THE EARLY HISTORY OF MILLSTADT, ILLINOIS
Compiled
by Robert Buecher
5400
Pernod Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63139-1537
[Revised:
April 20, 2009]
Additonal
historical items about Millstadt can be found here.
The earliest settlers
of the Millstadt area were of English ancestry, who had come from the 13
original states. The first land entries
in Millstadt Township were first claimed in payment for military services rendered
in the late 1700’s. These first claims
were made to George Lunceford, Thomas Marrs, and the widow of Jacob Groot. The land issued to Thomas Marrs was survey
782 in Millstadt Township.
George Lunceford is
usually considered the first white settler to have lived in the vicinity of
present day Millstadt. He was a native
of Virginia and had been a soldier under George Rogers Clark during the capture
of Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher in 1778.
His land was survey 429 and 430 in Sugar Loaf Heights. In 1796, Lunceford and Samuel Judy started a
farm near Sugar Loaf, which in 1800 became the sole property of Mr. Lunceford.
The following year in
1801, a group of settlers arrived from Hardy County, Virginia. This group was led by the Baptist preacher,
David Badgley, and included the families of Abraham Eyman, William Miller, and
John Teter. They came by flatboat down
the Ohio River to Shawneetown, and then overland by horse to this area of St.
Clair County, Illinois. In 1802 they
were joined by the families of Martin Randleman from Lincoln County, North
Carolina and Daniel Stookey from Hagerstown, Maryland.
Other early settlers in this area included:
Thomas Harrison (1804); Wm. Holcomb (1812); Henry R. White (1814); Mathew and
Frank Roach, John A. Mauzy, and Charles Jones (1815); James Glass, Cornelius
and Robert Gooding (1816); John Primm, Stephen and John Lacey (1817); Robert
Bailey, David and Joseph Ogle (1818); Conrad Goodner, John M. Little, and
Charles T. Askins (1820); Evan Baird (1827); and William J. McBride (1831).
In 1813, Thomas Harrison is supposed to have
erected here one of the first cotton gins in Illinois. It was propelled by horsepower, but was soon
abandoned.
The first church in
Millstadt Township was built in 1819 on five acres of land donated by Philernon
Askins [ancestor of the late billionaire, Howard Hughes]. The church was called the Union Meeting
House (Methodist Protestant) and it was located about a mile east of Millstadt
on Route 158. The church burned on 31
March 1881. Adjoining this church was
Union Hill Cemetery, the first cemetery in Millstadt Township. The first burials there were John Ross on 1
Oct. 1823 and Thomas Jarrott on 16 Oct. 1823.
Prior to 1834, the
following German settlers, who were mostly farmers, had settled in what is now
Millstadt Township: Henry Briesacher
(1828); Anton Wagner, Johann Adam Krick, Carl Grossmann, Johannes Hax, Peter
Vollmer, Johannes Eckert, and J. Christian Lindenstruth (1832); Adam Haas,
Nicolaus Hertel, Johannes Freivogel Sr., and John Weible (1833).
The first large group
of German settlers to arrive in the Millstadt area came from villages near Kaiserslautern in the Rhineland-Pfalz
area of Germany. According to existing records,
this first group left Germany together on Sept. 4, 1834 and traveled to America
on the Ship Ruthelin which arrived at the port of New Orleans, Louisiana
on Nov. 17, 1834. The group then traveled by boat up the
Mississippi River to St. Louis, where they disembarked for St. Clair County,
Illinois. It is recorded that they
settled in the Millstadt area on Nov. 30, 1834. This first group of settlers included the families of Daniel
Mueller from Konken; Daniel Wagner from Doerrenbach; Jacob Dewald from Schellweiler;
Jacob Weingardt and Jacob Weber from Rehweiler; Henry Jacob Gerlach from
Mittelbach; Jacob Schuff and Johann Nicolaus Schmalenberger from Schrollbach;
and Theobald Mueller. Other settlers
that came that same year (1834) were the families of Leonhard Baltz from
Gross-Bieberau; Valentine Gruenewald from Rossdorf; George Mittelstetter from
Reinheim; William Probst from Koelleda; Heinrich Mueller from Harpertshausen;
Leonhard Kropp from Crumbach; and George Kuntz from Alzey. This early group of settlers then attracted
large numbers of additional German families.
The following are the
known German families who settled in the Millstadt area between 1828 and
1840. Entries which contain an asterisk
* have birth information that has been verified
from a church or civil record in Europe.
Additional information about most of these early settlers is available
from Robert Buecher at one of the addresses listed above.
·
Baltz, Friedrich - born * 8
August 1809 Gross Bieberau, Hessen Darmstadt; America 1831; married Katharina
Elisabetha KROPP 4 July 1831; settled Millstadt area about 1835; he died 30
Oct. 1840
·
Baltz, Johann
Leonhard - born * 26 July 1797 Gross Bieberau, Hessen
Darmstadt; married Maria Dorothea DAAB 29 April 1819; settled near Millstadt by
Dec. 1834; he died 26 Feb. 1861
·
Boemer, Caspar - born 8 May 1813 Warstein, Prussia; America 1837; married Catherine Rodemich Nov. 1840; settled here 1841; he
died 2 Sept. 1902
·
Breidecker, Johann
Friedrich - born 30 Dec. 1811 Wiesbaden, Hessen Nassau; settled
1838; married Louise MEYER 1841; he died 3 May 1883
·
Briesacher, George - born * 25 March 1807 Offwiller, Elsass; settled
1828; married Christina ROTH Nov. 1837; he died 26 Feb. 1880
·
Briesacher,
Heinrich; born * 27 Oct. 1819 Offwiller, Elsass; settled here in 1828 with his parents; married Karoline M. Diesel 1847; he died 29 Oct. 1890
·
Briesacher,
Johannes - born * 5 Nov. 1775
Offwiller, Elsass; married Christina KOPP 1803; settled 1828; he died 23 Feb.
1847
·
Dehn, Johann George; born 22 Oct. 1817 Reinheim, Hessen Darmstadt son of
Henry; in 1839 he settled here in
Section 24 of Millstadt Twp.; married
Anna Barbara Grossmann 1841; he died 18
Nov. 1900
·
Dewald, Jacob - born 31
Dec. 1809 Schellweiler, Rhineland-Pfalz; married Margaretha MUELLER 4 March
1834; settled Nov. 1834; buried 26 Aug. 1876
·
Diesel, Andreas - born 12 Oct. 1799 Ottweiler, Rhineland-Pfalz;
married Louise KIEFER; settled 1836; he was buried 26 Dec. 1879
·
Doerr,
William; born * 29 July 1821 Sonnenberg, Nassau; settled 1837 with his married sister
Katharina Philippina Schweig; married
Catharina Hofmann 1846; he died May 11,
1891
·
Ebel, Heinrich - born 23 April 1778 Gimmeldingen, Rhineland-Pfalz;
married Katharina LINGENFELDER; settled by Oct. 1836; he died 8 Nov. 1840
·
Eckert, Johann
Philipp - born 5 May 1804 Gross
Bieberau, Hessen Darmstadt; USA 1831; married Maria Magdalena OLDENDORPH 1831
at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; he died Dec. 1878
·
Eckert, Johannes - born 29 Nov. 1804 Ninselbach by
Fraenkisch-Crumbach, Hessen Darmstadt; settled 1832; married Elisabeth
Margaretha FO 18 Sep. 1832
·
Ellinger,
Christian - born 8 May 1815
Bilzingsleben, Thueringen; settled 1839; married Marie Adelheid SEIFFARTH 24
March 1841
·
Faas, Francis
Martin - born ca. 1813
Goeppingen, Wuertemberg; settled here 1835; married (1) Gertrude KUNZ 1841 (2)
Henriette (HUBER) STEIN; he was buried 14 June 1875
·
Fein, George
Philip - born at Saarbruecken,
Rhineland-Pfalz; married Sophie Josephine BRUA; settled here by 1835; moved to
Belleville by 1839.
