Woodford County Biographies

The biographies in this section were transcribed from:

"From Past and Present of Woodford County, Illinois (Wm. Le Baron, Jr. & Co., 1878)"

"Portrait and Biographical Album of Woodford County, Illinois (1889)"

"The Biographical Record of Livingston and Woodford Counties, Illinois (1900)"

and "Montana, its Story and Biography" (Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921)

If you are looking for the Surname beginning with the letter:
A-C	D-F	G-J	K-M
N-P	Q-S	T-V	W-Z

From The Past and Present of Woodford County, Illinois (1878)

Kern, John M., farmer; Sec. 25; P.O. Metamora; was born in Westmoreland Co., Pa., March 10, 1829; his parents coming to Illinois in the Fall of 1836, and locating in what is now Worth Tp.; in 1851, Mr. Kern went to California, returning in 1852; was married to Miss B. E. McGill at Adams Co., Ill., on June 1, 1857; she was born in Clermont Co., Ohio, Feb. 19, 1836; four children living--Estella J. (now Mrs. John H. Parminter of Roanoke), Oren L., Idella E., Wm. A.; John C., born Sept. 3, 1860 and died Sept. 12, 1876; Mr. K. owns 120 acres land in Worth Tp., and 84 in Metamora Tp. Mr. Kern's father (G. Kern) is still living; resides on Sec. 31, Metamora Tp.; and coming at a very early day, has seen vast changes in this section; he hauled wheat to Chicago when it brought but 37 1/2 c, and required from ten to twelve days for the round trip; he is one of the early settlers, and a much esteemed citizen.

Transcribed and donated by Amy Robbins-Tjaden

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From Portrait and Biographical Album of Woodford County, Illinois Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1889

Adam Kief. No nationality on the face of the earth has made itself more sensibly felt in most all portions of the globe, than that emanating from the Fatherland. Especially has this been observable in the growth and development of America generally, and the broad prairies of Illinois were first opened up to a large extent by the perseverance, thrift and prudence of the German element. They brought to this county those qualities of character greatly needed, and have proven themselves to be the most reliable and substantial citizens coming from a foreign shore. Among those who have signalized themselves as the promoters of the best interests of Woodford County, locating in Olio Township, may be properly mentioned the subject of this notice.

We find Adam Kief comfortably situated on a well-tilled farm of 160 acres, occupying a portion of section 33. The substantial buildings, the goodly assortment of live stock, and the farm machinery which has successfully cultivated a soil naturally productive, are ample evidence of the character of the proprietor. A self-made man, he was thrown upon his own resources early in life, and deserves great credit for the position which he occupies today, socially, and financially. He was born near Heidelberg, May 24, 1830, and, although fifty-nine years old, is still strong and vigorous and good for many years to come.

Mr. Kief grew to manhood in his native place, and remained there until a young man of twenty-two years. Then not satisfied with his condition, or his prospects, he resolved to cross the Atlantic, and seek his fortunes in a new country. Landing in the city of New Orleans, he made his way to Pekin, this State, via the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and accompanied by his parents and the balance of their family. He was a resident of Tazewell County six or seven years thereafter, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and on the 18th of August, 1856, was married to Miss Elizabeth Baker. The newly wedded pair began the journey of life together on a rented farm. After eleven years of renting, he purchased his present farm about 1869. By their industry and economy they have built up for themselves a valuable homestead, while their influence over their children and those around them, has been such that their names will be held in honor long after they have departed hence.

To Mr. and Mrs. Kief, there have been born seven children, viz: Peter, John, Catherine, Willie, Daniel, Lizzie, and Anna. Peter and Catherine died young. The other children remain at home with their parents, except John, who has arrived at his majority, and is working for himself. The children form a most interesting group, being trained to habits of industry, and those principles which will make them honest and honored citizens. Mrs. Kief is the daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Baker, who were natives of Germany, and spent their last years in Olio Township. Mrs. Kief is also a native of the Fatherland, and was born Jan. 8, 1836. She came to America with her parents in 1851, when a maiden of fifteen years. Both she and her husband are members in good standing of the Evangelical Church. Mr. Kief, in addition to general agriculture, is largely engaged in stock-raising, in which industry he has been highly successful. He is numbered among the sold and substantial residents of Olio Township, and materially increases the internal revenue of the county by paying into its treasury annually a snug sum in the way of taxes. This fact places him upon record as one of the substantial property holders of his township.

Rudolph Kief, the father of our subject, lived less than a year after coming to America, and the mother was taken away by death the year following. They were the parents of fifteen children, seven of whom are living.

