USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume II > Part 79
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METZ, Theodore C. (deceased), for seventeen years a prominent attorney and business man of East St. Louis, formerly a resident of De- troit, Mich., where he served as Probate Clerk of Wayne County, that State, and later associ- ated in law business with Hon. W. S. Forman, at Nashville, Ill., died at his home, in East St. Louis, December 1, 1906, aged fifty years. Mr. Metz was well educated and, in early life, devoted his attention to teaching, serving for a time as Principal of a school at Columbia, Mo., and also as. teacher in a Lutheran paro- chial school in East St. Louis. After coming to East St. Louis, he took a prominent part in the organization of St. Peter's German Luth- eran Church in that city. One brother who survives him is a Lutheran minister, and his two sisters married ministers of that denomin- ation. Two brothers and two sisters who sur- vive him are: Otto A. Metz, of St. Louis, Mo .; Rev. Charles C. Metz, of Webster, Minn .; the wife of Rev. Gottlieb Harre, of Lockwood, Mo., and the wife of Rev. Edward Stroehling, of New Ulm, Minn. Mr. Metz' widow also sur- vives him.
METZLER, Theodore A .- A native son of St. Clair County, and born in Millstadt Township, November 9, 1858, Theodore A. Metzler has de- voted his entire active life to agriculture, and since 1896 has resided on a farm containing thirty acres, in St. Clair Township. He was reared on the farm of his parents, Louis and Margaret (Rauch) Metzler, natives respective- ly, of Hessen-Darmstadt and Kassel-Darmstadt, Germany, who came from the old country at an early day, settling on a farm in Millstadt Township.
That Theodore A. is a self-made man, and in his youth had few advantages other than those provided by his own industry, may be imagined when it is known that he is the sixth oldest in a family of fourteen children, all dependent upon the output of a moderate sized farm. He continued to live at home until his thirty-eighth year, when, on September 3, 1896, he was unit- ed in marriage with Ada E. Snyder, a native of St. Clair County, and forthwith established a home on his present farm. His wife's par- ents, Philip and Clarissa (Stout) Snyder, were born in Bavaria, and in 1860 settled on a 100- acre tract of land three miles southwest of Belleville, where they died, honored and re- spected. Mr. Metzler has a neat and productive
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Edward. W. West
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farm, and it is his aim to equip it with mod- ern appliances, and in time to add to its size and general improvements. In politics he is a Democrat.
MEYER, Charles, formerly proprietor of the amusement resort known as "Central Park," in East St. Louis, is a native of Germany, where he was born in 1863. He there received his early mental training, and, in 1884, came to St. Louis where he worked in the Southern Hotel for four years, later being employed for three years as bartender for Tony Faust. He afterwards secured employment with the Mis- souri Pacific Railway Company, with which he remained four years, and then for a like period was proprietor of the Hyde Camp Hotel. He subsequently served four years as mail-carrier between St. Louis and Morse's Mill. After this he traveled six years for the A. Moll Grocery Company, and a year and a half for the Rus- meyer Distillery Company. In 1893 he came to East St. Louis and took charge of Central Park, having an area of ten acres and containing an amusement and dancing pavilion which is one of the finest in the city. He conducted this resort through the season of 1905, and later had a liquor store on Cross Avenue. He is now employed as a commercial traveler. Mr. Meyer was married in 1886 to Amelia Berg- man, a native of St. Louis, and they have a family of six children, namely: Amelia, Charles. Loretta, Nettie, Adell and Clara. ‘ So- cially, Mr. Meyer is a member of the Royal Ar- canum. His residence is on Cross Avenue, near Central Park, East St. Louis.
MEYER, George, was born in St. Louis, Mo., October 7, 1868, a son of Julius and Catherine (Hain) Meyer, both natives of Germany, the former a son of Christopher and Elizabeth Meyer, also of German birth. George Meyer was reared by his paternal grandparents from the time he was one year old. He completed his education in the public schools when eigh- teen years of age, and in 1884 was employed in the office of the "Belleville Post and Zeitung," where he learned the printing trade. Here he remained for two years, after which he was with Mr. Homeyer for two years, and then again entered the employ of the "Zeitung and News." On March 5, 1895, in connection with Julius Bach, he organized the "Morning Rec-
ord," the only morning independent paper pub- lished in Belleville. In 1901 Mr. Bach retired from the. business, leaving Mr. Meyer as sole proprietor of the paper, which he conducts as a strictly independent sheet, printed in English.
