USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois > Part 37
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Mr. Klauenberg is yet a young man just entering upon the threshold of business life, but judging from the energy and industry shown, his success is already secured.
FERDINAND WINTER
WAS born in Brunswick, Germany, February 28th, 1817. His father was a sheep-raiser. Ferdinand is the only son in a family of three children. At the age of thirteen he was hired out to attend sheep. At the age of twenty-two years he was drafted into the army. He served out his time. He afterwards rented a place to keep sheep, where he remained until he was twenty-eight years of age. In the year 1845 he left his native land and came to America, landing at New Orleans in June of that year. On the 4th of July he came to St. Louis, where he engaged in the butchering busi- ness for a short time. He afterwards engaged in the produce trade and stock-shipping to New Orleans. He followed that business until 1847, when he came to Sangamon county, Illinois, and raised sheep for Charles Hoppel. He remained with him for five years, after which he went into the sheep- raising business for himself. He remained in Sangamon county for eight years, when he removed to Macoupin county and purchased land in section one, Carlinville township. He afterwards purchased more land, some of which he has sold ; but he still has over seven hundred acres remaining. Here he devoted all of his time and his land to sheep-raising and grazing. He was, a few years ago, one of the largest sheep owners in the country. So long as he could find range for his sheep the business was very profitable, and yielded him a large annual income. In the years 1863 and '64 he cleared thirty-two thousand dollars in the business. His intention was at one time to go west to New Mexico or California and engage in the business more extensively, as he could there find unlimited range for his sheep. With this idea in view, he contracted to sell his land here for forty-five thousand dollars, but the purchasers failing to meet the contract, the sale fell through, and the pet scheme and great desire of Mr. Winter's life to become the sheep king of the Western world resulted in disappointment. With his superior knowledge of the business, and the capital that he then could have commanded, there is no doubt that he would have amassed a great fortune in the business. He regards the Spanish Merino the best sheep for large flocks, and the Cotswolds for small flocks. He did much to improve the breed of sheep in this part of the state.
He married Elizabeth Kustine. Two children were born to them, a boy and girl, both deceased. The son, Ferdinand Winter, enlisted in the late
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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
civil war in the 13th Illinois Cavalry for three years. He served out his time, and was at Memphis, in camp, on his way home, and while waiting for the boat, the camp was surprised by Gen. Forrest's forces, and in the fight that ensued he was shot, and died from the wounds a few days afterwards. As soon as the news came home, his step-mother left for Memphis, where she arrived in time to get the body. She was taken sick, and died a short time after her return. Her name before marriage was Sophia Berdoff. He afterwards married Caroline Lutcher, his present wife. One child, Harry, has been the fruit of this marriage. There is also one boy by his second wife. Both he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church. Mr. Winter came to this country a poor man ; what he now has is the accu- mulation of years of toil, frugality, and economy. He is a large land owner, and is among the solid men of Macoupin county.
JUDGE THADDEUS L. LOOMIS.
THE preserved genealogy of the Loomis family begins with Joseph Loomis, one of the original settlers of Windsor, Connecticut. He was a native of Braintree, Essex county, England, and emigrated to America in the year 1638. In the family have been men who, in the past and present, have distinguished themselves in science, literature, and in the councils of the state and nation. The family living in this county are but a few removes from Professor Loomis, of Yale College.
Horace Loomis, the father of the subject of the present sketch, was born in Connecticut. He removed to New York, and in 1838, came west with his family to Illinois, and settled in what is now known as Chesterfield township, where he engaged in farming, stock-raising, and dairying. He remained thus employed until his death, which occurred in 1850.
He married Julia Tuttles, who was also a native of Connecticut, but was a resident of New York at the time of her marriage. There were three children born to them, all boys. Two of them are living. The subject of our sketch is the eldest; William B. died in Minnesota, and Horace J. still resides upon the old homestead in Chesterfield township.
