IN SEARCH OF HISTORY… With Tazewell Co. Genealogical and Historical Society
In Memoriam Card
IN SEARCH OF HISTORY… With Tazewell Co. Genealogical and Historical Society [1 Image]
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The next meeting of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society will be on Tuesday, May 12th at 7pm. The program will be “Tazewell County’s Agricultural Manufacturing Roots” presented by Kevin and Hayden Fay.
Ehme T. Rieken
The memoriam card below was recently donated to TCGHS along with many old photos. The card is an excellent example of the period in Pekin when so many still spoke German and would publish things in both languages.
Also, this month, on Sunday May 17, Fruhlingfest (German Springfest) is back. The German American Central Society will be serving from Noon to Six at Avanti’s Event Center. TCGHS is a sponsor this year so please stop by and enjoy a little German hospitality.
And finally, on Saturday, May 30 at 10am, TCGHS is holding a dedication ceremony at Antioch cemetery honoring several Revolutionary War Veterans that are buried in Tazewell County. We have commissioned several markers that will be placed in various cemeteries around the area. We’ll hand out a list of all of them at Antioch that day.
All history is local until it is woven together with other stories to become part of the National fabric and there is no aspect of National history that doesn’t touch Tazewell County. Immigration has always been a big part of the story.
Ehme T. Rieken
Ehme was born 2 November 1821 in Westerende, Hanover, Germany. He married Catharine M. Linnemann 25 April 1849 in Hanover. The couple immigrated to the USA and had arrived in Pekin by 1856 as evidenced by a mortgage deed in TCGHS archives. Ehme’s Declaration of Intent to become a citizen was dated 12 June 1860 and his Final Oath was taken 18 April 1864 at the Tazewell County Courthouse.
Ehme was a blacksmith whose shop was on Margaret near Third street and likely did a lot of work for the Smith’s. The Rieken family home was on Catharine Street just west of Fourth. All three of his sons were employed as painters for the Smith enterprises.
The couple had four children: Thomas (1849-1914), Fredrick (1854-1901), John H. (1860-1939) and Anna (1862-1914) who married Jacob Sipfle. Only Thomas, who married Louisa Hess, had children survive to adulthood. Those children were Catherine Trent (1874-1940), Lambert (1879-1954), Anna Welsh (1882-1961) and Otillie Harrison (1884-1934).
The memoriam card below was recently donated to TCGHS along with many old photos. The card is an excellent example of the period in Pekin when so many still spoke German and would publish things in both languages.
This card is also an example of the type of ephemera that TCGHS collects along with letters, journals, diaries, photos, postcards, business ledgers, scrapbooks, maps, atlases, local business advertisements and so much more. We do NOT accept clothing, furniture, trophies or sports equipment. If you have something you would like to donate, please don’t hesitate to stop by.
Also included in the donation was a photograph of the dashing young lawman. Meet Fred L Fisher (1844-1909) who was listed as a City Marshall in the 1880 census. He was married to Caroline Snell (1847-1892) with whom he had three children that made it to adulthood: Clara Finney (1868-1897), Cora (1870-1892) and George (1874-1934).
Fred’s wife and daughter were drowned in the Frankie Folsom disaster 12 July 1892 at Peoria. They were members of the Rebekah Lodge of the Odd Fellows. As the grieving husband and father stood over the dead bodies of his loved ones, Fred swore he would kill Capt. Loesch on sight. However, he was persuaded by his friends to go home.
The family was buried at Lakeside cemetery in Pekin.
The Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society is an award-winning 501c3, all volunteer organization that has been in continuous service to our members and the public for 47 years. TCGHS operates an archive, library, and research facility at 719 N. 11th St., Pekin. Visit our website at www.tcghs.org to learn more about us. If you have any point of interest that you would like to know more about, stop in at TCGHS or drop us a line.