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Note: Operated Soda Water Factory East Side of 2nd Street between Spring and Richland Streets. May have changed Street Names after 1900.
APRIL 5 1872 SOLD 11 ACRES OF LAND TO BELLEVILLE NAIL & MILL CO. $3860
1860 Census List the following:
Louis(Lewis) Abegg age 45 Josephine (wife) age 49 Sophia (dau) age 16 Caroline (dau) age 15 Amelia (dau) age 13 Allentine (dau) age 10 born at sea Louis (son) age 8 Charles (son) age 1 ohters listed living in household: Anna Gishley Female age 17 Chas Rather Male age 27 Jacob Simely Male age 24
Miller (1980:8) illustrated and described a Hutchinson bottle embossed �A. KOOB / BELLEVILLE / ILL� on the front and �B.G.CO.� on the back heel. Although Miller used a capital �O� in �CO,� this was typewritten in the text rather than drawn on the bottle. The �o� may have been lower case. Koob purchased the soda works from Louis Abegg in 1879 and operated it until he died in 1888. His son, Jacob, continued to run the firm after his father�s death until ca. 1894.
Family Storytelling: The 1850 Diary of Louis Ab egg and Other Tales By Jack Le Chien Josephine Bonaparte, a diary of an immigrant�s voyage to America, a raging, deadly cholera epidemic, and a witness to a Belleville speech by Abraham Lincoln: What links these events? They are personal stories; some handed down verbally , and some written , which become a family�s lore. Louis Ab Egg and Josephine Burgy lived in small towns nestled between Lake Lucerne and Lake Zug, at the base of the Swiss Alps, in an area known for its storytelling. They were born just a few miles from the Swiss town of Altdorf, the fabled scene in 1307 of William Tell�s famous crossbow shot that split an apple on his son�s head. Tell became a national symbol of independence from Austrian rulers, although there is some doubt about the validity of the legend. Louis Ab Egg was born in 1815 at Sewen, Canton Schwyz, Riggi Kulm. Jospha Burgy was born in 1812 in Arth, which is on a route that leads to St. Gottherd Pass over the Alps to Lake Como, Italy. Josepha�s family operated an inn on Riggi, the mountain, and Kulm, the plateau travelers climbed to view the beautiful scenery on the Swiss side. From the Kulm to the lake levels it is ,� populous with inns, pensions(boarding houses), hydropathic establishments�. (1) Burgy�s Kulm Haus in 1838 was described as a, �barrack, with fifty beds and fair accommodations. Twenty years afterwards it was enlarged�provisions were taken up by pony or porters. Franc and a half for bed, three francs for supper. Charges were extraordinarily low. �(2) Josephine de Beauharnais married Napoleon Bonaparte on March 9, 1796, and traveled often between Paris and Milan, Italy, using the St. Gottherd Pass from Switzerland to Italy. Author Phineas Camp Headley described the beauty of the mountains:�The Alps lift their solemn brows into the azure, girdled with cultivated fields, mantling foliage, and glittering with ice-plains, that flash in the sunlight like a motionless sea of diamonds.�(3) Josephine�s �excursions to the Apennines, Lake Como, and especially Lake Maggiore, afforded her refreshment of spirit and frame.�(4) According to Josepha, her mother, Josephine Burgy, as a young girl, sang happy birthday to Josephine Bonaparte as she rested on a bed of straw in a wheelbarrow outside Kulm Haus ,before resuming her trip to Lake Como. Louis and Josepha married in 1837. After thirteen years of marriage, they decided to trade the ruggedly picturesque scenery of the Alps for the flat land of Illinois. Three Ab Egg children died at birth. Five children, and another expected soon, would make the trip across the ocean. Louis kept a diary that logged the many difficulties they endured on their adventure. He had an interest in a �bierbrauerri� and his wife had a partial interest in Kulmhaus, the inn operated by the Burgy family. 1
(Innkeeper Josephine Burgy, who sang for Josephine Bonaparte. The photo of an oil painting was provided by Harold Graf, an Abegg family descendent.)
Louis�s diary devotes several pages to the breakdown of credits due and debts owed between him and brother-in-laws Caspar, Mathias and Geno Burgy , but his journal makes no mention of why they wanted to move to America, and additionally, why in the summer of 1850, when Josepha was within weeks of giving birth. Ab Egg�s brewery was located at Sewen, Canton Schwyz, an area linked to local lore. �The name �Swiss� and �Switzerland�, supposed to be derived from the canton of Schwyz, though long in familiar use, did not form the official style of the Confederation until 1803. Schwyz�.signifies �clearing the ground by fire�, and, again, it is derived from �Sweiter� and �Swen�, two brothers who are said to have founded it; and these family names, common in Sweden, are now heard in the valley of Schwyz.�(5) Louis�s record itemized anticipated expenses for travel, food, lodging, bedding and utensils; such information was gladly provided by the Swiss Consul at Le Harve so immigrants could plan to have 2 enough money to make a successful voyage and not become stranded, penniless residents in need of charity.
