In the books' own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. The later printing (1912) is folded below the first. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
From History of Madison County, Illinois ... With biographical sketches .. (1882), Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912 (1912)
CALEB B. GONTERMAN.
The Gonterman family, on the paternal side, is of German ancestry. Henry Gonterman, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Germany. Caleb B., the father, who was better known as Capt. Gonterman, was born in Kentucky. He came with his father, whose name was Jacob, to Illinois, in 1818, and settled in what is now known as Pin Oak township, and there entered and bought land, and followed the occupation of farming until his death. The latter event occurred in September, 1861. He married Miss Elizabeth Miller, daughter of Michael Miller, of Monroe county, Illinois. She died in 1848. He afterward married Mrs. Gillenwaters nee Hall. She is also dead. By the first marriage there were five sons and four daughters, six of whom have survived the parents. Caleb B. is the youngest of the family; he was born in section 27, in Pin Oak township, Madison county, Illinois, October ist, 1834. He grew to manhood on the farm, and remained in the county to the present time, except two years, when he was absent in Ohio. In 1858 he bought eighty acres of land in Marine Prairie, and farmer it for eight years, then sold out and purchased the land where he now resides. It was slightly improved, but all the buildings, (of which there is a large and commodious farm-house on the place), have been erected by him. There he has resided since 1866. On the 22d of December, 1858, he was united in marriage to Miss Lydia, daughter of Jesse and Nancy Bartlett, old and prominent settlers of Madison county. She was born in Madison county. May 16, 1837. The Bartletts were among the first settlers in the county. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gonterman three children, whose names are Thomas E., Jessie O. and Laura A. Gonterman. Mr. Gonterman has been a staunch Democrat since 1856, when h'e cast his first vote, which was given for James Buchanan for President. The Gontermans, as will be seen by the foregoing, belong to the pioneer families of Illinois. Several generations have been born and passed away since they came to Illinois. They were all, in their occupations, wedded to the soil, and were then, as they are now, among the substantial farmers of the county.
Was a native of Madison county, born February 5, 1810. He was the son of Jesse Bartlett, who was one of the pioneers of the state. Here he grew to manhood, and May 12, 1831, married Nancy Ann, daughter of Daniel E and Sarah (Ingram) Adams, who died May 21, 1855. In May, 1857, he married his second wife, whose name was Sophia Stallings. By the first marriage ten children were born, whose names are given in the order of their birth: Joseph, who married Nancy Ann Whiteside, by which union there are five sons and one daughter; Daniel, who is dead. He married Sarah Elizabeth Sappington, and left three children. Lydia is the wife of Caleb B. Gonterman, and they have three children. William R. is dead. He married Mexana Green, and left six children. Sarah, wife of Elias Hauskins, who has four children. Nancy Catherine has been thrice married, lately to William Seuacer. She has two children living by her former husbands. Martha Elizabeth, wife of Frederick W. Berger, who have four children. Rhoda Adeline, who is the wife of William S. Judy. They have three children. Jesse Allen, died in his fifth year, and John in his infancy.
By the second marriage of Mr. Bartlett there were seven children, whose names are: Anna Eliza, James JI., Austin (dead), George Sherman, Lincoln S., Charles F., and Martin E. The latter three are also dead. Mr. Bartlett remained in Madison county until August, 1870, when he removed to Chariton county, Missouri, and there remained until his death, January 11, 1873. His body was brought back, and now lies interred in the old burial ground on the old homestead. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk War, and was first lieutenant of a company.
As printed in History of Madison County, Illinois ... With biographical sketches .. (1882). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
Caleb Ball Gonterman, familiarly called “Charley,” son of Caleb Ball and Elizabeth (Miller) Gonterman, was born Sunday, October 1, 1834, on a farm two miles north of
Troy, where he grew to manhood and remained until his marriage to Miss Lydia Bartlett, December 22, 1858, with the exception of two years, 1855 and 1856, which he spent in Ohio. He received his early education in the District School, which, at that time, was practically limited to the three R’s. He was very fond of mathematics and was a student all his life. Biography, history, and the science and affairs of government, were to him absorbing subjects, and his memory of matters pertaining to these subjects was wonderful. Politically he was a Democrat, staunch, but not radical, and progressive in that he was always willing to learn and anxious for improvement. His first vote was cast in 1856 for James Buchanan for President. In business he was industrious, untiring and always hopeful. When crops failed and others about him became discouraged, he, endowed by nature with unceasing energy, would rise up with renewed effort and greater activity to overcome the loss. He was connected with many of the noted families of early days, being a direct descendant of the Balls and Starks of Revolutionary fame.
