One of the many German citizens of Macoupin county who has met with
notable success in his agricultural pursuits is August Hacke, of Brushy
Mound township. His birth occurred in Brunswick, Germany, on the 9th of
October, 1841, and he is a son of Hartwig and Augusta (Burgdorff) Hacke.
The father was born and reared in Brunswick and served for three years
in the army of that duchy. The mother was a native of Hanover. The
paternal grandfather, Henry Hacke, was born in Brunswick in 1800 and
there he followed the cabinet-maker’s trade until his demise at the age
of sixty-four years. Hartwig Hacke emigrated in 1852 with his family to
the United States, landing in New Orleans on the 26th of December. They
moved northward to St. Louis and on the 15th of January, 1853, located
on a farm in Macoupin county, that now constitutes the north portion of
the city of Carlinville. Here the father, who was also a cabinet-maker,
passed away in 1857. To Mr. and Mrs. Hartwig Hacke were born five
children, of whom our subject is the eldest and the only one now living.
The others were Henry, Harmon, Gustave and Henrietta. The last named
died in infancy.
The first eleven years in the life of August
Hacke were spent in Germany where he began his education. He
supplemented the same by further study in the schools of Carlinville
after settling here, but much of his time was given to assisting his
father with the work of the farm. After the latter’s death he remained
with his mother, devoting his energies to the cultivation of the home
farm until the breaking out of the Civil war. When the call for troops
came he responded by enlisting on the 9th of August, 1862, and went to
the front from Carlinville with Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-second
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under General John I. Rinaker. He saw
considerable active service and participated in the battles of Parker’s
Crossroads, Tupelo and Nashville, in addition to which he was in a
number of, minor engagements and several sharp skirmishes. He was
mustered out on the 14th of July, 1865, having been in the service for
two years and eleven months. Returning home he resumed his duties as a
private citizen and again turned his attention to agricultural pursuits
on the old homestead. He remained there until 1871, when he bought one
hundred and twenty acres of land on section 20, Brushy Mound township,
where he resided until he built his present residence, also on section
20, and removed to the farm where he is now living in 1905. Possessing
unremitting energy, perseverance and the thrift that usually
characterizes the Teutonic races Mr. Hacke has met with most gratifying
success in his endeavors. He has invested his money largely in real
estate until he now owns seven hundred and fifty-five acres of land on
sections 17, 19, 20, 28 and 29 of Brushy Mound township. Pie retired
from active work four years ago and now rents his farms to his sons.
On the 26th of May, 1866, Mr. Hacke was united in marriage to Miss
Margaret Drews, a daughter of John and Rebecca (Jaeger) Drews, both of
whom spent their entire lives in Germany. Mrs. Hacke emigrated to the
United States in 1866, in April of which year she located southeast of
Carlinville, where she has ever since lived. To Mr. and Mrs. Hacke there
have been born eleven children, as follows: Edward, who is deceased;
Almelia, the wife of C. M. Rhodes, Jr., a farmer of Brushy Mound
township; William, also a farmer of this township, who married Matilda
Bhen, a native of Macoupin county, having been reared in Brushy Mound
township; Adolph, a farmer of Carlinville township, who married Anabel
Schaefer, also of Carlinville; an infant who died at the age of three
days; Charley, a farmer of Brushy Mound township, who married Mary
Griffiths, of the same township; Fred, residing on the old homestead,
whose wife was Della Killam, of Brushy Mound township; Bertha, who is
unmarried and living at home; Arthur, a farmer of Brushy Mound township,
who married Etta Rhodes, of Polk township; Harrison, who died at the age
of five months; and Theodore, who is living at home with his parents.
Mr. Hacke is a republican in politics and has always taken an
active and helpful interest in all township affairs. He served for
twenty-two years as supervisor of Brushy Mound township and for the past
ten years he has been discharging the duties of justice of the peace. He
is a respected member of Dan Messick Post, No. 339, G. A. R., of
Carlinville, in which organization he has served as senior
vice-commander and commander, and is now chaplain of the post. Despite
the exactions of his extensive personal interests he is one of the men
who always finds time to fulfill his duties as a public citizen. He
takes an active interest in all affairs of the community, the
development of which he strives to advance along the best lines and in
accordance with the highest ideals.
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 438-440.
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