USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume II > Part 21
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Mrs. Moore is a stanch member of the Lutheran church. Fraternally Mr. Moore belongs to Staunton Lodge, No. 177, A. F. & A. M., and Macoupin Chap- ter. No. 95, R. A. M. He is also a member of the Eastern Star, Orient Lodge, No. 95, K. P., the Modern Woodmen of America and the Court of Honor. Al- though an adherent of the democratic party he is not strictly partisan, as his interest is centered in his life work. He served as township assessor one term in
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Staunton township. From the beginning of his active career he has shown an energy and progressiveness that have been highly creditable; he also shows a knowledge of human nature which is an essential requisite of the successful teacher. As a school manager he has succeeded admirably, and today it would be difficult to find in Illinois a more capable or conscientious educator than the gentleman whose name introduces this review.
JOHN LOGAN CARTWRIGHT.
A farmer by birth and inclination, John Logan Cartwright is the owner of a beautiful place of one hundred and sixty acres in section 14, Honey Point township. He has just reason to be proud of his farm as it represents many years of application and assures him and his family of an ample income. His eyes first opened to the light in Montgomery county, Illinois, November 28, 1864, his parents being William P. and Nancy E. (Barton) Cartwright, the former of whom was of Scotch-American and the latter of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. The father was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1832 and continued at home until sixteen years of age when he ran away and enlisted in the Mex- ican war. He served under General Winfield Scott and was taken ill in the field but persisted in remaining in the army until after peace was declared. He was a bridge carpenter by trade and at the time of the construction of the Big Four Railroad from Fort Wayne to Litchfield assisted in building the bridges and later in erecting the Big Four shops at Litchfield. He erected the first Baptist church in Litchfield, which is now being used as a shop by the Litchfield Marble and Granite Company. In 1863 he gave up railroad work and rented eighty acres of land four miles south of Litchfield. After two years he purchased eighty acres in section 15 of Honey Point township, Macoupin county, and cultivated this land to good advantage for ten years. He then traded his place as part payment for one hundred and sixty acres, which became the family homestead. He died February 8, 1876, but his wife survived for many years and was called away May 23, 1909. There were eight children in their family: Walter and William, deceased; Margaret, who is the wife of Edward Aikman, a coal miner and farmer of Spokane, Washington; Charles, proprietor of the Phoenix Hotel, of Phoenix, Arizona; John L .; Lawrence, a farmer and ranchman of Washington; Elmer, who is engaged in the real-estate business at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Carrie, who married William M. Bitter, a farmer living southwest of Litchfield.
John L. Cartwright was twelve years of age when his father died and for seven years following he assisted in the support of the family by working upon the home place and also by securing employment among farmers in the neigh- borhood. His early education was secured in the district schools. In 1883 he began renting land in his own name but two years later took charge of the homestead which he rented from the estate. As his brothers and sisters reached maturity he purchased their interests and since June, 1910, has been the owner of the farm. He makes a specialty of raising and feeding stock for the market
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and the success which has rewarded his efforts entitles him to recognition as one of the substantial and enterprising citizens of the county.
On the IIth of March, 1903, Mr. Cartwright was married to Miss Catharine L. Walschleger, a daughter of Edward and Nancy N. (Snooks) Walschleger. Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright have two children: Lois, who was born January II, 1906; and Lola, born May 4, 1909. Mr. Walschleger is a native of Germany while his wife was born in Cahokia township, Macoupin county, being of Ameri- can descent. He came to the United States with his parents in his early boy- hood, the family landing near New Orleans, subsequently taking up their home at St. Louis. At the age of eleven years he started out in the world on his own account and came to Macoupin county, Illinois, where he worked by the month until after arriving at his majority, when he began farming for himself. He was married to Miss Nancy M. Snooks in this county and they are now living on a valuable farm, of which he is the owner, on section 21, Honey Point township.
Mr. Cartwright is a progressive republican of the most pronounced type and believes that the party has within itself the ability necessary to carry for- ward the country to unprecedented prosperity. He and his wife are valued members of the Honey Point Baptist church. He is a stockholder in the Bank of Des Moines and fraternally is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America at Litchfield. He has from his boyhood been imbued with worthy ideals and has seen many of his hopes realized. He is fearless in the discharge of what he considers his duty and no man in the town- ship possesses in a higher degree the confidence of the people. He represents the best type of citizenship and is, therefore, fully worthy of the success with which his efforts have been crowned.
