JOHANN ULRICH STEFFEN 1807 - 1860

(WIFE) BARBARA ZEHNDER ???? - ????

(SON) FRED STEFFEN ???? - ????

(SON) JOHN STEFFEN ???? - ????

(SON) CHRIS STEFFEN ???? - ????

(DAUGHTER) VERENA (STEFFEN) ANDEREGG ???? - ????

(SON) ULRICH STEFFEN 1835 - 1913

LIVINGSTON COUNTRY HISTORY

BY RICHARD STEFFEN

ULRICH STEFFEN WAS BORN SEPTEMBER 11, 1835 IN ERISWYL (SUBURB), BERN (CITY), KONTON (STATE), SWITZERLAND. HE DIED JANUARY 28, 1913 AT THE AGE OF 78 AT CROPSEY, ILLINOIS. HE CAME TO AMERICA WITH HIS FATHER, JOHANN ULRICH STEFFEN, AROUND 1855. THEY SAILED FOR ABOUT 40 DAYS TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. HE ARRIVED IN NEW YORK, BUT NOT MUCH IS DEFINITELY KNOWN OF HIS TRAVELS IN THIS NEW LAND UNTIL HE SETTLED IN THE GOODFIELD-CONGERVILLE, ILLINOIS AREA IN THE LATE 1850’S. HE MARRIED ANNA MARIE WINGER (WENGER) IN ROANOKE, ILLINOIS ON DECEMBER 18, 1859. THEY WERE MARRIED BY BROTHER BENEDICT WEYENETH FROM PEORIA, ILLINOIS. ANNA WAS BORN FEBRUARY 18, 1835 IN INGROSHEZOGTON BADEN BROMBACH, GERMANY AND CAME TO THIS COUNTRY WITH HER FATHER WHOSE NAME WAS CONRAD WINGER (WENGER). THE WINGERS LIVED ON A FARM NEAR FORREST, ILLINOIS. SHE DIED MARCH 27, 1902 AT THE AGE OF 67. IN THE EARLY 1860’S ULRICH BECAME ILL WITH CHOLERA. HIS DOCTORS ADVISED HIM TO MOVE TO AN AREA OF MORE PRAIRIE LAND. SO AROUND 1865, THE STEFFENS MOVED FROM THE GOODFIELD-CONGERVILLE AREA TO CROPSEY, ILLINOIS. THEIR VIRGIN PRAIRIE HOMESTEAD WAS LOCATED ½ MILE NORTH AND ½ MILE EAST OF CROPSEY IN THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE LAND BECAME THE HOMESTEADER’S LEGAL PROPERTY ONLY AFTER HE HAD LIVED THERE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF YEARS AND MADE CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE THE LAND PRODUCTIVE, THE NORTH ½ OF SECTION 24, IN TOWNSHIP 25, NORTH OF RANGE 6, EAST, CONTAINED 320 ACRES. THE TOTAL PURCHASE WAS $3,200.00 OR $10.00 PER ACRE. THE "RELEASE OF MORTGAGE DEED" SHOWS THE MORTGAGE WAS OBTAINED ON MARCH 16, 1867. THE TAX BILL PAID IN 1867 FOR THE YEAR OF 1866 DOES NOT SHOW THIS TOTAL AMOUNT OF ACRES, BUT IT’S POSSIBLE ALL THE ACRES WERE NOT YET PRODUCTIVE.

THE ENTIRE AREA AROUND CROPSEY HAD NO DESIGNED ROAD, ONLY PATHS OR TRAILS TO FOLLOW. THE LAND CONSISTED OF PRAIRIE GRASS, WEEDS AND SWAMPS. AFTER ULRICH’S HEALTH IMPROVED, HE BEGAN DRAINING SWAMPS, CLEANING BRUSH AND TIMBER, TILING AND ERECTING A HOME STEAD. WOLVES AND ALLIGATORS WERE PRESENT IN THE AREA. SEVERAL OF THE OLDER FOLKS HAVE TOLD THE INCIDENT OF AN ALLIGATOR NEARLY GRABBING A CHILD (ANDREW) AT ONE TIME. THERE IS SOME DOUBT TO THIS TALE BECAUSE THE ILLINOIS HISTORICAL MUSEUM HAD NO RECORD OF ALLIGATORS EVER REPORTED OR REMAINS FOUND IN ILLINOIS. HOWEVER, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF CORN BELT LIBRARY SYSTEM, I HAVE FOUND THAT IN THE MIDDLE TO LATE 1800’S THOUSAND OF ALLIGATORS HATCHLING WERE SOLD TO TOURISTS WHO TOOK THEM NORTH AS PETS. WHEN THE ANIMALS BECAME CUMBERSOME, MANY WERE SET FREE INTENTIONALLY, AND OTHERS GOT AWAY ACCIDENTALLY. MANY OF THE REPTILES ESCAPED FROM TRAVELING CARNIVALS, ROADSIDE ZOOS, AND GYPSY VAGABONDS. ANOTHER WILD LIFE EVENT OCCURRED WHEN A WOLF JUMPED THROUGH AN OPEN BEDROOM WINDOW AT THE STEFFEN HOME AND ATTEMPTED TO SNATCH A BABY FROM ITS CRIB. THE WOLF WAS DRIVEN OFF WHEN ULRICH’S WIFE THREW BOILING WATER ON ITS BACK. THE ANIMAL JUMPED OUT THE WINDOW AND, HOWLING, CRASHED INTO THE THICKETS.

