USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume II > Part 94
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
Mr. Heim was married at McPherson, Kan- sas, October 4, 1893, his chosen lady being Miss Bertha Florence Claudes, daughter of William and Belle Claudes, now residents of Portland, Oregon. Both parents were na- tives of Germany, but came to this country in their youth. The father was a soldier in the Civil war, like so many of his countrymen offering his services for the defense of the Union when it was threatened with disruption. He was a member of the One Hundredth Illi- nois Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in Joliet, Illinois, in 1862, and serving three months, when he was wounded at the battle of Stone River. He was discharged from the army the following May for disability. Mrs. Heim re- ceived her education in McPherson College. The five sons and daughters of the Heim household are as follows : Florence De Claudes, born at McPherson, Kansas, Decem- ber 3, 1894; Stanley Robert, born at Old Rip- ley, Illinois, November 1, 1896; Irwin Louis, born at Pocahontas, August 6, 1899; Sidney Vernon, born at Pocahontas, February 27, 1901; and Helen Marie, born at Pocahontas, January 8, 1903. The eldest daughter, Miss Florence, has graduated from the Marine pub- lic school and is now a student at McKendree College at Lebanon, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Heim and the promising young citizens with whom they share their home hold a high place in popular confidence and esteem.
DR. DARWIN SCHOTT. Among the physi- cians of Madison county none brings more able skill of head and hand nor more ele- vated devotion to his high calling, than Dar- win Schott, M. D., of Troy. His record is one of untiring devotion to his practice, un- blemished professional integrity, and an un- ceasing interest in all that is new and reliable in the constantly expanding field of medical science and research.
Darwin Schott is a native son of Troy, having been born in that place June 10, 1880, the son of Charles and Augusta (Hoffman) Schott, and their only child. He was reared in Troy, and received his primary education in the public schools of his native town. He was graduated in the parochial schools, and continued his preparatory work in the Mc- Crey-Dewey Academy at Troy, Illinois. He began the study of law in 1897, and read for three years in the office of Judge W. W. Ed- wards. He then went to Saint Louis in the fall of 1899, and finished a four-year course at the Missouri Homeopathic Medical College, getting his M. D. degree with the class of 1903.
At the expiration of his service as interne Dr. Schott immediately began the practice of his profession in the town in which he was born, and he has proved so worthy of all con- fidence reposed in him that he has, even in the short time which has elapsed since his en- trance upon active practice, secured a large clientele.
On October II, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Schott to Miss Myrtle Gay- man. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Schott was graduated from the University of Illinois, and she was a public school teacher for some years. Dr. and Mrs. Schott have become the parents of one child, Lydia, born September 27, 1907.
Dr. Schott's professional associations are with the Madison County Medical Associa- tion, and since his admission to practice he has shown a progressive interest in his work by taking a post-graduate course in the Medi- cal University of the University of Illinois.
Both Dr. Schott and his wife are members of the Lutheran church of Troy. Politically the Doctor subscribes to the tenets advanced by the Democratic party, and he has shown his interest in the cause of good legislation by serving one term as a member of the city board of aldermen. In all, Dr. Schott is the possessor of those qualities that are a grate- ful influence for what advances the best in-
1102
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
terests of the community, and Troy can al- ways be certain of his support whenever her welfare is at stake.
LOUIS BUENGER. Agricultural methods have changed very materially during the past decade or two, and now that even the chief executive of the nation is taking a deep in- terest in progression among the farmers there is every reason to suppose that there will be still further advance along all lines. Inter- urban service, telephones, automobiles and the consequent betterment of the roads on ac- count of the latter, have brought the farmers much closer together, as well as placed them in close touch with the centers of commercial endeavor, and the man today who devotes himself to the cultivation of his land is more independent than any other worker in the world. One of the men whose hospitable home is always open to friend and stranger alike, and who is successfully tilling the soil of Madison county is Louis Buenger, the owner of three hundred acres of land and a man who for many years has served Cho- teau township in official capacities. Mr. Buenger, was born in Germany, March I, 1860, and is a son of William and Katherine (Mithofer) Buenger.
