USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 84
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Lydia, in 1877; Will, in 1880; and Arnium, in 1886, who after a public school education in Troy, Illinois, took the scientific course at Valparaiso, and was graduated with the de- gree of Bachelor of Science, and is now study- ing law in the Washington University.
Mr. and Mrs. Beste are members of the Evangelical church, and are liberal supporters of the same. Like every citizen concerned in the general welfare of his community, he is interested in the maintenance of the best pos- sible school system in the township, and for six years his son Harry has been an able and progressive school trustee. He was educated here in the high school, and is now on the home farm. Lydia, at home, is a graduate in music, and also finished her studies at Val- paraiso. William was educated in the county schools, and is now on the home farm. Polit- ically Mr. Beste casts his vote for the men and measures promulgated by the Democratic party.
The four hundred and five acres of land which comprise the farm lands of Mr. Beste match for fertility and improved condition any similar tract in the county. He has lived in the same place since 1871, living a life al- ways of such thrift, honesty and uprightness and maintaining such cordial relations with all with whom he came in contact, so that he well deserves the pleasant years he is now spending on his farm, attended by the respect and affection of all who know him.
LEONARD W. ADLER, loyal in citizenship, is one of the distinguished citizens of St. Jacob, Madison county, Illinois, and his life record forms an integral part of the history of the state. He stands today as a high type of American manhood, having attained marked success in his various business enterprises and having at the same time found opportunity to devote attention to the public welfare, to thor- oughly inform himself concerning the vital questions and issues of the day and to spread in effective manner those principles which he believes contain the best elements of good government. In connection with his extensive milling enterprises he has figured prominently in local politics, having given a most effective administration as mayor of St. Jacob.
A native of Marine township, Illinois, Leon- ard W. Adler was born on the Ist of Febru- ary, 1857, and he is a son of Leonard Adler, whose birth occurred at Barlinger, Germany, whence he came to the United States about the year 1850, locating at Marine, where he passed the residue of his life. At Marine, Illinois,
the subject of this review was reared to ma- turity, his early educational discipline consist- ing of such advantages as were afforded in the public schools. At the age of seventeen years he became interested in the milling busi- ness, in which line of enterprise he has con- tinued to be interested during the long inter- vening years to the present time. With the passage of time he has gradually extended the scope of his operations until he is now the manager of the Valier Spies Milling Com- pany of St. Jacobs, owners of eight elevators and two flouring mills in Illinois and Indiana. He is a stockholder and a member of the board of directors of the State Bank of St. Jacob, which substantial monetary institution was incorporated under the laws of the state in 1903. He is also a stockholder and a di- rector in the Midland Casualty Company and as a result of his keen foresight and shrewd discernment he has met with most gratifying success in all his undertakings. In his political convictions he is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, in the local councils of which he is a most active worker. He was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of mayor of St. Jacob, and as administrator of the municipal affairs of St. Jacob he was influential in securing va- rious important improvements for the city and in many ways he gave evidence of his in- trinsic loyalty and public spirit in connection with the general welfare of this section of the county. In fraternal circles he is affiliated with Marine Lodge, No. 355, Ancient, Free & Accepted Masons; with the Order of the Eastern Star; the Royal Neighbors of Amer- ica; and the Modern Woodmen of America. In April, 1911, Mr. Adler, with his wife, left for Europe, to make an extended tour throughout Switzerland, Italy and other parts of the old world. He is in Europe at the time of this writing and during his absence his son, Walter H. Adler, has charge of his affairs.
In the year 1880 was solemnized the mar- riage of Leonard W. Adler to Miss Pauline Peters, whose birth occurred at St. Louis, and who is a daughter of Henry Peters. To this union have been born two children,-Leonard A., whose natal day was the 17th of April, 1882; and Walter H., born at Marine, Illinois, on the 21st of July, 1884. Leonard A. Adler was reared and educated at St. Jacob and at the present time, in 1911, he is engaged in the grain business at Goddard, Kansas. For two years he was a student in the University of Missouri. He married Miss Margaret Rusco,
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
and they have one son, Leonard R., born in September, 19II. Walter H. Adler, the younger son, attended the public schools at St. Jacob until he had reached the age of eighteen years and he then went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended business colleges for a period of two years, being finally grad- uated in the Bryant & Stratton Business Col- lege. He has been in the milling business for the past eight years and at present is manager of his father's business at St. Jacob, during the latter's absence, as previously noted. He married Miss Alice Sohn, a daughter of Fred Sohn, and a popular and successful teacher in the public schools of St. Jacob prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Adler have one daughter, Myra, whose birth occurred in 1907. In politics he is a stanch advocate of Republican principles and his fraternal affilia- tions are with the York Rite branch of the time-honored Masonic order. In their relig- ious faith the Adler family are consistent members of the German Lutheran church at St. Jacob. The individual members of the family are liberal contributors to all philan- thropical projects advanced for the good of the community and their citizenship is a most valuable adjunct to this section of the state.