ULRICH WENT TO FAIRBURY ONCE A YEAR FOR HIS FAMILY’S MAJOR NEEDS OF CLOTHING AND OTHER STAPLE GOODS. HE WOULD LEAVE VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING. BECAUSE HE EXPECTED TO RETURN HOME LATE AT NIGHT, HIS WIFE WOULD PLACE TWO CANDLES IN THE ATTIC WINDOW. WHEN ULRICH LEFT FAIRBURY, HE WOULD HEAD IN A SOUTH-SOUTHEASTERLY DIRECTION LOOKING FOR THE TWO CANDLES TO GUIDE HIM HOME SINCE NO MAJOR ROADS OR FENCE BOUNDARIES EXISTED IN THE AREA.

FAIRBURY BLADE

JAN. 31, 1913

ULRICH STEFFIN

ULRICH STEFFIN WAS BORN IN SWITZERLAND IN 1835, AND DIED AT HIS OLD HOME NEAR CROPSEY, WHERE HE SETTLED AND HAS LIVED SINCE 1868, HIS DEATH OCCURING TUESDAY EVENING, JAN. 28, AT 8:30 O’CLOCK. MR. STEFFIN WAS ONE OF A FAMILY OF FIVE CHILDREN. HE CAME TO AMERICA IN 1855. HE SETTLED IN TAZEWELL COUNTY WHEN HE CAME TO THIS COUNTRY. HE WAS UNTIED IN MARRIAGE TO MISS ANNA WENGER IN 1863 IN TAZEWELL COUNTY. IN 1868 THEY MOVED ON THE OLD HOMESTEAD, A HALF MILE NORTH AND HALF MILE EAST OF CROPSEY. FOUR CHILDREN WERE BORN TO THEM, TWO DAUGHTERS TOGETHER WITH THE WIFE AND MOTHER HAVING PRECEDED HIM TO THE BETTER WORLD. THREE SONS ARE LIVING: ALBERT, ANDREW, CHRISTOPHER ALL LIVING NEAR CROPSEY. MR. STEFFIN MADE HIS HOME WITH HIS SON ANDREW ON THE HOME PLACE SINCE HIS WIFE’S DEATH. HE ALSO HAS TWO SISTERS AND TWO BROTHERS LIVING: MRS. CARL HUBER OF STRAWN, MRS. GOTTLIEB HARRI OF STRAWN, CHRIST AND FRED, BOTH LIVING IN KANSAS. MR. STEFFIN WAS AN EXCELLENT CITIZEN AND HELD THE RESPECT AND ESTEEM OF ALL WHO KNEW HIM. HE WAS AN EARNEST MEMBER OF THE GERMAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH THIS, FRIDAY, AFTERNOON AT 2:00 O’CLOCK. THE BEREAVED FAMILY HAVE THE SYMPATHY OF ALL.

FAIRBURY BLADE

FEB. 7, 1913

ULRICH STEFFEN

ULRICH STEFFEN WAS BORN IN SWITZERLAND IN 1835, AND DIED AT HIS OLD HOME NEAR CROPSEY WHERE HE SETTLED AND HAS LIVED SINCE 1867. HIS DEATH OCCURING TUESDAY EVENING, JAN. 28, AT 8:30 O'CLOCK. MR. STEFFEN WAS ONE OF A FAMILY OF FOUR CHILDREN. HE CAME TO AMERICA IN 1856. HE SETTLED IN TAZEWELL COUNTY. HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO MISS ANNA MAY WENGER IN 1859 IN TAZEWELL COUNTY. IN 1867 THEY MOVED ON THE OLD HOMESTEAD A HALF MILE NORTH AND HALF MILE EAST OF CROPSEY. SEVEN CHILDREN WERE BORN TO THEM; TWO DAUGHTERS TOGETHER WITH HIS WIFE PRECEDED HIM TO THE BETTER WORLD.

THREE SONS AND TWO DAUGHTERS ARE LIVING. ALBERT, ANDREW AND CONRAD STEFFEN, MRS. MINNIE HUBER AND MRS. LENA HARI. MR. STEFFEN MADE HIS HOME WITH HIS SON ANDREW ON THE HOME PLACE SINCE HIS WIFE'S DEATH. HE ALSO HAS TWO BROTHERS, CHRIST AND FRED, LIVING IN KANSAS, AND ONE SISTER, FRENA, LIVING IN IOWA. MR. STEFFEN WAS AN EXCELLENT CITIZEN AND HELD THE RESPECT AND ESTEEM OF ALL WHO KNEW HIM. HE WAS AN EARNEST MEMBER OF THE GERMAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH AND FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE SOUTH CHURCH LAST FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT 2 O'CLOCK.

THE BEREAVED FAMILY HAVE THE SYMPATHY OF ALL.

MRS. ULRICH STEFFEN DIED LAST FRIDAY AND WAS BURIED SUNDAY. SHE WAS 67 YEARS OLD AND HAS BEEN SICK FOR SOME TIME. SHE LEAVES A HUSBAND AND SIX CHILDREN ALL LIVING NEAR THE OLD HOME. SHE WAS BORN IN GERMANY AND CAME TO THIS COUNTY WITH HER PARENTS. SHE WAS LAID TO REST IN THE AMISH CHURCH CEMETERY.

