There is no project instituted for the advancement and upbuilding of
Mount Olive which does not find a stanch advocate in Frank J. Aberle,
one of the prominent citizens of this community. He is one of Illinois’
native sons, his birth having occurred in O’Fallon, on the 16th of May,
1869. His parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Aberle, were natives of Germany,
and Louisiana respectively, and after their marriage they lived for some
years at O’Fallon and at Freeburg, Illinois and then, in 1875, removed
to Belleville. In 1887 they took up their abode in Mount Olive, where
the father was killed in the mines in 1901. The mother still survives
and is yet residing at Mount Olive.
Frank J. Aberle spent the
period of his boyhood and youth in the home of his parents and acquired
his education in the public schools of Belleville. As early as his
fourteenth year he laid aside his text-books and entered the ranks of
the wage-earners, becoming a clerk and helper in a grocery store in
Belleville, where he was employed for about four years. He then went to
Staunton and there accepted a position in the mines, being thus engaged
at that place and also at Mount Olive for several years. In 1893 he
severed his connection with mining interests and became a bartender in
the saloon which he now owns. One year after accepting this position, he
opened a bar of his own and for seventeen years has been connected with
that line of activity in Mount Olive. Possessing excellent business
ability and keen discrimination, he has prospered in such measure during
the intervening years that financially he ranks today among the
substantial and influential men of Mount Olive. His interests extend
into other channels, also, and he is now secretary of the Mount Olive
Ice, Cold Storage & Fuel Company and a stockholder in the Wire
Reinforced Harness Manufacturing Company.
It was on the 19th of
March, 1891, that Mr. Aberle was united in marriage to Miss Mamie
Mitchell, of Mount Olive, and unto them have been born four children, as
follows: Gertrude, residing at home, who graduated from the Mount Olive
High School with the class of 1909 and who is now engaged in teaching
music; Amelia, who died at an early age; Lena, a freshman in high
school, who bears the proud record of having never missed a day nor been
tardy a minute since she started to school; and Philomene, a pupil in
the graded schools.
Fraternally Mr. Aberle belongs to the German
Lodge, U. O. T. B., No. 86, of Mount Olive, and for fourteen years has
served as treasurer of the lodge. He is a republican in politics and is
a conspicuous figure in the party ranks here. In 1901 he was elected to
the office of village clerk and has since held that office continuously.
Preeminently a public-spirited man, he is always foremost in any
movement pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the community, and
occupies a prominent place among the leading representatives of Mount
Olive, whose efforts have been potent forces in the development of this
locality.
Extracted 14 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 336-337.
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