Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Bieth, Xavier 
************************************************
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 ddhaines@gmail.com November 10, 2007, 12:10 am

Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County

XAVIER BIETH, who is engaged in farming in Troy Township, was born in 1831 in 
Alsace, then a part of France, but now a German province. He was reared on a 
farm operated by his father, John Bieth, and from an early age assisted the 
latter in his work. At sixteen years of age he was apprenticed to the 
shoemaker's trade, which he followed for some years afterward. He was not, 
however, content to remain in his native land, where the opportunities for 
success were so few and the hardships so many. He therefore resolved to seek a 
home in the new world. In 1853 he took passage on a sailing vessel that 
anchored in New York after a voyage of thirty-six days. Coming direct to 
Illinois, he secured work in the construction of the Chicago & Alton Railroad, 
but after he had been working forty-one days, the contractor left secretly, 
and he received no remuneration. His first experience in our country was far 
from encouraging, but he had the faith to believe that better things awaited 
him. His next employment was as a farm hand, for which he was paid $8 a month. 
After having worked for others for eight years Mr. Bieth rented a farm and for 
six years engaged in its cultivation. Meantime he frugally saved each year's 
profits and was finally able to buy a place of his own. His first purchase 
consisted of eighty acres in the southern part of Troy Township, and he 
remained there for some time, working with painstaking care upon the place and 
increasing its value by his improvements. In 1881 he bought a farm of two 
hundred and twenty acres. In the cultivation of the land he met with success 
from the first. He has added to his holdings until he now has three hundred 
and sixty acres, of which he operates one hundred and twenty acres, and rents 
the remainder. Among the improvements he has made is a windmill seventy-five 
feet high. While Mr. Bieth has not been active in politics, he is a stanch 
Democrat, and never fails to cast his ballots at elections. In 1860 he married 
Ellen Lynk, by whom he has seven children, namely: John; Mary, wife of John 
Stepher; Joseph; Frank; Josephine, wife of George Stephens; Theresa and Emma. 
The family are members of St. John's Roman Catholic Church. In all of his 
business transactions Mr. Bieth is exceedingly cautious; this trait of 
character being probably emphasized by reason of his early unfortunate 
experience in America. Conservatism is one of his most marked traits. When, 
however, he is convinced of the value of an enterprise, he is ready to give it 
his co-operation and assistance. All through his active life he has been a 
hard- working man, and his industry and perseverance have been rewarded by the 
accumulation of valuable farm property.

Additional Comments:
Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing 
Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical 
Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/bieth1024gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/

File size: 3.5 Kb