ULRICH STEFFEN 1835 - 1913

(WIFE) ANNA MARIE (WENGER) STEFFEN 1835 - 1902

(SON) ALBERT STEFFEN 1860 - 1860

(DAUGHTER) CAROLINE (STEFFEN) HUBER 1861 - 1900

(SON) ALBERT STEFFEN 1863 - 1948

(DAUGHTER) MARY (STEFFEN) HARTMAN 1895 - 1911

(SON) ANDREW STEFFEN 1867 - 1942

(SON) CONRAD STEFFEN 1869 - 1922

(DAUGHTER) WILHELINA "MINNIE" (STEFFEN) HUBER 1872 - 1944

(DAUGHTER) MAGDELENE "LENA" (STEFFEN) HARI 1874 - 1947

(SON) DANIEL STEFFEN 1878 - 1878

(SON) WILHELM STEFFEN 1879 - 1879

NO OBITUARY

LIVINGSTON CO. MARRIAGES

SEPT. 19, 1897

(FULL NAME OF GROOM) CARL HUBER

(RESIDENCE) CROPSEY ILL.

(OCCUPATION) FARMER

(AGE NEXT BIRTHDAY) 29

(PLACE OF BIRTH) SWITZERLAND

(FATHER'S NAME) CARL HUBER

(MOTHER'S NAME) ELIZABETH HOFSTERN

(FULL NAME OF BRIDE) CAROLINE STEFFEN

(RESIDENCE) CROPSEY ILL.

(AGE NEXT BIRTHDAY) 35

(PLACE OF BIRTH) WOODFORD CO. ILL.

(FATHER'S NAME) ULERICH STEFFEN

(MOTHER'S NAME) MARY WENGER

(WHEN MARRIED) SEPT. 20, 1896

(WHERE MARRIED) INDIAN GROVE TWP.

(WITNESS) ISAAC GEHRING AND A. I. ZIMMERMAN

(MARRIAGE PERFORMED BY) CHRISTIAN GERBER

ALBERT STEFFEN

ALBERT STEFFEN, OF CROPSEY, PASSED AWAY LAST FRIDAY EVENING (MARCH 26, 1948) AT 10:35 O'CLOCK AT THE FAIRBURY HOSPITAL, AT THE AGE OF 84 YEARS, FIVE MONTHS AND 22 DAYS. MR. STEFFEN HAD BEEN IN FAILING HEALTH THE PAST TWO YEARS.

HE WAS BORN OCTOBER 4, 1863, AT CONGERVILLE, THE SON OF ULRICH AND ANNA (WENGER) STEFFEN. AT THE AGE OF FOUR HE MOVED WITH THE FAMILY TO THE CROPSEY VICINITY, WHERE HE HAD SINCE RESIDED.

ON FEBRUARY 28, 1886, HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO MISS ELIZABETH HARI. TO THIS UNION FOUR CHILDREN WERE BORN: MRS. ROSE IFFT, OF FAIRBURY; MRS. IDA BAHLER, CROPSEY; AND MRS. EMMA BAHLER, OF REMINGTON, IND. A SON ELMER, PRECEDE HIM IN DEATH IN 1919. MRS. STEFFEN PASSED AWAY ON JANUARY 22, 1912.

ON FEBRUARY 10, 1915, MR. STEFFEN WAS MARRIED TO LIZZIE BROQUARD, WHO SURVIVES TOGETHER WITH THE THREE DAUGHTERS, SIXTEEN GRANDCHILDREN AND FOUR GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN.

FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD MONDAY MORNING AT 10:30 O'CLOCK AT THE SOUTH APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OF WHICH HE WAS A MEMBER, AND INTERMENT WAS IN THE CHURCH CEMETERY. THE REV. DAVID MANGOLD OFFICIATED.

THE PALLBEARERS WERE GRANDSONS, MARVIN AND RALPH BAHLER, RAYMOND, ELMER AND HARVEY IFFT AND ELMER BAHLER.

THE SERVICES WERE LARGELY ATTENDED. THOSE ATTENDING FROM A DISTANCE WERE FROM REMINGTON AND FRANCESVILLE, IND., MANSFLEID, OHIO, WICHITA, KAN., PEORIA, ROANOKE, MORTON, PRINCEVILLE, GOODFIELD, GRIDLEY, CISSNA PARK, ELGIN AND CHICAGO.

MRS. EDWARD HARTMAN

MRS. EDWARD HARTMAN PASSED AWAY AT HER HOME SOUTHEAST OF FAIRBURY LAST FRIDAY MORNING AFTER A BRIEF ILLNESS OF A FEW DAYS. HER DEATH WAS A GREAT SHOCK TO THE MANY FRIENDS OF THE DECEASED AND CAUSED MUCH SADNESS TO ALL WHO KNOW HER, FOR SHE WAS AN EXCELLENT WOMAN AND STILL IN THE PRIME OF LIFE.

