USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Portrait and biographical record of St. Clair County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 43
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
When reaching his majority, James Wylie and Miss Sarah C., daughter of John K. and Margaret White, of this county, were united in marriage. A sketch of Mrs. Wylie's parents, who are prominent residents of Marissa Township, will be found on another page in this volume. To our subject and his wife were born a family of five children, two of whom died in infancy. Those living are John W., Nancy A. and James F. The wife and mother departed this life March 7, 1887. and her remains were followed to their last resting-place by many relatives and warm friends.
Mr. Wylie is an ardent Prohibitionist in his political views and uses his influence in every pos- sible way to advance party interests.
R. ALPHONSO XAVIER ILLINSKI. This pioneer physician of the Mississippi Bottom was born in the province of Val- hejima, Poland, in 1817, where his father, Alexander Illinski, also a native of Poland, was a land-owner and planter. He was a very promi- nent man and passed his entire life in his native country. llis wife, Anna, was also a native of Poland. They were the parents of twelve chil- dren, our subject being second in order of birth. Two of our subject's brothers were exiled to Si- beria and served their time in the mines. One is there at the present time, as is also one nephew.
The original of this notice was reared and edu- cated in the Gymnasium of Kremnitz, and pos- sesses a strong constitution, great will power and remarkable endurance, or he could never have stood the life he has lead as a physician. Hle re- mained in the Gymnasium for five years and re- ceived a classical education. At this institution the study of the Latin, Greek, French, Russian. German and Polish languages, mathematics and the natural sciences was obligatory. Then school was maintained on the high-pressure principle, studies were crowded too rapidly one after another. and youths were expected to accomplish the work of adults, Those who possessed strong constitu-
tions stood the ordeal. while others failed. Our subject stood well in his classes. Prompted by patriotism, at the age of fourteen years he joined the insurgents' army as a lancer, but was promoted to be First Lieutenant before the close of the Revolution. After the capture of Warsaw, the command to which he was attached retreated to Galicia, a part of Austria, for refuge, and he re- mained there about a year. In 1834, a peremp- tory order was issued exiling all insurgents either to Russia or France. Our subject naturally chose the latter, but the order was in the meantime, changed to America in place of France.
At the time of the issuance of this order, our subject was confined in a prison at Olmutz, with- out knowing the reason, and there he lay for six weeks. He believed that a mistake had been made, the authorities intending the incarceration of an older brother, Anthony Illinski, who was a leader among the insurgent soldiers, and as such was thought to merit greater punishment than simply to be exiled. This brother made good his escape, and, true to his military instincts, jomed the French in the Algerian War. Ile then served as a Turk and joined the regular army of that people. The love of Poland as a dear dream yet lingered with him, so he obtained leave of absence from his com- mand and joined Kossuth in his vain endeavor to redeem his fair land. Ile was every inch a soldier. and life presented no charm for him, so that no sooner were Kossuth's hopes crushed and his armies disbanded, than he joined the Turks again, be- coming a General in their army. In the memor- able charge of Balaklava, he received a wound from which he soon after died, in 1856.
Dr. Alphonso X. Illinski came to America from Galicia, and landed in the city of New York on the 28th of March, 1834. After traveling for a year, he landed at Havana. the Queen City of the Antilles, and there obtained employment in an hospital because he could speak so many different languages. Hle there developed a taste for the study of medicine and the practice of surgery. Later he graduated in medicine, and in 1837 eame to Louisiana, where he remained until one year later, when he came to St. Louis, Mo. He entered MeDowell's Medical College in 1840, and gradu-
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ated from that institution two years later with the degree M. D. He then came immediately to St. Clair County, Ill., and has been in the active piac- tiee of his profession here for fifty years, or since 1842. Hle first located in the village of Cahokia, and as there was not a buggy in the county at that time, he made his professional rounds on horseback with saddle-bags. He was obliged to swim streams during the high waters of 1844, 1858, 1883 and 1892. Hle practiced all over the Missis- sippi Bottom and never knew what it was to feel fatigue until after the age of sixty-five.
