MICHAEL KINSCHERFF. Scattered over the New World are settlements of German-born citizens, and none who have emigrated to our shores have manifested a higher average of thrift, steadiness and reliability than these. Particularly is this true in the agricultural districts and to the German farmers our country owes much for the rapid development of some sections of her territory. Calhoun County is not without her share of these enterprising men, and none are better deserving of representation in a volume of this nature than Michael Kinscherff, now a resident of Crater Precinct.
The eyes of our subject opened to the light December 13, 1841, in Bavaria, Germany, where he was reared to manhood under the care of worthy parents, Nicholas and Elizabeth Kinscherff. Under the efficient school laws of the Empire, he received a good education in his native tongue and he has since gained a fair knowledge of English. In early life he obtained a knowledge of the details of farm life and determined to devote himself to the calling in which his ancestors had labored. Becoming fully persuaded that the New World would afford a broader field for his energies than his own land, he bade adieu to home and friends, and reaching Havre, France, took passage on a steamer from which he landed in Portland, Me., after an ocean voyage of eighteen days.
Mr. Kinscherff at once made his way to Cincinnati, Ohio, where for a time he was employed as a teamster. In 1865 became to Calhoun County, Ill., purchasing the farm in Crater Precinct now owned by Chris Shuman. He subsequently settled on section 10, where he is still living and where he has acquired three hundred and forty-five acres of land. Financially self-made, Mr. Kinscherff has set an example of persistent and painstaking industry which may well be emulated by younger men, who might reap an equal reward if they would be content to follow in his footsteps.
In December, 1865, our subject contracted a matrimonial alliance, having won for his wife Magdalena Leiser. This lady was born in Baden, Germany, March 21, 1843, and was in her ninth year when her parents, Thomas and Barbara Leiser, emigrated with their family to America. They spent a short time in Greene County, Ill., whence, in 1853 they came to Calhoun County, settling in Carlin Precinct where both parents died. Mr. and Mrs. Kinscherff are the parents of six children, named respectively, Frances, John, Bernhard, Albert, Emma and Catherine. The first-born is now the wife of W. B. Kamp.
The political affiliation of Mr. Kinscherff is with the Democracy and his religious membership is in the Roman Catholic Church. He holds the office of Judge of Elections in Crater Precinct and is School Director in the district in which he lives. While his personal affairs and the associations of home fill his mind, they do not exclude some consideration of the rights and privileges of his fellow-men, but he finds time for and takes enjoyment in lending a helping hand to those projects which will increase the prosperity of this section of our great commonwealth.
Extracted 16 Mar 2017 by Norma Hass from Portrait and Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois, published in 1891, pages 471-472
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