MARY STEFFEN WAS BORN NEAR MACKINAW, ILL., AUG. 31, 1865. SHE GREW TO WOMANHOOD AT HER BIRTHPLACE AND JAN. 16, 1888, SHE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO EDWARD HARTMAN. THEY LIVED IN WOODFORD COUNTY FOR THREE YEARS AND THEN MOVED TO THE FARM, SOUTHEAST OF FAIRBURY, WHERE THEY HAVE SINCE RESIDED. MRS. HARTMAN WAS A MOTHER OF NINE CHILDREN, EIGHT OF WHOM SURVIVE, FOUR GIRLS AND FOUR BOYS, LILLY, MARY, ESTER, SILAS, DAVID, EDWARD, JEPTHA AND EZRA, WHO WITH THE BEREAVED HUSBAND, HER FATHER, TWO SISTERS, ONE BROTHER AND NUMEROUS FRIENDS SURVIVE AND MOURN HER DEATH. THE DECEASED WAS A WOMAN WHO WAS ESTEEMED BY ALL. IN THE FAMILY CIRCLE SHE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED AND DEEPLY MOURNED FOR HER LIFE WAS ONE OF SELF SACRIFICE AND DEVOTION TO HER LOVED ONES.

SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE GERMAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH AND THE FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE SOUTH CHURCH MONDAY AFTERNOON. REV. HUBER OF KANSAS, OFFICIATING. THE SERVICES WERE ATTENDED BY A LARGE CONCOURSE OF PEOPLE. TWO COACH LOADS OF FRIENDS ARRIVED ON THE MORNING TRAIN FROM THE WEST, COMING FROM ROANOKE, EUREKA, GRIDLEY AND OTHER POINTS. A LARGE NUMBER WERE ALSO PRESENT FROM EASTERN POINTS.

THE BEREAVED HUSBAND AND FAMILY HAVE THE SYMPATHY OF ALL IN THEIR GREAT LOSS.

ANDREW STEFFEN, SR. DIED SATURDAY

ANDREW STEFFEN, SR., A WELL KNOWN CITIZEN OF THIS CITY AND THE CROPSEY VICINITY FOR THE PAST 74 YEARS, PASSED AWAY AT HIS HOME, 107 EAST WALNUT STREET, LAST SATURDAY MORNING AT 7:45 O’CLOCK. MR. STEFFEN WHO HAD BEEN IN FALLING HEALTH FOR THE PAST YEAR, WAS AGED 74 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AND 11 DAYS.

ANDREW, SON OF ULRICH AND MARY (WENGER) STEFFEN, WAS BORN NEAR GOODFIELD, AUGUST 17, 1867. WHEN SIX MONTHS OLD HE MOVED WITH HIS PARENTS TO NEAR CROPSEY, THERE MR. STEFFEN RESIDED UNTIL HE MOVED TO HIS LATE HOME IN FAIRBURY THREE YEARS AGO.

MR. STEFFEN WAS FIRST MARRIED TO LYDIA GRIEDER, AND TO THEM WERE BORN FIVE CHILDREN - EDWARD, LENA, MRS. LYDIA BACHTOLD, ANDY AND MRS. HENRY SABO. MRS. STEFFEN PASSED AWAY IN 1901, AND IN 1903 HE WAS MARRIED TO LOUISE WAIBEL. TO THIS UNION WERE ALSO BORN FIVE CHILDREN - SAM, CHRIS, ALPHA, CLARA AND EZRA. ALL OF HIS CHILDREN RESIDE IN THIS VICINITY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MRS. SABO, WHO LIVES AT MANSFIELD, OHIO.

MRS. STEFFEN PASSED AWAY IN 1920, AND A FEW YEARS LATER HE MARRIED MARY ANLIKER, WHO SURVIVES.

ALSO SURVIVING ARE A BROTHER AND TWO SISTERS, NAMELY: ALBERT STEFFEN, OF CROPSEY, AND MRS. CARL HUBER AND MRS. GOTTFRIED HARI, OF STRAWN.

FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE SOUTH APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH ON MONDAY AFTERNOON AT ONE O’CLOCK AND INTERMENT WAS IN THE SOUTH APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CEMETERY.

CONRAD STEFFEN DIES SUDDENLY NEAR CROPSEY

CONRAD STEFFEN, ONE OF THE HIGHLY RESPECTED AND WELL-KNOWN FARMERS RESIDING SOUTH OF THIS CITY IN THE VICINITY OF CROPSEY, WAS FOUND DEAD BY MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY TUESDAY EVENING A LITTLE BEFORE SIX O'CLOCK, DEATH BEING CAUSED BY APPOPLEXY.

MR. STEFFEN TOGETHER WITH OTHERS OF HIS FAMILY HAD BEEN TO FORREST THAT AFTERNOON IN HIS CAR, AND WHEN THEY ARRIVED HOME A LITTLE AFTER FIVE O'CLOCK, HE TOLD THE OTHERS TO GO INTO THE HOUSE AND HE WOULD DRAIN THE RADIATOR AND PUT THE CAR AWAY. WHEN HE DID NOT RETURN WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY WENT OUT TO SEE WHAT WAS KEEPING HIM. THEY FOUND HIM LYING DEAD JUST OUTSIDE THE GARAGE BY THE SIDE OF THE HIS CAR. A PHYSICIAN WAS SUMMONED, BUT LIFE WAS EXTINCT.

MR. STEFFEN HAD SEEMED TO BE IN HIS USUAL ROBUST HEALTH AND HIS DEATH WAS NOT ONLY A SHOCK TO HIS FAMILY, BUT ALSO HIS ACQUAINTANCES.

