Biography - ADAM DEAHL

Adam Deahl, a prominent citizen of Macoupin county, who for several years past has been living retired at Shipman, was born in Allegany county, now Garrett county, Maryland, March 18, 1840. He is a son of Andrew and Matilda (Shultz) Deahl, the former of whom was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, near Frankfort, Germany, in 1809, and the latter in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1820. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Baulshar Deahl who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt about 1764 and was the father of six children, namely: Henry and Conrad, both of whom died in Germany; Baulshar, who came to America and settled in Maryland where his death occurred; Elizabeth, who married John Stein, of Hickman, Lancaster county, Nebraska, and is now deceased; Andrew; and Catharine, who became the wife of John Steivnagel, of Garrett county, Maryland, and is now deceased. Henry and Conrad were soldiers under Napoleon Bonaparte and died after returning home, from the effects of the hardships which they underwent in the Napoleonic compaigns.

Andrew Deahl, father of our subject, received his early education in the public schools of Germany and at the age of twenty-six years came to America, landing at Baltimore, Maryland. In 1833 he went to Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and worked on a farm near Pocahontas. Later he removed to Allegany county, Maryland, and assisted Adam Shultz in completing a contract which Mr. Shultz had taken for constructing a section of the National turnpike between Baltimore and Wheeling. After the completion of the work, in 1835, Mr. Deahl was married to Matilda Shultz, a daughter of his employer, and bought some timber land in Allegany county. He cleared away the timber and made his home there until 1865 when he came west with his children and their families and settled at Shipman, Illinois. He purchased land which he cultivated for a time but in 1879 disposed of his farm and moved to Lancaster, Nebraska, purchasing a section of land near Hickman. After a few years he retired, dying at an advanced age in 1886. Thirteen children were born to Andrew and Matilda Deahl, as follows: Elizabeth, the widow of Casper Martin, of Hickman, Nebraska; Adam, of this review; Katharine, who became the wife of John Martin, of Hickman, and is now deceased; Henry, who makes his home at St. Louis, Missouri; Sarah, the wife of Ferdinand R. Kahl, of Shipman, Illinois; Mary, who married Thomas Hillier, of Hickman, Nebraska; Huldah, who became the wife of Silas Webster, of Shipman, Illinois, and is now deceased; Sevilla, who died at the age of six years; John A., a resident of Caldwell, Kansas; Emma Jane, who passed away at the age of four years; George W., who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah; Chauncey F., of Lincoln, Nebraska; and Nancy Matilda, who died in infancy.

Adam Deahl received his early education in the public schools of Maryland and assisted his father upon the home farm until twenty-one years of age. He then began renting land upon his own account and so continued until 1865, when he came to Shipman, Illinois, to look over the country. In the fall of the same year he moved his family to Shipman and engaged in contracting and building, having learned the carpenter’s trade in the east before coming to Illinois. He erected a number of substantial structures in Shipman and vicinity, among which may be named the Evangelical Lutheran church of Shipman. In 1876 he bought one hundred and twenty acres of land of his father and took up his residence on his farm but did not discontinue his contracting business entirely until 1891. In 1885 he purchased a second tract of one hundred and twenty acres and in the year following acquired one hundred and twenty acres additional, the last two purchases being on sections 22 and 14, Shipman township. He still owns his farm of three hundred and sixty acres. He erected new buildings and commodious barns and granaries, making his place one of the best equipped farming establishments in Macoupin county. He engaged quite extensively in the dairy business and maintained fifty head of Shorthorn cows, being one of the largest dairymen in this section. In 1906 he retired from active labor and moved to

Shipman where he built a beautiful modern residence of thirteen rooms which stands in an entire block of ground. About fourteen years ago he assisted in organizing the Shipman Banking Company and is now serving as vice president of that institution.

On May 19, 1861, Mr. Deahl was married to Miss Elizabeth Simon, who was born in Allegany county, Maryland, April 25, 1845, a daughter of John and Katharine (Peck) Simon. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Deahl was George Simon, who was born in Frankfort, Germany. He was a member of a distinguished family of landowners, his wife, Elizabeth Ringer, of Frankfort, also belonging to a family of large landowners. Mr. Simon came to America with his wife and four children and settled at Accident, Allegany county, Maryland, in 1831. They were the parents of six children: John, the father of Mrs. Deahl; Carolina, who became the wife of Balsar Fultz, of Iowa, and is now deceased; Katharine, who married John Georg of Accident, Maryland, and is now deceased; Theodore, who lived in Garrett county, Maryland, and is also deceased; Mary, the wife of Samuel Rodemer, of West Salisbury, Somerset county, Pennsylvania; and Huldah, who married Samuel McCrorey, of New York city.

John Simon, the father of Mrs. Deahl, was born in 1825 and was reared on his father’s farm. In 1866 he came west with his family and located one and onehalf miles north of Farmersville, Montgomery county, Illinois, where he continued during the remainder of his life. The maiden name of his wife was Katharine Peck, a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania. Her father, Henry Peck, was of English descent and her mother, Eva Beachley, was of Pennsylvania Dutch parentage. To the union of John and Katharine (Peck) Simon were born eighteen children, namely: Elizabeth, who married Adam Deahl; Joseph, who died in Allegany county, Maryland; Susanna, now the wife of Chris Segrist, of Humboldt, Nebraska; Benjamin, who also died in Allegany county, Maryland; Sarah, who married John Huntley, of Morrisonville, Illinois; Sevilla, the wife of Jacob Neff, of Salina, Kansas; George, who made his home at Farmersville, Illinois, and is now deceased; Louisa, who married Aaron Lentz, of Adrian, Missouri; Henry, of Allegany, Maryland, also deceased; Jonas, who makes his home at East St. Louis, Illinois; Mary, who died at Allegany, Maryland; Catherine, the wife of Samuel Reber, of Lawrence, Nebraska; Huldah, who lived in Allegany county, Maryland, and is now deceased; Julia, now Mrs. Edward Browning, of Waggoner, Illinois; Lucinda, the widow of James Vaughn, of Girard, Illinois; Alice, the widow of John Didlock, of Wyoming; and John and Adam, both of whom died in infancy. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Deahl, one of whom died in infancy. Matilda married Lafayette Clardy, of Katy, Texas. Perry*died very early in life. Susan E. married Samuel Schaefer, of Shipman township, and they have six children living, namely, Charles, Seaman, Walter, Emma, Martha and Stella. Andrew also died early in life. Henry C., is in charge of his father’s farm, in Shipman township, and a record of his life is given elsewhere in this work. Mary Ellen married William Clower, a farmer of Shipman township, and they have three children, William, Gladys and Ann Ellen. Royal A. married Hattie Gillespie and they have four children, Roberta, Toleda, Lorein and Adam Robert. Virginia died when she was sixteen years of age and Lottie, at the age of one year.

Politically Mr. Deahl, whose name introduces this sketch, has given his adherence to the democratic party ever since he arrived at his majority. He served as school director at Shipman for one term but after that time declined public office. Religiously he has for many years been identified with the Evangelical Lutheran church of Shipman and is one of the councilmen of the church. His success in life is attributable to a capable direction of his business afifairs and his sound judgment and close application. No man in the county stands higher in the estimation of friends and acquaintances and few have contributed more materially toward the development of this region. His business integrity has never been questioned and today he enjoys in peace and prosperity the results of his well directed endeavors.

Extracted 15 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 410-417.