder) Todd, and sister of Hallie, Stella, Hettie, Joseph and Burt. Mrs. Herman was born in Highland, in 1867, and here received her education in the public schools. Mr. Her- man's whole business career has been as an as- sociate with other prominent business men in milling. The Highland Milling Company, of which Mr. Herman is head miller, vice-presi- dent and a large stockholder, is one of the con- cerns that has made Highland a great com- mercial center. Under its present management it has grown extensively, and now averages five hundred barrels of flour daily and has a storage capacity of eighty thousand bushels. Mr. Herman is known as an honorable and up- right man, scrupulously conscientious in every business and financial transaction, and it fol- lows that he has that large number of warm friends and well wishers that such conduct al- ways begets. His affairs have been so con- ducted that he is recognized as a man of whom his native city may be proud. In politics Mr. Herman is a Democrat, embracing, the political allegiance of his father. He has, however,
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never sought office himself. He was reared in the faith of the German Evangelical church, while Mrs. Herman belongs to the Congrega- tional church. Both are well known for their many charities.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman have had one son, Henry Edson, who was born January 21, 1891. They have also adopted a niece, Marie, the daughter of Mrs. Herman's sister, who is now attending the Highland high school, a young lady of more than ordinary musical talent. Henry Edson Herman attended the public schools of Highland, subsequently became a student of Smith's Academy, St. Louis, and then entered the law department of the Uni- versity of St. Louis. At Smith's young Her- man was a member of the varsity football team, and his prowess upon the field was only equalled by his record as a student. That his literary training was not neglected is evidenced by the fact that he was editor-in-chief of the class paper, The Record, in 1908 and 1909. He took part in the declamation contests in 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909, enjoyed the distinc- tion of being class orator, and in 1908 was a member of the debating team that won the championship. His education has been most thorough, and, having an inherent gift for ora- tory, his future in the field of law seems to be an exceptionally bright one.
GODFRED MELCHIOR SUPPIGER. In recalling to mind those men who in an early day laid the foundation of Madison county's present commercial and financial stability, one's mem- ory instinctively turns to an individual who during his lifetime was a conductor of one of the leading milling concerns of High- land, and who was a tower of moral and finan- cial strength in the community, Godfred M. Suppiger, deceased. He was born in Sursee in the beautiful Canton of Luzerne, Switzer- land, January 21, 1821, a son of Joseph and Johanna Suppiger, the former of whom was the proprietor of a velvet manufacturing plant in that country. The family were: Joseph, Bernhardt, David, Anthony, Louise, Joseph- ine and Godfred M.
Godfred M. Suppiger came to the United States with his father and brother, David in May, 1833, the father dying in August of the same year. He went from his native place to Havre, a journey which consumed consider- able time in that day, and there took ship for New Orleans, coming up the Mississippi to Madison county, where he joined his two brothers, Joseph and Anthony, and settled on the raw prairie where the city of Highland
now stands. His brother, Joseph Suppiger, had built the first house at this point, and there they engaged in farming, soon erecting a flour- ing and saw mill. In 1839 the sons were joined by their mother and sisters. Godfred M. remained at home assisting his brother Joseph in the mill and later becoming partner. On Christmas Day, 1849, his first marriage occurred, but his wife lived only four weeks. On August 7, 1851, he was married to Miss Caroline Pagan. Miss Pagan was born in Biel Canton of Berne, Switzerland, on Oc- tober 19, 1834, and immigrated to the United States in January, 1851, the parents follow- ing in 1858. When coming from Europe Mrs. Suppiger had acted as a companion to a young married couple who were unable to speak French, and she did the translating for them when purchasing tickets and making other ne- cessary arrangements. While in New York she was employed as governess for the little son of Mrs. Beckman, who was a sister-in-law of President Taylor, and was entertained for over three months in the home of Henry Clay with the Beekman family, who were intimate friends of the great statesman.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Suppiger settled in Highland, where they began to make a home for themselves, Mr. Suppiger becoming engaged in the milling business, which he followed throughout the remainder of his life. Three sons were born to this couple:' Frederick B., Edward A. and Louis G., all of whom were given excellent educational advantages in the Highland schools. Fred- erick was also a student for two years at Charleston, Illinois, and later went to Lau- sanne and Zurich, Switzerland, to complete his education. He was united in marriage with Miss Pauline Felder, daughter of Dr. Felder, of Highland, and they had five children: God- fred; August and Freda, deceased : Stella and Florence. Frederick Suppiger was an active citizen of Highland for many years, being en- gaged in the lumber business at the time of his death, which occurred August 1, 1905. Ed- ward A. Suppiger died at the age of eleven years. Louis G., after completing a medical course in the St. Louis University and obtain- ing his diploma, went to Europe to continue his studies, and on May 7, 1875, was lost in a shipwreck on the Schiller, in which nearly four hundred people perished. Godfred M. Sup- piger's death occurred in 1856, and he was laid to rest in the cemetery at Highland. Mr. Suppiger throughout his life was a consistent and devoted member of the German Protest-
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ant church. He was a man extremely liberal but wholly unostentatious in his giving. His was a true and simple Christian character. As he walked through the world he helped his fel- low man in the best and wisest manner, not by making him dependent, but by aiding him to attain a position of independence, by friendly counsel or sound business advice, and where pecuniary assistance was necessary it was cheerfully and freely given, and from his lips no one ever learned of the generous act. Such was the life of Mr. Suppiger. To attempt to delineate in eulogistic words his fine life and character would be futile. He was a man of quiet, natural dignity. Successful himself, he delighted in the success of others. In the happy phraseology of a great writer, he was "one of God's own gentlemen." His widow, who is one of the best known and much be- loved ladies of Highland, has also been active in charitable work and has done all in her power to uplift and advance society. One of her most prized possessions is a portrait of her husband, taken when he was ten years old, in 1831, in the old country. Out of a family of twelve children only Mrs. Suppiger and one brother August J. Pagan, of Highland survive. One of the last representatives of an old and honored family, she has been identified with the growth and development of Highland, and has the esteem and affection of a wide circle of warm, personal friends.
