Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Wilke, Hon Fred 1829 - ************************************************ 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 May 9, 2007, 12:00 am Author: Portrait & Bio Album, 1890 HON. FRED WILKE, of Beecher, is one of the most prominent men in this part of the county. Not only is he well known as a general dealer in all kinds of grain, as a farmer and breeder of Holstein cattle, but he has also come before the public as an official who has served with credit to himself and his constituents in the legislative halls of the State. He moved to Beecher in the fall of 1889, succeeding to the grain trade of Mr. H. Matthews, deceased. Prior to that time he had resided on his farm, which is located on sections 17 and 18, of the fractional part of Washington Township. The estate comprises three hundred and thirty-five acres, favorably located and well improved, and has practically been made what it is by the present owner. The Hon. Fred Wilke was born in Westphalia, Germany, March 17, 1829. His father, Herman Wilke, was a native of the same Province and belonged to a respectable family who were engaged in husbandry. He married Elizabeth Waltman, who had been well and carefully reared, after his marriage settling near their birthplace. When our subject was eleven years old the wife and mother died, at the age of thirty- nine years. The husband and father survived but three years, being fifty-eight years old at the time of his decease. Both parents were active members of the Lutheran Church and endeavored to train their children in paths of usefulness. Their family comprised five children, one of whom died in Germany; the others came to America and three are yet living, two making their home in Will County, Ill., and the other in Lake County, Ind. After he was old enough to enter the army our subject served his country, according to the custom of that land, his connection with the soldiery being from 1850 to 1852. In the spring of 1854, he embarked at Bremerhaven on a sailing vessel which anchored at New York City after a voyage of six weeks. Mr. Wilke went directly to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he found employment as a teamster, making that city his home until 1860. He had visited Will County, Ill., in 1857, purchasing land which was slightly improved and upon which he settled in 1860. It was situated on section 17, Washington Township, and is a part of the estate now owned by him. The energy of Mr. Wilke soon gave him a prominent position among the farmers and stock-raisers of the vicinity, and ere long he was enabled to add to his landed estate and put the whole place under excellent improvement and cultivation. The first marriage of Mr. Wilke took place in his native land, his bride being Miss Ann Nunker, who was born in the same neighborhood as himself and whose good qualities he thoroughly understood. A year after he had come to America she followed him across the briny deep, joining him in Cincinnati, where she died at the birth of her second child who did not long survive. Mrs. Wilke was but twenty-four years old when called from time to eternity. She was a birthright member of the Lutheran Church and had consistently carried out its teaching in her daily life. Her first-born, Mrs. Lizzie Scheiwe, died at the age of thirty-four years, leaving three children. The second matrimonial alliance of Mr. Wilke was contracted in Cincinnati, his bride on that occasion being Miss Stena Brutlag, who was born in Westphalia. She was reared to the age of twenty years in her native land and then crossed the ocean alone, coming to Cincinnati, where soon afterward she became the wife of our subject. She is the mother of two children, one of whom died in infancy. The living is a son, H. F., who married Miss Lena Meier, who died leaving one child—Fred. He subsequently married Miss Sophia Meier, who, although bearing the same surname, is not related to his first wife. This union has been blest by the birth of four children: Emma, Lena, Amelia and Herman. H. F. Wilke now occupies and operates his father's farm in Washington Township. He is a Republican in politics and he and his wife belong to the Lutheran Church. The subject of this biographical sketch is now serving as Supervisor and Treasurer of the township, the former of which offices he has held almost continuously since 1870, the only exception being the time when he was representing the county in the Legislature. He has been Assessor some years and Collector one term. In 1888 he was elected to the State Legislature, where he proved to be a valuable worker for the good of the constituency which he represented and the interest of the county at large. His record as a member of committees and a worker on the floor is creditable to himself and those who elected him. He is a sound Republican. He and his wife are active members of the Lutheran Church and prominent in every good work which is going on in the community. The personal traits of Mr. Wilke are such as to give him the reputation of a "first-class fellow" and he exerts an extended influence for all that is moral and elevating. 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 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/wilke1475nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb