Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Stellwagen, 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 ddhaines@gmail.com September 7, 2007, 9:00 pm Author: Genealogical & Biographical Record HENRY STELLWAGEN. In spite of the lapse of years since his death, Mr. Stellwagen is well remembered by the people of Frankfort Township, among whom he had always made his home. He was a young man possessing many worthy traits of character, and his sudden death, at the very outset of his career, was deplored by all of his acquaintances. Reared on a farm and familiar with agriculture from his earliest recollections, he had drifted easily into the occupation of a farmer, for which he seemed to have a natural aptitude. Thorough-going and progressive, had his life been spared he would undoubtedly have attained a place among the wealthiest farmers of the township, and probably, too, would have been prominent in local affairs. As it was, he left his family in comfortable circumstances, his property including a farm in Frankfort Township and another in Greengarden Township. On a farm owned by his father, Philip, who was a pioneer of this county, Henry Stellwagen was born November 15, 1850. His boyhood years were passed in the schoolroom and on the farm. Possessing an industrious disposition, he early took a place among the rising young farmers of the township. As a tiller of the soil he was energetic and thrifty. In the rotation of crops he showed excellent judgment. It was his aim to secure from each acre of ground the largest possible results. He had good ideas in regard to farming. Agricultural machinery was introduced whenever possible or expedient. While the management of his farm kept him very busy, he nevertheless found leisure for other interests. He was very fond of music, and for some time was a member of a band. In politics he was not especially interested, although he discharged his duty as a citizen and cast his ballot for Democratic men and measures calculated to advance the public good. In 1871 Mr. Stellwagen married Miss Mary Bechstein. Five children were born of their union. The oldest daughter, Christina, is the wife of Reinhold Eichenberg, a commission merchant in Chicago. Annie, at home, is a teacher; Philip died at the age of two years and six months; Mary is assistant postmistress, and Henry, who attended the Athenaeum College, clerks in a wholesale jewelry store in Chicago. August 15, 1882, Mr. Stellwagen was struck by lightning and instantly killed. He was then thirty-two years of age, a strong and active young man, with every prospect of a successful future. Since his death his widow has superintended the management of the farm property and the education of her children. She possesses decided business talent, and has superintended her affairs in an intelligent manner; at the same time she has held a high position in social circles and has won many warm friends among the people of the village. 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/stellwag947gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 3.6 Kb