In his political affiliations Mr. Meyer is an independent, and in his religious belief, a mem- ber of St. Paul's Free Protestant Church. He belongs to the following fraternal organiza- tions: Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red Men, Good Samaritans, and Fraternal Order of Eagles; is also a member of the Turn- verein, Kronthal Liedertafel and Choral Sym- phony Societies. On March 28, 1893, Mr. Meyer was married to Mollie Brunner, a native of Belleville, who was educated in the public schools of that city. They are the parents of one child, Clarence, who was born January 3, 1894.
MICHAELIS, Herman, a mine operator of Belleville, St. Clair County, was born in Sax- ony, Germany, June 2, 1850. His parents, John and Roselia (Anke) Michaelis, were also na- tives of that Empire. In 1872, Mr. Michaelis came to this country and proceeded directly to Belleville, where he went to work in the coal mines. He had an interest in the Pitts- burg mine, and was connected with that and the Western Coal Company for seventeen years. He has been Secretary of the Highland Coal Company since their mine was started in 1890. They employ about thirty-five men. The company is composed of eight members, viz: Christ Neff, Fred Dietrich, August Grosspitch (Manager), Henry Strothmann, John Wyant, Simon Steger and Louis Staapp.
Herman Michaelis was married May 21, 1878, to Miss Kesselring, who was born and schooled in St. Clair County. They have five children- Sophia, Pauline, George, Walter and Olga. In politics, Mr. Michaelis is a Republican. So- cially, he is a member of the Germania Bund.
MICHAELIS, Louis, a mine owner and oper- ator, of Belleville, this county, was born in Saxony, Germany, June 29, 1845. His father and mother, John G. Roselia (Anke) Michaelis, were natives of Germany. Mr. Michaelis ob- tained his early instruction partly in the Fa- therland and partly in the public schools of St. Clair County, where he arrived in the 'sixties.
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He came to Belleville when twenty-two years old, and went to work in the coal mines. Two years afterward he secured a share in the Old German Mine, in which he was engaged for three years. He then sold his share and pur- chased a one-tenth interest in the Western Mine. He is now sole owner of the Pittsburg Mine, which is the Western Mine, reorganized. Mr. Michaelis owns also a half interest in the Superior Mine, which was opened in 1902, and furnishes employment at present to 125 men. The Pittsburg Mine employs about forty men.
Louis Michaelis has been twice married. His first wife was Clara Schmidt, a native of Ger- many, to whom he was married in Belleville, in 1867. Four children resulted from this union, namely: Clara, Louisa, Otto and Edward. The second wife was formerly Louise Krampfert, who has borne her husband one child, Hugo. Fraternally, Mr. Michaelis is a member of the I. O. O. F.
MILITZER, Ernest, liquor dealer, 1306 Mis- souri Avenue, East St. Louis, a baker by trade, and Alderman of the Fourth Ward for four successive terms, is a typical German-American, who was born in Saxony, Germany, August 14, 1848. He was reared on the farm of his par- ents, Gustave and Wilhelmina (Holtzmiller) Militzer, who were also natives of Saxony, and in the Fatherland secured a practical common school education, finally becoming an appren- tice to a baker, which vocation he followed after migrating to St. Louis in 1867. May 24, 1884, he started a bakery of his own on the corner of Fifth Street and Missouri Avenue, soon after taking in as partner his brother-in- law, William Horn, with whom he conducted the Vienna Bakery for seven years. Then hav- ing bought the interest of his partner, in 1897 he erected the large brick bakery at 1304 Mis- souri Avenue, which he turned over to his son, Martin E., in October, 1902. In the spring of 1904, Mr. Militzer built a brick block adjoining the bakery on Missouri Avenue, and July 11, of the same year, started the saloon business which he is now conducting. Mr. Militzer has been a Republican since casting his first presi- dential vote, and his services as Alderman of the Fourth Ward for four terms have contrib- uted to the accomplishment of marked munici- pal improvement in that part of the city. In 1875 he established a home of his own, marry-
ing Caroline Preusser, of St. Louis, who died some years later. In July, 1897, he was united in marriage with Frances Blacht, a native of Germany. Of the seven children born into his family, only two are living, Martin and William.