·
Flittner, Fried.
Christoph - born 1778 Straussfurt
by Erfurt, Prussia; married Sophia Wilhelmina HENFLING 12 Feb. 1809; settled here
1835
·
Freivogel,
Johannes (Sr.) - born 5 April
1784 Katzenbach near Landstuhl, Rhineland-Pfalz; married Maria Katharina
FREIVOGEL on 11 Nov. 1810; settled here 1833; he died 24 Sept. 1850
·
Gerhardt, Adolph - born * 6 Jan. 1791 Reinheim, Hessen Darmstadt;
married Anna Katharina HENER 23 Nov. 1814; settled 1838; he died 28 Aug. 1843
·
Gerlach, Heinrich
Jacob - born 18 Sept. 1793
Mittelbach, Rhineland-Pfalz; married Anna Katharina DRUMM 14 Sep. 1813; settled
Nov. 1834; he died March 1838
·
Grossmann, Carl - born * 14 Oct. 1792 Reinheim, Hessen Darmstadt;
married (1) Elisabeth POTH 29 Dec. 1814
(2) Elisabetha Barbara DEHN 1816; settled here 1832; he died 24 Dec.
1867
·
Gruenewald,
Valentine - born 24 Feb. 1806
Rossdorf, Hessen Darmstadt; settled 1834;
married Katharina BAUMANN; he died Sept. 1837
·
Gutherz, Johann
Philipp - born 26 Nov. 1787
Hessen Nassau; married Philippine GREULING Dec. 1824; emigrated 1838; he died
18 March 1866
·
Haas, Adam - born 24 June 1789 Gerolsheim, Rhineland-Pfalz; married
Katharina Barbara STEIN; settled 1833; he died 20 Nov. 1866
·
Hammel,
George - born 27 Nov. 1802
Steinwenden, Rhineland-Pfalz; married (1) Margaretha BLAUTH/HAMMEL 1828 (2) Elisabetha Maria HAMMEL 17 Nov. 1840;
settled here Spring of 1836; he died 15 March 1863
·
Hammel, Jacob - born 9 May 1791 Steinwenden, Rhineland-Pfalz;
married (1) Magdalena LAUFER 13 Sept. 1814
(2) Barbara (MUELLER) SCHWARTZ 10 May 1850; settled here 1840; he died
28 June 1855
·
Hax, Johannes - born 26 July 1780? Gross Umstadt, Hessen Darmstadt;
married Katharina TAESCHER 1815; settled here 1832; he died 17 Aug. 1840
·
Heitz, Jacob - born 11 Feb. 1797 Goxweiler, Niederrhein, France;
married Magdalena JAKOB 7 March 1826; settled here 1839; he died 19 Dec. 1865
·
Henckler, George - born 20 Sept. 1796 Wiesbaden, Hessen Nassau;
married Anna Maria BUEFF 29 Aug. 1818; settled here 1835; he died 26 Feb. 1878
·
Herlemann, George
Friedrich - born * 26 July 1807
Gross Bieberau, Hessen Darmstadt; married
Elisabetha Margaretha WETTEROTH 26 March 1829 at Gross Bieberau; settled
in Millstadt 1836; he died 13 July 1849
·
Hertel, Nicolaus - born 11 March 1796 Guedingen by Saarbruecken,
Prussia; settled here 1833; married (1) A. Barbara SCHMIDT 1820 (2) Katharina HAUSMEYER 21 June 1834 (3) Elisabetha Margaretha MUELLER 23 Jan.
