Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Geuther, John N 1825 - 
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Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com May 9, 2007, 12:25 am

Author: Portrait & Bio Album, 1890

JOHN N. GEUTHER. The old saying that truth is stranger than fiction, is one 
with which we are all familiar, and yet which often is unheeded while we go on 
blindly supposing that strange incidents only belong to the works of fiction. 
The life of the enterprising citizen whose history it is our purpose to 
sketch, has been marked with experiences somewhat out of the usual order. He 
is the oldest of three children, whose ancestry is noted in the sketch of John 
George Geuther, found elsewhere in this Album. He was born in Saxe Coburg 
Gotha, Germany, January 4, 1825, and reared in the village of Weidhausen. The 
educational privileges of young Geuther were somewhat limited, as the schools 
were principally held during the winter months, but he improved such 
opportunities as were afforded him. He early took up farm labors on his 
father's land and he also partially learned the trade of a baker from his 
Grandfather Geuther. When he was eighteen years old his father wished him to 
come to America to see what opportunities this country afforded, and he 
therefore left Bremerhaven in 1844, landing in New York City, after an ocean 
voyage of thirty-five days. In addition to his other attainments he had 
learned basket-making from his father, and at that trade he worked five months 
in the metropolis. The summer having passed, young Geuther turned his 
footsteps southward, and reaching Charleston, S. C., completed the trade of a 
baker and worked some five years as a journeyman. He then opened a bakery in 
the same city, having his residence on Sullivan's Island, near Ft. Moultrie. 
His sentiments were all in favor of the Union, and after the breaking out of 
the Civil War he was ordered by Southern officers to quit the island. In 1862 
he went into the city, and a few months later to Mt. Pleasant, where he 
remained virtually in hiding, as he could not get North. As he was not able to 
continue his occupation he was obliged to live on what he had saved, and his 
capital gradually diminished. After the war Mr. Geuther opened a bakery in Mt. 
Pleasant, and through a providential circumstance became acquainted with the 
whereabouts of his parents, between whom and himself there had been no 
communication for years. During this time the parental family had emigrated to 
America and were living in Will County, Ill. A man who had lived at Frankfort, 
went onto a plantation near Mt. Pleasant and bought bread from our subject. A 
receipt being given him, he noted the name upon it and said that he knew the 
father and brothers of the signer, and that they would be glad to hear from or 
see him. A correspondence was at once opened, and, as soon as possible, our 
subject closed up his business and came North to visit his family, whom he had 
not seen for twenty-six years. After spending a few months with his friends 
Mr. Geuther returned to South Carolina, sold his possessions there and moved 
to Mokena, Ill., April 4, 1870. He located on one hundred and sixty acres on 
section 31, Green Garden Township, which had been purchased by his father 
before the war. The improvements upon it were poor but they have been replaced 
or added to until the estate is now in an excellent condition. Agriculture, of 
which he obtained a slight knowledge in his boyhood, has been well learned by 
him since he took up his residence in the North, and he is succeeding well in 
his enterprise. Mr. Geuther has built a commodious and substantial residence, 
barn, corn crib and other farm buildings, has further improved his place with 
drain tile and good fences, many rods of well-kept hedge serving to outline 
his fields. The land is watered by Forked Creek and every acre is tillable. 
Oats and corn are the principal grain crops, in the cultivation of which three 
teams are employed. He keeps thirteen cows and raises draft horses of the 
Clydesdale breed. Mr. Geuther has also invested in South Dakota land, having 
three hundred and twenty acres in Douglas County, which comprises two improved 
farms which are operated by his children. Credit is due him for his success, 
particularly as he was obliged to begin at the bottom of the ladder after the 
war, as the money which he had was Confederate script and consequently 
valueless. The first marriage of Mr. Geuther took place in Charleston, S. C., 
in 1857. His bride was Miss Bertha Kafife, who was born near Bremen, Germany, 
and who died in Charleston in 1866. She left three children—Bertha, who is 
married to Christ Beeler, and lives in Douglas County, S. Dak.; William, who 
is in the employ of a railroad in Sioux City, Iowa; and Christ, who operates a 
farm in South Dakota. The second marriage of Mr. Geuther took place at Mt. 
Pleasant, S. C., in 1869, and has been blest by the birth of eight children—
George, Lizzie, Lawrence, Caroline, Amelia, Augusta, Helena and Edith, all of 
whom are at home. The mother of this interesting family bore the maiden name 
of Augusta Bose, and was born in Stibnitch, Prussia, October 31, 1839. Her 
father, Johan Bose, was born in Voline, and was an overseer of fishermen; her 
mother, formerly Miss Anna Bairns, was also a native of Prussia. Mrs. Geuther 
was reared to the age of thirteen years in her native place and continued to 
live in the German Empire five years longer. She then sailed for America in 
the "Ghost," which made the voyage from Bremen to Charleston, S. C., in six 
weeks. This was in 1858, and the young lady worked in Charleston until the 
war, when she went to Wallhallow, three hundred miles north. There she 
remained until the close of the war, when she returned to Charleston. She is 
an excellent housekeeper, a devoted mother and a good neighbor. Mr. Geuther is 
a very intelligent man and his long residence in this country has given him an 
excellent knowledge of the English language. His personal characteristics are 
such that he is well liked by members of the community, and his business 
energy has given him prominence. He belongs to the Lutheran Church in which he 
holds the office of Trustee, and he is serving efficiently as School Director 
of his district. In politics, he is a Democrat. He has served on both grand 
and petit juries.

Additional Comments:
Portrait and Biographical Album of Will County, Illinois, Containing Full Page 
Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens 
of the County; Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1890

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