The children of Mr. Buenger's parents were William, Fred, Charlie, Henry, Lydia, Caroline, Louise, Lena and Louis, and when the latter was nine months of age the family came to the United States and settled in St. Louis. Shortly thereafter they moved to Madison county and rented a farm of a Mr. Sippey, on the present site of West Granite City, but eventually moved to Mitchell and for one year rented a farm of John W. Segar. In 1864 Mr. Buenger purchased a tract of one hundred and seventeen acres on Choteau Island, on which a few improvements had been made, including a log barn and a small board house. When Louis was a lad of twelve years his father died, and a large share of the duties of the home place fell upon his young shoulders. He received a common school education, but the greater part of his education was obtained in the school of hard work, and he early learned habits of industry, integrity and economy, which have stood him in good stead in his later years. In 1889 he was married to Miss Mary Huebner, who was born in 1866, in Choteau township, daughter of George and Christina (Hollmann) Hueb- ner. Her parents were prosperous farming ing people, owning three hundred acres of valuable land, and were the parents of John,
Louis, George, August, Caroline, Henrietta, Lizzie, Frances, Minnie and Mary, all of whom were educated in the Franklin school at Oldenburg and the German Evangelical in- stitution, where they were confirmed.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Buen- ger began life on the old homestead, where his mother and his sister, Mrs. William Wolf, made their home with him for several years, but the death of his mother occurred at the home of Mrs. Wolf February 7, 1910, and she was laid to rest in St. John's Cemetery, Nameoki. Assisted by his capable wife, who was eminently fitted to help him to succeed, Mr. Buenger started to make various im- provements on the property, and it is now one of the finest in this part of the county. Large, substatial barns and outbuildings have been erected, and the family home is a hand- some two-story residence, equipped with all modern improvements and surrounded by well-kept lawns and luxuriant shade trees. Mr. Buenger has succeeded in his farming ventures through his industry and good man- agement, and the manner in which he has cul- tivated his land makes him rank high among the agriculturists of this section. His opera- tions have kept him very busy, but he has still found time to give his attention to the inter- ests of his township, and the esteem and con- fidence in which he is held by his fellow citi- ens have been made manifest on numerous oc- casions. For a quarter of a century he served as school trustee of Choteau township, and he has been highway commissioner for twelve years and levee commissioner for a like pe- riod. He is one of the directors of the First National Bank of Granite City, affiliates with the Odd Fellows, Nameoki Lodge, No. 87, and is a faithful member of the German Evangelical Church of Nameoki. Politically he is a staunch Republican, and he has al- ways served the best interests of his party in his locality. As a public official he has al- ways taken the best care of his constitutents, and has brought to his work in these offices the same enthusiasm, faithful labor and pro- gressive ideas that have made him so suc- cessful in the business world. During his long residence here, along with other old set- tlers, he has had a number of thrilling ex- periences, especially when the Mississippi river rose, overflowed its banks and destroyed the farmers' crops, doing enormous damage to property and sweeping away the results of years of hard labor, but on these occasions, with true and characteristic German industry
1103
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
and perseverance, he has started all over again and has eventually built up one of the best country homesteads of his community.
Mr. and Mrs. Buenger have an interesting family of ten bright, healthy, energetic chil- dren, namely : Louise, Amelia, Mary, William, George , Emma, Clara, Charlie, Louis and the baby, Walter. They have been given the best of educational advantages, being sent to the Gabaret school, and also to St. John's German Evangelical school at Nameoki, where they have received confirmation from the well- known and much-beloved pastor, Rev. Plass- mann. The home life of Mr. and Mrs. Buen- ger has been beautiful, and they have reared their children to become honest and upright men and women, and have fitted them to be- come useful citizens in whatever walk of life they may find themselves placed.
