Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 83

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 83

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A native of Madison county, Illinois, Wil- liam L. Wolf was born on the 10th of April, 1875, and he is a son of Ernest and Adolphina (Knackstedt) Wolf, both of whom were born and reared at Salzdetfurth, Germany, whence they immigrated to the United States in an early day, locating in Madison county, Illi- nois, in the vicinity of Edwardsville. Con- cerning the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Wolf, two died in infancy, Henry died at the age of thirty-four years, and Charles, Helena and William are all residents of this county. Ernest Wolf was the first man to keep a store at Hamel and he remained in business in this place for a period of thirty- eight years. His present home is at Worden, Illinois, where he and his good wife are enjoy- ing to the full the fruits of their former years of earnest toil and endeavor.

William L. Wolf grew up in Hamel, where he was educated in the German Lutheran Pa-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

rochial school. As a youth he began to assist his father in the work and management of the store and in 1902, at the time of his father's retirement from business life, he assumed full charge of the store, which has continued to grow and prosper under his able management. He controls a large trade and his well stocked establishment caters to the most fastidious patronage, his store being considered one of the finest of its kind in this section of the county. In his political affiliations Mr. Wolf accords an unswerving allegiance to the prin- ciples and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and in their religious faith he and his wife are consistent members of the German Lutheran church, to whose charities and benevolences they are liberal con- tributors.

On the 6th of October, 1901, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Wolf to Miss Ida Miller, who was born on a farm near Carpenter, on the 23d of April, 1881, and who is a daughter of F. W. and Augusta ( Behrendt) Miller, na- tives of Germany. Mr. Miller was a farmer by occupation and at one time he owned a tract of eighty acres of land, a portion of which was cut up for town lots when the village of Car- penter was incorporated. Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Miller became the parents of twelve chil- dren-four sons and eight daughters -- four of whom died in infancy and one of whom, Augusta, died as a young woman. The names of the others are here entered in respective order of birth,-Suvena, Frederick, Christian, Anna, Frederica, Charles and Ida. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf are the fond parents of two little daughters, -- Elsie, whose birth occurred on the 2Ist of August, 1902; and Mildred, born on the 15th of May, 1905. By reason of their exemplary lives and kindly interest in all mat- ters affecting the welfare of the community at large, Mr. and Mrs. Wolf are popular factors in connection with the best social activities of Hamel, where their attractive home is re- nowned as a center of gracious refinement and generous hospitality.

THE MEAD FAMILY. The progressiveness and prosperity of a country is usually indi- cated by its fine attractive homes and their tasteful and beautiful surroundings, the same manifesting the liberal taste of the owners. Among the numerous attractive country resi- dences of Leef township there is situated about one mile east of Alhambra the Mead 'homestead, known as Maplehurst. The fine, large, two-story white house is situated most advantageously, being set back from the main

road fully a quarter of a mile and approached by a driveway, bordered by one hundred fine, old maple trees, which were grown from seed planted by Mrs. Mead and which stand today a monument to the foresight, industry and good taste of the mistress of the estate.

Dugusta Wise Mead is the widow of George W. Mead, a farmer and stockman, and one of Madison county's most popular and successful school teachers. She was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, Janu- ary 30, 1846, and is the daughter of Henry and Maria (Morris) Wise, natives of the Key- stone state. Maria Morris was a descendant of the Morrises of Revolutionary fame, in whose honor Morristown, Pennsylvania, was named. The Wise family consisted of ten children, three of whom were sons and seven daughters, and seven of whom died in in- fancy. Those surviving at the present time are Rebecca, widow of Richard Propes, of Granite City ; Mrs. Emma Eisenmeyer, of Los Angeles, California; and Mrs. Mead, the subject of this sketch. Henry Wise, the father of Mrs. Mead, in 1852 moved westward with the tide of migration, re- moving from Pennsylvania to Putnam county, Illinois, at which time Dugusta was six years of age. The journey from Brownsville, Pennsylvania, to Hennepin, Illi- nois, was made by steamboat. By occupation Mr. Wise was a machinist and he was a pro- gressive man, being among the first to see the good in the new. He believed that the farmer should be on the alert for improvements and make them his own. He owned the first steam thresher in St. Clair county, Illinois. He saw and tested it at the St. Louis state fair and, recognizing its worth, purchased it, this being in 1858. When he brought it home he found his fellow agriculturists reluctant to allow it to be used on their grounds, fearing that it would set fire to their buildings and grain. Determined not to be defeated he hired them to permit him to do their threshing and after a few trials and no disasters or burned build- ings the neighborhood became convinced of its merits and he got more calls than he could fill. Somewhere in him lurked the love of adven- ture, and when the gold excitement arose he went with others in a prairie schooner and en- gaged in gold mining at Pike's Peak. He met with the usual adventures and subsisted largely on buffalo meat, killing buffaloes on the journey when other supplies gave out. The demise of this interesting man occurred at Bunker Hill, Illinois.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

