USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume II > Part 86
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
the Brewers' Association, and his political affiliations are with the Republican party.
SCHWARZ, August H .- As the manager of the "Thomas House" of Belleville, Ill., since 1899, August H. Schwarz has achieved a dis- tinct success as entertainer of the traveling public. Not only is his hostelry one of the cleanest, brightest and best furnished in the county, but it attracts within its doors a high class of trade, varying but little in extent throughout the year, and the return of which is insured by the tact, consideration, and good fellowship of the genial proprietor. A stu- dent of human nature when away from its home environment, Mr. Schwarz wisely sees to the comfort and convenience of his guests, providing a table noted for its abundance and wholesomeness, and employing agreeable and obliging assistants. His rates are reason- able, a dollar a day, and his enterprise con- stitutes one of the creditable and upbuilding adjuncts of his native town.
Born in Freeburg, Ill., January 26, 1870, Mr. Schwarz is a son of Joseph and Mary A. Schwarz, who were born in Germany, and were early settler of St. Clair County. He was educated in the public and parochial schools to the age of fourteen, when he be- gan to work on his mother's farm, remaining there until 1899. He then came to Belleville and rented the "Thomas Hotel," and since has combined its management with an interest in general town affairs. He is a Republican in politics, and fraternally, is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. On Jan- uary 26, 1897, Mr. Schwarz married Louise Koesterer, who was born in Freeburg, and edu- cated in the public and parochial schools. Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz are members of the Roman Catholic Church.
SCHWARZ, M., was born in Germany, in 1860, a son of George and Rosie (Moessner) Schwarz, both natives of the country named. He was educated in the public schools of his native land, and came to the United States in 1873, where he was engaged in the saloon business until 1883, when he returned to Ger- many for a short time. On his return to this country he located at Anna, Ill., where he was employed in the shoe business for three years. In 1893 he came to O'Fallon and there con-
III8
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
ducted a furniture and undertaking establish- ment, where he does all kinds of repairing and picture framing.
In 1883, Mr. Schwarz was married to Carrie Huber, a native of O'Fallon, and they are the parents of the following children: Henry P., Leonard E., Mathias, George, Rose and Carrie. His son, Henry P., at the age of fourteen, passed the State examination and received a diploma as licensed embalmer, being the young- est graduate in this line in the United States. Mr. Schwarz is a member of the School Board of O'Fallon, and socially, belongs to the Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Un- dertakers' Association of Illinois.
"SCOTT, Benjamin (deceased) .- Among the early settlers of Ridge Prairie was Benjamin Scott, who in the spring of 1828 took up his residence in Section 32 of Township 2 North, Range 7 West, where he lived until his death. He belonged to one of the pioneer American families to settle in Illinois, his father, Jehu Scott, having made an early settlement in the American Bottom, within the limits of what was then St. Clair County, but now in Monroe County. Benjamin Scott was the oldest of a family of eleven children. He was born in the Teeger prairie, Monroe County, on the 23d of January, 1799. He was raised in the same neighborhood. He had only ordinary advantages for obtaining an education. The school facilities of that day were not of the best description. The schools were subscrip- tion schools, held for three' months during the winter season in log school-houses with puncheon floors and slab benches. Greased paper pasted over an aperture made by leav- ing out a couple of logs furnished the only ex-, cuse for a window. On the 27th of September, 1824, he married Clarissa Garretson, daughter of James Garretson, one of the pioneer Amer- ican settlers of Illinois." 1 (Brink's History, 1881.)
SCRUGGS, John B., M. D., who is engaged in the practice of medicine in O'Fallon, St. Clair County, was born in Cornishville, Ky., January 25, 1867. His father, Dr. S. Scruggs, is a na- tive of Kentucky, as is also his mother, Mar- garet (DeBau) Scruggs. The former practiced medicine for a number of years in Cornish- ville, whence he moved to Illinois and thence
to Nebraska, where he devoted himself to his profession until July, 1904, when he located in O'Fallon. Dr. John B. Scruggs pursued his studies in a college at Lexington, Ky., and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, St. Louis, graduating from the latter institution in 1898. Since that date he has been in prac- tice at O'Fallon, where for years he was mine physician for the Taylor Mines. The Doctor is a member of the County, State and Ameri- can Medical Societies, and has established a profitable practice among the best people of his locality.
