Reminiscences on My Ninetieth Birthday
June 1, 1929
By George Hessler
??????????? Ninety
years ago, in the kingdom of Bavaria,
in Germany,
there were two important cities, Erlangen
and Nuerenberg, connected by railroad, canal and
highway running parallel with each other. Coming up from Erlangen these roads ran through
the village of Mehrendorf. It was there I
saw the light of day on June 1, 1839.
The scenes of my childhood are still vivid to my mind. My father had built a
new home to the north of the village. That house must still be standing, as it
was built of sandstone. A little stream called the Rednitz, ran through a small
valley to the south of our home. It was a beautiful village, with a stone
church and the local cemetery to the rear of it.
??????????? Beiersdorf was our neighboring village, a half hour?s walk
as Germans measure distance. Here there was a large glass factory. Erlangen was renowned as a great
university town with its thousands of students, as well as an important
military post, maintaining a large garrison.
??????????? I can well
recall my grandparents. My grandfather, John Hessler,
was a farmer, who owned a small parcel of land. Being in poor circumstances he
cultivated his land with the help of the family cow, yoked together with the
cow of a neighbor. My grandmother was a kind-hearted soul; the gifts of apples
and prunes she gave me still linger in my mind.
??????????? My father?s
name was likewise John Hessler. In his youth he
entered the service of the King of Bavaria as a forester, looking after the
game in the forests and superintending men in cutting down trees and making
fire wood. My uncle, Gottlieb Briesman, was also a
forester, superintending a game reserve to the south of our village.
??????????? My mother?s
maiden name was Elizabeth Briesman. She was a small
woman, my father being somewhat tall. I was the youngest of the family; Cathrine being the oldest and James between us in age. I
attended the village school only two years; an epidemic of sciatic rheumatism
broke out amongst the children crippling my hands and feet, and keeping me out
of school for a long time.
??????????? Politically
there were troublesome times in Germany
in my childhood leading up to the revolution of 1848. The thoughts of many were
directed to America,
the land of promise. In our village there were discussions in many homes of
leaving the fatherland and establishing a new home. The first family to
emigrate was that of Hoffmann, who came to America
in 1847 and settled on the North Shore.
In the following year the families of John Fehd and
George Rudolph set out for the same destination. Many others from Mehrendorf went to Cleveland,
Ohio. Hoffmann bought 40 acres just south
of the County Line
and east of the railroad, now a part of the Lake Shore Country Club.
??????????? Fehd occupied some land south of the County
Line and west of the railroad.
Rudolph settled on the west side of Green Bay Road
north of the County
Line. Accompanying Fehd and Rudolph was my sister Cathrine.
She wrote urging us to follow, assuring us that we could better our conditions
in America. So
in the year 1848 our family bade farewell to our home in Mehrendorf
and set out for America.
??????????? On our
journey to Bremen we saw signs of
the revolution going on in Germany,
regiments of soldiers would come marching by. In the month of March we went
aboard the ship ?Father Groner,? a three masted sailing ship, and in nine weeks we crossed the
ocean. Landing in New York we
continued our journey via Albany, Buffalo,
and the great lakes. Coming down Lake Michigan on the
steamer ?Bagden? our ship ran ashore just north of Racine.
A storm tore the boat to pieces, the passengers
however were landed in safety, and proceeded to Chicago
on another boat. We landed in Chicago
minus our trunks and chest. Father was able to borrow enough money to return to
Racine to locate our trunks if possible,
and fortunately he found them stowed away in a small store house on a pier.
??????????? Remaining
in Chicago for a few days we set
out for the home of the Fehd family. Near the
northeast corner of Green Bay Road
and the County Line
on land belonging to John Engel my father built a shanty, into which we moved
on Nov. 1, 1848, made
memorable by a snowstorm which raged that day, the snow remaining on the ground
until the middle of April following. The next year my father purchased from
George Rudolph one acre of land located on the east side of Green
Bay Road just south of the present entrance to Ravinia Park.