MILITZER, Martin E., Manager and proprie- tor of one of the largest and most successful bakeries in East St. Louis (at 1304 Missouri Avenue), was born in St. Louis, Mo., January 23, 1876, a son of Ernest and Caroline (Preus- ser) Militzer, natives of Saxony, Germany, and St. Louis, respectively. Mr. Militzer was seven years old when his parents moved to East St. Louis, and his self-supporting career began at the age of fifteen, when he learned the baker's trade of his father. October 2, 1902, he purchased the business of the latter, and since has enlarged both store and stock, em- ploying, at the present time, five bakers, three of whom comprise the night shift, while he himself works on the day shift. Mr. Militzer has a deservedly large trade, maintaining the same by fair dealing, and the use of the best materials on the market. He is identified with the Republican party, and is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The marriage of Mr. Militzer and Elizabeth Fairhlinger, of East St. Louis, occurred June 27, 1900.
MILLER, Daniel, chief engineer of the new ice plant at Belleville, this county, was born in 1867 in Germany, whose public schools he attended. His parents were also natives of that country, where their entire lives were spent. Daniel Miller remained in the Father- land until he attained his majority, when (in 1887), he emigrated to the United States and located in Ohio. He resided in that State but a short time before removing to Milwaukee, Wis., whence he went to Michigan and subse- quently took up his residence in St. Louis, Mo. In 1902 he came to Belleville and accepted a position as chief engineer of the Star Brew- ery Company, which he retained until April, 1904, when the new ice plant was installed in Belleville and he was appointed chief engineer of that concern, the duties of which he is at present fulfilling with unusual ability. In 1903. he was married to Emma Hubert, a native of Belleville, and to them have been born one child, Clarence.
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MILLER, Dominick Francis, who is success- fully engaged in farming, four miles east of Belleville, St. Clair County, was born in this county on June 16, 1844. He is a son of Michael and Christine (Karlskind) Miller, na- tives respectively of Alsace and Lorraine, when these provinces were French territory. They came to the United States with their fathers, Peter Miller and Sebastian Karlskind. At the period of their arrival in this country, Michael Miller was fifteen years old and Christine Karlskind was nineteen. Miller and Sebastian Karlskind were two veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. The latter ended his career as a sol- dier at the Battle of Austerlitz, where one of his eyes was shot out. The former fought through the campaigns until the battle of Waterloo. Peter Miller was under Massina's command at the siege of Genoa.
In 1826, when a lad of fifteen years, Michael Miller came to the United States with his father, and landed at Philadelphia, on the Fourth of July. After living two years in the interior of New York State, the Miller family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence in 1831, to New Orleans, where the father died. In 1833 Michael Miller came to Illinois and en- tered eighty acres of government land in Ridge Prairie, St. Clair County. In 1834 he made a trip to New Orleans on a flat boat, the passage consuming two months. In 1837, he became a permanent settler in St. Clair County, and in the following year married Christine Karlskind, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. He was honest and industrious, and amassed considerable property, owning 1,200 acres of land in St. Clair County. He died July 16, 1883, aged seventy-one years.
Christine Karlskind, Michael Miller's wife, was born in Langdort, Lorraine, September 12, 1813, and died October 5, 1890. Her fam- ily, on arriving in the United States in 1832, settled two miles northwest of Belleville, where the father died in 1846. She was the mother of four sons and two daughters, all of whom reached maturity and prospered. She was a noble woman and her husband often repeated the declaration, "All that I am and all that I have, I owe to my wife." She was a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church. Her children are Magdalena (Mrs. Nicholas Biebel), Peter, Joseph E., Dominick F., William J. and Mary (Mrs. Eckert), all living on Turkey Hill farm.
Dominick F. Miller has 196 acres of choice land, which he has owned about thirty-five years, and upon which he has made many val- uable improvements. On this land is one of the most productive coal mines in the county, having an output of 1,500 tons daily. Mr. Miller was united in marriage on February 25, 1873, with Louise Rosenbaum, of St. Louis, a member of a well known family in that city. The children resulting from this union are: Laura M., Oliver E., Eugene W. and Maud M. Politically, Mr. Miller has been a Republican since 1896, and has served as School Director. He is a man of much intelligence and sound information, an energetic and progressive farmer, and is widely respected as one of the most substantial and useful members of the community.