1840; he died 30 July 1868
·
Hesse, Christian - born 29 Sept. 1792 Herrnschwende, Saxony, Prussia;
married Maria Sabrina MEYER 30 April 1817; settled here 1835
·
Hoelscher, Charles
·
Hoepfinger, Jacob
·
Hornung, Gottfried - born “Johann Gottfried Guenther HORNUNG” on 27
April 1793 Koelleda by Erfurt, Saxony, Prussia; married Juliana Dorothea
LANGATZ 30 Nov. 1815; settled here 1834
·
Kalbfleisch,
Johann Peter- born 18 Dec. 1811
Billertshausen, Kreis Alsfeld, Hessen Darmstadt; settled here 1836; married
Elisabeth Margaretha OLDENDORPH 1841; he died 12 July 1862
·
Keck, Johannes - born 4 June 1793 Dirmstein, Rhineland-Pfalz;
married Anna Maria BENGEL 1813; settled here 1834; he died 22 March 1846
·
Keller, Adam – born ca. 1808 Karbach; settled by 1835; married
Margaretha GERLACH Oct. 1835
·
Kern, Johann
Heinrich - born 12 April 1805
Nordenstadt, Hessen Nassau; married Johannetta Christiana SCHAEFER 4 June 1827;
settled here 1835; he died 8 Sept. 1849
·
Klotz, George - born 17 Sept. 1809 Semd, Hessen Darmstadt; settled
here 1838; married (1) Anna Margaretha APPEL 1835 (2.) Maria HUBER 1854; he died 6 Aug. 1866
·
Klotz, Heinrich - born 9 March 1807 Semd, Hessen Darmstadt; settled
here 1838?; married Margaretha SCHIEMER; he died 31 July 1877
·
Kracht, Dettleff – born ca 1805 at Wewelsfleth, Schleswig-Holstein; married (1.) Elisabetha Margaretha ECKERT
(2) Sarah WEIBLE 1842; settled here by
1838; died in Hancock County, IL ca 1889/1890
·
Krick, Johann Adam - born * 19 Jan. 1799 Gerolsheim, Rhinekreis,
Bavaria; married Margaretha Augusta BUSCH 11 March 1827; settled here 1832; he
died 22 March 1866
·
Kropp, Leonhard - born 1 May 1809 Crumbach, Hessen; settled here
1834; married Katharina Elisabeth KUEFFNER 26 June 1838; he died 28 Sept. 1882
·
Kuntz, George - born 12/15 July 1787 Alzey, Hessen Darmstadt;
married Magdalena SCHIFFER 1810; settled here 1834; he died 15 Oct. 1867
·
Kuntz, Heinrich - born 10 Sept. 1822 Alzey, Hessen Darmstadt; he died
17 Feb. 1877 in St. Louis, MO
·
Kuntz, Martin - born 17 Dec. 1811 Alzey, Hessen Darmstadt; married
Elisabetha HENCKLER 14 Sept. 1845; he died 25 Jan. 1880
·
Lambertus, Philipp - born 2 Feb. 1792 Biedersbach by Landstuhl; married
Eva HERMANN; settled here Aug. 1837 with 6 children; he died 5 Dec. 1851
·
Lang, Johann Adam; born 7 July
1807 Reichenbach, Rheinland-Pfalz;
settled here by 1834; married
Mrs. Anna Maria UTECH, nee EBEL; he
died 22 July 1895
·
Lang, Philipp - born 1 Jan. 1775 Reichenbach, Rhineland-Pfalz;
married Margaretha KEMPPER; settled before 1840; he died 30 Aug. 1840
·
Launhardt, Wilhelm - born 4 May 1807 Brombach, Hessen Nassau; married
Katharina Louise MUELLER 30 March 1830; settled here Nov. 1837; family moved to
Collinsville, IL in 1859
·
Leonhardt,
Gottfried - born 23 March 1796
Simselwitz, Saxony; married Johanna Christiana GRASSLER 1820; settled 1834
·