WILLIAM WOLF. A native of the county, born in Venice township on September 2, 1854, Mr. Wolf is of the stalwart German blood, which has given character to so many of Madison county's best citizens, and has been a powerful factor in the advance of its industrial efficiency. He is the son of Conrad and Katherine (Kronenberg) Wolf, Germans, who immigrated and settled first in St. Louis, later moving to Venice township. Here they bought a farm and here the children, Henry, William, Christian, Charlie, Louis, Nettie and Mary, grew up and went to school in Name- oki district. Like most of his countrymen who came to America at that time, Conrad Wolf was a thrifty and an intelligent farmer, and he was making a success of his hazard of new fortunes in the new country when his life was ended in a most tragic manner. At a New Year's celebration in the year 1875 he was killed. A neighbor who was intoxicated struck him on the head with a gun. His wife was sick in bed at the time, and the shock was too much for her in her enfeebled condition. Six weeks later she, too, was buried, and the family was left without father or mother. The oldest brother, Henry, continued to farm the place and to take care of the younger chil- dren as best he could. William early learned to provide for himself and obtained work on the neighboring farms.
On October 18, 1894, Mr. Wolf was mar- ried. His bride was like himself, a native of Venice township, and her parents, William and Katrina (Mithofer) Buenger, were natives of Germany. Lydia Buenger was the seventh in a family of ten children, as follows : Frank, Fritz, Henry, William, Charlie, Louis, Lydia,
Caroline, Lena and Louise. The family re- sided in Choteau township and the children attended the district school in that place. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf went to housekeeping on a farm which belonged to Mrs. Wolf's brother Charlie, a place of seventy-two acres, upon which they have continued to reside ever since. The mother of Mrs. Wolf was left a widow in 1872, and after her daughter's mar- riage she made her home with her until her death, in February, 1911. She was then laid to rest beside her husband in the German cemetery and the Reverend Plassmann, of the German Evangelical church, spoke the words of hope and consolation to those who had lost so devoted a member of the family and so kind a neighbor.
Mr. Wolf is a Republican in his political views and a loyal supporter of the party or- ganization in the county. While not a seeker of public office, he is very much interested in all that concerns the public welfare. For eight years he has served as school director, being interested in the schools both as a citizen and as a father. His daughter, Matilda, born August, 18, 1895, and his son, Carl, born July 30, 1898, have both attended the school in their home district and the German school in Nameoki, where they were confirmed, and where their parents have their church member- ship. Though denied the advantages of edu- cation himself, and having had a hard time in his youth, Mr. Wolf is not one who believes that the children of this generation should be denied anything in the way of preparation for their work in the world. His experiences have made him not only strong, but charitable as well, and his neighborly kindness is pro- verbial. Both he and his wife have made a place in the hearts of the community which is no less than that which their material pros- perity has secured them in the economic life of the county.
AUGUST ZELLERMANN. The self-made man has always been the pride and boast of citi- zens of the United States, and no doubt con- ditions are more favorable here for a man to advance himself from a humble position to one of independence among his fellows than in other countries. Certain it is that many of our most successful men started in life as poor boys, without advantages of any kind, and especially has this been so with our leading agriculturists. An excellent example of the latter class may be found in the person of August Zellermann, the owner of an excellent farming property in Section 9, Nameoki town-
1104
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
ship, and one of his community's highly es- teemed citizens. He was born May 24, 1857, in Choteau township, Madison county, Illinois, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Dick- mann) Zellermann, natives of Germany.
The parents of Mr. Zellermann immigrated to the United States as young people, and were married in Madison county, where Mr. Zel- lermann was engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years. They had a family of five children, as follows: Elizabeth and Mary, who are deceased, and Francis, Anna and August. When August Zellermann was about eleven years of age his father died, and his mother moved to Alton to give her children the bene- fit of a parochial school education, although they had formerly attended the schools of Franklin. The family remained in Alton for three years, then returning to the farm, of which August subsequently took charge, and remained as superintendent until he had reached the age of twenty-five years. At this time he laid the foundations for a home of his own, marrying Miss Anna Vorwald, an estimable young woman of Nameoki town- ship, and daughter of Caspar Vorwald, and sister of Ferdinand, Frank, Casper, Mary and Henry Vorwald. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Zellermann began their wedded life on a farm in Choteau township, where they rented .land for three years and worked in- dustriously, early and late, in order that they might secure a home of their own. This in- dustry and faithful labor was rewarded by the accumulation of a farm of one hundred and seventy acres, east of the town of Name- oki, but the young wife did not live long to enjoy the fruits of their labor, dying when her only son, Joseph, was about two weeks of age. Later, Mr Zellermann was married to Miss Elizabeth Sutter, daughter of Michael Sutter, of Madison county, Illinois, and one daughter, who died in infancy, was born to this union, Mrs. Zellermann passing away shortly thereafter. The third wife of Mr. Zel- lermann was a Miss Catherine Mans, daughter of John and Veronica Mans, of Madison county, and four children have been born to this union : John, Bernard, Mary and Lena.