Transcribed and donated by Amy Robbins-Tjaden

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The Past and Present of Woodford County Illinois (1878)

George Kingston, who first settled in Spring Bay Township, and in 1828 settled in Metamora, on the place now occupied by Jerry Ray, came from the County of Cork, Ireland, with his father in 1816. They stopped in Pittsburgh, where they remained until 1818, when they removed to Illinois, and settled in St Clair County, near Shiloh Church. After attaining to manhood, George Kingston settled in Sangamon County, where he married Susan Miller, a niece, it is said, of General Whiteside, who was famed as a great Indian fighter. While Mr. Kingston does not seem to have been of a warlike disposition, nor any of his children strongly predisposed that way, yet he, as well as his wife, came of a somewhat warlike race. His grandfather, he states, was a soldier, and served for some time in the army of Oliver Cromwell. He settled, as already stated, in Metamora Township in 1828, on a claim which he purchased from one Connor. Who Connor was or whence he came, nothing definite can be ascertained. In coming to Woodford County, Kingston crossed the Illinois River above Peoria, probably at "the Narrows", and having with him, in addition to other property, a small drove of hogs, they were immediately stolen from him after crossing the river by the Indians, or men disguised as such. Mr. Kingston has always maintained that the thieves were "white Indians". No doubt they were, as there seems to have been a regular organized band of thieves in this part of the State at that time, and many of their depredations were charged to the much persecuted red men. He was wont to mention with pride the fact that he voted for the admission of Illinois into the Union as a "free State", and also for her to pay her debt. An anecdote is told of his idea of politics and of voting in a republican country, in which his Irish eccentricity was amusingly displayed. He had always claimed to be a strong Democrat, and had voted with that party. During the great excitement of the Presidential campaign of 1840, it was reported in the Democratic camp that George Kingston was going to vote for Harrison. Being remonstrated with and reproached for his apostasy, he innocently replied that he was "in favor of the majority ruling, and as he believed Harrison would be elected, he thought it was his duty to vote for him." That "he believed in a republican government, and unless the majority ruled, a republican government was a failure and a fraud." His idea of a true Democracy seemed to be to vote with the majority, regardless of particular dogmas, and no argument from his Democratic friends could shake his opinion of right, and vote for Harrison he did. Mr. Kingston is at present living in Livingston County, a feeble old man, both mentally and physically.

Link to Early Settlers

Transcribed and donated by Amy Robbins-Tjaden

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From Portrait and Biographical Album of Woodford County, Illinois (Chapman Bros., Chicago 1889)

Adelbert B. Kipp

Among the business men of Minonk, a prominent rank should be given the above-named gentleman, who is a dealer in lumber and hardware in that place. He has been a resident here since April, 1866, at which time he engaged with his brother, H. R. Kipp, in the lumber trade. In 1874 the firm of Kipp Bros. became Kipp & Gordon, and in 1883 the gentleman of whom we write became sole proprietor of the business, which he has since conducted alone.

Before relating the main events in the life of our subject, a few words in regard to his family will not be amiss. His parents were Charles A. and Eliza A. (Briggs) Kipp, both of whom were born in New York State. Their home was in Lexington, Greene County, for many years. Mr. Kipp was Colonel of the 20th New York State Militia, and more or less prominent in public life. He served as Sheriff of that county, and later of Placer County, Cal. Upon the discovery of gold in that territory in 1848, Mr Kipp was one of the first to start for that Eldorado of the West. His journey was made by the overland route, and he remained on the Slope for thirteen years. He engaged in mining, and when railroads began to be built, as contractor in that work. He met the usual fortune of a Californian in suffering some serious reverses, but was financially successful on the whole, and returned to the States with quite a fortune. Soon after his return from the West he located in Illinois, his first home being at Tonica, where he resided from 1863 to1866. At that date he came to Minonk, and here died two years later, being then sixty-seven years old. His wife is still living here. The five children who comprise the family are all living; H. R. is a resident of Chicago, Ill.; O. S. and E. B., of Elliott, Iowa; Othelia, the wife of O. A. Newton, of this place. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is the third in order of this family.