LePere, Johann
Georg; born 20? Sept. 1810 at Erlenbach, Rheinland Pfalz; settled here in Jan. 1837; married (1) Christina WAGNER April 1843 (2) Maria Barbara BIRKNER April 1847; died 10 Aug. 1866
·
Lepere,
Johann Philipp - born * 13
April 1785 at Steinweiler, Rhineland-Pfalz; married (1) Anna Catharina NUSS 6 Nov. 1804 (2) Margaretha SUTTER ca. 1823-24; settled here 1835/early 1836;
he died 22 Feb. 1872 in St. Louis County, MO
·
Lepere, Johann
Philipp; born * 12 May 1808 Erlenbach by Kandel,
Rheinland Pfalz; settled here by
1837; married Mrs. Christina WEINTZ,
nee EBEL Aug. 1837; died 3 March 1871
·
Lindauer,
Friedrich - born 30 Dec. 1807
Untergruppenbach, Wuerttemberg; emigrated 1830; married (1) Elisabetha LEPERE 21 July 1836 (2) Kath. Margaretha WESTERMANN 1854; he
died 17 June 1873
·
Lindenstruth,
Johann Christian - born 13 June
1798 Bersrod, Hessen; married Anna Katharina MAGEL Dec. 1825; settled 1832; he
died 13 March 1850
·
Mayer/Meyer, Peter - born 16 April 1786 Dornholzhausen, Hessen Homburg;
married Anna WALLON 25 Sept. 1810; settled Dec. 1839; he died 26 Dec. 1868
·
Mittelstaedter,
Johann George - born 14 Oct. 1799
Reinheim, Hessen Darmstadt; married (2) Mrs. Katharine (BAUMANN) GRUENEWALD
Jan. 1838; settled here 1834
·
Mueller, Daniel - born 27 Nov. 1791 Konken, Rhineland-Pfalz; married
Karolina MATZENBACHER; settled here Nov. 1834; he died 26 March 1867
·
Mueller, Georg
Friedrich; born * 12 Oct. 1813 Brandau, Hessen
Darmstadt; America 1834 with his
father; married Katharina OTTERS Aug.
1837 St. Louis; died 27 Feb. 1847 in
Millstadt
·
Mueller, Johann
George - born 21 Sept. 1787
Gimmeldingen, Rhineland-Pfalz; married Anna Maria SCHULTZ 13 March 1810;
settled here 1836
·
Mueller/Miller,
Heinrich - born 9 April 1809
Harpertshausen, Hessen Darmstadt; came to America 1831; settled here 1834;
married Mrs. Anna Margaretha HARTMANN,
nee MUELLER on 19 May 1833; he died Sept. 1886
·
Mueller, Jacob - born 24 July 1820 Konken, Rhineland-Pfalz; settled
here Nov. 1834; married Anna Maria SCHMIDT 9 April 1844; he died 22 March 1881
·
Mueller, Johann
Heinrich; born 20 Jan. 1771 Semd, Hessen
Darmstadt; married Elisabeth
JUENGER; settled here before Sept.
1838; he died 26 Sept. 1838
·
Mueller, Johann
Wilhelm; born * 14 May 1776 Brandau, Hessen
Darmstadt; married Anna Margaretha
BITSCH 1800; settled here after
1834; died 21 Dec. 1840
·
Mueller, Peter
Wilhelm - born 28 Sept. 1774
Brombach, Hessen Nassau; married Elisabetha Katharina MUELLER 1800; settled
here 1837; he died 19 Nov. 1846
·
Mueller, Peter Wilhelm; born
22 Sept. 1813 Brombach, Hessen Nassau;
settled here Oct. 1837; married
Katharina MAIER/MAYER March 1840; he
died 20 Sept. 1869
·
Mueller, Theobald; born 2 April 1806 Quirnbach, Rheinland
Pfalz; settled here after Nov.
1834; married (1) Elisab. Weber (2) Katharine Kilian 1856 (3) [Maria] Elisabetha Becker, nee BIEL Jan.