Dr. Scruggs was married in January, 1899, to Laura Begole, and the issue of their union is one child-Cora Ines Scruggs. Fraternally, the Doctor is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen, Mystic Workers, Fraternal Reserve, Royal Neighbors and Red Men. Politically, he has always affiliated with the Democratic party.
SEDDON, John, a mine engineer at O'Fallon, St. Clair County, was born at Reeb Station, Ill., in 1862, and there attended the public school. He is a son of Isaiah and Lucy (Davis) Seddon, natives, respectively, of England and Wales. After coming to the United States, the father was a shaft sinker by occupation. The son followed farming for ten years, and was afterward engaged for a time in the coal busi- ness. In 1891, he entered the employ of Mr. Taylor, owner of the Ridge Prairie Mine, as engineer. Mr. Seddon is President of the O'Fal- lon Building and Loan Association, and served as Mayor O'Fallon in 1900-01 and 1905-06. He was a member of the Village Board for two years. In 1887, Mr. Seddon was united in marriage with Gertrude Eisloffel, who was born at Mascoutah, this county. They have one child-Irene.
SEFERT, Edward A., grading contractor, was born at Dayton, Ohio, February 15, 1853, the son of J. W. and Aurelia (Rau) Sefert, natives of Indiana and Ohio, respectively. Mr. Sefert received his education in the parochial schools of Belleville. He remained with his parents until his twenty-first year, when he went into the business of buying horses and mules. After eight years spent in this way he determined to become a contractor. His services were soon in demand in adjoining States, different rail-
III9
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
roads employing him while constructing new lines. On June 24, 1890, Mr. Sefert was mar- ried to Mary Richards, of Illinois, and of this union two children have been born-Edna and Vera.
SEHLINGER, Anton, a flour and feed mer- chant of Belleville, this county, was born in Baden, Germany, February 13, 1837, and was educated in the public schools of his native country. His father came to St. Clair County in 1851 and followed the industry of farming northeast of Belleville, but subsequently moved to Mascoutah, where he engaged in the mill- ing business for some time. In 1896 he came to Belleville and became interested in grain and feed, a line which he and his son have since carried on in an extensiv way. On Jan- uary 23, 1866, Mr. Sehlinger was married to Louise Faust, a native of Germany, and of this union the following six children have been born: Tony J., Mary C., Lena S., Anna Louisa, George N. and Edward J.
SEIBERT, Peter, farmer and stock-raiser, of Engelmann Township, this county, was born in Gross, Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, April 24, 1844, the son of Balthazer and Katherine (Jost) Seibert, natives of that Empire, who came to St. Clair County and lo- cated on a farm near Belleville when Peter was but eight years of age. The boy attended the German and public and high schools near his home and assisted in the work of the farm, remaining with his parents until maturity.
On September 6, 1868, Peter Seibert was married to Katherine Eidmann, of St. Clair County, and of this union eight children were born-Louisa, who married Gustave Karch; Emily, the wife of Rudolph Joenk, who resides in St. Louis; Bertha, who married John Clem- ens, and also lives in St. Louis; Rudolph, who is practicing dentistry in St. Louis; Julius, Emma, Ella and Henry G., all of whom reside at home. After his marriage Mr. Seibert moved onto the old Dr. Wells farm owned by his sister, two and one-half miles east of Mas- coutah, removing, in 1876, onto Section 30, Engelmann Township, where he has since re- sided, and where he makes a specialty of rais- ing live stock and small grains. In his polit- ical affiliations, Mr. Seibert is a Democrat. He was elected State Senator from the Forty-sev-
enth District in 1890, serving in the Thirty- seventh and Thirty-eighth General Assemblies, also serving as the first Supervisor of Engel- mann Township. In his religious connections, he is a Protestant.
SENG, Charles, owner and proprietor of the "Green Tree Hotel," East St. Louis, this county, was born in Summerfield, Ill., in 1865, and is a son of Charles and Margaret (Noll) Seng, natives of Germany. Charles Seng, Sr., a cooper by trade, located in East St. Louis in 1886, became proprietor of the "Green Tree Hotel," and conducted the same until his death in 1895. His son and namesake succeeded to both his trade and his business, and in addi- tion learned to be a collar maker, coopering and collar making occupying several years of his early manhood. His long association with the elder man in the hotel business quali- fied him for assumption of the entire manage- ment in 1895, and in the meantime his hostelry has undergone many changes, having been mod- ernized and enlarged as an increase of trade demanded. In 1905, with an increased and es- tablished business, Mr. Seng occupied his new and commodious building on the corner of Third Street and Missouri Avenue. It is need- less to say that he has a practical knowledge of the hotel business, understands the advan- tages of courtesy and tact in dealing with the traveling public, and in consequence is known as one of the most successful in his line in East St. Louis. In 1897 he was united in marriage with May Kelley, of Chicago, Ill.
