August Zelmer, who is one of the most extensive feeders in Macoupin
county, owns a fine farm of two hundred acres in North Palmyra township,
that he has been cultivating for twenty-four years. He was born in
Wisconsin, his natal day having been the 15th of October, 1855.
Frederick Zelmer, the father, was born and reared in Prussia, Germany,
whence he emigrated to the United States in 1852, locating in St. Louis.
After a brief residence in that city he went to Wisconsin, where he
spent three years, during which time he met Miss Annette Haupt, also a
native of Germany, to whom he was married in 1854. They began their
domestic life on a farm in Wisconsin, but later came to Macoupin county
and purchased one hundred and fifty-three acres of land in North Palmyra
township. Mr. Zelmer engaged in the cultivation of his homestead until
his death in 1889, at the age of sixty-six years. He was survived for
twenty years by his wife who passed away when she was seventy-one. Mr.
and Mrs. Zelmer were the parents of eleven children, of whom the son
August is the eldest.
Being the eldest of a large family the
educational advantages of August Zelmer were somewhat limited and
confined to the brief winter sessions of the district schools in the
vicinity of his home. From his earliest boyhood he assisted his father
in the work on the farm, remaining under the parental roof until he had
attained his majority. He then began to set out for himself and for four
years thereafter worked by the month as a farm hand. During that time he
managed to acquire sufficient means to enable him to begin his career as
an agriculturist, so he rented a farm that he operated until 1887.
Unceasing industry, thrift and capable management enabled him to save
sufficient to buy his present homestead, which contains two hundred
acres of highly cultivated and well improved land that he devotes to
general farming. He has always made a specialty of feeding stock for the
market, and annually ships from seven to ten carloads of cattle and
hogs. Since 1893 he has been giving a great deal of attention to the
breeding and raising of Poland China hogs and Shorthorn cattle, having
met with most excellent success in his efforts in this direction.
Mr. Zelmer’s plans for a home of his own had their culmination in
his marriage on the 20th of January, 1881, to Miss Luthella F. Strate, a
daughter of Steven B. and Margaret S. (Davis) Strate, natives of Ohio.
The father came to Macoupin county when very young, and here he has
resided for over sixty years, his people having settled here when this
section of the state was little more than a wilderness. With his wife
and family he removed to Iowa where he engaged in farming, the
occupation he has always followed, for three years, during which time
Mrs. Strate passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Zelmer have been born five
children: Bertha E., who married Coy Nevins, a farmer of North Otter
township and they have three children: Mildred, Mabel and Eva; Clara L.,
who became the wife of Edgar Turner, a merchant at Modesto, and they had
one child, Marian, who died August 21, 1911; Mamie T., who married
Leonard Sullivan, a farmer in North Dakota; the two sons, Steven
Harrison and Hurley F. are at home with their parents.
In
politics Mr. Zelmer has always been an ardent republican, but his father
gave his support to the democratic party. He takes an active interest in
township matters and has served as supervisor, school director and
assessor. He has met with success in his undertakings, which fact is all
the more commendable because it must be attributed to his own efforts
solely, and he is now living practically retired, his sons relieving him
of much of the care and responsibility of the farm.
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 419-420.
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