Thaddeus, in his youth, in his native state attended the common schools. When he reached the age of twelve years, his father came to Illinois, and here he continued his education during the winter months, and worked upon the farm the remainder of the year. In his nineteenth year he entered the Illinois College at Jacksonville, remained for one year, when he re- turned home, and one year later entered the law department of the Uni- versity of Kentucky at Louisville, remained there two years, taking a thorough course, and graduating March, 1849. He returned home, and remained a short time. His health failing, he concluded to make a trip to California by the overland route. He therefore, in com- pany with eight others, among whom was Richard J. Oglesby, late United States senator from Illinois, made all the necessary arrangements, purchasing their mules, wagons, and provisions, and in the summer of 1849 left St. Joseph, Missouri, and after ninety days of extreme fatigue and hard- ships reached the " Golden State." Mr. Loomis remained in California for five years, and in that time was principally engaged in mining, hunting, and exploring the country. In 1854 he returned home by way of the Isthmus of Panama and West India islands.
The 13th of December of the same year witnessed his marriage to Miss Sarah, daughter of William and Frances Duckels. She was born in Eng- land. Her parents emigrated to America, and settled in Chesterfield town- ship in 1835. Five children have been born to hallow and bless this union, all of whom are yet beneath the parental roof, except George D., the eldest son, who, at this writing, is in the auditor's office of the Kansas and Pacific railroad. Mr. Loomis, after his marriage, purchased land in Carlinville township, and commenced farming. In 1857 he sold out his farm, and pur- chased land near Carlinville, to which place he removed his family, and where he at present resides. From the time above-mentioned until 1861 he was engaged in farming, saw-milling, and furnishing large quantities of ties and timber for the Chicago and Alton railroad. He also about this time purchased more land lying in close proximity to Carlinville, and laid out an addition to the town, which is known as Loomis' addition.
In 1861 he received the nomination for the office of county judge at the hands of the democratic party, and at the ensuing election in November following was elected by a handsome majority. When Judge Loomis came into office he found county orders and the county's credit below par. This condition of affairs had existed ever since the organization of the county.
His first step was to bring the credit of the county up to par, where he maintained it during his entire term of office, which lasted over a period of eight years. At the expiration of his term of office in 1865, he was again nominated and elected. One of his first acts under his second administra- tion was to levy, collect, and pay off the county debt, which amounted to two hundred thousand dollars.
In the convention which met in 1865 to nominate candidates for county judge, it was understood that the nomination and endorsement of Judge Loomis, carried with it the consent of a majority of the voters of the county to build the Court-house, and his defeat by his opponent was equivalent to saying that the people were opposed to the building of a Court-house. That seemed to be the issue, and it was clearly defined. Loomis was nominated, and in the election that followed, the proceedings and endorsements of the con- vention were ratified by a majority of the legal voters of the county. In 1867 the building was commenced, and under the guidance and manage- ment of Judge Loomis was completed in the winter of 1869-70. He was the central figure in the building of the new Court-house which now adorns the county seat. He started upon his mission to build the Court-house, and he built it ; and it stands to-day a monument to his indomitable courage and will that brooked all defiance and set at nought every will opposed to him. He set his hand to the plow, so to speak, and would not turn back ; and time, the great leveler which makes all things even, is slowly but surely applauding him for his courage and constancy in doing what he then thought, and yet thinks, was for the best interests of the whole county. And let it be here said to his credit, that in all the transactions and handling of immense sums of money necessary in that undertaking, he came out of it without a stain upon his personal integrity. Of the many who opposed him, none have charged him with official corruption or dishonesty.
During all his business life, Mr. Loomis has been an active, energetic man, full of push and enterprise. Probably no man in the county or town has done more to build up the city of Carlinville, or added to the material wealth of the county than he has. That splendid hostelry which bears his name, the Loomis House, and adorns the north-cast corner of the public square of Carlinville, was built by him in 1869.