1861; he died 8 Feb. 1890
·
Mummert, Heinrich
Jacob - born 12 April 1787
Mussbach, Rhine Bavaria; married Klara Elisabetha STAAB 13 March 1817; settled
here 1836
·
Muskopf, Heinrich; born 6 Nov. 1797 Kottweiler,
Rhineland-Pfalz; married Charlotte Margaretha ULRICH 2 Feb. 1825; settled here
1837; he died 25 March 1882
·
Oldendorph, Georg; born 6 Oct.
1810 Gross Bieberau, Hessen Darmstadt;
America 1839; married (1)
Margaretha Schaefer 1840 (2) Barbara
Hauser Nov. 1849 (3) Friedericke
Leinecker Jan. 1860; he died 11 March
1887
·
Oldendorph, Henry; born 20 June 1804 Gross Bieberau, Hessen
Darmstadt; married Anna Katharina STAEHR 1829; settled 1840; he died Aug. 1876
·
Peter, Nicolaus; born 19
Jan. 1804 Koendringen, Baden; married
(1) Katharina BASTIAN (2)
Katharina ENGLER 1851; settled 1831; he died 25 July 1857
·
Probst, Andreas
Gottfried; born 22 Aug. 1813 Koelleda, near Erfurt,
Prussia; America April 1834; married Maria Katharina KIRSCH March 1840; died 4 Nov. 1899
·
Probst, Friederich
Wilhelm; born 25 Oct. 1779 Koelleda, Prussia; married Maria Christina PETZ; America April 1834; he died 3 April 1857
·
Rehg, Daniel
·
Reichert, Lorenz; born 19 Nov.
1807 Erlenbach am Main; married
Catharine WAGNER 14 Sept. 1835 St. Louis, MO;
settled here ca. 1839; he died
29 Nov. 1857
·
Riess,
John Jacob (Rev.); born 5 May
1811 Tuttlingen, Wuerttemberg; America
Oct. 1835; married (1) Margaretha
Charlotte Henckler Aug. 1836 (2) Anna
Victoria Petit Sept. 1841; he died 8
July 1855 St. Louis, MO; he was the
first pastor of Zion Evangelical Church when it was founded in Jan. 1836
·
Rodemich, Johann
Philipp; born 12 July 1823 Rossdorf, Hessen
Darmstadt; came to America in
1836; married Maria Utech Dec. 1845; he died 16 May 1889
·
Rodemich, Johann
Philipp; born 15 April 1790 Rossdorf, Hessen
Darmstadt; married Elisabeth Margaretha
Lorenz, nee Schiemer; he died 26 July
1838
·
Roos, Martin; born 4 April
1789 Dirmstein, Pfalz; settled here
1834
·
Rudolph, Johann
Michael; born 12 July 1808 Plobsheim, Elsass; married Katharina Salomea Hornecker/Honecker
Jan. 1832; America Jan. 1836; died 10 March 1892
·
Scharf, Bernhard; born ca 1790
Heldburg, Saxony; married Dorothea
Schubert; settled here 1836; died 6 January 1857 Stookey Township
·
Schmalenberger,
Johann Nicolaus; born * 8 Dec. 1799 Schrollbach, Rheinland
Pfalz; married (1) Anna Margaretha
Gilcher May 1821; (2) Maria Katharina
Pfeiffer, nee Ebersohl July 1835;
settled here Nov. 1834; he died
23 Feb. 1862
·
Schmidt, Nicolaus; born * 7
Nov. 1807 Luetzelstein, Elsass; married
(1) Margaretha Roth (2) Margaretha
Hauser Feb. 1842; settled here in
1837; died August 1875
·
Schubert, Nicolaus; born 11 Feb.