In 1863, Dugusta Wise wedded George W. Mead, who, like herself, was one of Madison county's enlightened school teachers. Mr. Mead was born in 1836, at Wethersfield Springs, Wyoming county, New York, the son of John and Phoebe (Ferris) Mead. He and his bride began their married life in Al- hambra and both continued school teaching following their union. The year of their mar- riage. 1863, they purchased the farm which they afterward held as their residence. They engaged in teaching for a number of years, however, their fields of labor being Alhambra, Staunton. Hazel Dell. Big Rock, Formosa, Troy and several other districts. Subse- quently Mr. Mead engaged in piano selling in Bond, Madison, Jersey, Green, Scott, Macou- pin, Montgomery and St. Clair counties.

Mr. and Mrs. Mead became in time the par- ents of twelve children, four of whom died in infancy. The others are George W., Louis M., Ada M., Eva P., Emma, Horace H., Esther and Frank G. The parents of these sons and daughters made it their aim to give their children the benefit of the best educa- tion obtainable, some being students at Mc- Kendree College at Lebanon and some at Val- paraiso, Indiana. Some of them fitted them- selves to become teachers of literature and music. The Mead homestead was oftentimes the scene of joyous merrymaking when all the children were beneath its roof, and sometimes, also, it was the scene of mourning. In 1904 the Death Angel made his dread visit and the father journeyed to the Great Beyond. He was a good man, a loving father, and was mourned by a large circle of friends. He was of very fine appearance and enjoyed the pos- session of many friends. In his children the power of heredity is manifest, for all of them are musically inclined. Of the children the ensuing brief data are incorporated :

George W., Jr., was united in marriage to Flora Neville, and two children-Roy and Dugusta, were born to them. In later years he married Alice Walker, and their issue are Walker, Mary, George, Esther and Bernice. Mr. Mead is the proprietor of a musical sup- ply house located at Galesburg, Illinois. Roy, son of the foregoing, wedded Pearl Gamble, of Gilman, Missouri, and they have one son, Floyd,-the first great-grandchild of the Meads.

Louis M. Mead married Matilda Latch and after a number of years of wedded life her death occurred, two children, Margaret and

August, proving a great comfort to him in his bereavement.

Ada M. Mead became a successful music teacher. She was united in marriage to Henry Roysten, who died, leaving her with their two daughters, Gladys E. and Lucile Du- gusta. Her residence is in Pattonsburg, Mis- souri, and in addition to the superintendency of her farm she successfully manages three music stores of which she is proprietor, these being situated in Pattonsburg, Gallatin and Milan. She is a woman of remarkable execu- tive ability and her success is its logical out- come.

Eva P. Mead was also a school teacher. She became the wife of Frank Steele and they are the proprietors of the piano store at Ed- wardsville. The children of their household are Mead and Lorna.

Emma Mead became the wife of Emil Mueller, and their residence is situated in New Douglas township. They have recently sold their farm and purpose engaging in the sale of musical instruments when they find a favorable location. They have two daughters, Maud and Eva Dugusta.

Horace Mead remains at home superin- tending the farm and also sells pianos. He took as his wife Cora Pearl Livingston, a popular school teacher of New Douglas, and they are the parents of a daughter, Marian Esther.

Esther Mead taught school in Granite City for five years and then became the wife of Elmer Moore, an electrical craneman of Gran- ite City, the issue of their union being a son, Robert E. Mrs. Moore is also a business woman, being engaged in piano selling.