ALONZO MESHACH SHULTZ.
For more than forty years the Shultz family has been identified with the agricultural and business interests of Macoupin county and has contributed its share toward the development of the material, moral and educational welfare of this section. Alonzo Meshach Shultz was for many years prominently in- terested in farming and dairying, but is now engaged in the lumber, implement and hardware business at Shipman, being the owner of one of the most flour- ishing concerns of the kind in the county. Born in Allegany county, Maryland, January 2, 1856, he is a son of Meshach and Charlotte (Augustine) Shultz, both of whom were natives of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, the father having been born May 28, 1831, and the mother April 30, 1835. The first member of the family in America came from Prussia about 1760, while Frederick the Great was upon the throne. He settled in Pennsylvania and there spent the remain- der of his life. Adam Shultz, grandfather of our subject on the paternal side, was born in Somerset. county, April 6, 1789. In 1837 he purchased a tract of one thousand acres or more at Grantsville, Maryland, and there established his home. He was one of the builders of the Old National Road and constructed twelve or fourteen miles of that celebrated highway, between Wheeling and
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MRS. CHARLOTTE SHULTZ
MESHACH SHULTZ
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Baltimore. He was twice married and by his first marriage was the father of four children : Peter, who was born July 19, 1812, and died in Garrett county, Maryland; Eliza, who married John Royer of Garrett county, and died in 1910, in the ninety-seventh year of her age; Lydia, who became the wife of a Mr. Wagner, of Michigan, and is deceased; and Judith, who is also deceased. The second wife of Mr. Shultz was Nancy Shockey, who was born in 1801 and be- came the mother of fourteen children, namely: Matilda, who became the wife of Andrew Deahl, of Hickman, Nebraska, and is now deceased; Perry, who died of cholera at St. Louis, in 1866; Chauncey, who served as county judge of St. Louis county and as sub-treasurer of the United States at St. Louis under President Cleveland's first administration and is now deceased; Bailey, also de- ceased, whose wife, Catharine Shockey Shultz, is now living at Shipman at the age of ninety-two years; Huldah, who married John Kite, of Shipman, and is deceased; Alexander, who lived at Hutchinson, Kansas, and is now deceased; Meshach, the father of our subject; Mary Jane, who married Andrew Arndt, of Maryland, and is deceased; Amanda, the wife of Rev. Isaac N. Augustine, of Grand Island, Nebraska; John A. J., formerly a prominent man of St. Louis, Missouri, now deceased; Van Buren, who lived at Shipman, Illinois, and is also deceased; Sarah Ann, who married Samuel Brown, of Lexington, Mis- souri, and is deceased; George M. D., who is now a real-estate man of Kansas City, Missouri; and Upton, who located at Denver, Colorado, and is now de- ceased. The grandmother of our subject, Nancy (Shockey) Shultz, was a daughter of Christian and Barbara Shockey and a member of an old Pennsyl- vania Dutch family of Somerset county. Her father served for six years and seven months in the Revolutionary war.
Meshach Shultz, father of our subject, grew to manhood at Grantsville, Maryland. He was married to Charlotte Augustine March 20, 1853, and soon afterwards engaged in farming on his own account. He later operated the tannery at Petersburg, Pennsylvania, but in 186r disposed of his tannery and purchased two hundred and eighty acres of the old family homestead at Grants- ville, also engaging in the general mercantile business. In 1869 he disposed of his property and came with his family to Shipman township, Macoupin county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming. He was the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land on sections 23 and 24, also acquiring other property in the county. He was one of the organizers and the first president of the Shipman . Banking Company, and in 1891 removed to Shipman, where he died December 3, 1907. Charlotte (Augustine) Shultz is a daughter of Jacob F. R. and Jus- tinah (Null) Augustine and a granddaughter of Frederick and Catharine (My- ers) Augustine. Frederick Augustine was one of the wealthy men of Penn- sylvania and was the owner of a large body of land around Petersburg, Penn- sylvania. Jacob F. R. Augustine died at the age of forty-one years from in- juries received by being kicked by a horse. He was the father of ten children : Elizabeth, who married William Starner, of St. Paul, Minnesota, and is now deceased; Isaac, who lives at Grand Island, Nebraska; Charlotte, who became the wife of Meshach Shultz; Rebecca, who married Michael Hoy, of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and is now deceased; Catharine, the wife of Andrew Kramer, of Somerset county; Joseph, of Wisconsin; Jacob L., a resident of Vol. II-11
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Grantsville, Maryland; Matilda, who became the wife of James Arndt, of Litch- field, Illinois, and is now deceased; Diana, who married Fred Gorman, of Okla- homa; and Cornelia, the wife of John Mitchell, of Moberly, Missouri. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shultz, namely: Marshall, who died at the age of four years; Alonzo Meshach, of this review; Nancy Jane, who married William A. Fischer, of St. Louis, Missouri; Franklin S., record of whom ap- pears elsewhere in this work; Cora May, who is the wife of Milton Dodson, of Jerseyville, Illinois; Herman Jacob, a resident of Shipman; Alice Lotta, the wife of Chester Miller, of Carlinville; and Chesty Anna, who married Rev. Peter B. Fasold and is now deceased.