HENRY GINDLER, a resident of Madison county, Illinois, during practically his entire life time thus far, has long been identified with agricultural interests in Jarvis township, where he is accounted one of the foremost citizens. He has been very successful in his private business and from a beginning com- paratively insignificant has become the pos- sessor of a large property and gained a place of prominence in his home community. Mr. Gindler is a broadminded character, with an energy and enterprise which influences every- thing and everybody with whom he has rela- tions, and he has also been identified with much that has made for the public welfare of his township and county at large. The pos- sessor of a large rural estate of some three hundred and twenty-two acres of most arable land, he has achieved a marvelous success for one who had nothing to back him in the be- ginning except pluck and perseverance.
A native of Collinsville township, Madison county, Illinois, Henry Gindler was born on the 25th of December, 1852, and he is a son of Charles and Margaret (Englehardt) Gin- dler, both of whom were born in Germany. The father immigrated to the United States when he was a youth of eighteen years of age and he proceeded directly to the city of St. Vol. II-28
Louis, Missouri, where he engaged in the work of his trade, that of gunsmith. For two years he maintained his home in St. Louis and at the expiration of that time he came to Mad- ison county, where he secured employment on , farm located between Edwardsville and Having eventually accumulated a little money, he went to Collinsville, where he purchased a team of horses and where he was engaged in teaming for the ensuing five years. He then married, his wife being the widow of John Hehnish, her maiden name having been Mar- garet Englehardt. Immediately after that im- portant even he rented a small farm in the vicinity of Collinsville and later he came to Jarvis township, where he purchased a farm of forty acres of which he subsequently dis- posed. He then bought another farm near Troy, Illinois, this one comprising ninety acres of land. On this estate he passed the residue of his life, his death having occurred in 1904. His cherished and devoted wife, who preceded him to the life eternal, died in 1881.
As a youth Henry Gindler attended the pub- lic schools of his native place and later he was a student in the German parochial school at Black Jack, where he was confirmed at the age of fourteen years. For the two succeeding years he attended school at Spring Valley and then he returned to his father's farm, where he remained until he had reached his twenty- fourth year. After his marriage, in 1878, he rented a farm for two or three years and he then purchased a farm of forty acres in Jar- vis township. With the passage of years he added a tract at a time to his original estate until he is now the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and twenty-two acres. He is absolutely independent at present and he and his wife are passing their declining years in full enjoyment of the fruits of their former years of earnest effort and concentrated labor. He devotes his attention to diversified agri- culture and the raising of high-grade stock and his substantial buildings, attractively situ- ated in the midst of well cultivated fields, are the best indication of the ability and thrift of the practical owner.
On the 2nd of February, 1878, was solemn- ized the marriage of Mr. Gindler to Miss Bar- bara Whittmann, who was born and reared in Jarvis township and who is a daughter of Paul Whittmann, long a representative agri- culturist in this section of the county. To this union have been born seven children and of the four now living the following brief data are here incorporated, ----- Mary is the wife of
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
George Dollinger and they reside in Jarvis township; Theresa remains at the parental home; Henry A. is engaged in farming in Jarvis township; and Frank, remains at home, where he is associated with his father in the general supervision of the farm.
Since attaining to his legal majority Mr. Gindler has been aligned as a stalwart sup- porter of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor. He has never participated actively in political affairs of any description but he has always held him- self in readiness to help along any good pro- ject advanced for progress and development. He has kept abreast of the times in everything pertaining to modern methods in farming and he is a co-operant factor in all matters affect- ing the general welfare of the community. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he carries insurance, and he is also insured in the Bankers Life Association. In their religious faith he and his wife are con- sistent members of the German Evangelical church at Troy, to whose good works they contribute in generous measure of their time and means. The Gindler family is one of old German stock and by reason of their high sense of honor, their sterling integrity and their innate refinement the various representa- tives of the name command the unalloyed confidence and regard of their fellow citizens.
CHARLES F. EDWARDS, who is now living virtually retired from active participation in business affairs, has attained to the venerable age of seventy-seven years. In spite of his ripe old age he is still upright and energetic and he retains in much of their pristine vigor the splendid mental and physical qualities of his prime. A native son of Jarvis township, Madison county, Illinois, he has passed practi- cally his entire life in this vicinity, where he has been prominently connected with public upbuilding, and to his efforts can be traced many a substantial enterprise or advancement contributing greatly to the growth and pros- perity of this section of the state. In every sense of the word he is a representative citi- zen and his life is certainly worthy of com- mendation and of emulation, for along hon- orable and straightforward lines he has won the success which crowns his efforts and which makes him one of the substantial resi- dents of Jarvis township.