HENRY C. ROBINSON is one of the oldest residents of Venice, Madison county, Illi- nois. He has resided there for more than half a century, during which time he has been identified with the commercial and civic life of the town, and his many useful efforts for the betterment of the community have received the recognition which they merit. The great source of efficiency in a man's life is the prin- ciple of rejection. Mr. Robinson would never have attained the prominence which he now enjoys if he had not possessed this discrimi- nating quality to a very large extent. Not that he is a negative quality by any means, but he has ever put on one side all of those things, which, though good in themselves have no part in his career. He has instinct- ively known where to trust and where to sus- pect; what to accept and what to reject ; he has chosen this thing or that as the ones of all others he would wish to have in his own life; and the result is the man as he is today.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Robin- son's birth occurred on the fourteenth of Oc- tober, 1831. He is a son of S. B. and Sarah
(Squire) Robinson, the father a Kentuckian, born at Augusta on January 1, 1804, while the mother was a life-long resident of Madison county, Illinois. She was born September 7, 1809, and died October 10, 1857. Father Robinson was a miller, being the owner of a fine flouring mill at St. Louis, and his demise occurred at Carlyle, Clinton county, Illinois, April 2, 1880.
The early years of Henry C. Robinson's life were spent in St. Louis, where he ob- tained his education first in the public schools, continuing in the parochial schools, and at the age of sixteen he began to work in his father's mill. He remained there until he was twenty- one years of age, at which time he engaged in the grocery business in St. Louis, pros- pered, and remained there for the ensuing three years. In 1854 he came to Venice, Madison county, Illinois, where he established a grocery store, carrying also a stock of gen- eral merchandise. He took the greatest pride in his business and for almost thirty years he conducted his store. In 1884 he sold out at a general sale. In 1899 Mr. Robinson deter- mined to again enter the commercial life, but in a different capacity ; he opened a real estate office, dealt in city and farm lands, did a rental and insurance business, and he is still connected with this line of work.
On the fifth day of May, 1853, Mr. Robin- son was united in marriage to Miss Emily Abbott, a young lady of English birth, who came to the United States with her parents, John and Emma (Mason) Abbott, when she was a little girl. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson be- came the parents of four children, one son and three daughters, whose names are as fol- lows: John W., residing at Carlyle, Illinois, engaged in the sawmill business; Ella W., wife of Adam Winhold, of Carlyle, Illinois, where the couple reside; Emma, married to Charles W. Trimble, living at Port Collins, Colorado; and May, a widow, residing with her father.
In the course of his real estate dealings Mr. Robinson has become possessed of two small farms, eighty and twenty acres respect- ively, and these he rents to farmers. In fra- ternal connection he is affiliated with the Mo- sonic order and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. All matters of public inter- est receive a share of Mr. Robinson's atten- tion ; in state politics he votes with the Demo- crats, but in all local matters he selects the man he considers best fitted for the office, re- gardless of party considerations. He was the
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first mayor of Venice and continued to be the incumbent of that high office for fifteen con- secutive years, during which period his ad- ministration was conspicuous for its progres- sive measures and for its lack of political cor- ruption. He is now over eighty years of age, but he has lost none of the enthusiasm or the keen intellect which have characterized him for so many years. There is no man in Ven- ice who is more widely and more deservedly respected and esteemed.
JOHN W. GORNET is a veritable captain of industry at Troy, Madison county, Illinois, where he is president of the Troy Pressed Brick Company, a director in the Exchange Bank and the owner of a store and consider- able valuable real estate. His success in life has been on a parity with his own well di- rected endeavors, and as he is still in his prime much may be expected from him in the fu- ture. A native of Troy, Mr. Gornet was born on the 27th of February, 1870, and he is a son of George and Mary (Amlung) Gornet, the former of whom was born in Germany. The paternal grandfather of him to whom this sketch is dedicated was John Gornet, who passed the first half of his life time in his na- tive land of Germany. He immigrated to the United States, with his wife and family of three children, and after their arrival in America they proceeded directly to St. Louis, Missouri, where the wife and mother died. Subsequently John Gornet remarried. As a youth George Gornet availed himself of the advantages afforded in the public schools, but this schooling was of short duration as it was curtailed by the death of his father. He then entered upon an apprenticeship at the cooper's trade, engaging in the work thereof up to about fifteen years ago. Mr. and Mrs. John Gornet reared to maturity a family of seven children,-John, of this notice; Oscar, Fred, Arthur, Amelia, Augusta and William.
As a young boy John Gornet attended the public and parochial schools at Troy. When thirteen years of age he secured a position as clerk in a general store and he continued to be employed in that capacity for a number of years. In 1894 he decided to launch out into the business world on his own account and at that time opened up a general store of his own at Troy. In this venture he was associated with his brother Oscar. Through fair and straightforward methods he has gradually ex- tended the scope of his operations in this di- rection until he is now the owner of one of the finest general merchandise establishments
in this section of the county. In 1903 he be- came interested in the organization of the Troy Pressed Brick Company, a concern that has added materially to the progress and development of this city. The Troy Pressed Brick Company was incorporated under the laws of the state and is officered as follows,- John Gornet, president ; H. F. Keucker, vice- president ; and William Bohland, secretary and treasurer. The plant has a running ca- pacity of forty thousand bricks per day and is known throughout the southern part of the state. He is a heavy stockholder in the Troy Exchange Bank, one of the substantial mone- tary institutions in Madison county, and he is also a member of the board of directors of that bank. In addition to his other interests he is the owner of a great deal of valuable city property and through shrewd management of his affairs he has succeeded in building up a comfortable fortune for himself.
On the 16th of September, 1894, Mr. Gornet was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Taake, of Troy. This union has been prolific of five children, all of whom are at home at the present time, namely,-Clara, Irma, Ruth, Edgar and John, Jr. Mrs. Gornet is a woman of rare charm and attractive per- sonality and she and her husband are popular factors in connection with the best social ac- tivities of Troy.
In politics Mr. Gornet is aligned as a stal- wart in the ranks of the Republican party. He is not an office seeker but is deeply and sincerely interested in all projects advanced for the good of the general welfare. In addi- tion to membership in a number of repre- sentative fraternal and social organizations he is affiliated with the German Lutheran church, to whose good works he is a generous contri- butor and in whose faith he is rearing his children.
AUGUST J. PAGAN. By persistent industry, prudent thrift and judicious management ac- quiring a competency, August J. Pagan, of Highland, Madison county, is now living re- tired from active business, enjoying the fruits of his earlier years of toil. A son of David and Elizabeth (Schneider) Pagan, he was born August 21, 1838, in Nidau, Switzerland, and was there brought up and educated.
After leaving school in Switzerland Mr. Pagan was employed in a watch factory for a few years, till twenty years of age. In 1858, following the tide of immigration across the Atlantic, he came to Illinois and settled in Highland, being accompanied on his journey
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by two of his sisters, Mary and Lucy, both of whom married soon after coming to Madison county. As soon as Mr. Pagan arrived in Highland he began to look about for remu- nerative employment, and in the spring of 1859 established a soap factory in Highland, and operated it successfully until 1872, obtain- ing a most encouraging start in life. Opening then a fruit distillery, he engaged in the man- ufacture of cider and wine, carrying on a sub- stantial business for many seasons.
Enterprising and progressive, Mr. Pagan in the fall of 1884 took upon himself the respon- sibility of calling together the farmers of this vicinity for the purpose of gaining their sup- port in the formation of a milk condensing plant. The meeting was largely attended, and Mr. Pagan introduced to those attending two men from St. Louis who were very prominent in agricultural circles, Mr. Meyenberg and Professor Hagan. The result of this meeting was far reaching, for in the spring of 1885 the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company was organized, and it has become one of the most important industrial plants of this section. The company was capitalized at $15,000, and has grown to immense proportions, now being worth two and one half million dollars and doing business in several states, having eight plants in active operation. In 1906 Mr. Pagan retired from active business, and is now de- voting his attention to his private interests.