Alonzo Meshach Shultz was educated in the public schools of Grantsville, Maryland, and continued his studies in the district schools of Shipman town- ship after arriving in Illinois. He assisted his father upon the home farm until about twenty-four years of age when he was married and for two years after that event engaged in the milling business with his father and Joseph Dodson. In 1881 the title of the firm was changed to Shultz & Fischer. After another year Mr. Shultz sold out and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land on sec- tions II and 12 of Shipman township, upon which he took up his residence. This land was mostly unimproved. He cleared away the timber and brush, erected a comfortable residence and other buildings, and developed his place into one of the highly improved farms of the section. He also purchased eighty- eight acres adjoining and engaged very extensively in the dairy business. He maintained fifty to seventy milch cows of the Holstein breed and was one of the largest dairymen in Macoupin county. His success was recognized by his brethren in the same line of business and he served for four years as vice presi- dent of the Illinois and Missouri Dairymen's Association. In 1910 he disposed of his farm and purchased the lumber business of James D. Metcalf, of Ship- man, taking possession August 4, 1910. He has added very largely to the lum- ber stock, which is all under cover, and also engages on a large scale in selling implements, builders' hardware and machinery.
On July 12, 1879, Mr. Shultz was married to Miss Margaret Mitchell, a daughter of William Mitchell, of Medora, Illinois. Four children were born to this union: Lottie May, who married Walter French, a farmer who lives near Shipman; Florence, who is living at home; Orville, a farmer of Shipman township, who married Zona Archer and has one child; and Ada, who is also at home.
William Mitchell was born in North Carolina and removed to Missouri about 1840, locating about twenty miles north of Kansas City where he operated a wagon and blacksmith shop. He entered the Union army at the time of the Civil war but was captured by the enemy and forced into the Confederate army. He was recaptured by the Union forces and after the war removed with his family to Rockbridge, Greene county, Illinois. About 1872 he moved to Me- dora, being still engaged in the blacksmith and wagon-making business. In 1886 he took up his residence at Hickman, Nebraska, and died there two years later. In his family were six children: Wilmina, who married J. A. Quick, of Shipman, and is deceased; Otis Mitchell, who is living at Shipman ; Margaret. who became the wife of Alonzo Meshach Shultz; Hallie, who is the wife of
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George Deahl, of San Francisco, California; Catharine, who is married and lives in Tennessee; and Arthur, a resident of Shipman, Illinois. Mrs. Mar- garet Shultz died from heart failure, July 17, 1891, and on July 20, 1892, Mr. Shultz was married to Miss Belle Utt, a daughter of Napoleon Utt, who set- tled with his family in Illinois from Ohio in pioneer days. A record of the Utt family appears elsewhere in this work, in the sketch of E. J. Black. By his second marriage Mr. Shultz became the father of two children: Otis, who died in infancy; and Bertha, who is living at home.
Fraternally Mr. Shultz is a member of Shipman Lodge, No. 212, A. F. & A. M., and also of the Modern Woodmen of America. Religiously he is identi- fied with the Evangelical Lutheran church of Shipman and is serving as deacon in that organization. Ever since arriving at manhood he has given his support to the democratic party of whose principles he is an earnest advocate. In the course of an active and useful life he has enjoyed and merited the confidence and good will of his fellow men. He has been loyal to the interests of the com- munity and has effectively performed his part in promoting the general welfare. He possesses in a marked degree the confidence of his associates and is thor- oughly qualified by experience and ability to conduct successfully the impor- tant business of which he is the head.
JOHN STADLER.