Mr. Gonterman’s great-grandfather, Henry Gonterman, married a Cass, and to their union were born three sons: Jacob, Peter and John. The family originally lived in New Jersey, but later removed to Kentucky.
The grandfather, Jacob Gonterman, was born March 27, 1767. Hannah Gonterman, his wife and the daughter of Jonothan Stark, was born January 6, 1771. Jonothan Stark married a Ball and had six children, namely Jonothan, Jesse, Joseph, Job, Hannah and Polly or Mary. Jacob Gonterman married Hannah and his brother, John Gonterman, married Hannah’s cousin, who was also a Stark. The Stark family removed from Pennsylvania to Kentucky while Jacob Gon german was fighting in the Indian wars. Neither family were slave holders. According to tradition, Jacob Gonterman also had cousins by the name of Ball. The Ball family, in America, originated from two brothers who came from England to America in the year 1650, one settled in Virginia and the other in New Jersey. The Virginia Ball, Colonel William, later became the great-grand father of Mary Ball Washington, mother of George Washington, and the New Jersey Ball her great-great-uncle. From these two brothers grew two branches of the Ball family; Caleb Ball, the once great financier of New York, belonged to the New Jersey branch.
The relationship of the Gontermans to Mary Ball has been handed down through the several generations, but to which branch of that great family belong the Balls who married the Gonterman and Stark has never been fully traced.
Jacob Gonterman married Hannah Stark in Kentucky and later removed with his family to Madison county, Illinois, settling on the northwest quarter of section 20 in Pin Oak township, which he tilled until his death in 1840. His wife died the preceding year. To Jacob and Hannah Gonterman were born four sons and six daughters, viz: Caleb Ball, Sarah P., John S., Jacob C., Caty Katurah, Elizabeth M. and Mary M. (twins), Hannah P., Lucinda Ann and William M. The last named died a bachelor, the others were married as follows: Caleb Ball to Elizabeth Miller; Sarah P. to John Lindley; Jacob. C. to Elener McCoy; Caty Katurah to Daniel Luttrell; Elizabeth M. to Josiah K. Gillham; Mary M. to Julius L. Barnsback; Hannah P. to I sham M. Gillham and Lucinda Ann to Ross Houck.
The eldest son, Caleb Ball, born August 20, 1797, was given the name “Ball” for Hannah Stark’s mother — “Caleb” being a name much used in the Ball family. The second son, John Stark, was named for Hannah Stark’s father, and was born September 14, 1800. The third son, Jacob Cass, born August 20, 1802, was given the name “Cass” for Jacob Gonterman’s mother.
The father, Caleb Ball Gonterman Sr., better known as Captain Gonterman, was reared to farm pursuits. He was born in Kentucky, August 20, 1797, and died in Pin Oak township, Madison county, Illinois, September 11, 1861, on the farm, northwest quarter of section 34, where he had lived during all his married life. His wife, Elizabeth Miller, was of German descent, her father being Michael Miller, an Illinois pioneer, who died, at an advanced age, at Waterloo, Illinois. Elizabeth Miller-Gonterman died June 28, 1849. To their union were born nine children, viz: Jacob M., Cecelia, Eliza J., Hannah P., Nancy, John S., William Ross, Caleb Ball and Samuel W., of which number Eliza J., of Fairfield, Illinois, alone survives. These children were married as follows: Jacob M. to Sarah Ann Carver; Cecelia to Oswell Nelville Geers; Eliza J. to Samuel Ray Whiteside; Hannah P. to John Hughes; Nancy to Volney Moore; John S. to Mary Ann Purviance and Caleb Ball to Lydia Bartlett.