SEXTON, Henry D., President of the Southern Illinois National Bank, is a native of Illinois, having been born in East St. Louis, on Novem- ber 18, 1854. His father, Daniel Sexton, was born in Rochester, N. Y., February 22, 1826, while his mother, Mary (Brundy) Sexton, was born in Ermschwerd, Germany, May 4, 1835. Both wings of the family were of sturdy, pro- gressive and liberty-loving stock, and Henry D. Sexton, breathing this particular atmosphere, and being born into humble circumstances, could not but imbibe elements which have since brought him fame and respect as one of the leading financiers of Southern Illinois. His father was a hotel keeper by profession, but dabbled in politics long enough to become "rec- ognized," and was consequently selected as the
II20
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
first Postmaster of East St. Louis. The elder Sexton ran the first large hotel on the East Side, at which the drovers of that early date, many of whom became the forerunners of the present beef barons, stopped for the night and awaited the first toot of the morning ferry in order to be first on the St. Louis market with their herds. The hotel at such an early date eked out but a poor competence for the proprie- tor, and the future banker consequently had slight prospects of a good start in the world when he began his education at the ramshackle local place of learning.
On account of an innate energy and desire on his part to "hustle," Henry D. Sexton at an early date entered the law and loan office of the late lamented John B. Bowman, the first Mayor of East St. Louis. Mr. Bowman, then in his prime and admittedly one of the best lawyers of the State, recognized the push, en- ergy and absolute integrity of the youth whom he had selected as his private secretary. It was here that Mr. Sexton secured the train- ing to which much of his later success must be attributed. John B. Bowman was an inde- fatigable worker, and he found in his secre- tary a worthy companion. Bowman burned the midnight oil, but young Sexton continued his studies and worked long after Bowman had retired, and his industry, coupled with his nat- ural ability, laid the foundation of a career which has placed him far in advance of that class of financiers who only believe that they know the people of their section. He made a study of the values, the feelings, the standings, and the prejudices of men. He came to know where they worked, their condition and pros- pects of life, and whether they were inclined to pay moral as well as legal obligations. His intimate knowledge of men and affairs was of great value to him when he launched out for himself in business in October, 1879, and opened a real estate and insurance office. His success was immediate, and he later formed a co-partnership with his brother Stephen, known as H. D. Sexton & Brother, which be- came the largest real estate and insurance firm in the city.
As early as 1880, Mr. Sexton's knowl- edge of men, values and local conditions made him a valuable man to be connected with finan- cial enterprises, and he was in that year elected a Director of the Workingmen's Banking Com-
pany. In 1881 he became Secretary, in 1886 Vice-President, and in 1898, when the Working- men's Banking Company was changed to the Southern Illinois National Bank, he bacame the President of the new bank, and has since continued in that position.
Mr. Sexton now has the honor of being a lead- ing factor in the following corporations, viz .: President of the Southern Illinois National Bank, the Citizens' Savings and Trust Com- pany, Main Street Safe Deposit Company and State Savings and Loan Association, and Di- rector of the Citizens' Electric Light and Power Company and East St. Louis and Carondelet Railway Company. He is also a member of many minor corporations. As a native of East St. Louis, Mr. Sexton has always manifested the greatest interest in the welfare of the city. He never for a moment lost confidence in the city, but on the contrary was ever ready to warmly uphold it. Even when the storms of adversity have overtaken East St. Louis, from whatever cause, Mr. Sexton at every turn has requested his friends to stand by the ship and assist in weathering the gale. When the city had reached a low plane, its financial condi- tion being at its lowest ebb, Mr. Sexton, with other stout hearts called for a change. He was one of the active members of a commit- tee which inaugurated a new financial system for the city. Its oppressive debt was arranged by an issue of $650,000 in long-time bonds, and since that time the former practice of issuing scrip, which was always of doubtful value, has ceased, and the city has been enabled to pay cash for all work and has since continued on a firm financial basis. For his leading part in this work, Mr. Sexton received the praise and commendation of the intelligent men of East St. Louis, and is entitled to the honor which posterity will accord him for the erec- tion of the particular monument which he un- consciously reared for himself by lifting the city from the financial slough into which it had fallen.
