Biographical Sketch of Michael Poeschel, Gasconade County, Missouri >From "History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties", Biographical Appendix, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1888. ********************************************************************** Michael Poeschel, retired merchant and founder of the Stone Hill Wine Company, of Hermann, Mo., was born May 30, 1809, in Altenburg, Saxony, Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1839, locating in Her- mann, Mo., where he founded the Stone Hill Wine Company, in 1861, which has gained a world renowned reputation. The firm name was M. Poeschel & Scherer. Wine was first made here from grapes in 1846 in small amounts by himself, Messrs. Riefenstahl, Strecker, Langendoerfer and others. The first quantity shipped to market was in 1848 (a thousand gallons), by Mr. Poeschel. He became wealthy in that business and re- tired from active work in 1883. The entire community has been greatly benefited by this enterprise. March 18, 1855, witnessed the marriage of Michael Poeschel to Catherine Wagner, daughter of George A. Wagner (deceased). To their union have been born six children, four of whom are living: Johanna, Amalia (Mrs. Adam Starck), Hedwig (Mrs. George Kraettly) and Helena. Mr. and Mrs. Poeschel are members of the Luther- an Church, and are well known and worthy citizens of the county. ==================================================================== 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 ====================================================================