Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Koepke, William J ************************************************ 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, 4:09 am Author: Past and Present of Will County, IL; 1907 William J. Koepke, engaged in general merchandising in Peotone, has developed a business of gratifying proportions and has made a creditable record by the commercial ethics which he has followed. He was born in Monee, Will county, in 1872, a son of Christian and Wilheimina (Buethe) Koepke, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to the United States with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Koepke, when fourteen years of age, the family home being established upon a farm in Green Garden township among the pioneer residents of Will county. Although reared to agricultural pursuits Christian Koepke was for twenty-five years a merchant of Monee, and a prominent representative of commercial interests in his section of the county, but during the past fifteen years he has lived retired from business, having through his capable management and the careful husbanding of his resources obtained a competence that enables him to rest from further labors. He now owns three farms in Green Garden township and also has landed interests in Kansas. He is a member of the German Lutheran church, in the work of which he takes an active interest and to its support contributes generously. Eor many years he has been a loyal democrat and at different times has acted as president of the villiage board of Monee. In 1904 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away at the age of sixty-two years, in the faith of the German Lutheran church, of which she had been a devoted follower. They were the parents of five children, of whom two died in infancy, while Doretta died in 1891. The living daughter, Lena, is now the wife of William Plagge, a retired merchant of Monee. William J. Koepke, the only surviving son, attended school at Monee and also the Metropolitan Business College in Chicago. He entered commercial life as a salesman in a drug store in Chicago where he remained for five years, after which he pursued a course of pharmacy in the Chicago College of Pharmacy and was there graduated. In 1894 he bought out the general stock of merchadising of Frederick Wahls, of Peotone, and has since been continuously in business, covering a period of twelve years. He carries a good line of dry goods, clothing, groceries, furs and other general stock and has a liberal patronage, which is accorded him in recognition of his reasonable prices and his honorable business methods. Mr. Koepke was married in 1895 to Miss Bertha Wahls, who was born in Peotone, in 1875, a daughter of Frederick and Catherine Wahls, the former a pioneer merchant of the village. Mr. and Mrs. Koepke have one daughter, Catherine, now six years of age. They are members of the Lutheran church and theirs is one of the most beautiful homes of Peotone, having been erected at a cost of six thousand dollars. It is beautifully furnished and gives every evidence of a refined and cultured taste. Mr. Koepke supports the democracy and has served as a member of the village board for a number of years. Community interests awaken his earnest admiration and many movements for the public good receive his hearty endorsement and co-operation. 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/koepke2554nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 4.0 Kb