He has been particularly active in railroad matters, and in 1867 organ- ized a company to build a road from Litchfield to the Mississippi, but from various causes the work was discontinued, but not certainly abandoned. In 1869 he was mainly instrumental in securing a charter for the " Farmers' Railroad," the terminal points of which were to be Jacksonville and Staun- ton in this county. He hopes at no distant day to revive these enterprises and complete the roads. At present he is engaged in mining coal, shipping considerable coal to other points as well as supplying the home market.
In politics Judge Loomis is a staunch democrat, and has been for many years recognized as one of the leaders of the party. In his manners he is courteous and gentlemanly, and is one of those rare kind of men, who, if once your friend, is always your friend. He is plain and outspoken upon all subjects, and consequently his position upon any question is never left in doubt. When he takes a position and believes he is right, he is as unyield- ing and firm as a rock. He is a man who attracts to himself strong per- sonal friends. Notwithstanding the great outcry made against him a few years ago, it is doubtful whether any other man possesses more friends in the county than Judge Thaddeus L. Loomis.
WILLIAM H. STEWARD
WAS born in Salem county, New Jersey, June 22d, 1850. He is of Scotch ancestry. William Steward, his father, married Rebecca Abbott. Both were natives of the same state above-mentioned. There were eight children born to them, four of whom are living. In 1854 William Steward emigrated with his family from his native state, and settled in Bunker Hill township, in this county, where they remained until 1878, when he removed to Ship- man, where they now reside.
William H. Steward received his rudimentary education in the common schools of this county, and when fifteen years of age he had private instruc- tion, and was prepared for entrance into college by a Presbyterian minister, a graduate of Yale. At the age of seventeen, or in 1867, he entered McKendree College, at Lebanon, Illinois, and took a full classical course, and graduated from that institution in June, 1873, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After his graduation, he was Principal of the public schools of Woodburn, in this county. In the spring of the year following
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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
he entered the law office of Cullom, Scholes & Mather, of Springfield, Illinois, where he remained until the following winter, when he again took charge of the public school in Woodburn. In the spring he went back to the law office in Springfield, and in the fall of 1875, he entered the law department of the Union College of Law of the Chicago and Northwestern University at Chicago, and graduated therefrom in the summer of 1876, with the degree of L.L. D., which entitled him to practice in all the courts of the state. He began practice in Carlinville in 1876, where he formed a partnership with W. H. Smalley, which continued until the 1st of Decem- ber, 1879, after which he formed a law and business partnership in the title abstract business with M. L. Keplinger, which still continues.
Mr. Steward enters the profession of law fully equipped, and fitted by educational and mental training to grapple and solve the intricate questions and technicalities that meet the student at various turns in the practice. He has the necessary traits of character to insure success-industry and perse- verance. At the present time he is attorney for the city of Carlinville.
ROBERT A. HANKINS, M.D.,
Is a native of Illinois, born in Carlinville, June 20th, 1848. His father, Dr. John W. Hankins, is a native of New Jersey. He emigrated to Illi- nois, and settled in Carlinville in 1846. He married Elizabeth McKee, who was born in Pennsylvania. The subject of our sketch received his education in the common schools of his native town, which he attended until he reached his eighteenth year, when he entered Blackburn University, where he remained two years. He at the same time took up the studies of physiology and anatomy, as preparatory studies to entering the profession of medicine. In 1869 he attended a course of lectures at the Eclectic Medi- cal College of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, after which he returned home, aud remained for one year pursuing his studies, and in 1871 again attended another course of lectures in the same college, and graduated from that institution in 1872 with the degree of M. D. He returned to Carlin- ville, where he engaged in practice, in which he still continues. In the practice of medicine Dr. Hankins has found his true vocation and calling. As a practitioner he has already been more than ordinarily successful for one who is just upon the threshold of professional life. He is of studious habits. While united to a love of his profession and moderately ambitious to succeed, it becomes only a question of time when he will take a prominent place with his professional brethren. On the 3d of June, 1875, he united in marriage to Miss Jennie Bell, a native of Alabama, but who was a resident of Carlinville at the time of her marriage. Two children, both boys, bless this union. In politics he is a democrat.