CONRAD STEFFEN WAS BORN ON THE OLD HOME PLACE NEAR CROPSEY, NOVEMBER 24 1869. TWENTY-NINE YEARS AGO HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO KATI HARI WHO TOGETHER WITH THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN SURVIVES: WALTER, ANNA, MARY, TILLIE, BEN AND KATIE. ALL OF THE CHILDREN RESIDE AT HOME, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WALTER, WHO IS MARRIED. THERE ALSO SURVIVE TWO BROTHERS AND TWO SISTERS - ALBERT AND ANDREW STEFFEN OF CROPSEY AND MRS. CARL HUBER AND MRS. GOTTLIEB HARI, OF STRAWN.

FOR 26 YEARS MR. STEFFEN HAD RESIDED ON THE PLACE WHERE HE DIED AND DURING THAT TIME HE HAD GAINED THE CONFIDENCE AND RESPECT OF ALL WHO KNEW HIM. FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS HE HAD ACTED AS PASTOR OF THE SOUTH CHRISTIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH, FROM WHICH PLACE THE FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD THIS AFTERNOON.

MRS. CARL HUBER, STRAWN, PASSED AWAY YESTERDAY

MRS. CARL HUBER, SR., LIVING SOUTHWEST OF STRAWN, PASSED AWAY YESTERDAY MORNING AT 11:15 O’CLOCK AT HER HOME AT THE AGE OF 72 YEARS, FIVE MONTHS AND 18 DAYS. SHE HAD BEEN ILL A WEEK.

FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD FROM THE SOUTH APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OF WHICH THE DECEASED WAS A MEMBER, SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT ONE O’CLOCK. INTERMENT WILL BE IN THE CHURCH CEMETERY.

MINNIE STEFFEN WAS BORN IN MCLEAN COUNTY, NEAR CROPSEY, JANUARY 24, 1872, A DAUGHTER OF ULRICH AND ANNA (WENGER) STEFFEN. SHE HAD SPENT ALL HER LIFE IN THE CROPSEY AND STRAWN VICINITIES.

IN MARCH 1901, SHE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO CARL HUBER, WHO SURVIVES, TOGETHER WITH THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN: CARL F. HUBER, OF MORTON; LENA HUBER, OF PEORIA; PVT. SILAS HUBER, CAMP REYNOLDS, PA.; MRS. LOIS ELSASSER, OF WYOMING, ILL.; MARTHA, PERCIDA AND BEN, AT HOME. FOUR GRANDCHILDREN, A BROTHER, ALBERT STEFFEN, OF CROPSEY, AND A SISTER, MRS. GOTTLIEB HARI, OF FORREST, ALSO SURVIVE. FIVE BROTHERS AND SISTERS PRECEDED HER IN DEATH.

MRS. HARI, LONG-TIME RESIDENT, PASSES AWAY

MRS. GOTTLIEB HARI, WHO FOR MANY YEARS RESIDED IN THIS VICINITY, PASSED AWAY FRIDAY MORNING AT 4:25 O’CLOCK AT THE FAIRBURY HOSPITAL. SHE HAD BEEN ILL TWO WEEKS

LENA, DAUGHTER OF ULRICH AND ANNA MARIE (WENGER) STEFFEN, WAS BORN NEAR CROPSEY ON DECEMBER 22, 1874, BEING AT THE TIME OF HER DEATH AGED 72 YEARS, SIX MONTHS AND FIVE DAYS.

SHE GREW TO WOMANHOOD NEAR CROPSEY AND ON FEBRUARY 21, 1905, IN THIS CITY, WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO GOTTLIEB HARI, AND THEY TOOK UP THEIR RESIDENCE ON THE FARM IN FORREST TOWNSHIP.

SURVIVING ARE HER HUSBAND; THREE DAUGHTERS, MRS. LYDIA SOHN, MISS ROSA AND MISS IDA, AT HOME; THREE GRANDCHILDREN, LEROY, LUCILLE AND HARRY SOHN; ONE BROTHER, ALBERT STEFFEN, OF CROPSEY.

FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT ONE O’CLOCK FROM THE SOUTH APOSOTLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OF WHICH SHE WAS A MEMBER, AND INTERMENT WAS IN THE CHURCH CEMETERY. THE REV. BEN HEINIGER OFFICIATED.

THE PALLBEARERS WERE SIX NEPHEWS, WALTER, BEN, ED AND CHRIS STEFFEN, BEN HUBER AND DAVE HARTMAN.

THE SERVICES WERE LARGELY ATTENDED. THOSE ATTENDING FROM A DISTANCE WERE FORM CHICAGO, ELGIN, REMINGTON AND FRANCESVILLE, IND., GRIDLEY, RAONOKE, GOODFIELD, MORTON, PEORIA, TREMONT, PRINCEVILLE, CISSNA PARK AND WICHITA, KANSAS.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL NEWSLETTER RESEARCHER

DANIEL ZEHR I 1778 - ????

(WIFE) CATHERINE RINGBURK ???? - ????

(SON) DANIEL ZEHR II 1803 - 1855

(SON) GEORGE ZEHR 1806 - 1886

(SON) CHRISTIAN ZEHR 1812 - 1893

(SON) JOSEPH ZEHR ???? - ????

(SON) PETER ZEHR 1818 - 1886

(SON) JACOB ZEHR 1825 - 1898

DANIEL ZEHR II

DANIEL ZEHR II, OLDEST SON OF DANIEL ZEHR I, WAS BORN IN 1803. HE MAY HAVE BEEN BORN IN FRANCE BEFORE THE FAMILY MOVED TO BAVARIA. HE LIVED MOST OF HIS LIFE IN GERMAN.