In religion the Gontermans were staunch Baptists. Through the different generations, whether members of any church or not, all were inclined to that faith. On April i8, 1828, a little band of seven, consisting of Rev. Thomas Ray and wife, Jacob Gonterman and wife, Dr. Benjamin F. Edwards and wife and Eliza A. Adams met at the residence of Dr. Edwards and organized the First Baptist Church of Edwardsville.
Caleb Ball Gonterman, of this review, married Miss Lydia Bartlett, a member of an other well known pioneer family, their union occurring on December 22, 1858. Mrs. Gon german was a native of Pin Oak, the same township in which her husband resided, May 16, 1837, being her natal day. Her parents were Jesse and Nancy Ann (Adams) Bartlett, the former of whom was born in Madison county February 5, 1810. He died in Missouri January n, 1873, to which state he had removed three years previously. He was one of nine children in the family of Joseph and Patience (McCoy) Bartlett, who also came from Kentucky and located on the north west quarter of section 21, Pin Oak township, Madison county, Illinois, in 1809 and tilled the soil until their deaths at the age of eighty-eight and seventy-seven respectively. Joseph Bartlett was a native of Virginia, born in 1775; leaving that state he lived for a time in Knox county, Kentucky, from whence, in the year 1809, he removed to Madison county, Illinois. During the war of 1812-14 he built a block house near his home, which was in good condition as late as 1834. He was a over of books and his habits were domestic. He was active politically and affiliated with the Whig party. Mr. Bartlett was the first treasurer of Madison county after its organization, and a justice of the peace for many years. He spent much time with his books and his mind was well filled with general information.
Mrs. Gonterman’s mother was a native of Tennessee, who came with her parents, Daniel and Sarah (Ingram) Adams to Illinois in 1830. There were born to Mrs. Gonter man’s parents ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom the eldest son, Joseph, and the five daughters are still living. Both the father and the grandfather of Mrs. Gon german served as soldiers in the Black Hawk war and won distinction for valorous service.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gonter man located in Marine Prairie and there followed farming until the fall of 1866, when he purchased 180 acres of the present home farm, which includes a portion of the old Bartlett homestead, and established the country place known as “Walnut Hill’’ which is famed far and wide for its hospitality and agrarian perfection. Three children blessed their union, all of whom are now living. They are: Thomas E., of Granite City, Illinois, and Jessie O. and Laura A., who are at home with their mother. The son, Thomas E. Gonter man, is one of the leading merchants of Granite City, where he is the owner and proprietor of a large jewelry establishment. He married Rosette Pitts, daughter of John and Nancy (Brown) Pitts, of Mascoutah, Illinois, and they became the parents of four children, namely Cyrus B., Nigel C. L., Joseph Wilbur Pitts and Courtney John. On December 22, 1908, Mr. and Mrs. Gonterman fittingly celebrated their golden wedding at Walnut Hill.
Industry and thrift were admirably paired in Mr. Gonterman’s nature. He was a hard worker and saved and invested shrewdly. He never lost interest in the home farm, but dwelt there contentedly until his death, which sad event occurred November 23, 1911. Mr. Gonterman possessed rare business ability and achieved great success as a farmer, in which vocation he was more or less active until his death. He was a citizen of great intrinsic worth. He served his home township in many official capacities but, beyond that, had no political ambition. His life was gentle and he was courteous, kindly and considerate — a man without enemies but possessing a multitude of devoted friends. He was universally esteemed and respected, and, because of his many excellent qualities which phone forth in his everyday life, he will be long remembered in the community where he lived and died.
C. H. Spilman. Among those of Edwards ville who have been called away to solve the unending mystery of the ages, but who still live in their work through the latter’s excellence, is C. H. Spilman, who was for sixty years a resident of this city. The master of several trades and of several professions, he is remembered most generally for the years of service which he gave to architecture, his fav write calling. During a period of forty years the greater number of buildings erected in Edwardsville, whether of the most pretentious or the most humble, were of his designing. He entered into rest on Sunday, April 17, 1904, at the age of seventy-one years, one month and twenty-eight days.
As printed in Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912 (1912). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
Named in this biography: Elias Hauskins (b. 1832) George Washington
The printed record stops around 1882. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.