Charles F. Edwards was born in Jarvis township, on the 18th of September, 1834, and he is a son of John and Sarah (Merry)
Edwards, the former of whom was born and reared in Knox county, Tennessee, and the latter of whom was born in Warren county, Kentucky. John Edwards migrated to Illinois about the year 1830, locating first in Marine township and removing later to Jarvis town- ship, where he passed the residue of his life. Sarah (Merry) Edwards was a daughter of Owen T. Merry and she accompanied her par- ents to Jarvis township, Madison county, this state, in the year 1827. John and Sarah Ed- wards were married in 1831, and to them were born seven children, three of whom are still living and concerning whom the following brief data are here inserted,-Mary is the wife of William K. Lemen, of Collinsville ; Profes- sor James S. Edwards also resides at Collins, Illinois ; and Charles F. is the immediate sub- ject of this review. The father was sum- moned to the life eternal in the year 1866 and his cherished and devoted wife passed into the great beyond in 1858.
As a boy Charles F. Edwards grew up on the old homestead farm in Jarvis township and he pursued his elementary educational training in the neighboring district schools. Subsequently he was a student in the public schools at Troy, Illinois, and when twenty years of age he became actively identified with his father in the work and management of the old homestead farm. With the excep- tion of one year, which he passed at Collins- ville, clerking in a general store, Mr. Ed- wards has resided continuously on the old Ed- wards estate entered by his father in the early pioneer days. After his father's death he in- herited this farm and with the passage of years he has added to the original estate until he is now the owner of some two hundred acres of finely improved land in Jarvis town- ship. But he has retired from the active supervision of the farm and the same is now run by his sons. In his political proclivities he is aligned as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republi- can party stands sponsor, and voted twice for Abraham Lincoln. While he has never mani- fested aught of ambition for political prefer- ment of any description, he has ever been on the qui vive and enthusiastically in sympathy with all projects advanced for the good of the general welfare. He is connected with a number of fraternal and social organizations of representative character and his religious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a liberal contributor to all philanthropical movements
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
and he is a man of liberal views and broad sympathies.
Mr. Edwards has been twice married, his first union having been to Miss Hester J. Lemen, the ceremony having been performed on the Ist of January, 1856. She was a daughter of James H. and Catherine Lemen, of St. Clair county, Illinois, and she died in 1858, survived by one daughter, Catherine, who is now the wife of Alfred Stevens, of Collinsville. In March, 1861, Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Miss Margaret A. Kimberlin, of Troy. To this union have been born seven children and of the number five are living at the present time, namely,- George A., Joseph F. and Fred S., Emery L. and Wilbur O. Mr. Edwards is a man of the utmost affability and innate kindliness of spirit. He thoroughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in the society of his fam- ily and friends. He is always courteous, sym- pathetic and kind hearted, and those who know him personally accord him the highest esteem.
AUGUST METZ, loyal in citizenship, is one of the distinguished pioneers in Madison county, Illinois, where he has resided since 1854. His life record forms an integral part of the history of Jarvis township and his en- ergy and genius have left an impress upon its rapidly developing civilization. He was born and reared in the great Empire of Germany but since his arrival in the United States he has manifested the most intrinsic loyalty to the country of his adoption. He has long been engaged in agricultural pursuits in this section of the state and at the same time has found opportunity to advance progress and development, to thoroughly inform himself concerning the vital questions and issues of the day and to spread in effective manner those principles which he believes contain the best elements of good government. Although Mr. Metz has attained to the venerable age of eighty-one years, he is still active, and he and his wife are now passing the evening of their lives in full enjoyment of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. Solely through his own well directed endeavors Mr. Metz has ac- cumulated a competency and he is now the owner of a fine farm of some two hundred and forty acres of well tilled land.
A native of Prussia, August Metz was born on the 6th of March, 1830, and is a son of Christian and Magdalene (Weaver) Metz, both of whom passed their entire lives in Prussia. The third in order of birth in a
family of eight children, August Metz was reared to adult age in his native land and he attended the excellent German schools until he had reached the age of fourteen years. Thereafter he was engaged in work on his father's farm until 1854, when he decided to seek his fortunes in America. Accordingly he bade farewell to home and native land and embarked, in company with a brother, on a sailing vessel, which encompassed eight weeks in the trip across the Atlantic ocean. Land- ing in the harbor of New York city in Sep- tember, 1854, he proceeded directly to Illinois, locating in Jarvis township. Here he hired out as a farm hand and for the ensuing four months he worked for a salary of eleven dol- lars a month. At the expiration of that time he and his brother, whose name was Frank Metz, contracted for a job of clearing. When that piece of work was finished they cut wood and made rails and eventually hired out by the month again. Subsequently they rented a piece of land, which they farmed in partner- ship for twelve years. In 1869 he bought sixty acres of the present home site, then an- other twenty acres adjoining this farm, and still later purchased a tract of eighty acres, to which he continued to add adjoining tracts until he finally became the owner of two hun- dred and forty acres, the same representing some of the very best land in the entire county. He has been engaged in general farming and stock raising during the greater portion of his active career and in both those lines of enterprise has won an admirable suc- cess. German thrift and industry are two qualities which have contributed greatly to progress and advanced civilization in America and it has been stated with considerable truth that the more German a community is the more prosperous are its respective citizens.