MILLER, Edward P., one of the enterprising young business men of St. Clair County, was born in 1876, at Millstadt, Ill., and was edu- cated in the public schools of that place. His father, L. T. Miller, is also a native of this county. After leaving school Edward P. en- gaged in the creamery business, to which he has given his entire time and attention, and now occupies the responsible position of Sec- retary and Manager of the Star Creamery Com- pany. This company was organized in 1897 and handles 3,500 pounds of milk per day, part of which is made into butter. The plant is equipped with the latest machinery and ap- pliances, and the butter is shipped to St. Louis. In 1899 Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Katie Muskopf, a native of St. Clair County, and two children have been born to them- Wilbert and Lillian.
MILLER, (Hon.) James O., lawyer, 22 South Il- linois Street, Belleville, was born in Smithton, St. Clair County, June 20, 1861, a son of David D. and Sarah (Burnette) Miller. He was edu- cated in the public schools, in the Belleville High School, at McKendree College and at the Missouri State University, and was graduated from the law department of the last named in- stitution in 1884. After leaving college, he taught school until 1896, then he began the practice of his profession in Belleville. He was elected, as a Democrat, to the Illinois Leg- islature in 1902, and represented the Seventh Ward in the Belleville City Council, 1903-05.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
In 1884 he married Lizzie Smith, of Fredonia, Kan., and they have six children. He is a member of the Elks, the Modern Woodmen and the Mystic Workers and of other social and fraternal organizations.
MILLER, John E., Superintendent of Schools of East St. Louis, was born at Caseyville, St. Clair County, Ill., November 21, 1864. His par- ents, the late Hon. James R. Miller and Malinda Miller (nee Nicholas), were of hardy pioneer stock and were well known among the promi- nent Illinoisans of the last century. The first sixteen years of Mr. Miller's life were spent on his father's farm, where he acquired that varied and useful training which can be pro- cured only in nature's own school. He was graduated from the Southern Illinois State Nor- mal University in 1885. In 1905 he was mar- ried to Frances Elizabeth Coulter, who had charge of the English department in the East St. Louis High School.
Mr. Miller's entire life has been devoted, either directly or indirectly, to the teaching profession. He taught in the public schools of his native county for seventeen successive years, occupying the positions of primary teacher, country school teacher, Principal of the village school at Caseyville and teacher and Principal of a ward school in East St. Louis. He was, also, for a number of years, Principal of the High Grammar School in the High School Building. In 1902 he was ap- pointed Librarian of the East St. Louis Public Library, which position he resigned two years later to accept the superintendency of the East St. Louis public schools.
In the various city, county and State organiza- tions of teachers he is widely known and recog- nized as a leader in educational thought and progress. At present he is a member of the East St. Louis Teachers' Association, the St. Clair County Teachers' Association, the Southern Illi- nois School Council, the Southern Illinois Teach- ers' Association, the Illinois State Teachers' As- sociation and the National Educational Associa- tion. His interest in the history of his native county and State allies him with the St. Clair County Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society.
Superintendent Miller's devotion to his chosen profession, and his fidelity to every
trust imposed upon him, have won for him a host of acquaintances and friends who unite in hearty commendation of his life and work. The best and final test of every man's work is the finished product; the young people who have gone from the East St. Louis public schools to higher schools or to various occu- pations and positions in life, are among Super- intendent Miller's warmest friends and sup- porters. His love for these young people and their admiration and respect for him afford the highest evidence of his success.
MILLER, John H., (of the firm of Miller & Schall), a successful contractor and builder of Belleville, is a native of White County, Ill., where he was born in 1856, of Teutonic an- cestry, his parents, Valentine and Gertrude (Newell) Miller, having been born, reared and married in Germany. Valentine Miller, the fa- ther, learned the millwright's trade in his youth and, after coming to the United States, found demand for his skill in White and St. Clair Counties, between times, as he worked at his trade, devoting his attention to clearing and tilling a prairie farm. Following his father's example, the son began to work with tools while still a child, and became an expert mill- wright and carpenter. He located in Belleville in 1890 and began to contract in' 1894, and has since erected many of the most noteworthy buildings in the city and its vicinity. Mr. Mil- ler is a painstaking and conscientious work- man, and his industry has brought him a com- petence, as well as the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen. In 1877 he married Mary Brissel. The family residence is at 310 Wa- bash Avenue.