While this work in the interest of the pub- lic, without remuneration, may be considered one of the crowning events of Mr. Sexton's life, all who know him appreciate the fact that he has performed many other services for his na- tive place, which, on account of his unostenta- tious ways, few ever knew he planned or fa- thered. He was President of the first electric
II21
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
street railway, of the first safe deposit com- pany, of the first electric light company and of the first savings and loan association ever or- ganized in East St. Louis. He was always in the front rank when friends were needed for any local enterprise. He assisted in settling the Broadway Viaduct damage suits for $20,000 when the claimants wanted over $400,000, and it was his name which added weight to the scheme to build a $150,000 City Hall, when the available funds in the City Treasury amounted to but $8,000. In politics, Mr. Sexton affiliated with the Democratic party, and was recognized as a leader in the councils of that party up to 1896, when he refused to follow the Bryan standard.
On September 29, 1879, Mr. Sexton led to the altar Jennie F. Hake, daughter of ex-Mayor S. S. Hake, of East St. Louis. Mrs. Sexton was born at Aurora, Ill., and is a lineal descendant of General Webb, of Revolutionary fame.
SEXTON, Stephen Andrew Douglas, more fa- miliarly known as Steve Sexton, the subject of this sketch, was born in East St. Louis, Ill., on November 19, 1860. His parents were Dan- iel Sexton, a native of Rochester, N. Y., and Mary (Brundy) Sexton, who was born in Ger- many but emigrated with her parents to this country when she was a child.
Mr. Sexton was not reared in luxury and, after acquiring the rudiments of an education in the schools of his native city, was compelled at an early age to begin to battle with the world for his own support. He was but six- teen years of age when his father died, and yet at that time he displayed those sterling quali- ties of honesty, push, energy and industry which were soon recognized by associates and the business public. From the very date of his entrance into a business life, Mr. Sexton began to climb the ladder of success. Being associated with his brother, Mr. H. D. Sexton- then the leading real estate and insurance agent in the city-he acquired a fund of in- formation in those lines which have placed him at the head of the largest purely real estate company south of Chicago. After serving his brother, H. D. Sexton, in the capacity of con- fidential man, for a time, and when Mr. Sexton concluded to pay his undivided attention to banking and banking interests, the subject of this sketch organized the firm of Sexton & Com- pany, the standing of which is now favorably
commented upon in all sections of Illinois. Friends of Mr. Sexton attribute to him the possession of more knowledge about East St. Louis land values and speculative features than any other citizen. He has made a care- ful study of every feature of the city's advan- tages, and can tell, to the fraction of a cent, the productive value of every foot of ground in any part of town. While every lot of the same dimensions in a city, may be said to be of equal value from a foreign point of view, it is now a well established fact that all may differ in pro- ducing income. It is this quality that creates value in a city, and this trait and condition is known to Mr. Sexton so thoroughly that a chart is superfluous.
Aside from Mr. Sexton's identification with real estate transactions, it seems that he also possesses many traits of character which have commended him to the people of his native town. He is affectionately called "Steve" by those with whom he is associated; and, al- though quiet and unassuming, is popular with the general public. This was fully demon- strated when he ran for the office of Alderman of the Seventh Ward some time ago. In that year there was a landslide for the opposition, but Mr. Sexton was elected by a handsome majority over one of the most popular men of East St. Louis. His time in the Council was faithfully devoted to the interests of the city, and since on frequent occasions, he has been importuned to become a candidate for the posi- tion of Mayor of his native town, and, on ac- count of this growing sentiment, it is believed, if he would yield to the popular demand, he would be given an enthusiastic endorsement for the position.
On September 25, 1889, Mr. Sexton was united in marriage with Minnesota Closson, an ac- complished young lady of East St. Louis, and of this union were born two sons: Henry D., born August 11, 1891, and Stephen D., born June 5, 1896. Socially, Mr. Sexton is a mem- ber of the Order of Elks and Modern Woodmen. In religion he maintains a membership in the Methodist Church; but whether in church, so- ciety or in business circles, he is always known as plain, honest Steve Sexton. .
