HENRY MEYER, an old and retired German farmer of section 19, township 17, was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1814. His parents lived and died in Prussia, when quite old. The father, Conrad, was a small farmer, and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran Church. Henry is the youngest but one of the family. He and a brother Fred are the only surviving members of the family. Henry has earned his own living since he was eight years old and has made his present large fortune entirely by his own efforts. He was yet a young man when in the spring of 1833 he sailed from Bremen, on a sailing vessel, arriving at New Orleans after a voyage of nine weeks. He came up the Mississippi River and spent some few months in Missouri, but not liking it he came on to Beardstown Illinois, and settled here, being among the first settlers of the locality. They were all strangers to him. He is now the oldest settler now living in the county, which was all unbroken when he came to it in the spring of 1833. Arenzville was a small town indeed when he settled there, consisting of two log houses. Beardstown and Virginia were hamlets, and no roads marked out the township and section lines. In fact there were no improvements in the county to amount to anything. As there were no railroads the pioneers had few advantages to sell their produce when they had raised it. Mr. Meyer has lived to see all this changed, doing his full share to effect this change. He has worked hard to increase his original 186 acres to his present 380 acres, of which 250 are highly improved. The 380 acres are divided into two separate farms, each supplied with a separate set of farm buildings. Until about five years ago, Mr. Meyer worked hard, but then, as advancing age told upon him, he retired, and has been living quietly ever since, enjoying the fruits of his labors. He is now seventy-eight years old, and can point to a life of usefulness that would put to shame many an idle man.

He was married in this county to Elizabeth Talkemeyer, born near the old home of her husband in Prussia, Germany. She came to America with a brother, Frederick, in the 40's, their parents having died in Germany. After they landed in New Orleans, they came north to Beardstown, and here they both lived and died. Mrs. Meyer died at her home where her husband yet lives, September, 1884, aged sixty-seven. She was a good wife, a devoted mother, and a kind neighbor. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer were the parents of four children: Carolyn Keane, of Arenzville; Mary, wife of William Duvelmeier, of Beardstown; Henry manages the farm and married Caroline Baujan, of Arenzville; Louisa, wife of Fred Wienkencman, a farmer on one of Mr. Meyer's farms. Mr. Meyer has been a leading man for many years in his section, and one of the most prominent members of the Lutheran Church in Beardstown, and one near Arenzville, he is an ardent Republican in politics.

***Note: Karen Skinner has "Kern" and "Winkleman" as the correct spellings of the children's spouses.

Submitted by: Karen Skinner