1770 Heldburg, Saxony-Meiningen; married
(2) Anna Dorothea Scharf 1814;
emigrated Sept. 1836; he died
August 1842
·
Schuff, Jacob; born 14
March 1792 Schrollbach, Rheinland Pfalz;
married Barbara Cappler 1822?;
settled here Nov. 1834; died 31
Dec. 1866
·
Schweig, Christian; born 3
August 1805 Sonnenberg, Hessen Nassau;
married Katharina Philippina Doerr 1827; America Nov. 1837; died
14 Sept. 1840
·
Seibert, Johann
Dietrich; born 28 April 1792 Semd near Gross Umstadt,
Hessen Darmstadt; married Anna Regina
Stork 1816; America Sept. 1834; he died 11 Nov. 1870
·
Seibert, Johann
Georg; born 4 Feb. 1787 Semd, Kreis Dieburg, Hessen Darmstadt; married Elisabeth Stork 1810; America 1834
·
Vogel, John Conrad; born 1796
Ottweiler, Saarbruecken; settled 1838
·
Vogt,
Peter Georg (Sr.); born 18 Sept.
1800 Erlenbach, Rheinland Pfalz;
America ca. 1835; married (1)
Margaretha Catharina Lepere Dec. 1826
(2) Eva Maria Hutmacher July 1846
(3) Margaretha Koch, nee Schaumann May 1867; he died 26 Nov. 1880
·
Vollmer, Jacob; born 25 July 1818 Lambsborn,
Pfalz; America 1833; married Karoline Geminn Dec. 1854; he died 10 May 1894
·
Vollmer, Peter; from
Lambsborn, Rheinland Pfalz; settled
1832
·
Wagner,
Anton; born * 30 Jan. 1784 Baerendorf,
Bas-Rhin; married Elisabeth Fiegel
1815; settled here 1832/1833; died 26 Aug. 1851
·
Wagner, Daniel; born 7 Feb.
1802 Rehweiler, Rheinland Pfalz;
married Elisabetha Ulrich Sept. 1827;
settled here Nov. 1834; he died
29 May 1887
·
Wagner,
Johann Nicolaus; born * 28 Feb. 1795 Wolfskirchen,
Elsass; married Eva Schmidt Feb.
1816; landed in America May 1838; he died 9 Nov. 1838
·
Weber, Jakob; born 27 July
1808 Rehweiler, Rheinland Pfalz;
married Katharina Weingardt Oct. 1831;
settled here Nov. 1834; he died
23 Nov. 1861
·
Weber, Theobald; born 25 June
1786 Rehweiler, Rheinland Pfalz;
married Elisabeth Grossglas? 1806;
America Jan. 1836; he died 2
Oct. 1844
·
Weingardt, Jacob; born 12
March 1811 Rehweiler, Rheinland Pfalz;
settled Nov. 1834; married
Elisabetha Keck May 1838; died 12 Aug.
1855
·
Weingardt, Jakob; born 29 Oct.
1788 Rehweiler, Rheinland Pfalz;
married Margaretha Schneider 1807;
settled here Nov. 1834; died 13
Sept. 1835
·
Wetteroth, Johann
Ludwig; born * 28 Nov. 1777 Gross Bieberau, Hessen Darmstadt; married Anna Maria Rutz 1806; America 1838; died 10 Sept. 1842
·
Wiesenborn,
Johannette Margaretha, nee Doerr; born 15 Feb. 1787 Sonnenberg, Hessen Nassau; married Johannes Wiesenborn 1811; America Nov. 1837
·
Zaenger, Christoph; born 20 July
1813 Minderslachen, Rheinland Pfalz;
married Esther Margaretha Lepere;
settled ca. 1840; died 11 Oct.
1885
·
Zimmermann,
Wilhelm; born 1 April 1780 Hemleben, near Koelleda,
Prussia; Marie Elisabeth Margktscheffel
1803; settled here 1834
·
Wagner, George
·
Wagner, John Adam
The German church
which many of these early settlers attended was Zion Evangelical Church which
was first located in Section 21 of Millstadt Township. Zion was founded on 17 Jan. 1836 at the log
cabin home of Johannes Freivogel. The
first minister was Rev. Johann Jacob Riess who served at Zion from 1836 to Oct.