In 1887, after the death of his son-in-law, Dr. Jennings, to whom he had given his practice, he located in East St. Louis to assist his daughter and keep her company. He has practiced since then and is the oldest physician in St. Louis. Ile had the largest practice of any physician in the county and often had to visit as many as sixty patients in a day, Ile at one time owned farms in this county, but he has sold them. He was deeply in- terested in bee culture for some time and had as many as seventeen hundred hives while at Cahokia. The Doctor was married in St. Louis, Mo., in 1843, to Mrs. Jane (Butler) St. John, a native of St. Clair County, and two children were the fruits of this union: Cora, Mrs. Droit, who resides in Cahokia; and Clementine, widow of Dr. Jennings, who resides in East St. Louis. The Doctor's second marriage was to Miss Virginia Blaek, a native of St. Louis, Mo., and three children were born to them, viz .: Anielka, Seah and Alexus, The Doctor is a member of the St. Clair Medical Society, and in politics, is a stanch supporter of Democratie principles, having been a delegate to county and State conventions,
OHN PHILIP FUESSER is one of the wealthiest and most prominent of the farm- ers of this township. Ile is the owner of several fine farms and raises great erops of the cereals, principally wheat and corn, his resi- dence being situated on seetion 28, Maseoutah Township, St. Clair County.
The father of our subject was George C. Fnesser, who was a native of Byne in Haslach, Germany. and was born February 2, 1825. He was reared and received his education in his native place entirely, and in 1842 he came to this country. When he first came to the limited States, he engaged in the trade of wagon-making and he followed this for some time, but later went upon a farm, where he remained for two years. His employer was a Mr. Leitroeh, and our subject gave good satisfac- tion in his work. In 1846, Mr. Fuesser married Miss Mary Dundor, the daughter of Andrew Dundor, and our subject at this time bought a farm in this township, where he remained about five years. He then moved to Mascoutah, but did not live there long, and returned to the farm, where he continued until 1860, when he moved back into the town. Ilere he continued for a space of six years when he again went back to the farm, and remained there until 1873. At this date he made his final removal, coming to this place and here living until his death, March 8, 1880, Ilis wife still survives and finds a pleasant home in Mas- coutah. There were four children of this marriage: George Adam, who resides upon the home place; John Philip, who is our subjeet; Anna, who lives in Mascoutah; and Carl Adolph, who also lives at the old home.
Our subject was born February 6, 1853, in this township, and here was reared and went to school. Hle has grown up to be a practical farmer, one who understands the business and knows how to make it a paying one. He owns quite a deal of land, having one hundred acres here in Mascoutah Township, and also one hundred and fifty-three aeres m Engelman Township, making in all two hun- dred and fifty-three acres. Carl Adolph, his brother, owns one hundred and five acres of fine land in this township, and the farms of both brothers have been carefully cultivated, and show care and proper tillage. Looking at the fields of waving grain of which these young men are the owners, one can not think that Dakota holds the best wheat farms in the West. The daughter, Annie, owns fifty-three acres of land, and a fine residence in Mascoutah, She is a popular stenographer, the only one in Mas- coutab.
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Politically, Mr. Fuesser is a Republican, and takes quite an interest in all that interests his chosen party. lle is well known throughout the county and possesses the respect of all. He is not one of the oldest settlers, but his father was, and in this way his name is well known to all. The old settlers are fast leaving only a name be- hind them, and this RECORD desires to so preserve their names and sketches of their lives, that future generations may see who and what manner of men were those who first conquered the wilderness, and made the land the pleasant place it now is for their descendants.
R EV. HENRY JOHN HAGEN. In the life of the Chancellor of the Belleville Diocese, there is much for the reader to admire and emulate, and it affords us pleasure to incor- porate in this volume the main events of his use- ful and honorable career. A man of brilliant at- tainments, whose splendid education has been of great value to him; with genial manners, gentle- manly bearing and fine physique, tall and dignified, it is not strange that he occupies a place so promi- nent in the esteem of his fellow-men. Ile possesses conversational abilities of a high order and the executive attainments which admirably qualify him for the responsible position of Chancellor.