DANIEL ZEHR II WAS MARRIED TWICE. HE HAD TWO SONS BY HIS FIRST MARRIAGE, NAMELY - DANIEL III AND CHRISTIAN. SOME TIME AFTER HIS FIRST WIFE’S DEATH, HE REMARRIED AND HAD THREE MORE CHILDREN: JACOB, MAGDALENA AND MARY.

THE DANILE ZEHR II FAMILY WAS THE LAST ONE OF THE ZEHR FAMILY TO EMIGRATE TO AMERICA. HIS WHOLE FAMILY SEEMS TO HAVE COME IN THE YEAR OF 1853. DANIEL ZEHR II WAS A BISHOP IN THE MENNONITE CHURCH.

THE YEAR 1855 SAW A CHOLERA EPIDEMIC SWEEP THROUGH THE AREA. DEATH TO CHOLERA VICTIMS OFTEN CAME VERY SUDDENLY. AFTER PREACHING THE FUNERAL OF A CHOLERA VICTIM, DANIEL II ALSO CONTACTED THE DREADED DISEASE AND DIED WITHIN TWENTY FOUR HOURS. HE IS BURIED IN THE OLD SLABTOWN CEMETERY. THIS CEMETERY HAS LONG BEEN IN DISUSE AND CATTLE HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO ROAM OVER IT. HOWEVER THE GRAVE OF DANIEL ZEHR II HAD BEEN PRESERVED BY A SMALL FENCE ENCLOSURE BUILT AROUND IT. DANIEL ZEHR DIED AUG. 11, 1855.

DANIEL ZEHR II 1803 - 1855

(WIFE) MAGDALENA (UNKNOWN) ZEHR ???? - 1889

(SON) DANIEL ZEHR III 1828 - 1915

(SON) CHRISTIAN ZEHR 1831 - 1891

(DAUGHTER) MAGALENA (ZEHR) HELDERLE ???? - ????

(SON) JACOB ZEHR 1836 - 1922

(DAUGHTER) MARY (ZEHR) MILLER ???? - ????

JACOB ZEHR

JACOB ZEHR PASSED AWAY LAST FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 12, AT THE HOME OF HIS DAUGHTER, MRS. JACOB BROQUARD, SOUTHEAST OF FAIRBURY, WHERE HE HAS MADE HIS HOME FOR THE PAST ELEVEN YEARS. HE WAS AGED 85 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AND 17 DAYS.

JACOB ZEHR WAS BORN AT BAVARIA, GERMANY, IN JULY, 1836, AND WHEN TEN YEARS OF AGE CAME WITH HIS PARENTS TO AMERICA AND THEY SETTLED IN WODDFORD COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

IN 1864 HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO MISS ANNA ROTH AND TO THIS UNION SIX CHILDREN WERE BORN, THREE BOYS AND THREE GIRLS. THEY ARE MRS. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN OF THIS CITY; MRS. JOSEPH BROQUARD, SOUTH OF FORREST; JOE, OF THIS CITY; JOSHUA AND SAM, SOUTH OF FAIRBURY, MRS. ZEHR PRECEDED HER HUSBAND IN DEATH 26 YEARS AGO. BESIDES THE CHILDREN THERE ALSO SURVIVE 41 GRANDCHILDREN AND EIGHT GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN.

THE FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE SOUTH CHRISTIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH SUNDAY AND WERE LARGELY ATTENDED. AMONG THOSE FROM OUT OF TOWN WERE THE FOLLOWING: MR. AND MRS. SAM HOHULIN, MR. AND MRS. JOHN HOHULIN, MRS. SARAH HARTMAN AND FAMILY, MRS. LILLIE HOLLIGER, MRS. JULIS STOLLER, MARY SUTTER AND EMMA HELDERLY, OF GOODFIELD, IND.; MR. AND MRS. FRED YAGGIE, OF FRANCESVILLE, IND.; MR. AND MRS. DAN FARNEY, MR. AND MRS. P. STORTZ, C. HELDERLY, OF WOLCOTT, IND.; NICHOLAS NUSSBAUM, OF REMINGTON, IND.; MR. AND MRS. BEN MILLER, OF CISSNA PARK; RUDY AND ANNA MILLER, OF GRIDLEY.

JACOB ZEHR 1836 - 1922

(WIFE) ANNA (ROTH) ZEHR 1844 - 1895

(SON) SAMUEL ZEHR 1867 - 1937

(DAUGHTER) LYDIA (ZEHR) ZIMMERMAN 1868 - 1925

(DAUGHTER) ANNA (ZEHR) BROQUARD 1871 - 1934

(SON) ANDREW ZEHR 1873 - 1874

(SON) JOSHUA ZEHR 1875 - 1949

(DAUGHTER) KATHERINE (ZEHR) BROQUARD 1877 - 1952

(SON) JOSEPH ZEHR 1880 - 1948

SAMUEL ZEHR, SR.

SAMUEL ZEHR, SR., WHO FOR MANY YEARS HAD BEEN A RESIDENT OF THIS CITY AND VICINITY, PASSED AWAY AT THE FAMILY HOME ON EAST OAK STREET, MONDAY MORNING AT 9:30 O’CLOCK, HIS DEATH RESULTING FROM HEART DISEASE AND COMPLICATIONS. HE WAS AGED 70 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AND 13 DAYS.