LEN C. GLESSNER
WAS born in Delaware, Ohio, March 17th, 1853, being the sixth in a family of nine children. His father, Lewis Glessner, was in early life a farmer, which occupation he subsequently abandoned. In 1861 he purchased the Hancock Courier at Findley, Ohio, and removed with his family to that place. He continued the publication of the paper and its editorial manage- ment until his death, which took place early in 1879. Young Glessner was thus brought up in immediate contact with newspapers from the time he could read, and came naturally into the newspaper business. He had the advantages of a good English education. At the age of fifteen he entered his father's office to learn the printing business, commencing at the bottom, and steadily working his way up, acquiring a complete knowledge of the art in all its branches ; and occasionally a share of the editorial work would devolve upon him in the absence of the editors. Arriving at the age of twenty-one, and wishing to see something of the world for himself, he left home and friends, and started out to work at his trade. After traveling around for some time, he found himself in Farmer City, Illinois, and through the influence of an elder brother, bought the Farmer City Journal, and in October of 1874 issued his first paper. The office was purchased altogether on time, Glessner's capital at the time of the purchase being just 823.94; but by careful management and untiring labor, the debt of nearly $2,000 was paid in two years' time. From the time of passing into Mr. Glessner's hands, the Journal was marked by an independence of thought and sincerity of purpose and a certain spiciness of tone, that soon gave it more than a local reputation.
In 1877 Mr. Glessner was married to Miss Emma Chappelear, an estima- ble lady of the same city. They have one child. After conducting the Journal successfully for four years and a half, and wishing for a wider field of action and usefulness, Mr. Glessner, after making arrangements for the continuance of the paper, moved to Carlinville, Illinois, and on March 1st, 1879, issued the first number of the Macoupin County Herald, Mr. E. A. Snively becoming associated with him in the editorial work. From the beginning, the success of the Herald has been most brilliant, and has far surpassed the most sanguine expectations of the publisher. In seven months the circulation has grown to 1,500 copies, and is now increasing from fifty to seventy-five per week. The secret of Mr. Glessner's success in life is an untiring energy which never allows him to become discouraged by any ob- stacle; but by constant pegging away, he will eventually attain his end. His idea of a good newspaper is one which, in clear print, shall give the most interesting rather than the greatest, quantity of reading, and faithful work in the field of local news, gleaning all that can possibly interest any of his readers.
ROBERT B. SHIRLEY
WAS born in Madison county, Illinois, October 9th, 1850. His father, William C. Shirley, is a native of Tennessee. He emigrated to Illinois in 1842, and settled in Madison county, where he engaged in farming for a number of years. He afterwards removed to Staunton, Macoupin county, where he followed the mercantile business. In 1845 he married Mary Hoxsey, a native of Madison county. Her parents were Virginians by birth. Mr. Shirley remained in the mercantile business until 1860, when, after the breaking out of the war, he became a government contractor. In 1857 he was a member of the state legislature, and also in 1867. During the time he was a member, in 1867-68, he procured the passage of an act chartering the Decatur and East St Louis railroad, and afterwards built the road. He is still a resident of Staunton.
The subject of our sketch received a good English education in the com- mon schools of his native place, and in 1867 he entered the scientific depart- ment of the university at Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1873 he entered the law office of William R. Welch of Carlinville, and commenced reading law. In June, 1876, he was admitted to practice. In October, 1878, he formed a law partnership with S. T. Corn, state's attorney, which still continues. In politics he is a straight democrat. Mr. Shirley is a young man of fine address and appearance, and of more than ordinary legal ability. He is industrious and untiring in the cause of his client.
THOMAS G. CUNDALL, .