Father lagen is still a young man, and this fact, together with his unusual talents and the success already achieved, gives his friends reason to hope for a career of honor in future years. He was born in Germantown, Clinton County, Ill., May 21, 1861, and has always been a resident of this State. His parentage is German, his father, Theodore II. and his mother, Margaret (Kreke) Hagen, having been born in Oldenburg and Hanover, Germany, respectively, whence they came to America as chil- dren with their respective families and were mar- ried in Germantown, Clinton County, Ill. The father, who was a wagon-maker by trade, followed that occupation in his native land, whence he emi- grated to America in his young manhood.
In the village of Germantown, the subject of this sketch received the rudiments of his education in the parochial schools, and afterward entered St. Joseph College at Tentopolis, Ill., when thirteen years old. He pursued his studies in that institu- tion of learning, from which he was graduated at the age of sixteen, after having completed the course of study with honors. Having resolved to enter the priesthood, he commenced the study of theology in St. Francis Seminary, near Milwaukee, Wis., and after remaining there for a short time, went to Europe and finished his education in the famous University of Innspruck, Austria, gradu- ating in 1883.
September 23 of the above-named year, Father llagen was ordained priest at Alton, Ill., the cere- mony of ordination being in charge of the late Bishop Baltes. The first pastorate of the young priest was the mission at Mt. Vernon, this State, and he also had charge of the missions at McLeans- borough and Okawville, this State. During the six years in which he was thus engaged, he was instru- mental in advancing the welfare of these missions and also in increasing their numerical strength, and his faithful ministry gained him a large num- ber of friends.
In October, 1889, Father Hagen was transferred to the Cathedral at Belleville, and one year later was appointed Secretary to Bishop Janssen and Chancellor of the Belleville Diocese, in which hon- orable place he still labors. He is a worthy adjunct to so grand a man as Bishop Janssen. The finan- cial matters of the diocese almost invariably pass through his hands, and, being thoroughly informed in business affairs, he is successful in this, as in other departments of his work.
h ON. JOHN THOMAS is descended from Welsh ancestors, who came to America at the beginning of the last century. His great-grandfather became the head of a family of seven sons and three daughters; one of his sons, Griffith, became the father of eight sons
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and two daughters. Of this family was John Thomas, the father of the subject of this sketeh. He was born in North Carolina, and was united in marriage to Miss Jane Smith, a native of that State, by whom he became the father of a large family of children, only two of whom are living at the present time. Ilon. John Thomas was born in Wythe County, Va., January 11, 1800, and as his father was a blacksmith and farmer of strait- ened circumstances, at an early day he had to as- sist in supporting the family. Living in a slave State, where wealthy planters owned most of the land, his father decided to move to a free State, where his children could have better educational and social advantages, and the winter of 1817-18 was spent in Indiana, but on the 28th of April, 1818, he reached St. Clair County, Ill., and they halted near the present village of Shiloh, then known as the Alexander settlement, where the fa- ther at once opened a blacksmith's shop, there being already a mill and distillery there. llere he followed his trade, as well as the occupation of farmer, his spare moments from his shop be- ing devoted to clearing his land from timber and brush. On this farm he resided until his death in the year 1848, at about the age of eighty years, his widow surviving him until 1854, when she, too, passed away, and both are now sleeping their last sleep on the old home farm. Her father was a physician and served in the Revolutionary War. John Thomas, the father of our subject, served in the War of 1812 in his business capacity, and was extensively engaged in the manufacture of horseshoe nails. Dr. William L. Smith, Mis. Thomas' brother, who met his death by drowning, left considerable valuable property.