MILLER, J. R., who is engaged in the coal and feed business in Caseyville, St. Clair County, was born in that place in 1870. His father, Dr. Floyd T. Miller, is a native of Mary- land, and his mother, Margaret (Blake) Mil- ler, was born in Caseyville. The former came from his native State to Caseyville and was engaged here in the practice of medicine. After pursuing a course of study in McKendree College, J. R. Miller taught school for two years, and then went into the lumber and feed business. In 1893, with F. E. Mukden, he pur- chased the concern of the City Feed and Coal
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Company, at No. 1311 State Street, which is his present business location. Mr. Miller's wife, to whom he was married in 1903, was formerly Clara Hearn, a native of Baltimore.
MILLESON, Calvin D., President and General Manager of the National Livery and Undertaking Company, and extensively engaged in the feed, coal, and milling business in East St. Louis, is a native of Iowa, and was born May 31, 1861. His father, James Milleson, removed from his native State of Pennsylvania to Iowa at an early day, and here the son reached manhood, profiting by the advantage of the district school, and laying the foundation for his sturdy constitution of later years.
On September 18, 1884, Mr. Milleson was united in marriage with Laura E. Cowgill, of Henry County, Iowa, and in 1885 took his wife to Kansas, where he proved up on a home- stead claim, and lived until locating at East St. Louis in November,' 1889. For a year Mr. Milleson found employment with the Abbott Lumber Company, then became foreman of the wholesale department of Kingman & Company. Four years later he formed the first commis- sion company in East St. Louis, known as the Reynolds Produce Company, later selling out and erecting the building at Nos. 612-614 North Eighth Street, where he established a feed business. In 1901 he removed to his present store on St. Clair Avenue, where he is con- ducting a general feed and coal business, and where also he has a mill for grinding feed and corn meal for table use. The feed company was incorporated January 1, 1904, with a cap- ital stock of $25,000. In April, 1904, Mr. Mille- son organized the National Livery and Undertak- ing Company, established the same in a build- ing erected by himself on North Eighth Street, and has since been the President and General Manager. In his feed business he employs eight men, and his feed and livery business nets about $100,000 per year. He is a member of the St. Louis Merchants' Exchange, and is prominent and influential in the business circles of both cities.
MOLL, Albert Daniel, was born in Mascoutah, Ill., August 16, 1870, a son of George and Mary (Perrin) Moll, the former born in Perry Coun- ty, Mo., a son of Joseph and Irene (Kaeirer) Moll, both natives of Baden, Germany. The
latter was born in St. Clair County, a daughter of Frank and Katherine (Pfiefer) Perrin, na- tives of Lorraine, France. Albert D. completed his education in the public schools at the age of sixteen, after which he worked on his father's farm until his marriage, when he moved onto the property adjoining his father's place, and there, on October 24, 1898, opened a dairy which he has conducted until the present time without opposition. He began this enterprise with no experience and but seven cows, adding to his stock from time to time, until he now owns forty cows from which he obtains about fifty gallons of milk per day. He sells about eight quarts of cream daily and makes about forty pounds of butter per week, for which he finds a ready sale in Mascoutah. His farm is known as "The City Dairy."
On January 10, 1903, Albert D. Moll was united in marriage to Josephine Zinck, who was born in Engelmann Township, and educa- ted in the public school. Three children have been born to them, as follows: Francis, Ado and Emmet. In his religious belief Mr. Moll is a Catholic.
MOLLA, C. C., was born December 9, 1850, in Philadelphia, Pa., a son of Louis and Catherine Molla, both of whom are natives of Germany. He was educated in the public and parochial schools of Philadelphia, and, in 1852, moved to St. Louis with his parents, his father being employed as a slate roofer. At the age of thir- teen years he began working in the arsenal at St. Louis, making cartridges for the Union army, and continued thus employed during the war. He then took up steamboating and later railroading, which he followed from 1873 until 1889 as brakeman and switchman, working for nearly all the railroads in East St. Louis. In 1889, at East St. Louis, he engaged in the coal oil business for one year, and then began dealing in ice and coal. His office is located at No. 824 Converse Avenue. He has five ice wagons, all driven by his own family. He does the best ice business among private families of any one in the city, and this, with his coal interests, aggregates $10,000 a year. From driving a coal wagon he has worked his way to his present enviable position. Five of his sons are married and are associated with him. In politics, he is a Republican, and fraternally, is a member of the A. O. U. W.
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