WAS born in Chesterfield, Macoupin county, Illinois, September 15, 1845. John R. Cundall, his father, is a native of Leeds, England, as was also his wife. He came to America in 1832, and settled in the township above named, where he entered land and engaged in farming, and where he still resides. His wife died in 1867. Thomas G. is the fourth in a family of seven children, four boys and three girls. He attended the schools of his native township in the winter season and worked upon the farm in summer. He continued upon the farm in Chesterfield until 1870, when he removed to the township of Car- linville, and in May, 1875, he engaged in the livery, feed and sale stable business, and at which he still continues. Since going into the latter busi- ness he has engaged extensively in the purchase of horses and mules, and at the present writing is the most extensive dealer in the county. In fact, trading in stock has been Mr. Cundall's principal business for the last ten years. On the 22d of March, 1877, he married Mrs. Kate B. McNeil. She is a native of Kentucky, but was a resident of Carlinville at the time of her marriage.
Mr. Cundall pays but little attention to politics, and therefore votes for men who in his judgment are best fitted for the offices. He enjoys in a large degree the confidence and esteem of the community, and in his dealings with his fellow-man is regarded as an upright and honorable gentleman. In the line of his business he has but few superiors, and by the practice of industry and enterprise in supplying the wants of the public he has man- aged to win their esteem and confidence, and at the same time add to his material wealth. A fine view of his residence can be seen elsewhere in this book.
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HISTORY OF MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
MARK CROWDER,
THE present city marshal of Carlinville, was born in Breckenridge county, Kentucky, February 24th, 1826. Mark Crowder, his father, was a native of Virginia ; he came to Kentucky, and settled near Lexington in 1809. He married Rosanna Phillips; she was a native of Washington county, Kentucky. Fifteen children were born to them, eleven of whom have sur- vived the parents. Mr. Crowder came to Madison county, Illinois, and. settled near Alton, in 1829, where he remained until 1854, when he came to Macoupin county, and died here Oct. 18th, 1868. His wife died in July, 1866. The subject of our sketch spent his boyhood days at work upon the farm and attending school in the winter season. At the age of nineteen years he practically started in life for himself. He then went to school for the purpose of improving his education, after which he entered Shurtleff College at Upper Alton, where he remained nearly four years. He main- tained himself at school by working at the cooper trade during vacations. By this means he succeeded in getting a good education. After this he commenced teaching in the old school-house where he had been a pupil. This was in 1849. In 1850 he came to Macoupin county and taught school on Bear Creek, after which he returned to Madison county, and taught school in his old home. The next year he taught in the Forks of Wood- river, after which he removed to Alton to finish his education at Shurtleff College, but an opportunity offered to teach in an academy, and he accepted the situation. During that time his wife died. As soon as his school closed he came back to Carlinville, where he followed the profession of teaching until 1854, when he rode deputy under assessor Snow, and can- vassed eighteen townships out of twenty-four. In the fall he became the candidate to fill the vacancy of assessor occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Snow, but was defeated, owing to there being four candidates in the field. In the fall of 1855 he was a candidate for the regular term, and was elected ; he served two years. He was a candidate for re-election, but was defeated. He then resumed teaching, at which he continued until 1862, when he enlisted in Company " A," 122d regiment, Illinois Vols. He entered as a private, but was subsequently promoted sergeant. At the battle of Parker's Cross Roads he was wounded in the thigh, and was disa- bled for further duty, and was therefore discharged February 3d, 1864. He returned home and engaged in mercantile business, in which he re- mained one year. Was then elected city marshal, and remained in office two terms, after which he again taught school. He was also elected city collector in 1870; since that time he has been engaged in teaching and farming, until 1879, when he was appointed city marshal, and at the pre- sent time holds that office. On the 29th of January, 1851, he married Miss Martha Walker, by whom he had two children, one of whom is living. His wife died March 3d, 1853. On the 5th of April, 1854, he married Par- thena C. Clark, who is a native of North Carolina, but was a resident of Macoupin county at the date of her marriage. Four children have been born to them, two of whom are living. In politics Mr. Crowder is a re- publican. He joined the Christian Church in 1843, and subsequently he attached himself to the Baptist organization.
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