Like a dutiful son, he assisted his father on the home farm until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time, feeling the need of a better educa- tion, he divided his first year of independent life between working and attending school, and as his mind was active and sound, he made rapid prog- ress in his studies. He learned the blacksmith's trade of his father and followed this occupation, in connection with tilling rented land for about six years, when, in 1828, he made his first purchase of real estate and stocked his farm, and from that purchase of land dates his prosperity. Ile was shrewd and far-seeing and knew that permanent prosperity would come to him who would invest liberally, or place his means in land, and that it would be only a question of time when the broad and fertile prairies of Illinois would be brought into market, and would be in great demand by the tide of immigration, that would pour in from the East and from foreign shores. lle therefore pur- chased all the land he could get and pay for, not- withstanding the fact that offieious friends in- formed him that he was acting foolishly and was inviting bankruptcy. lle had an abiding faith that real estate was the true source of wealth, and he had the satisfaction of seeing land for which lie paid only a few dollars increase in value to exceed 8400 per aere. The history of his success in the accumulation of a fortune is the history of nearly all the rich men of Illinois. In 1824, an elec- tion was held in order to determine whether slavery should exist in Illinois, and Col. Thomas bitterly opposed the measure and did all in his power to defeat the scheme. As a consequence a committee was appointed to horsewhip hum, but, having a body-guard, the matter was compromised by a good man being chosen from each side to decide the matter in the fistic arena. It resulted in the victory for the Colonel, and a majority of ninety- seven votes was polled against slavery, the State going seventeen hundred majority. Lieut .- Gov. Kinney, the Colonel's father-in-law, was the owner of about a dozen slaves, resided about three miles from Belleville and was one of his strongest oppo- nents.
The early education of Hon. John Thomas, as well as that of his brothers and sisters, would have been sadly neglected had it not been for their ex- cellent mother, who was a finely educated lady. She taught all her children to read and write and instructed them in the rudimentary branches. ·lolin never saw a schoolhouse or church until after he was eighteen years of age, but he was an indus- trious and moral young man, and in his youth imbibed principles of industry and honor that In early life he was very devoted to military were of material benefit to him in later years. , pursuits, and in 1832, during the Black Hawk War,
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he enlisted in the service, and raised a company of volunteers and started for Iowa. Later, he was compelled to return home on account of his fam- ily, but on some slurring remarks being made of him by Gov. Reynolds, he cast aside personal con- siderations and the next day started out to organ- ize a company, of which he was made Captain. The question then arose who should be Colonel, and as Capt. Thomas' knowledge of military tac- ties was well known, his numerous friends chose him, although Gov. Reynolds was in favor of Buckmaster holding the position. Col. Thomas was elected by thirty majority, and with his com- mand marched within fifteen miles of Black Hawk, where they were joined by Capt. Stillman with three hundred men. A part of this force met Black Hawk in battle, but were defeated, and the following day the entire force marched against him, but only found the smouldering remains of his camp fires. They then went to Ottawa, Ill., and found that the most of the few settlers of that place had been murdered by the redskins, and al- though Gov. Reynolds had previously discharged his men, the settlers asked for his protection and C'ol. Thomas assisted in organizing a company, and of this and three other companies, Col. Frye was placed in command. At this time C'ol. Thomas, notwithstanding his refusal, was elected Lieutenant Colonel, and with his command, com- prising three companies of Regulars, took up his station at Kilroy's Grove. June 16, 1832, he had a brush with the Indians and killed seven of them and lost three men.
To a certain extent Mr. Thomas has been in pol- ities for many years, but has never been an office- seeker. He always freely expressed his views on mat- ters of public interest, and his position upon ques- tions of importance was known to be sound and the result of honest conviction. In 1838, he was elected to the Legislature as an independent candidate, the Whigs and Democrats each having candidates in the field, and made a very capable legislator. In 1836, when the State had decided to adopt the internal improvement system, Col. Thomas be- came a contractor and worked about two or three hundred men. He took a very important part in many measures of interest, and did a great deal
to mould public opinion in the early history of the State. Ile constantly labored for the good of his section, was utterly disinterested, and his many brilliant powers of mind, his soldierly and manly conduct, and his kind heart, won him the warm regard of such noted men as Abraham Lincoln, John J. Hardin and E. D. Baker. Ile was instru- mental, while a member of the Legislature, in estab- lishing the ferry at St. Louis, and although the fight was a long and bitter one, it eventually resulted in favor of its establishment. While in the Legis- lature, he introduced a bill to fence in stock, leav- ing fields open. In the year 1878, he was put npon the Republican ticket for State Senator, made a strong canvass, and carried the two representa- tives with him, even after Esq. Gilliland, of Lebanon, was induced to make an independent canvass. He has ever been a wheel horse of his party, and the efficient service he has rendered has been fully realized. In 1862, lie was elected by a majority of eleven to the Legislature, after a very hard political fight, and was re-elected in 1864 by a big majority.
