Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Ammann, Henry ************************************************ 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: Deb Haines http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00003.html#0000719 February 6, 2008, 2:21 am Author: Past and Present of Will County, IL; 1907 Henry Ammann, displaying a spirit of business enterprise and perseverance which enables him to overcome difficulties and obstacles, is now a prosperous merchant of Peotone. He was born in Germany in 1850 and when only about four years of age was brought to the United States by his parents, John and Frederika (Laugude) Ammann, both of whom were natives of Germany, in which country they were reared and married. As stated, they crossed the Atlantic in 1854 and settled upon a farm in Cook county, Illinois, where they lived for six years, the place being located about fourteen miles west of Chicago. On his arrival in the new world John Ammann had a capital of only three hundred dollars. Acting on the advice of a friend, Adam Glass, he purchased eighty acres of prairie in Kankakee county, his home being twelve miles from any other habitation. The countryside was overrun with deer and there was also many other kinds of wild animals. All the evidences of pioneer existence were here to be seen and the unsettled condition of the district is indicated by the fact that he only had to pay two dollars and a half per acre for his land. He brought with him to America a family of eight children, and though it was with difficulty he provided for them in the earlier years of his residence here, he neveitheless lived frugally and industriously and in the couise of time became prosperous. He was an ideal pioneer settler; bravely meeting the hardships and dangers of pioneer life and aiding in making the county what it is today. In 1860 he removed to a farm of eighty acres in Kankakee county, about three miles from Peotone, which he had rented. He lived thereon for two years and then removed to his own farm of eighty acres, which he improved, breaking the wild prairie and transforming the tract into richly cultivated fields. There he continued his residence, and as the years passed by he met with success; so that he was enabled to spend his last days in comfort. He held membership in the German, Lutheran church and his life was characterized by an honest, Christian purpose and by unfaltering fidelity to principle. His political allegiance was given to the republican party. He passed away in 1891, at the age of eighty years, having for some time survived his wife, who died in 1887 at the age of seventy-four years. She was also a member of the German Lutheran church. In their family were seven children, as follows: Kate, the deceased wife of Will Snyder, a pioneer blacksmith of Peotone; Margaret, the wife of Jacob Triem, a retired farmer living in Monee; Charlotte, the wife of Frank Yatler, a retired famer, of Sherburne, Minnesota; John, a retired farmer, of Triumph, Minnesota; Henry, of this review; Phoebe, deceased; and Ellen, the wife of Lewis Snyder, a farmer of Kankakee county. Henry Ammann was reared to agricultural life. His educational privileges were meager, for there were no public schools at that early day on the prairie. He, however, had the privilege of attending the schools of Peotone for two years and in the school of experience he has learned many valuable and practical lessons. He worked upon the home farm until 1880, carrying on the place on his own account for three years. He then came to Peotone and established a hardware business in connection with Frederick Wahls, under the firm style of Wahls & Ammann. This relation was continued for six months, when the store was destroyed by fire. Mr. Wahls then sold his interest in the building site to Fred Hasenmeyer, with whom Mr. Ammann again rebuilt and secured a stock of hardware. The store was opened and that firm continued for a year and a half, when Mr. Ammann purchased his partner's interest and conducted the business alone until January, 1906, when he admitted his two sons, Albert and Harry, to a partnership. He has been very successful and now has a large and well appointed store, in which a liberal patronage has been accorded him. He also owns good real estate in Peotone, together with one hundred and sixty acres of valuable farming land in Will county and two hundred and forty acres in Kankakee county, from which farms he derives a good income. In 1876 Mr. Ammann was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Smith, who was born in Maywood, Cook county, Illinois, in 1859, a daughter of John and Dorothy (Conrad) Smith, the latter a sister of John Conrad. The parents came from Germany in 1854, settling in Cook county, and Mr. Smith was employed at railroading. Unto him and his wife were born ten children, of whom the following reached adult age, namely: Lizzie, the wife of Fred Hasenmeyer, who is engaged in painting at Kensington, Illinois; Mrs. Ammann; John, now deceased; Will, who is connected with the American Steel & Wire Nail Company, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Harry, who is engaged in merchandising in Whiteside county; Albert, who is with his mother in Whiteside county, his father having died in 1901, at the age of seventy-three years, while the mother is now seventy-five years of age; and Tillie, the wife of Clarence Haviland, station agent at North Aurora, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Ammann have become the parents of a daughter and two sons: Alice, the wife of Chester Melville, who is in the office of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, at Chicago; and, Albert and Harry, who are in partnership with their father. The former married Agnes McMann, a daughter of James and Anna (Thurston) McMann. In his political views Henry Ammann has always been a stalwart republican and has served as trustee of the village but has preferred to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs rather than upon political activity. He and his family are attendants at the German Lutheran church, to the support of which he contributes. For more than half a century he has lived in Illinois and the greater part of his life has been passed in Will county, so that he has been a witness of its growth and development, and in Peotone has taken an active part in those interests which have led to the upbuilding and improvement of the village. He manifests in his life many of the sterling characteristics of his German ancestry, being a worthy representative of that portion of the Teutonic race who have taken so active and helpful a part in the colonization of Illinois and the promotion of its material prosperity. Additional Comments: PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/ammann2527nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 7.2 Kb