As a merchant of Carlinville for the past twenty-nine years the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this review is well known. He is recognized as a substantial and trustworthy citizen, who by conscientious application to his business has earned the regard of the entire community. He comes of good German stock and was born on a farm near Mascoutah in St. Clair county, Illi- nois, April 26, 1850, a son of Jacob and Dorothea (Ball) Stadler. The parents were both natives of the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, and in their family were six sons and five daughters, seven of whom survive: John, of this review, Philip, who is living in Los Angeles, California; Jacob, of Carlinville ; George, who now resides at the old homestead in Carlinville township; Katharina, the wife of Henry Bartels, of Texas; Mary, who married Jacob Ring, of Morrisonville, Illi- nois; and Anna, who became the wife of Fred Stensell, also of Morrisonville.
Jacob Stadler. the father of our subject, was reared in his native land and came to America in 1849, taking up his residence in St. Clair county, Illinois. When he reached his destination among strangers he had three dollars and fifty cents in his pocket but secured employment as driver of an ox team and in a few years became one of the thrifty farmers of the county. He moved to Macoupin county in 1867 and located in Carlinville township, where he owned two hundred and eighty acres of land under cultivation and eighty acres in tim- ber. He died in 1906, being then nearly eighty-two years of age. His wife died in December, 1905, also having nearly reached the eighty-second year of her age. Mr. Stadler was a member of the Lutheran church but his wife was a Catholic. He paid for a substitute at the time of the Civil war. The grandfather
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of our subject on the paternal side was Anthony Stadler, who was a farmer in Germany and lived to the age of eighty-seven years. He had two children : Jacob; and Philip, who came to this country and is now living near Madison, Monroe county, Missouri. The grandfather on the maternal side was Franz Ball, also a farmer of Germany. He died at the age of forty-five and in his fam- ily were two daughters, Dorothea and Mary Ann.
John Stadler passed the first seventeen years of his life in St. Clair county and received the principal part of his education in the public schools of that county. He came to Macoupin county in 1867 and has ever since lived in this county except eight years which he spent in Christian county. He remained at home until twenty and one-half years old, when he began working for wages and banked out coal as top man of the mining shaft in Carlinville, his father-in- law, Henry Bartels, Sr., owning the mine. He also engaged as a miner and was identified with the mining interests for eleven years. He then entered the liquor business but after three years sold out and since 1882 has been successfully en- gaged in the mercantile business.
In September, 1870, Mr. Stadler was married to Miss Dorothea Bartels, a daughter of Henry and Minnie (Lereke) Bartels. There were four children born to this union, two of whom died in infancy, the others being Minnie and John J. Minnie married Henry Stratton and they had one daughter, Ella. She was again married, her second union being with William Grunder. They are now living on a farm near New Holland, Illinois. John J. was married to Flora Swank and they are now making their home at Los Angeles, California. They have one daughter, Anita. Mrs. Dorothea Stadler died in 1880, at the age of thirty years, and two years later Mr. Stadler was married to Fredericka Bartels, a cousin of his first wife and a daughter of Christian Bartels, whose wife was a Miss Sohns. There were six children by this marriage, three of whom are now living: Esther E., who became the wife of H. W. Turney, of Decatur, Illinois; Ruth, who lives with her sister Esther; and Elmer E., a carpenter of Carlinville. Mrs. Fredericka Stadler died in 1905, having reached the age of fifty- six years, and on the 7th of February, 1907, Mr. Stadler was married to Mrs. Delia L. Stowe, the widow of Ransom P. Stowe and a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth H. (Cobb) Van Pelt. Mrs. Delia Stadler was born in Perry, Pike county, Illinois, September 10, 1865. Her father was born in Lexington, Ken- tucky, and her mother in New York state. They were early settlers of Pike county, Illinois, the father arriving there when he was only seven years of age. He died at Bedford, Illinois, at the age of fifty-four and the mother at Spring- field, when she was sixty-nine years old. They had eleven children, six of whom are now living: Lutitia, who is the wife of P. C. Hornback; Minnie, the wife of George Belden ; Delia L., now Mrs. John Stadler; Harvey L. and Leon L., both of Springfield, Illinois; and Olive, who is the wife of I. W. Morgan, of Flora, Illinois. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Stadler was William Henry Van Pelt, who married Lutitia Foley, and the grandfather on the maternal side was Philanthropy Cobb, whose wife died young.
Mr. Stadler is a firm believer in the Bible and is a member of the Baptist church, while his wife holds membership in the Christian church. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. Ever since arriving at
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maturity he has been a supporter of the democratic party and, although he has not sought public office, he served for seven years as township clerk. He has for many years been an important factor in business circles of Carlinville and his influence has ever been directed for the good of the community. He and his wife have many friends whom they have attracted by qualities of usefulness and unselfishness.
