Biographical Sketch of Henry August Meyer, Gasconade County, Missouri >From "History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties", Biographical Appendix, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1888. ********************************************************************** Henry August Meyer, clerk of the circuit court and ex-officio recorder of Gasconade County, is a leading citizen of Hermann, Mo., near which place he was born July 5, 1850. He is the youngest of the surviving children born to Ernst Henry and Christine (Grannemann) Meyer, who were married in 1835. Ernst Henry Meyer, a native of Holtzhausen, Prussia, was born March 3, 1809; he immigrated to America in 1836, without his family, and located in Richmond, Va., where he remained about two years working at his trade, that of a blacksmith. He then returned to his native country with the intention of remaining, but becoming dissatis- fied he again set sail for America with his family, reaching Hermann, Gasconade Co., Mo., July 21, 1838, where he located for a while. Sub- sequently he became the owner of some 260 acres of land in Sections 6 and 7, Township 45, Range 4 West, 133 acres of which he entered from the Government, upon which land he resided up to the time of his death. On December 7, 1840 he declared his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, and subsequently, April 8, 1845, he was admitted to full citizenship, under the name of Ernst Meyer, in the Gasconade Cir- cuit Court. On April 29, 1870, he again sailed from New York to his native land in search of health, returning the 23rd day of July follow- ing. After the death of his first wife, he was married on August 30, 1871, to Catherine Brock, a native of Germany, with whom he lived but a short time before his death, which occurred September 9, 1871; he was buried in the family graveyard on the homestead above mentioned, about three miles from Hermann. He was a citizen well known and respected by all in the community, and was a strong Republican in politics. Mrs. Christine Meyer was born at Nordhemmen, Prussia, March 15, 1811 and died in Gasconade County, February 7, 1863, and was buried on the home- stead. Of the children born to the parents six survive, as follows: Henry August Meyer, of Hermann; Henry Meyer, of St. Louis; Louis Meyer, of Hermann; Christian Meyer, of Gasconade County; Edward Meyer, of Effingham County, Ill., and Louisa Meyer (now Mrs. Krug), of St. Louis. Those deceased are Caroline, William and Annie. Henry August Meyer, subject of this sketch, was reared on the homestead near Hermann, where he attended the public schools, he subsequently completed a normal course at the Central Wesleyan College, Warrenton, Mo., graduating in 1874. He then returned to Hermann and took charge of Frene Creek School, near that place, where he taught five years. At the August term of the county court, in 1877, he was appointed school commissioner of Gasconade County, which position he filled until the November term, 1878, when he tendered his resignation. In November, 1878, he was elected on the People's ticket as clerk of the circuit court, by a majority of 154 votes, was re-elected on the same ticket in 1882, by a majority of 130 votes, and again elected in 1886 on the regular Repub- lican ticket, by a majority of 387. From April, 1881 to April, 1887, he served as a member of the German school board of Hermann, during which time he was treasurer of the same. On August 11, 1875 Mr. Meyer married Henrietta Vedewald, who was born in Franklin County, Mo., on December 1, 1854 and is a daughter of Frederick and Mary (Meyer) Vede- wald, who came to America in 1843 and located on a farm in Franklin County, Mo., where the father died September 4, 1869; he is buried in the old graveyard of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Franklin County, of which church he was a member. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer are the parents of six children, born as follows: M. Lydia, born May 20, 1876; Benjamin F. born June 6, 1878; Martha C., August 23, 1880; Luella J., December 31, 1882; Cora F. E., August 30, 1885 and Olinda W. C., May 15, 1887. The parents are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Meyer is also a member of Hermann Lodge, No. 32, A. O. U. W. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Joe Miller Penny Harrell ====================================================================