The same year Mr. Thomas was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention, where he made a strong speech to the Illinois delegates, and he was also a del- egate to the Chicago Convention of 1860. He has magnificent and very extensive farming interests, his land consisting of about four thousand acres, and has fed as high as two thousand hogs at one time. IIe is an extensive stockshipper, in fact it is the nature of the gentleman to rise above mediocrity in anything he undertakes. While a member of the Legislature in 1864, he presided as Speaker of the House about two thirds of the time, in which capacity he was very able and popular. While yet a resident of Virginia, he imbibed prin- ciples antagonistic to slavery, for he knew and felt its baleful influence, and he firmly believed that the normal condition of all men was to be free and equal in the eyes of the law. In 1862, during the exciting times of the Rebellion, he wielded a powerful influence in the Legislature, and he was loyal and patriotic to the core. Ile favored every measure for the speedy termination of the "irrepressible conflict" and the preservation of the Union. The four times that he has been a
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member of the Legislature have demonstrated in a marked degree the high estimation in which he is held by the public. He is a truly able man and is warmly in favor of the education of the masses, and believes that therein hes the future hope and perpetuation of the free institutions of America.
To his marriage with Miss Kinney ten children have been born, five sons and five daughters. The mother of these children died in 1868, and in Jan- uary, 1875, he married Magdalena Holdner, a widow, and daughter of Jacob Von Eue, a native of Switzerland. Such in brief is the history of Col. John Thomas, a man of brilliant mental powers, strong individuality, undaunted courage and manliness, and withal kind hearted, gener- ous and true. A model American citizen, he is also a model husband and father, and a loyal and generous friend.
ENRY VOSKAMP. A compendium of bio- graphical sketches of St. Clair County, would be incomplete without an outline of the life of .the above gentleman, who, al- though quite young, has gained an excellent repu- tation. The grandfather of our subjeet was a native of Holland, and after eoming to the I'ni- ted States located in Johannisburgh, Washington County, Ill., where he died at the advanced age of ninety-nine years.
Henry Voskamp's parents were Henry and Anna (Remmers) Voskamp. Ilenry Voskamp, Sr., was born in Osnabruck, Holland, in the year 1802, and his wife was born in Oldenburg, Germany, in the year 1819. After obeying the laws of his native land in regard to educational matters, Henry, Sr., chose the vocation of forester as the one in which he would seek a maintenance. Ile worked in this line for several years and then concluded that there were better opportunities for him in America, so he invested a part of his savings for the necessary transportation and embarked for the United States. Ile immediately located in St. Clair County after his arrival, and his first enter-
prise on this side of the ocean was to buy a small stock and commence life as a peddler of small- wares and general merchandise, taking for his route that portion of the State near his new home. He soon became known as an honest dealer, and success crowned his efforts.
Henry Voskamp brought with him not only the money necessary to start in business but the wealth he had inherited from his Dutch grand- fathers, namely: thrift, industry, energy and per- severance. In a very few years after his arrival in this country, he opened a store in Fayetteville, where he sold general merchandise, and where the people for miles around knew they could obtain every commodity they wanted. The success of this store is but another milestone in his history, show- ing that fortune smiled on his efforts, and Henry, Sr., was known as one of the solid merchants of Fayetteville for forty years. Ile drifted, through business transactions, into the hotel business, but the life of a farmer had always been one of his dreams, and, selling out the hotel, he undertook the cultivation of three hundred cores of land which he had acquired, and lived a life of retire- ment from mercantile pursuits. His first wife, Mary Lueka, having died, Mr. Voskamp married Miss Anna Remmers, and our subject is the only hving child of this union the two chil- dren of the first wife having died in infancy. Politically, Henry Voskamp, Sr., was a Democrat, and worked for the interests of his party when- ever its standard was at issue. Ile died in the year 1872, his wife surviving him seven years.
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