ADAM FISCHER.
An experience of twenty-eight years in the general mercantile business has given Adam Fischer of Staunton a thorough knowledge of business affairs, and also an acquaintance with human nature which cannot be learned from books. He has been successful financially and is known as one of the leading merchants of Macoupin county. A native of Staunton, he was born June 24, 1853, being a son of Christopher and Anna Maria (Frank) Fischer. The father was born in Hasloch, Germany, and learned the basketmaker's trade in the old country under his father, who was an expert in that line. He engaged at his trade in Germany, but, having decided that more favorable opportunities were presented in the new world, he emigrated to America and arrived at Staunton, Illinois, when the town consisted of only two or three houses. Here he engaged in basketmaking and at such other work as he could find. He was employed in the Staunton mill and later secured a position as clerk in a store at Staunton, but was obliged to give up this position on account of failing health. He began business on his own account with a small stock of groceries, and applied himself with such diligence that he became the owner of a general store. He retired from business in 1883 and died in 1904. The mother of our subject was also born in Germany and is still living in Staunton, having arrived at the age of eighty-six years. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Fischer were seven children: Frederick G., who is de- ceased; Adam, of this review; Anna, who is the widow of Bruno Hebenstreit, of Staunton ; Paul H., who is engaged in business with his brother Adam; H. A., postmaster of Staunton, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work; Ed- ward Joseph, who owns a general store at Wamego, Kansas; and Mary, who is the wife of Ernest Weis, of Staunton.
Adam Fischer attended the parochial schools of Staunton, where he secured the foundation of a good education. He remained at home until twenty years of age and then began learning the cooper's trade, which he followed in various parts of the country, also engaging in other occupations. On May 22, 1883, he and his brother Paul took charge of the business at Staunton which their father had founded and developed it upon an extensive scale. The firm is known as Fischer Brothers and carries a large and well selected stock of general merchan- dise, being one of the most flourishing business establishments in Macoupin county.
In 1874 Mr. Fischer was married to Miss Minnie Maxe, a native of Staunton, and they have nine children : Hannah, who is the wife of G. E. Fritz, of Staun- ton, and has nine children ; Emil, who is deceased; Lydia, who became the wife of Adolph Weis, of Staunton; Nellie and Ella, who are assisting in the store ;
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Della, Walter and Minnie, all of whom are deceased ; and Esther, who also assists in the store.
In religious belief Mr. Fischer is in hearty sympathy with the Lutheran church, of which he and his family are members. He gives his support to the republican party, the principles of which he regards as highly important for the perpetuity of the republic. He has never sought public office but has given his undivided attention to his business, and the success he has attained is convincing evidence of his ability. By thrift, energy and good judgment he has accumulated a fortune, and it is gratifying to know that his success has been won in legitimate channels and through perfectly honorable methods.
GEORGE W. RHOADS.
George W. Rhoads, a native of Shipman township and for many years past the owner of a valuable farm in Bird township, was born December 26, 1855, and has made his home in Macoupin county for over fifty-five years. He is a son of John D. and Mary E. (Jolly) Rhoads, both of whom were born in Grayson county. Kentucky. The father came to Macoupin county, Illinois, with his parents at five years of age, in 1831, and the grandfather of our subject, Jacob V. Rhoads, en- tered over four hundred acres of land in the southern part of Macoupin county and across the line in Jersey county. Jacob V. Rhoads was born in Pennsylvania but removed in his boyhood to Kentucky. After coming to this state he kept a country inn where he extended to many travelers a cordial welcome. He was a pioneer preacher of the Baptist church and was widely known throughout this part of the state. He died on the old homestead near Medora, after arriving at the age of seventy-eight years. Samuel Rhoads, one of his brothers, was a soldier in the war of 1812. The father of our subject was a Baptist minister and preached in many places in Macoupin county. His death occurred at the age of seventy-three. There were eight children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Rhoads, six of whom are living, namely : Margaret J., who married Thomas W. Stover, and resides in Medora; Ellen, who is the wife of Granville G. Reno, a member of the board of supervisors, and also resides at Medora ; George W., of this review : Stroud K., who is engaged in farming east of Brighton : Willis M., who lives on the old home place in Shipman township; and Jacob D., who resides on a farm near Ansley, Nebraska.
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