MR. ZEHR, A SON OF JACOB AND ANNA ZEHR, WAS BORN AT MACKINAW, FEBRUARY 27, 1867. ON APRIL 26, 1897, AT FORREST, HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO LENA BROQUARD. THEY RESIDED ON A FARM FIVE MILES SOUTH OF FAIRBURY UNTIL MARCH 1929, WHEN THEY MOVED TO TOWN. HERE ON JULY 25, 1930, MRS. ZEHR PASSED AWAY.

SURVIVING ARE TEN CHILDREN - LENA, ALDINE, CLARA AND SARA, AT HOME; BEN, SAM AND MRS. MARY TRAUB, OF FAIRBURY; MRS. IDA STEFFEN, MRS. ANNA STEFFEN AND MRS. FANNIE STEFFEN, OF CROPSEY. SURVIVING ALSO ARE: EIGHT GRANDCHILDREN - HARVEY, RUTH, DOROTHY, JUNIOR AND KATHRYN TRAUB; MAXINE AND RONALD ZEHR AND LENA LOUISE STEFFEN; ONE SISTER, MRS. KATIE BROQUARD, AND TWO BROTHERS, JOSHUA AND JOSEPH, OF FAIRBURY. HIS PARENTS AND TWO SISTERS, MRS. ANNA BROQUARD AND LYDIA ZIMMERMAN, PRECEDED HIM IN DEATH.

FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THIS CITY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WITH BURIAL IN THE SOUTH CEMETERY. THE PALLBEARERS WERE HIS SIX NEPHEWS, HARVEY AND JOE ZEHR, JOSHUA, GEORGE AND JOE BROQUARD AND GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, JR.

MRS. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN

MRS. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN DIED AT HER HOME ON ASH STREET FRIDAY MORNING. SHE HAD BEEN IN ILL HEALTH FOR SOME.

LYDIA ZEHR WAS BORN IN WOODFORD COUNTY, DECEMBER 5, 1864. AT THE AGE OF THIRTEEN HER PARENTS MOVED TO FAIRBURY AND SHE RESIDED HERE CONTINUOUSLY SINCE THEN. IN 1887 SHE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, WHO WITH THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN SURVIVES HER: ANNA, ESTHER, MARGARET, CATHERINE AND LOUISE, AT HOME; MRS. SAM BITTNER, GEORGE AND ALVIN, ALL OF FAIRBURY; LOUIS ZIMMERMAN, OF CROPSEY, AND LEVI, OF KANKAKEE. IN ADDITION SHE LEAVES TWO SISTERS AND THREE BROTHERS, MRS. ANNA BROQUARD, SOUTHEAST OF FORREST; MRS. KATIE BROQUARD, OF FAIRBURY; JOSEPH, JOSHUA AND SAM ZEHR, ALL OF FAIRBURY. THERE ARE ALSO THIRTEEN GRANDCHILDREN.

MRS. ZIMMERMAN WAS A LOVING WIFE AND MOTHER. SHE WILL BE MISSED NOT ONLY IN THE HOME BUT NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS AS WELL.

FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE CHRISTIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH AND INTERMENT TOOK PLACE AT GRACELAND CEMETERY. A LARGE NUMBER OF FRIENDS, MANY BEING FROM OUT OF TOWN, WERE IN ATTENDANCE.

MRS. JOSEPH BROQUARD

MRS. JOSEPH BROQUARD, WHO RESIDES ABOUT NINE MILES SOUTHEAST OF THIS CITY, PASSED AWAY TUESDAY AFTERNOON ABOUT 1 O’CLOCK AT HE AGE OF 63 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AND 13 DAYS. SHE HAD BEEN IN ILL HEALTH FOR PAST SEVERAL YEARS.

THE DECEASED WAS BORN IN WOODFORD COUNTY, APRIL 28, 1871, A DAUGHTER TO JACOB AND ANA ZEHR. WHEN 11 YEARS OF AGE SHE CAME TO THIS VICINITY WITH HER PARENTS AND HAD RESIDED IN THIS COMMUNITY SINCE THAT TIME. SHE WAS MARRIED TO JOSEPH BROQUARD AND THE COUPLE ENGAGED IN FARMING SOUTHEAST OF HERE.

SURVIVING BESIDES THER HUSBAND ARE FOUR SONS, JOSH, OF CROPSEY; GEORGE, OF FAIRBURY; BEN AND JOE, AT HOME; AND SIX DAUGHTERS, MRS. WALTER MOSER, OF FAIRBURY; LEONA, AT HOME; LYDIA, ESTHER AND ELLA, OF PEORIA, AND KATHRYN, OF DETROIT, MICH. ALSO SURVIVING ARE THREE BROTHERS, JOSH, JOE AND SAM ZEHR, OF FAIRBURY; AND ONE SISTER, MRS. JACOB BROQUARD, OF FAIRBURY. THE DECEASED WAS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY A SISTER, MRS. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, SR.

FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD THIS MORNING AT 9:30 O’CLOCK FROM THE SOUTH APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OF WHICH SHE WAS A MEMBER. INTERMENT WILL BE IN THE SOUTH CEMETERY.

SERVICES FOR JOSHUA ZEHR HELD MONDAY

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR JOSHUA ZEHR, RESIDING SOUTH OF FAIRBURY, WERE HELD MONDAY MORNING AT __ O’CLOCK FROM THE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH. INTERMENT WAS IN GRACELAND CEMETERY. NR. ZEHR PASSED AWAY AT THE FAIRBURY HOSPITAL LAST FRIDAY NIGHT AT 11:15 O’CLOCK AT THE AGE OF 74 YEARS AND 26 DAYS. THE SERVICES WERE CONDUCTED BY THE REV. EMIL GERBER, OF ROCKVILLE, CONN.

