Menard County IL Archives News.....obituary Alexander Absalom Cress October 1921 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sarah ERNST mont413@yahoo.com June 9, 2009, 10:12 am The Hillsboro Journal October 1921 obituary Cress, Alexander Absalom, Oct, 1921, Hillsboro Journal, Pub. Hillsboro, IL, Pg 1 Alexander A. Cress, for many years a business man and justice of the peace in Hillsboro, died September 20, 1921 at his home on Wood street in Hillsboro, Illinois. He had been dangerously ill for several months. He first became ill last February following the excitement and the physical exertion he made when the roof of his beautiful home was fired by sparks from the flue. A second first, a few weeks later caused further excitement but he was not physically able to help extinguish the flames. Since that time, he has not been able to be on the streets but once, on May 28th when he was at his office for only a few minutes. Since July, he has been bedfast and much of this time, his death had been momentarily expected. The funeral services were held at the Cress residence with Rev. Ezra Keller, pastor of the Lutheran church of Hillsboro officiating. Interment was made at Cress Hill cemetery, west of this city. Alexander Absalom Cress was born on the Jacob Cress farm about two and a half miles north of Hillsboro on December 7, 1840, being the eldest child in the family of Jacob and Helena [Scherer] Cress. He belonges to one of the oldest families in this county being a grandson of Jacob and Catherine Cress who settled near Hillsboro in 1818. Jacob Cress, Sr., entered land about a mile west of Hillsboro and gradually accumulated a large tract. Jacob Cress, Jr. accumulated still more and at his death in 1903, owned one of the largest farms in the county. Daniel Scherer, the other grandfather of A. A. Cress, was one of the first Lutheran ministers in Illinois and organized the Lutheran church in Hillsboro, becoming its first pastor. Mr. Cress spent his boyhood days on the farm northwest of Hillsboro assisting with the farm work and attending school. He supplemented his early educational advantages by attending the Hilllsboro Academy and upon completing his school work, he accepted a position as a clerk in the David & Marshall store in this city where he remained two years. He then purchased an interest in the store and the firm name was changed to Davis & Cress which partnership continued for two years and then Mr. Cress sold his interest to his brother, John, retiring from the business but later returning as a clerk for some time. In 1871, he formed a partnership with the late Wilbur H. Stoddard in the grocery business and continued for three years after which he sold out to his partner and opened a store of his own, where he continued in the grocery business for two years. In 1883, he went into the real estate business which he was continued from that time. Mr. Cress was, in his prime, one of the leading real estate dealers in the county. For about twenty years, he and his son, the late Atty. Edward Cress were associated in the business and handled some of the largest deals in the city. Mr. Cress had a thorough knowledge of real estate values not only in Hillsboro but throughout the county and his opinion was frequently sought by prospective buyers. Mr. Cress was twice married. He was married to Miss Sarah Matilda Bridge in 1865 and she passed away on June 18, 1882. To this union four children were born, three dying in infancy and Edward Jacob Absalom Cress, who died about three years ago. In 1898, Mr. Cress was again married to Mrs. Augusta A. Lewey, a daughter of the late J. Bowers Lane of Fillmore, Illinois. She survives. He was a member of the Hillsboro Lutheran church and was a regular attendant at church services. He was also a member of the Masonic lodge. Politically he was a Democrat. He has served as a member of the city council, as a member of the school board and at the time of his death was a justice of the peace, an office which he had held at various times for several years past. For the past forty or fifty years, Mr. Cress had never eaten a piece of meat of any kind. Many years ago, a physicial had advised him not to eat meat at the time and Mr. Cress found the elimination of meat, so satisfactory that he never partook of it again. It did not even seem to tempt him. Mr. Cress was a great lover of flowers and always surrounded himself with many of them as is evident by the beautiful beds of roses and other flowers which he grew every year. He kept his home in the best of condition with a lawn that did not have a weed or foreign variety of grass in it and with flower beds which attracted the attention of the entire community. Besides his widow, he survived by four brothers, Joseph Elijah of Vermona, S. Dakota; Samuel Edward of Sorento, Illinois; Jacob Daniel of Dinube, California; and Benjamin Lewis of Cripple Creek, Colorado, and one sister, Mrs. O. B. [Sophia Lucretia] Blackman of Potsdam, New York. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/menard/newspapers/obituary26nw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ilfiles/ File size: 5.4 Kb