Tearing down the small shanty he built a log cabin, our first home in the
forest. The name of the settlement growing around Green
Bay Road and County
Line was known in the olden days as
?die ewige Qual,? which
might be translated to read: ?the eternal torment.? Life was not easy for us
settlers, neither for adults nor for us children. There were many hardships to
endure. However there was such a friendly spirit of helpfulness among the
neighbors that we were happy then, and certainly more content than we are now.
Money was not plentiful in those days, an acre of land costing about $5. Work
was hard to find; father was willing to undertake any job that was offered at
50 cents per day. The principal means of making a living was the burning of
charcoal. This was sold in Chicago
at the price of 5 cents to 10 cents a bushel. The only means of transportation
was by oxen. It took a charcoal wagon three days to make the round trip; one
day going, the second selling, and the third returning. Another source of
revenue was that of chopping cord wood, for which a man received 3 shillings a
day, that is 37 ? cents. Even we children were obliged to work; many a day I
labored at digging potatoes from early morning till late at night and the wages
were 5 cents a day plus meals.
??????????? The
families coming from Mehrendorf were Lutherans and
they requested the German Lutheran pastor of Chicago
at that time to come and conduct services for them. This was the Rev. August Selle. Beginning about 1850 he came out regularly once a
month, making the trip by ox-cart. The services were mainly held at the home of
Mr. Fehd.
??????????? My
schooling under these primitive conditions was sadly neglected. The nearest
public school at the time was at Port Clinton. On Green Bay Road near the
present home of Mr. R.S. Churchhill stood a log
cabin, the first Roman Catholic Church of Highland Park. In this log cabin
school was conducted on week days. This school I attended off and on, mostly
mornings only. In the afternoon I was obliged to help support the family, assitsting my father at whatever work he had to do. In the
year 1853 my parents sent me to Chicago
to receive confirmation instruction from the Rev. Dr. Wander, the successor of
the Rev. A. Selle, at the Frist
St. Paul?s Evangelical Luthern Church.
Here I remained for three months, attending the same time the parish school of
that church conducted by Teacher Fischer. During this time I boarded and roomed
with my sister Cathrine, who was married to Mr.
Wolfgang Spoerlein. They conducted a boot and shoe
business on Wells St. just
south of Madision. It was at the age of 15 that I was
confirmed.
??????????? The
building of the railroad in 1854 meant a great deal to us. Not only was
transportation to Chicago made
easy, but it meant increased opportunities of earning a living. Railroad ties
and fuel for the wood-burning locomotives found a ready market. When I was
about 18 or 19 I worked for one summer for O. F. Fuller, a wholesale drug
concern, located on Lake St., Chicago.
??????????? And now a
new chapter of my life begins. As early as 1852 my older brother James went out
to California to seek his
fortune. I longed to follow him. Having become of age in 1860 I cast my first
presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. In February of 1861, I found myself in New
York bound for California.
Here I heard Lincoln make a speech
on Broadway, after which he left for Washington
via Baltimore. On the 21st
of February I left New York on
the ?North Star? for Panama,
crossed the isthmus on the railroad to Aspinwall, and
thence north by steamer. On our way to Acapulca, Mexixo, we met a broken down steamer, on which we took in
tow to San Francisco. Spending only
one night in San Francisco I left
for Bear Valley,
Mariposa County,
to meet my brother. With his help I made a contract with Mr. P. W. Parks at a
salary of $100 per month. Mr. Parks had leased from Gen. Fremont the 44 square
miles of land which had been granted him by the government. On this grant there
were 5 quartz mills. Two of these were on the Merced River
west of the Yosemite Valley. It is a beautiful country.
Looking up in the morning one could see the beautiful snow capped mountains. On
the edge of the snow one could find flowers blooming during the summer months.
I remained there only a short time; the mill broke down and I decided to look
for work elsewhere.
??????????? I went up
to my brother in the northern part of Bloomis County,
where there were 4 stamp quartz mills. My first job was to build a ?rafter,? which
is a sort of merry-go-round, a water-powered machine to grind up the quartz. I
did well in Bloomis
County, earning good money. My
brother had taken up a claim and I did likewise. All the money I earned I sent
home to my father for safe keeping. During my stay in California
the Civil War was on. I was enrolled in the army, but the government sent no California
men to the front; the common rumor being that the Japanese might come and seize
the western coast.