Frank G. Mead fitted himself for the prac- tice of medicine, but eventually gave up the profession and is a salesman of musical in- struments. He married Miss Maggie Pace, a noted musician of Carlyle, Illinois.

Perhaps in all Madison county there is no other family whose tastes and talents are all musically inclined as are the Meads, and whose time and talents have so aided in ad- vancing the literary and musical accomplish- ments of the county. Mrs. Mcad during the years of her wedded life, with the responsi- bilities of motherhood and domestic duties. always found time to keep up her practice, and today, at the age of sixty-five years, she can charm her listeners by her sweet music, for she plays with the touch of the true artist. She is possessed of an admirable intellectu-

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ality, is a fine conversationalist and has fine, genial manners, and her hospitality is re- nowned throughout the county, where she en- joys the esteem of the people. She is enabled to look back with a pardonable degree of pride over a life that has made the name of Mead worthy of perpetuation on the pages of Madison County's Centennial History.

DANIEL WIDICUS .- Among the substantial and reliable citizens of St. Jacob, Madison county, Illinois, Daniel Widicus holds pres- tige as one who, through his own well di- rected endeavors, has made of success not an accident but a logical result. He is most suc- cessfully engaged in the general merchandise business and in addition to his other interests is a stockholder and a member of the board of directors in the Bank of St. Jacob and is the owner of a farm of some one hundred and sixty acres of land in Oklahoma. Mr. Wid- icus was born on a farm in St. Jacob town- ship, the date of his nativity being the 29th of September, 1860. He is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Neis) Widicus, the former of whom was born in the kingdom of Bavaria and the latter in Germany, both having come to America at about the age of eleven years, in company with their respective parents. The Widicus family immigrated to the United States about the year 1840, landing in the harbor of New Orleans and proceeding thence to St. Louis, Missouri, whence they later came to Jarvis township and located on a farm. The grandparents of the subject of this review passed the remainder of their lives in Jarvis township and there Jacob Widicus was reared to adult age. He early became as- sociated with his father in the work and man- agement of the old homestead farm and his early educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the district schools of the locality and period. The Neis family on their arrival in America located in St. Clair county, Illinois, and there Catherine Neis was reared to womanhood. In 1859 was solemnized her marriage to Jacob Wid- icus and immediately after that event they set- tled on a farm in St. Jacob township, where he still resides, his cherished and devoted wife having been summoned to the life eternal in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Widicus became the par- ents of four children, three of whom are liv- ing in 1911, namely,-Daniel, the immediate subject of this review ; Mary, who is the wife of Henry Rhein, of St. Jacob; and Anna, who married William Rhein. The child who is deceased was named Louise, and her death

occurred in 1908, at the age of forty-two years.

The boyhood and youth of Daniel Widicus were passed on the farm in St. Jacob town- ship and after completing the curriculum of the public schools of this district he entered Bryant & Stratton's Business College, at St. Louis, Missouri, in which excellent institution he pursued a commercial course. Subse- quently he returned to the farm, where he re- mained until 1890. For the ensuing three years he farmed with his father, and in 1890 he came to St. Jacob, where he purchased an interest in the store he now conducts. This establishment is known under the firm name of Widicus & Company and it is well equipped with a fine stock of the most up-to-date goods in the dry-goods and grocery lines. A splendid trade is controlled and the store is recognized as one of the finest of its kind in this section of the county. Mr. Widicus was one of the original stockholders in the State Bank of St. Jacob and at the present time he is a member of the board of directors of the bank. He is the owner of a fine tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Oklahoma and in all his business dealings has achieved eminent success as a result of his fair and honorable methods.

At Belleville, Illinois, on the 9th of October, 1890, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Widicus to Miss Anna Knoebel, who was born at Belleville, Illinois, in 1859, and who is a daughter of Charles Knoebel, now de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Widicus have one son, Daniel E., whose birth occurred on the 2d of May, 1893, and who is attending the manual training school at St. Louis.