Adelbert B. Kipp was born in Lexington, N. Y., Oct. 12, 1844. He was educated in the common schools and academy of his native place. At the age of sixteen he came to Illinois and stopped at Tonica, where two brothers and his sister were already living. The day after his journey he engaged as a farm hand, and served as such for one year. He then (1862) enlisted in Company D, 65th Illinois Infantry, and served until the close of the war. He was present in all the engagements in which the regiment participated, and was one of the few fortunate ones who escaped without wounds. At the battle of Harper's Ferry he was taken prisoner by the enemy, but was at once paroled and sent to Chicago. After being exchanged he rejoined his command, which was sent into Kentucky and Tennessee. Mr. Kipp was present at the siege of Knoxville, after which he made one of the 60,000 gallant men who accompanied Sherman to the sea. After their victorious entry into Atlanta, the regiment returned to Tennessee, and participated in the battles of Franklin, Pulaski and Nashville. They next went to Ft. Fisher, N. C., following which came the battles of Taylor's Creek, Millington, Goldsboro, and Johnstown, at which place Gen. Johnson surrendered and the war was closed. Mr. Kipp returned to Chicago, where he was mustered out of service. He was a faithful and efficient soldier, and the term "honorably discharged,"is more than an empty name when applied to him.

Mr. Kipp returned to Tonica, and engaged as clerk in the old Union store at that place. Ten months later he changed his residence to this place, as before mentioned. At the home of the bride in Tonica, in November, 1866, he was married to Miss Margaret Belle Shepherd. She was born in Ripley, Ohio, and with her parents, Campbell A. and Mary A. Shepherd, came to Tonica, in the year 1852. She finished her education at the Miami University of Ohio. She bore her husband two children: Campbell S. and Sherwood N. She departed this life on the 6th of March, 1888, aged forty-five years. She was an educated and refined lady, a faithful wife and loving mother. Her death was deeply regretted by many friends outside the bereaved family circle.

Mr. Kipp is a Democrat, and for some years was active in political life. He was a delegate to county, district and State conventions, and has served his fellow-citizens as Supervisor, Alderman and Major of Minonk. He is a member of the G. A. R. His religious views coincide with the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church, in which he holds membership. Mr. Kipp is a shrewd and successful businessman, and the property which he possesses is the result of his own efforts. He is a man who enjoys the good things of life, and his home is a pleasant hospitable one. He delights in hunting and fishing, and is a capital sportsman.

Transcribed and donated by Amy Robbins-Tjaden

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The Biographical Record of Livingston and Woodford Counties, Illinois (1900)

Garmer Kleen

Garmer Kleen, now living retired from the arduous labors to which he has been accustomed throughout his life, is a worthy example of the patriotic German-American citizen. His career in this country, where he arrived a poor youth, unfriended and with little means, a stranger to the language and customs of our people, possesses much of interest and inspiration to the younger generations.

The birth of Garmer Kleen, one of the prominent farmers of Woodford county, occurred in Germany, December 3, 1838. His father, H. Kleen, born in 1789, departed this life in 1852, and the mother, whose maiden name was Jane Struck, died in Germany when in her seventy-third year, in 1872. They reared seven children, and of these our subject alone left the Fatherland. Henry died, unmarried, when about forty years old; Luban died at the age of sixty and left a wife and one child; Elliott departed this life when in his thirty-ninth year, and Ihulj, who died at sixty-three, left a family to mourn his loss; Rinste is the wife of George Uphoff, a German farmer, and Etie, wife of Henry Schultz, also resides in Germany.

From his boyhood, Garmer Kleen has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. In 1856 he embarked on a sailing vessel bound for the United States, and at the end of a four-weeks voyage arrived in New York city. Thence he proceeded to Peoria, and later went to Pekin, where he found employment in a brickyard. At the end of a year or more he rented some land and industriously set about its cultivation. When he had made a good beginning, he bought eighty acres of land in Woodford county, and from time to time, as his means permitted, made additional investments in farmlands. Now, in his declining years, he owns upwards of thirteen hundred acres of well improved property, about seven hundred acres being located in Clay county and the remainder in Woodford and Henry counties. "Diligence in business" has been the prime factor in his unusual success, and his industry has been no more marked than his integrity and sterling justice. Thus those who are life-long acquaintances of his rejoice in the prosperity which crowned his toil, and no one envies his good fortune.

In 1868 Mr. Kleen married Dora Kalkwarf, who died within two years, as also did their little one. In 1872 our subject chose Trinche Johnson, a native of Germany, for a wife, and after twelve years of happy wedded life she was summoned to the home beyond. She was about forty years of age, and for a long time had been a faithful member of the Lutheran church. Harmon, their eldest child, is unmarried, and is a farmer of Henry county, Illinois, and Jane keeps house for him. Reka, who became the wife of Harmon Kelm, has two sons, Otto and Garmer. The younger children are Gretje, Henry, Dorothea and Jettie. In 1885, Mr. Kleen married Teelka, daughter of Klaas Frederichs, and three children bless this union, namely: Klaas, Garmer and Freadrig.