??????????? In the
meantime the letters received from home were disquieting. My father?s health
was failing, due to cancer, and I felt it my duty to return. Having sold my
claim I returned by the same route. Arriving at the oprt
of Acapulca, Mexico,
I saw the ill-fated Emperor Maximilian of Mexico,
supported by a large fleet of men-of-war. I arrived at home in 1864, just in
time to cast my ballot for the re-election of Abraham Lincoln.
??????????? Mr. Lucian
Gurnee of Glencoe, whose brother Walter S. Gurnee was mayor of Chicago
at that time, was in the real estate business on an extensive scale, having a
working stable of 40 to 50 horses. For him I worked as a common laborer,
clearing land mostly in and about Glencoe. At the home of the Gurnee?s I first
became acquainted with my wife, Jane Tole, who was in
the employ of that family. She was a widow, having been married to Mr. James
Lamb for only nine months. It was on the
29th Of November, 1864, that we were coupled at the
parsonage of the Rev. Wunder in Chicago, the pastor?s
wife being one of the witnesses.
??????????? Beginning
at the County Line
and running north on the west side of Green Bay Road were 80 acres, divided equally between Henry Meyer, John
Engel and George Rudolph. With the money I earned in California
I bought the middle portion belonging to John Engel, and on that land we built
our home in 1865. Most of the work I did myself, hiring the services of Henry
Maurer as carpenter at $2 and board per day. After 21 days of building the
house was so far completed that we could occupy it. My wife was a good woman
and I a hard worker.
??????????? Five
children were born unto us. The oldest is John born August 25th, 1865, now living in Chicago.
My daughter Cathrine was second, born on Sept. 17th, 1866, now Mrs.
P. Harder of Highland Park. James,
also of Highland Park, was born in Feb. 17th, 1868. William,
born April 13th, 1870
only reached the age of two, passing away on Dec. 13th, 1872. George, the youngest of the
family, was born on Feb. 22, 1873,
now residing in Glencoe.
??????????? Being
married and settled in our home I seriously took to farming. That meant in the
first place to clear the land, which I did without hiring help. Many a shot of
powder I placed under tree stumps. I was the first one in this part of the
country to use dynamite in the clearing of land, furnished by my friend, Mr. S.
H. Turrel of Chicago.
Much of the timber I sold to the railroad, cutting each winter at least 50
cords. Once I made a contract with Mr. John C. Coe and delivered 2,000 railroad
ties. We kept busy making charcoal, delivering it to the new railroad to be
used in their machine shops.
??????????? The main
crop raised on my land as it was cleared was horseradish. It was John Fehd and later Christopher Hohlfelder
who brought the roots from Mehrendorf, and the
raising of horseradish became quite an industry in this community, especially
round about Glencoe. Besides that I raised hay and potatoes; and rye and wheat
for my own use. The hay was hauled to Evanston
for sale. I planted a fine orchard near the house. Cows and pigs and chickens
began to multiply, supplying many families in Glencoe with produce. I also took
great delight in raising horses. Another source of income on the farm was
trapping, mainly minks and muskrats. I made as much as $55 one night by
trapping.
??????????? About 50
years ago I made the acquaintance of Mr. Rober of Chicago,
who owned what was then known as the Stole property, now known as the Village
of the Woods. I rented his property for many years. Rober
was a good friend of mine, remembering me every Christmas with a gift. He lost
everything in the Chicago fire of
1871 and died soon after.
??????????? In the
course of time I added to our original homesite
several other pieces of property: 56 acres of wooded land near the lake, 20
acres near the Northmoor Golf Club, 20 acres on the
east side of Green Bay Road, and 40 acres in Glencoe, section 1, New Trier Township; totaling about 160 acres.
??????????? Among the
neighbors in the olden days there was always a friendly feeling. As they rise
in my memory I recall: Robert Daggitt, Joseph Daggitt, William Turnbull, George Rudolph, Mrs. Stahl (Beinlich), Sabastian Meyer,
Herman Koller, Diettrich,
Leach, Corcoran, Leonard, etc.
