Two of them were surgeons, two owned cigar companies, one was a race car driver. The youngest elected was 22, while the oldest elected was 64. One later served in the State Legislature, while another was appointed Assistant Secretary of State, and five received numerous United States Presidential Appointments to positions within the Federal Government.

Each month on the 10th as we approach the Bicentennial we will be placing a floral wreath from The Greenhouse Flower Shoppe in Pekin at the gravesite of these 22 individuals. This is the twelfth in this series of twenty-two recognitions. Additionally, we will share the biographies and signatures of these county government leaders, thanks to the research to Susan Rynerson of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society and Jared Olar of the Pekin Public Library. Please join us as we build momentum for the historic Tazewell County Bicentennial by honoring and recognizing these tremendous individuals.

This month we recognize Lot Bergstresser, 1898 - 1906, of the Democrat Political Party. Lot Bergstresser holds the distinction of being the oldest individual elected to the office of Tazewell County Clerk at 64 years old when he first took his oath of office, and with his son Fred Bergstresser they are the only Father/Son combination to serve in this vital County Government Office.

Lot Bergstresser was born in Selinsgrove, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, on April 17th, 1834, to Peter (1788-1863) and Elizabeth Ulrich Bergstresser (1792-1851). Peter Bergstresser was a veteran of the War of 1812 and both of Lot’s grandfathers Philip Bergstresser and Johann Ulrich were Revolutionary War veterans. Lot Bergstresser was educated in public schools, at age 16 he went to work for his father in the cabinet making trade.

He moved to Pekin, Illinois, in 1854 with his father and found employment in a dry good store. His older brother Rueben Bregstresser had moved to Pekin earlier in 1849. In 1872 he became a junior partner in Stout & Bergstresser Grocery Store. He bought out his partner in 1878 and the business continued until 1891. He then opened a shoe store under the name Bergstresser & Craft, until 1896.

Lot Bergstresser married Anna L. Crittenden (1839-1913) on October 27th, 1859, and then had six children. Clara, Nellie, and George all died young and are buried with their parents in Lakeside Cemetery. Minnie (1865-1943), Cora Woods (1874-1955), and Fred (1877-1949) all relocated to Kansas City after their parents died and made their homes there.

Lot Bergstresser served as a Pekin City Alderman in 1869, two terms as a member of the School Board, and Pekin Township Supervisor from 1895 to 1898, when he resigned to take the office of Tazewell County Clerk. Lot Bergstresser defeated incumbent Tazewell County Clerk Adolph Fehrman by 74 votes on November 8th, 1898, with a vote total of 3476 for the Democrat candidate to 3402 for the Republican incumbent. He was 64 years old when elected Tazewell County Clerk, the oldest candidate to be elected to this position. His son, Fred L. Bergstresser, followed him as Tazewell County Clerk in 1906.

Lot Bergstresser died on July 12, 1911, and is buried in Lakeside Cemetery in Pekin.