Mr. and Mrs. Zellermann have taken the greatest of pains to give their children all the educational advantages possible, sending them first to the Central public schools, while John later attended the parochial school at Alton, and the girls the parochial school at Granite City. They fitted them for honorable citizen- ship and for any place in life which they
would be called upon to fill, and all have grown up to be highly respected men and women. John Zellermann married Hilda Wedig, by whom he had one child, who died in infancy, and now resides on a part of his father's homestead farm. Joseph, who also lives on a part of the home property, married Elizabeth Meek. Mr. and Mrs. Zellermann are now living in a comfortable home east of Nameoki, surrounded by their loving children, who tenderly care for them. Looking back over the past they can feel that their lives have not been lived in vain, and that the future will hold much for them in the con- sciousness that the world has been made bet- ter for their living in it. They are faithful members of the Catholic church at Mitchell, and Mr. Zellermann is a Democrat in his political views, although not an office seeker.
Mr. Zellermann's success has been due to his own persistent effort and his natural ability as a farmer. In his younger days he met with numerous discouragements and disappoint- ments, and after the death of his second wife his farm had a $7,000 (lebt, at seven per cent interest. Nothing daunted, however, he kept faithfully at his task, and he now has one of the finest farms in his part of the county, equipped with all modern conveniences and improved by a fine set of buildings, among which is a handsome residence, surrounded by wide lawns and luxuriant shade trees, while an orchard of a variety of fruit trees graces a portion of the well cultivated land. That he is a farmer of ability was demonstrated at the first Granite City's Farmer's Institute, where he was awarded first prize for his wheat, oats and peaches, and second prize for his apples. As the head of a family that rep- resents the best type of American citizenship, Mr. Zellermann enjoys the respect and esteem of the community in which he resides, and his geniality and sincerity have been the means of surrounding him with a host of warm, per- sonal friends.
JULIUS LEBEGUE. United by many ties both ancient and modern, of friendly interest and relationship and possessing a citizenship which aims at the same public ideals, the two republics, France and the United States, have contributed to each other's progress in many ways, and in both countries live people of worth, education and independent fortune. In one of the great commonwealths of the latter country, Illinois, and in Madison county in particular, may be found families where the venerable grandparents, the pioneers, still con-
Jules Lelique
1105
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
verse in their native French and preserve many French customs, although a half century and more may have passed since they left their sunny land.
The late Julius Lebegue was born, Feb- ruary 23, 1841, in France, and died on the old Lebegue homestead near Sebastopol, Madison county, Illinois, June 4, 1905, a good man and one who was truly mourned. His parents were Ferdinand and Lucy Lebegue, who immigrated to America in 1851, the family containing five children, four sons and . one daughter, and all settled in Madison county, Illinois. Julius Lebegue became a soldier in the Federal army during the Civil war and was wounded at the battle of At- lanta in 1864. He was a type of soldier whose record may be recalled with pride, and at the close of the rebellion he was given an hon- orable discharge. Farming was his chosen vocation and after his marriage he and his wife settled on the old homestead of forty acres which he had bought, and he became a successful agriculturist and a prosperous man. In 1873 he and wife concluded to remove to the vicinity of a town in order to give their children better educational advantages than were afforded near the old home, and Mr. Le- begue bought a farm near Sebastopol and on it erected one of the first large brick residences built in Madison county. This remained the family home and there the children grew up in a delightful home atmosphere, a happy and united family. Hospitality was always one of the cardinal laws and far and wide this home was known for its generous entertain- ment and its harmless gaieties.