??????????? When I
returned from California the
Lutherans were still worshipping under the guildance
of the Rev. Wunder of Chicago
at the home of Mr. Fehd. I started the idea of
building a church. An acre of land was bought of Jacob Masser
on Green Bay Road south of
the County Line,
to which he donated another half acre, and here the church was built in 1866.
The laborers working on the church, I boarded at my home, and every hour I
could spare I worked on the church myself. The building cost us $649.89, and
when it was dedicated we had a debt of only $35.66. For many years I served the
church as trustee and treasurer. Rev. Wunder
continued to come once a month, on Mondays, to conduct services, which people
attended from the south as far as Evanston
and from the north as far as Lake Forest.
In those days it meant nothing to walk ten miles to church. Of the many that
helped build the church I recall especially Gustav Nafe
of Port Clinton and Carl Unbehauen of Lake
Forest. When in 1920 the church sold its property to
the Forest Presever and built anew in Glencoe, I
joined the Luthern Church of Highland Park.
??????????? Robert Daggitt, being the oldest settler among us, donated a half
acre of land on the County Line east of the present Braeside
station as a burial ground, called Grace cemetery, in 1848. There is a deed on
this land aside as a burying ground forever. For many years I had charge of the
records of that cemetery, noting each burial on a plat. Many a friend is
resting there.
??????????? My father
passed to his reward on July 17th,
1871, my mother following him much later, on July 31, 1888. News reached us from Basin, Montana, that
my brother James passed away there on the
20th of May 1891. My dear wife closed her eyes in peace
on Jan. 17th, 1908,
she having attained the age of 70 years. My sister Cathrine
became 90 years old, ending her days on Feb.
22nd, 1921.
??????????? For 29
years I served the country as a commissioner of highways. My friends, among
them Mr. Coe, urged me to run for that office, and I was reelected again and
again. Being a commissioner in the early days did not simply mean to sit in the
conference and decide what was to be done, but to go out and do it. So we
unloaded and spread many a load of stone, hauled gravel from Half Day, and put
in culverts. For many years I worked together with Patrick Sheahan,
John Mahan, Frank Stupey, William Witten,
John Freberg and many others.
??????????? I was
always fond of hunting. In the early days there was plenty game around these
parts. I shot from 60 to 70 deer, in one winter 25 of them. I remember catching
three wolves, and caught hundreds of minks and thousands of muskrats. After
deer became scarce I went to Wisconsin
each fall. Here I stopped at the home of Mr. Chas. E. Bice
of Beaver, Marinette County.
As a companion for good many years I had with me Mr. Ottow
Ernst of Chicago.
??????????? A great
calamity befell me when my house burned down on June 25th, 1922. The cause of the fire is
unknown. I retired as usual that evening about 9
o?clock, and at 1 o?clock
in the morning I awoke nearly choked with smoke. I rushed to the woodshed and
found it on fire, all ablaze.? I grabbed
the telephone, but the fire had already reached the wires. Rushing over to the
house of my son James I called up the fire department. When
the arrived, it was too late to save anything. It was a bitter cold
night; I ran around, dressed only in my night-shirt, until I nearly froze. I
was able to save only one suit of clothes. Entering the house again, I crawled
through the smoke along the floor until I reached our living room. The first
object I touched was the family Bible. Then I knew where I was and what objects
were around me. I seized my two shotguns, and one rifle in one arm, and the
Bible in the other and crawled outside again. Everything else I lost, among
them many valuable. All my hunting trophies were destroyed, a most beautiful
pheasant, three deer heads which I highly prized, many stuffed prairie
chickens, partridges, quails, jacksnipes, etc. Sitting that morning beside the smouldering ashes I deeply mourned the loss of my home,
feeling that all the results of a long life of labor had simply vanished in
smoke.
??????????? I built a
new house, but it could not replace my home. Soon after I sold my original farm
to Mr. Heald, and am now living with my daughter.
??????????? The burden
of 90 years is resting heavily upon me. My health is none too good. What the
future has in store foe me, I know not. God knows, and unto Him I commend my
body and soul.