1846. He had arrived in St. Clair
County in November 1835. Rev. Riess was
sent by the Basel Missionary Society in Switzerland because of letters sent to
that society by the German settlers in the county who wanted a German speaking
minister.
Rev. Riess preached throughout St. Clair
County and services were first held at Zion only once a month. In nice weather, the members met in the
forest and in bad weather in the Freivogel cabin. The first log church of Zion was dedicated on 26 June 1837 and
was built along very simple lines.
Freivogel Cemetery, consisting of 40 acres, was deeded to the Zion
congregation in April 1838 by Johann Nicolaus Schmahlenberger and his wife,
Mary Katherine.
The early German
Catholic settlers in the area worshipped at a log church that was built about two miles southwest of
Millstadt. It was called St. Thomas the
Apostle Chapel and was dedicated on 26
Nov. 1837 by Bishop Joseph Rosati of St. Louis who on that same day opened the
parish register. The present day [2009] location would be in Section 20 of
Millstadt Township somewhere near the intersection of Illinois Route 158 and
Bohleysville Road. The 1958 dedication
program for St. James new school states the log church was on the farm of
Edward Roenicke. The place was also
called Johnson Settlement. It is also
reported that a few parishioners were buried around this first log church. It is recorded by Rev. J. F. R. Loisel of
Cahokia that he said the first mass for the new congregation of St. Thomas in
the home of James Powers on Nov. 17, 1836.
The first 3 trustees of St. Thomas were elected on 24 Jan. 1837 and were
John O'Brien, James Powers & Bernard Slocy. St. Thomas was a mission church and did not have a resident
priest but was served by priests from the surrounding area. The first baptism
was recorded on 10 Dec. 1837 by R. Loisel.
St. Thomas gradually declined after a new brick church was built in
Millstadt in 1851.
Additional German
immigrants continued to settle here in the 1840’s, with a second large wave
beginning in 1848 after political turmoil in Germany. There were also numerous families who settled in this area that
came from the Alsace-Lorraine area. The
ownership of that area in Europe varied between France and Germany, but the
residents usually spoke German and fit in with other Germans who had settled
previously in the Millstadt area.
Many of these early
German settlers were farmers who came here seeking better farm land and better
economic conditions. Many of the
settlers were also escaping the political, social, and economic turmoil that
the German states were experiencing at that time. Most wanted a better life for themselves and more opportunities
for their children. This German
immigration was so large in the Millstadt area that the 1881 History of
St. Clair County reported that “only seven families of English descent”
were still residing here.
The majority of the
first Germans who settled in this area did not know the English language and
few had the time or opportunity to learn it.
Many preferred to use their native German in most everything that
concerned their life, including: business, social organizations, church
services and records, public notices, tombstone inscriptions, letters, and
wills. Some of the earlier English
speaking settlers did not always get along well with their newly arrived German
neighbors and some called the Germans clanish and unfriendly.
The founding of the
town of Millstadt dates back to 1836 when Simon Stookey was having a barn built
a short distance north of present day Millstadt. Joseph Abend and Henry Randleman were helping him and it was
proposed to Randleman that a piece of his land in Section 9 would make a most
eligible town site. Abend proposed the
name “Centerville” for the new town since it was seven miles from Belleville,
seven miles from Columbia, and seven miles from Pittsburg Lake. Henry agreed, and the town of Centerville
was platted and surveyed on 13 March 1837.
It originally consisted of only 40 lots. That was the part of town bounded roughly by Washington,
Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe streets.
Some of the earliest purchasers of lots were: John & George
Briesacher on 4 Sept. 1837; George Henckler on 28 Aug. 1838; and Evan Baird on
26 Nov. 1839. Later additions to the
town were made as the existing lots were sold out.
Although the village
name was officially spelled as “Centerville” in the records of the Recorder of
Deeds of St. Clair County, the German settlers usually used the European
spelling of “Centreville”.