In his home Mr. Kleen is kind and affectionate, and it is a great pleasure to him to provide his dear ones with all the essentials to their comfort and happiness. With his wife he is identified with the Lutheran church, and contributes liberally to religious work. Quietly he has pursued the pathway of right, as far as he knew it, and undoubtedly his influence has ever been salutary and wholesome in his community.

Transcribed and donated by Amy Robbins-Tjaden

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Portrait and Biographical Album of Woodford County, Illinois (1889)

Paul Koehler. Thirty-seven years ago a family crossed the ocean from Germany to the United States, where they sought a home and fortune. Among them was a little boy, over whose head scarcely four summers had passed. That boy, now a man in the prime of life, is an honored resident of Woodford County. He was born in the Fatherland, in the town of Bavaria, on the 30th day of June, 1848. He is the son of Peter and Clara Koehler.

Peter Koehler was a farmer in his native land, but in 1852 he took his wife and their five children to a new home across the seas. The first winter after their arrival they passed in Peoria, then settled on a farm near Lacon, renting the land until 1858, when he purchased the 120 acres of land which is now occupied by the subject of this notice. In his old home he had accumulated but little money, but after coming to America his constant and unremitting industry brought its own reward, and he became the owner of 200 acres of land, all of which was improved. He died at the age of seventy-one years in 1872. Mrs. Koehler died in 1885 having reached her seventy-third year.

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Koehler had a family of six children, five of whom lived to maturity, namely: Jacob, Christian; George, who died in infancy; Peter, Mary and Paul. The first three mentioned met with a sad death. When they were accompanying their parents to the new home in Woodford County, they were drowned while crossing Crow Creek, the waters of which had risen until the creek was dangerous.

Our subject was a small lad when his parents settled in Woodford County, and remained under the parental roof until the parents had both passed from earth. His wife was Miss Barbara Sheeler, a daughter of Peter Sheeler, to whom he was married in 1871. She lived only a short time, her death occurring in 1874, leaving two children, Peter and Jacob.

Mr Koehler was again married April 22, 1875, his wife being Miss Elizabeth Bohlander, a lady of German birth and parentage. She was the only one of her family who crossed the Atlantic to make her home in the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Koehler are the parents of three children, Mary Ann, Clara and Barbara.

The political views of Mr. Koehler are coincident with those of the Republican party, while religiously he and his family are members of the Lutheran Church. He has served as Township Collector two terms, to the entire satisfaction of the community.

Mr. and Mrs. Koehler have a pleasant and happy home with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of this life. He owns 200 acres of land, well improved and in good condition. The addition of such a family as this to any town or city is of considerable importance, as they are law-abiding, refined people, whose society is a pleasure to all who come into contact with them.

Transcribed and donated by Amy Robbins-Tjaden

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Frederick Kridner

Frederick Kridner married Barbara Leistner

Frederick was born in Germany in 1827 and came to the United States as a young man.
Barbara was born in Germany, May 8, 1832, and came alone to Buffalo, New York, in 1848 when 16 years old.

They were married in 1851in Niagara Co., New York and came west in 1853 and settled near El Paso, Illinois. He planted trees in both the East and West Side Parks and built the second house erected in the present city of El Paso. He worked for the T.P. and W. Railroad at first for seventy-five cents a day, then later farmed, moving to the farm in 1875. At the time of his death they owned the 160 acre farm south of El Paso which George Shuman owns now.

After he passed away on June 21, 1876, at the age of 49, Barbara and her sons farmed for awhile but found it difficult to get along with such a large family, so she and her family moved back to El Paso in 1889. She passed away on February 25, 1903 at the age of 71.

Ten children were born to this union, one daughter Barbara born in 1857, was killed the following year during a severe storm which caused a fire in which she was burned to death. One child died at birth and the following eight children survived their parents:
Fred
John
Charles
August
Joseph
Elizabeth
William
Mary

By Marie-Frances Bayles

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From The Past and Present of Woodford County, Illinois (Wm. Le Baron, Jr. & Co. 1878)

Kurz, Louis, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes; was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, Jan. 1, 1850. He was apprenticed to the trade of a shoemaker at the age of 14 years; came to the United States in 1868, spending about a year in Iroquois Co., a few months in Washington, Tazewell Co., and about a year in Peoria Co. He came to El Paso in 1870, and established his present business Sept. 1, 1875. He was married Sept. 26, 1875, to Miss Theresa Valentine, of El Paso, who was born in Lexington, Ill., Jan. 30, 1858. They have one child--William Joseph.

Transcribed and donated by Amy Robbins-Tjaden

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