SIKKING, John B., Jr .- One of the best known and most important real estate and fire insur- ance firms which have had to do with the up- building of East St. Louis, is that of J. B.
II22
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
Sikking & Sons, established in the early 'nine- ties by John B. Sikking, Sr., and now com- posed of the originator and his two sons, John B., Jr., and Robert W. Sikking. John B. Sik- king, Sr., is a typical representative of that clean-minded, substantial, and morally high people who established New Amsterdam on the Atlantic coast in 1626, purchasing Manhat- tan Island from the Indians for twenty-four dollars, and thereafter laying the foundation for one of the greatest cities in the world- their descendants scattering to every part of the continent, the conservative, painstaking, and solid element in whatever community they elected to reside. Born in Holland, in 1836, Mr. Sikking came to America in 1845 with his parents, settling in St. Louis, which continued his home until he was eighteen years of age. What is now known as East St. Louis was then Illinois Town, and thither the lad traveled in 1855, entering the railroad shops, where he re- mained for eleven years or until 1866. In the meantime his thrift and energy had projected him into various channels of municipal life, and the growing settlement had need of his far-sightedness and conservatism, utilizing it among other ways as Postmaster of East St. Louis from 1868 until 1886. In the latter year he abandoned the town for country life, en- gaging in farming and dairying in Kansas for about four years, and upon returning to East St. Louis, entered the journalistic field as owner and proprietor of the "Signal" for a year, being ably assisted by his son, John B., Jr. Father and son soon after engaged in the real estate and fire insurance business, under the firm name of J. B. Sikking & Son, continuing thus until the retirement of John B., Sr., in 1889, and the entrance, as a partner, of Robert W. Sikking, a younger son. In early life Mr. Sikking married Sarah E. Cunningham, a na- tive of Gallipolis, Gallia County, Ohio, and daughter of Israel and Catherine (Wise) Cun- ningham, also natives of the Buckeye State.
John B. Sikking, Jr., was born in East St. Louis, December 29, 1868, and was educated in its public schools and at Jones' Commercial College, St. Louis, Mo. As already intimated, his business life has run parallel to that of his pioneer father, and from the beginning of his wage-earning career he has profited by the wise council and sagacity of the older man. Mr. Sikking inherits the substantial Dutch
traits of his ancestors, and to them adds the progressiveness and broad mindedness charac- teristic of the sons of America. At the age of thirteen, while still a school boy, he received his first business experience in managing a news stand connected with the postoffice, when his father was Postmaster, and in connection therewith developed a business for himself of printing visiting cards. When fifteen years old he served as a regular clerk in the postoffice, and in 1884 moved with the family to a farm in Kansas. He returned to East St. Louis in 1890, and managed the printing office of the "Signal," which was sold in June, 1891, when, with his father, he established a real estate business. They were the first to open up an exclusively two-story residence district of the city, known as the Lovingston Addition, and they have since been interested in developing Effinger Place, North Renshaw Place and Reb- han Addition, De Haan Addition and Trendley Heights, having carried through as many and important real estate deals as any other firm in the city.
A large share of the public services of Mr. Sikking have been of a political nature, for he is a stanch Republican, and has been recognized as a valuable adjunct to the local undertakings of his party. In 1899 he was employed by the Board of Review to make a readjustment of the assessment of East St. Louis, a task for which his extensive real estate knowledge made him singularly eligible, and in 1904 he was em- ployed by the Sewer Commissioners as Chief Clerk in making out an assessment roll for a large outlet sewer. At the time of the flood of 1903 Mr. Sikking, with W. H. Hill, was chosen by Mayor Cook, to take charge of the sand- bag dikes near the Relay Depot, where the miraculous task of holding back the Mississippi River with a dike built in seventy-two hours was accomplished. Mr. Sikking has been Vice- President of the Real Estate Exchange since 1902, and is largely responsible for the pres- ent efficiency of that organization. His firm erected the building it now occupies at No. 136 Collinsville Avenue, in 1898. Mr. Sikking is prominent fraternally, being connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, having served as District Deputy Grand Chancellor of the first named organiza- tion. For many years the Baptist Church Society has regarded him as one of its chief
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.