In 1866 Julius Lebegue was married to Miss Neree Rogier, who was born in Department North, France, in 1844, a daughter of John L. and Ernestine Rogier. They immigrated to America in 1851, enjoying a pleasant voy- age of forty-five days and landing at New Orleans. At that time Mrs. Lebegue was a little girl of seven years, there being three sons and two daughters in the family. At New Orleans the travelers took a Mississippi boat and started for St. Louis with congratu- lations that they were so nearly at the jour- ney's end. They noticed that the boat fre- quently made landings and numerous people were removed from the passengers before the French family understood that cholera had invaded the steamer. They reached Madison county, however, and there Mr. Rogier pur- chased forty acres of uncleared land and three weeks later was stricken with the dread
malady, cholera, and died. This was a ter- rible situation for his widow and children, but she faced the future with remarkable bravery and resourcefulness, determined to keep her children together at all hazards. Assisted by them, she managed to get a one-room log cabin built, the boys filling the open spaces with straw, and there life in the new country began. Mrs. Lebegue recalls much of pioneer life of that time and pays a loving tribute to her mother's courage and devotion.
To Mr. and Mrs. Lebegue ten children were born, three of whom died in infancy, those who reached mature life being: Lucy, Ernestine, Joseph, Julius, John, Ernest and Edmund. Lucy married Nehemiah L. Malan, and they have three children: Leona, Lloyd and Earl. Ernestine, who died in 1904, mar- ried Thomas Stubbins, and they had one daughter, Hilda. Joseph married Lydia Cordonnier, and they have two children : Orville and Alta. Julius is superintendent of the high school of Seneca, Lasalle county, Illinois. He married May Goillo, and they have two children: Minerva and Winston. Ernest, married Emma Wehrli, and they have three sons: Wilbert, Albert and Edwin. Edmund married Rosa Wehrli, and they have one son, Elmer. Mrs. Lebegue makes her home with her son John and is surrounded with every comfort and the recipient of de- voted filial care. She is a member of the Ply- mouth Brethren church, to which her husband also belongs.
JOHN BROCKMANN. Among the repre- sentative agriculturists of Madison county, Illinois, whose hard, persistent labor, indus- trious habits and skillful treatment of the soil have made the agricultural element of this section rank favorably with that of any other part of the state, John Brockmann, of section 9, Nameoki township, stands in the front ranks. His career has been one that should teach a lesson to the youth of the coming generation, for it proves that conscientious effort, properly directed, will bring success, and that an honorable, upright life will have its reward in the shape of public confidence and esteem. John Brockmann was born in Nameoki township, in 1865, and like so many of his fellow citizens is of German parentage, his parents, Christian and Christina (Gieszel- mann) Brockmann, being natives of the Fatherland.
Christian Brockmann came to the United States at the age of twenty-two years, in 1852, and made his way to the levee in St.
1106
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Louis, where he secured employment, but af- ter one day came on to Venice township, Mad- ison county, Illinois, where during the winter he worked among the farmers at $3.00 per month. Proving himself a willing worker and intelligent laborer, during the next summer he was employed at $15.00 per month, and in the winter of 1853-4 assisted in building a sawmill on the present site of John Wedig's farm, and also sawed lumber and built the Odd Fellows Hall in Nameoki. Having the admirable qualities of thrift and economy, Mr. Brockmann industriously saved his earnings, and in 1857 felt that he had enough capital to establish a home of his own, subsequently, in that year, marrying Christina Gieszelmann, who had come to this country as a young woman and settled in St. Louis. Beginning their wedded life on a rented farm, they con- tinued to live thereon for three years, and then went into debt for a tract of forty acres located at Horse Shoe Lake, but during the first year they lost all they possessed in the flood. Nothing daunted they started all over again, and in the years that followed they transformed the property, which had orig- inally been covered with timber with the ex- ception of two acres, into one of the finest and most productive farms of their township, adding to it until they owned one hundred and sixty-two acres. They reared a family of four children: Minnie, Henry, William and John, to whom they gave good educational advantages in the Central school, instilling in them the lessons of industry and integrity, and lived to see them grow to honorable man and womanhood and to take their proper po- sitions in life. Mrs. Brockmann died in 1905, her husband surviving her until 1911, and both were laid to rest in St. John's German Cemetery at Nameoki, having been faithful members of the German Evangelical church. They were typical Illinois pioneers, and their memory is held in remembrance by a number of warm friends.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.