In politics Mr. Widicus accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies pro- mulgated by the Republican party, in the local councils of which he has been a most active factor. He has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in educational affairs and at the present time is treasurer of the St. Jacob school board. In a fraternal way he is affil- iated with Marine Lodge, No. 355, Ancient, Free & Accepted Masons, with the Order of the Eastern Star, and with the Modern Wood- men of America. In religious matters he and his wife are consistent members of the Luth- eran Evangelical church, in whose faith they reared their son. Mr. and Mrs. Widicus are popular factors in connection with the best social activities of St. Jacob, where their spa- cious and attractive home is recognized as a center of most gracious hospitality. 1

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

JOIIN HOCHULI. The present able and popular incumbent of the office of postmaster of St. Jacob, Madison county, Illinois, is John Hochuli, who is here engaged in the general merchandise business in connection with his official duties as postmaster. He is strictly a self-made man, having himself built the lad- der by which he has risen to affluence. A na- tive of Switzerland, he was born on the 21st of October, 1865, a son of Melchior and Elizabeth (Haurri) Hochuli, both of whom are now deceased. In April, 1867, the Hoch- uli family immigrated from their native land to the United States, landing in the harbor of New York and coming thence to St. Jacob, in Madison county, Illinois. The father was a barber by trade and he was identified with that line of work up to two years prior to his death, when he removed to St. Louis, where he passed away in October, 1909. The de- voted wife and mother passed to the life eter- nal in 1902. They were the parents of ten children, of whom six are living, in 1911,- John and Elisa maintain their homes at St. Jacob ; Mariana, Mary and Fred reside in the city of St. Louis, Missouri ; and Otto lives in the state of Texas.

John Hochuli was reared to maturity in St. Jacob, where he continued to attend the public schools until he had reached the age of thir- teen years. At that time he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the barber's trade from his father. For a period of eighteen years he followed the work of his trade and during that time managed to save considerable money, which he eventually invested in a general store at St. Jacob. This store was organized in 1901, with a capital stock of ten thousand dol- lars, the same being known under the name of Hochuli & Company. Of this concern Mr. Hochuli is president and general manager, and it may be noted here that as a business man he has achieved eminent success. He is possessed of unusual executive ability and tremendous energy, and as a result of his strenuous efforts he has made of success not an accident but a logical result. During Pres- ident McKinley's administration he was ap- pointed postmaster of St. Jacob, and in that capacity he has served with the utmost effi- ciency during the intervening years to the present time. He is everywhere accorded the unalloyed confidence and regard of his fellow men by reason of his fair and honorable busi- ness methods, and he is recognized as a citi- zen of power in political circles in this sec- tion of the county. He is a stanch supporter

of the cause of the Republican party in his political convictions and in a fraternal way is affiliated with fraternal lodge, No. 592, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past grand. He is also a valued and appre- ciative member of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows of the state.

In the year 1898 was recorded the mar- riage of Mr. Hochuli to Miss Louise Wasem, who was born and reared in St. Jacob town- ship and who is a daughter of Louis Wasem. To this union was born one child, Allison; he died on the 12th of January, 1909, and Mrs. Hochuli died on the 21st of March, 1911. In religious faith Mr. Hochuli is a devout mem- ben of power in political circles in this sec- different departments of whose work he is a most zealous and active factor, as was also his wife.

A. W. JEFFRESS. It was in Lunenburg county, Virginia, that Alexander W. Jeffress was born on December 13, 1830. His parents were J. W. and Mary Eggleston Jeffress, early settlers of Illinois. Previous to coming to this state they spent three years in Tennessee, near Randolph. While they were there the noted Murriel insurrection occurred, the man of that name having incited the slaves to revolt. Mr. Jeffress was then a slaveholder, and his slaves, under the charge of an overseer, were occupied in raising cotton. He became dissatisfied with the institution of slavery and accordingly dis- posed of his negroes and moved to Madison county.

In this new place Mr. Jeffress and Mr. George Welch laid out the town of Marine. The name was selected in honor of three sea captains, Breath, Allen and Blakeman, who had settled on a tract of land known as the Marion prairie because of their living upon it. John, the son of Captain Breath, married Har- riet Jane Jeffress, a sister of A. W. Jeffress. When the town was plotted Mr. Jeffress also entered about fifteen hundred acres of land in Marine township.

In Virginia Mr. Jeffress had been a mer- chant, and he and Mr. Welch bought the first stock of goods ever in Marine, and began busi- ness there. After a few years Mr. Jeffress mi- grated to Caledonia, in Washington county, Missouri, and spent four years there conduct- ing a store in partnership with John Ammo- nett. As he was not entirely satisfied in Mis- souri, he came back to Marine and resumed his business there for a few years. As his son, A. W. Jeffress, had no inclination for the mercantile life, the father yielded to his wishes

A. W. Deffress

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

and after six years moved to the farm in Ma- rine township where the family lived there- after.