THE PALLBEARERS WERE NEPHEWS, AND WERE GEORGE BROQUARD, BEN AND SAM YODER, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, HARVEY AND HARRY ZEHR.

RELATIVES AND FRIENDS FROM A DISTANCE ATTENDING THE SERVICES WERE FROM REMINGTON AND WOLCOTT, IND., PEORIA, EL PASO, GRIDLEY AND GOODFIELD.

JOSHUA, SON OF JACOB AND ANNA (ROTH) ZEHR WAS BORN IN WOODFORD COUNTY ON JUNE 12, 1875. HE CAME TO THIS VICINITY WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY WHEN SEVEN YEARS OF AGE. HE ENGAGED IN FARMING, WHICH OCCUPATION HE MADE HIS LIFE’S WORK. HE RETIRED IN 1929.

ON MARCH 19, 1902, HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO CHRISTINA KAMMERER. SHE SURVIVES TOGETHER WITH A SON, JOSEPH L. ZEHR, AND A DAUGHTER, MRS. ELMER WENGER, BOTH OF FAIRBURY. ALSO SURVIVING IS A SISTER, MRS. JACOB BROQUARD, OF FAIRBURY, AND SIX GRANDCHILDREN.

SERVICES YESTERDAY FOR MRS. J. BROQUARD

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR MRS. JACOB BROQUARD, WHO PASSED AWAY AT HER HOME AT 1:15 O’CLOCK SUNDAY, WERE HELD ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AT TEN O’CLOCK FROM THE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OF WHICH SHE WAS A MEMBER. INTERMENT WAS IN GRACELAND CEMETERY. MRS. BROQUARD WAS AGED 25 YEARS, TWO MONTHS AND TWO DAYS.

KATHERINE ZEHR WAS A DAUGHTER OF JACOB AND ANNA (ROTH) ZEHR, AND WAS BORN IN WOODFORD COUNTY SEPTEMBER 21, 1877. WHEN JUST A LITTLE GIRL SHE CAME WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY TO FAIRBURY AND HAD SINCE RESIDED IN THIS VICINITY.

IN FAIRBURY ON FEBRUARY 26, 1902, SHE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO JACOB BROQUARD, THEY CELEBRATING THEIR FIFTIETH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY LAST FEBRUARY 26TH. MR. AND MRS. BROQUARD HAD RESIDED ON A FARM SOUTHWEST OF FAIRBURY UNTIL 11 YEARS AGO, WHEN THEY MOVED TO THEIR PRESENT HOME AT 104 EAST CHESTNUT STREET.

SURVIVING ARE HER HUSBAND, FOUR DAUGHTER, MISS ALENE AND MISS LORENE, AT HOME; MRS. ELSIE DENNICK AND MRS. LOUISE BACH, BOTH OF FAIRBURY; FOUR GRANDCHILDREN; THREE BROTHERS AND TWO SISTERS PRECEDED HER IN DEATH. SHE WAS THE LAST OF HER FAMILY.

JOSEPH ZEHR RESIDENT HERE MANY YEARS, DIES

JOSEPH ZEHR, WHO FOR 62 YEARS HAD BEEN A RESIDENT OF FAIRBRUY AND VICINITY, PASSED AWAY AT HIS HOME ON EAST OAK STREET MONDAY AFTERNOON AT 4:20 O’CLOCK AT THE AGE OF 67 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AND 12 DAYS. HIS PASSING FOLLOWED AN ILLNESS OF TWO YEARS.

MR. ZEHR WAS BORN IN WOODFORD COUNTY, JUNE 5, 1880, A SON OF JACOB AND ANNA (ROTH) ZEHR. WHEN FOUR YEARS OF AGE HE CAME WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY TO FAIRBURY, AND FOR MANY YEARS RESIDED ON THE HOME FARM SOUTH OF FAIRBURY. HE MOVED INTO FAIRBURY ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO.

ON MARCH 12, 1908, AT FAIRBURY, HE WAS UNITED IN MARRAIGE TO MISS KATIE ZIMMERMAN. SHE SURVIVES TO GETHER WITH TWO SONS, HARRY, FITCHBURG, MASS., AND HARVEY, OF SOUTH OF FAIRBURRY; TWO DAUGHTERS, MRS. IRENE TRAUB, OF FORREST, AND MISS DOROTHY, AT HOME. ALSO SURVIVING ARE THREE GRANDCHILDREN, A BOTHER, JOSHUA, OF FAIRBURY, AND A SISTER, MRS. KATIE BROQUARD, OF FAIRBURY. A SON RAYMOND, DIED MARCH 6, 1934, AND TWO SISTERS AND A BROTHER ALSO PRECEDED HIM IN DEATH.

FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD AT THE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AT TWO O’CLOCK WITH INTERMENT IN THE SOUTH CEMETERY. THE REV. HENRY KILGUS OFFICIATED.

THE PALLBEARERS WERE NEPHEWS OF THE DECEASED AND WERE GEORGE AND LOUIS ZIMMERMAN, BEN ZEHR, SAM ZEHR, JOE ZEHR, JR., AND GEORGE BROQUARD.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL NEWSLETTER RESEARCHER