After the marriage of his two sisters, Mary having married William Dietz, and Lucy mar- ried three times, first to Emil Houriet. second to Dr. Denman, both of whom died, and third to John Baumgartner, who is also dead. Mr. Pagan made his home with another sister, Mrs. Caroline Suppiger. In 1888, however, he was married, on the 18th of December, to Mrs. Helene Bauer, of St. Louis. Socially he is a member of the Harmonie Singing Club, of the Sharp Shooters and of the Turnverein. Independent in his political views, he invari- ably casts his vote in favor of the best man and best measures, regardless of party affilia- tions.
DR. FRED W. BRANER. There is no profes- sion possible to man more exacting than the practice of medicine, for it demands the high ideal of human service coupled with a large equipment of scientific knowledge which shall mean a perfect understanding of all the phys- ical and mental ills to which humanity is heir. It is a great deal to say of any man that he has worthily followed the calling of physician as
has Dr. Fred W. Braner, general practitioner of Troy, Illinois.
Fred W. Braner first saw the light of this world on June 5, 1870, in the city of Phila- delphia, the son of Henry and Christina Braner. At the age of two years he was brought to Illinois, and he lived for many years on a farm near Springfield, Illinois, re- ceiving his primary education in the district schools of the locality, at Brooks Academy at Springfield and then at the Springfield Busi- ness College, Illinois, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1888.
For a while after his graduation from the Springfield Business College, Mr. Braner held several business positions in book-keeping un- til he was able to enter the American Medical School of Saint Louis, Missouri. While he was studying he was able to pay all of his own expenses, and after one term received a state certificate by examination from the state of Arkansas in 1895 and received his diploma with the class of 1897. Not wholly satisfied with his preparation, as great men never are, he spent 1898-1899 at post-graduate work in Barnes University in Saint Louis, after one year of practice in New Athens, In 1899 he located in Troy, where he has since built up an excellent practice, and is well liked as a thor- oughly reliable physician. He is a member of both the Madison County and the State Med- ical Associations.
In 1896 Dr. Braner was united in marriage to Miss Anna Griffin, of Saint Louis, and their union has since been blessed with two children, Duthiel, aged ten, and Lynette, aged five.
Besides the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World, Dr. Braner is a member of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees, the Modern Americans, the Court of Honor and the Foresters of America. Be- sides his practice he is largely interested in real-estate, and he owns several business and dwelling houses, this though he came to Troy with only very limited capital. Politically he is a Republican. He was mayor of Troy for two years, from 1907 to 1909, has been appointed township physician several different years and is medical examiner for about twenty old line and fraternal insurance companies and organizations.
JAMES E. SIMPSON, ex-mayor of Collins- ville, is a man who has always felt that educa- tion was a man's best capital and he has worked hard to gain as much knowledge as it
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was possible in order to be prepared for the high position he intended to make. Men who have achieved legitimate success without edu- cation obtained in schools and universities are numerous, and many of them in America try to belittle education, but in the years to come the so-called self-made man, competing in the battle of business with scholarly rivals, will go down to certain defeat. Mr. Simpson realized this and made up his mind that an education he would have. He did not know at the start just what line of work he would choose, but he felt that wherever his lines were cast his knowledge would profit him. As a matter of fact he has given most of his life to imparting the knowledge he has acquired, without in the slightest degree diminishing his own stock.
He was born at Bethel, St. Clair county, Illi- nois, July 16, 1874. He is the son of James M. and Mary E. (Jones) Simpson, both resi- dents of Collinsville. James E. Simpson re- ceived his early education in the district school of St. Clair county, Illinois. When he was seventeen years old he left the district school, having completed the course. He entered the Collinsville high school, from which he grad- uated in 1892, thus completing in one year the three years' course. This remarkable achiev- ment was due as much to his close application as to his great abilities. He realized that he could not stay three years in the high school, so that in order to get through the full course he applied himself with treble energy. After his graduation from the Collinsville high school he entered the McKendree College at Lebanon, Illinois, where he took a course in science and languages. After two years in the college he began to teach in the public school of Jersey county, Illinois. After four years of successful teaching there he went to the old Bethel school, in which he had received the rudiments of knowledge. He taught there for one term only, for old times sake. He felt at this time that he needed a rest from his ped- agogical labors and as change of work is, as a matter of fact, rest, he accepted a position as chief clerk in the Douk Brothers Coal and Coke Company, remaining with them for four years. In May, 1905, he was elected city clerk of Collinsville, which position he held until 1909, at the same time he attended a night commercial college at East St. Louis, from which he graduated with high honors. He felt that so far his education had been of a more classical and literary nature than a busi- ness one, and wishing to be thoroughly well rounded out and prepared to accept any posi-
tion he took the business course. In 1909 he was elected mayor of the city of Collinsville, in which capacity he served until May 1, 1911. While he was filling the duties which devolve on the mayor he taught commercial subjects in the township high school, which position he still holds.
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