In the year 1861, at St. Louis, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Metz to Miss Juliette Kissell, who was born and reared in, Pennsyl- vania and who is a daughter of Samuel Kis- seil, long a representative citizen of the old Keystone state of the Union. While Mr. and Mrs. L. Metz have no children of their own, they have reared to maturiay two of the chil- dren of Mrs. Metz' brother, their names be- ing Lucy and Ella. To few people is it given to attain so high a place in the esteem and affection of their fellow citizens as that en- joyed by Mr. and Mrs. August Metz, who are known throughout Madison county for their generous and gracious hospitality. Their spacious and comfortable residence in Jarvis
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
township is widely renowned as a center of refinement and cheer and Mrs. Metz is deeply beloved by all who have come within the sphere of her gracious influence.
In politics Mr. Metz accords a stalwart al- legiance to the principles promulgated by the Republican party and while he has never man- ifested any ambition for political preferment he has ever given freely of his aid and influ- ence in support of all measures tending to advance the good of the general welfare. In their religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Metz are devout members of the German Lutheran church at Troy, of which he has served as a member of the board of trustees for a num- ber of years.
JOHN BERNHARDT. Most successfully en- gaged in the great basic industry of agricul- ture on his fine estate of eighty acres in Jar- vis township, Madison county, Illinois, John Bernhardt is one of the representative farm- ers and citizens in this section of the state, where he has resided during practically his entire life thus far. Mr. Bernhardt was born in Jarvis township, on the 28th of July, 1863, and he is a son of Peter and Anna Mary (Schwerdfeger) Bernhardt, the former of whom was born and reared in Germany and the latter of whom also claimed Germany as the place of her nativity. Peter Bernhardt was doubly orphaned at the early age of twelve years and what schooling he obtained had been received prior to that time. After the death of his parents he learned the stone mason's trade and he was identified with work along that line in his native land until he had attained to his twentieth year. In 1852 he bade farewell to his many friends and the scenes of his childhood days and immigrated to the United States. After his arrival in this country he proceeded directly to Jarvis township, in Madison county, Illinois, locating at what was then known as "Black Jack." There he began to work for most meager wages as a mere farm hand. Some three years later, however, he had accumulated enough money to enable him to marry and not long thereafter he became the owner of a tract of forty acres of most arable land. He lived and died in Jarvis township, where he reared and educated a family of five children, one of whom, Elizabeth, is deceased. The other children, Henry, John, Fred and Peter, are living at the present time, in 1911, and they are all prosperously located and doing well for themselves. The father was called to
eternal rest in the year 1902 and the mother passed to her reward in 1897.
John Bernhardt was reared to maturity un- der the invigorating discipline of the old homestead farm, in the work and manage- ment of which he early became associated with his father, and his preliminary educa- tional training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the neighboring district schools, which he attended until he had reached the age of seventeen years. At that time he returned home and helped his father run the farm, where he has resided during the long intervening years to the present time. He is the owner of a tract of eighty acres of some of the finest land in this county and on the same is engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock. In his political affiliations he is a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party and while he has never manifested aught of ambition for political preferment of any description he is ever ready to give of his aid and influence in' support of all measures projected for the good of the community. For eleven years he was the popular incumbent of the office of school director in Jarvis township, district No. 62. In fraternal circles he is affiliated with Blue Lodge, No. 588, Ancient Free & Ac- cepted Masons, and he is also a valued and appreciative member of the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America. In his relig- ious faith he is a consistent member of the German Evangelical church, at Troy, Illinois, and he and his family figure prominently in all church affairs.
On the 5th of December, 1889, Mr. Bern- hardt was united in marriage to Miss Eliza- beth Bohnenstiehl, who was born and reared in Jarvis township and who is a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Guttersohn) Bohnen- stiehl, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Bernhardt have three children,-Eli C. and John and Anna, the latter two of whom are twins. Two sons, Edward F. and Walter W., are deceased. The Bernhardt children have been afforded the best of educa- tional advantages and they are all at the pa- rental home. Mr. and Mrs. Bernhardt are popular in connection with the best social ac- tivities of their home community, where they are accorded the unqualified confidence and esteem of their fellow citizens by reason of their exemplary lives.
VALENTINE MILLER. Mr. Miller's hand- some homestead of more than one hundred
MR. AND MRS. VALENTINE MILLER
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