A. W. Jeffress was one of seven children. Two of this family died in childhood; the others were : Harriet, mentioned above ; Alvira M., who married Albert Johnson, and now lives in Steeleville, Missouri, where her hus- band has been circuit judge; Ann Rebecca, the wife of Louis Harnesbrager, a farmer of Pres- cott, Wisconsin; E. J. Jeffress, a grain dealer of Edwardsville, who married Malvina Dug- ger; and Alexander W., the subject of this review.

After finishing the course in the local schools A. W. Jeffress attended school in Jacksonville, Illinois, and upon finishing his studies there, returned to the farm to assist his father. His mother died when Alexander was twenty-one and after a time the father married again, his second wife being Mary Britt Jeffress. Both Mr. and Mrs. Jeffress were members of the Christian church, and in its activities as well as in the duties of every-day life and in the rearing of their children they practiced that true piety which finds expression in upright living and careful training of the children given into their charge. Father Jeffress died in 1866, and his children have carried out his wishes in the division of the property.

The old home place of father Jeffress is now owned by E. J. Jeffress. A. W. received four hundred acres as his share of the estate, and he has continued in the occupation of farming. He has made a success of his chosen occupa- tion and has added to his inheritance until now he owns seven hundred acres of land, which his intelligent cultivation keeps in first class condition. He has given every care not only to growing crops and erecting adequate farm buildings, but to beautifying his place. One feature of which he is deservedly proud in the place where the whole is of a sort to inspire pride in the group of beautiful maple trees which have grown from the seeds he planted.

Even Mr. Jeffress' great farm and pleasant home do not absorb his attention to the extent that he has not leisure to give consideration to matters of public welfare. When the town- ship was organized he was chosen one of the supervisors, serving with Jacob Ellison and Jacob Spies. He was also honored by being chosen delegate to the convention at Spring- field when President Garfield was nominated. He is a valued member of the Christian church of Marine and a most liberal contributor to

all its activities and to every cause which has for its object the amelioration of mankind. In his political convictions he holds with the Re- publican party.

Although Mr. Jeffress has never married, his home is the seat of ease and comfort and his hospitality is proverbial. His geniality and his powers of entertaining make him an ideal host and fit him perfectly for his favorite enjoyment of exercising the noble art of hospitality.

HERMAN P. BESTE. To have followed suc- cessfully a great basic industry like agricul- ture, to have raised a thriving family of citi- zens, to have gathered by honest labor an ample competence for their declining years and maintained always the esteem and ad- miration of the neighbors among whom they have made their home for so many years, --- what more satisfactory accomplishment could be asked of any man? Those are the features, however, that make it pleasant for the biog- rapher to deal with the life of Herman P. Beste, who with his gracious helpmeet now lives more or less retired from the active cares of strenuous life on his large and excellently kept farm that is an honor to Jarvis town- ship.

Herman P. Beste was born in Hanover, Germany, December 9, 1838, the son of Philip and Elizabeth (Shore) Beste, both of whom spent their entire lives in the Fatherland with no desire to try a hazard of new fortunes in the country of their son's adoption. Herman P. attended the schools of Gustadt, Hanover, Germany, and remained in Hanover until his twenty-sixth year, when he came to this coun- try with his brother William. The young Germans, upon their arrival in the United States, came to Marine, Illinois. There Her- man P. worked on a farm and learned his first lessons in how to make Illinois fields yield their richest harvest.

On March 13, 1873, Herman Beste was united in marriage to the charming woman whose presence at his side through all these years has always wrought for comfort and happiness, Miss Charlotte Overbeck, daughter of Herman and Elizabeth (Grosenheider) Overbeck. She was born in Prussia, April 6, 1851, and lived with her uncle until she was past fourteen, and in 1865 she left Europe with her two brothers, William and Henry, to follow her mother, who had come to this country with her other children in 1858, after the death of her husband. To this union of Herman and Charlotte Beste the following children have been born: Harry, in 1875;

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Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II, Part 83

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