(Louis Ab Egg�s brewery, Sewen, Canton Schwyz, Switzerland, as shown on the cover page of his diary.) The crossing from Le Havre to New Orleans, including groceries, bedding and cooking utensils,was estimated to be 762 francs. The final leg from New Orleans to St. Louis is listed at $183 for the seven member family. Louis identified several contacts in the United States, among them �Monsieur H. C. Gustav Conrath of Mascouta, St. Clair County, Illinois, North America,�.(6) On July 13, 1850, two suitcases were shipped to Le Havre. One large suitcase contained : �3 pr. Boots, 2 pr. shoes, 3 pr. Children�s shoes, 2 tobacco pipes, 1 brandy mug, 2 pr. winter stockings, 2 pr. socks, 1 pr. wooden shoes, 9 bed sheets, 4 suits, 24 men�s shirts, 17 ladies shirts, 8 napkins, 13 towels, 2 coats, 4 pr. Pants, 2 vests, 5 children�s dresses, 1 woman�s dress.� (7) A smaller suitcase included: �4 men�s shirts, 11 boy�s shirts, 2 women�s skirts, 8 napkins, 1 pr. Children�s stockings, 1 zither, 4 sheets, 2 silk scarves, 6 night caps, several prs. of white stockings, some books. The suitcases arrived July 31, 1850 in Le Havre.�(8) Louis�s description of the adventure begins August 3, 1850. It was translated from German to English by a descendent after the family arrived in Illinois. 3 �We traveled with Mr. Schindler of Sewen to Luzern with the night post to Basel. We were in a small wagon, so jammed together that we almost mixed up our children.� Two days later: �arrived in Basel, thereafter by Post to Paris. Again, in such great throng of people.� The third day: �In Paris, arrived here at the Post where we were met by several innkeepers. Our innkeeper went with me quickly into Paris, for as much time as we had, we saw the madness of Paris.�(9) The trip would not be easy for Josepha who was in the final days of her pregnancy. �In the evening we rode the train to Le Havre. The nobleness of Paris, I must mention, my wife, in her condition, had to ride in an uncovered freight wagon on top of belongings from the Post to the railroad station,� Louis noted.(10) The following entries begin August 7, 1850. �Arrived in Havre in company of a Miss Geschwend of St. Gallen, and two sisters who also wanted to go to St. Louis. We were well taken care of and reasonably by our innkeeper. We paid two francs per day, plus one-half for the children, everything included. 8th We procured ship tickets. Price has been raised. We had to pay 100 francs per person. 9th Evenings, after looking at the lighthouse at the port, I went to the Mense, which is being held here at night. Wonderful to see are the shops for miscellaneous items, the music and play. We had no umbrella and were wet to the skin. 10th We went to the harbor. Two ships were leaving for New York with favorable winds. I nearly shuddered thinking I would encounter such swaying in the near future. At night I took my wife to that wonderful Mense. In the morning I took a walk with Miss Geschwend, at which time her pocketbook containing her money purse was stolen. Luckily, there was not much in it. 11th Took my suitcase aboard ship, had to pay 40 francs. In the evening I watched some riders. 12th Purchased my groceries. Francs 257. The ship should be leaving tomorrow. 13th Had much to do until the groceries were aboard the ship. All kinds of tips. Nothing for free here. I already had a great hole in my money bag. Had favorable wind and all sorts of sails, 22 in all were raised. 14th Lots of wind, but not favorable, had to tack, moved not from the spot. Vomiting started already. I had to do the cooking, since I felt well but wife and children were not well. Fights broke out in the middle deck because of light burning and noise. 15th Always unfavorable winds. My family was feeling better. We went to the foredeck to get some sun. 4
(The port of Le Harve, 1850. Image courtesy of Joseph Morlent Album Du Voyage au Harve et aux environs. www.bmlisieux.com diffusion libre et gratuite.)
16th No wind at all but nice weather like middle of summer at home. Most of the passengers are on the foredeck. The cooking went somewhat better, considering the poor arrangement. There were 250 persons to cook in 20 kitchens. We received so little water that everyone complained. By evening I didn�t have a drop left, asked the cook to give me half a bowl. He would not. A man gave me some, out of generosity towards my children. 17th Still no wind, at noon a little. The sailors are saying that with favorable wind we could have made it this far in 7 hours. My wife thinks she is having labor pains. That�s great! No sick bay, no doctor, no midwife, nothing (help yourself.) A great way to give birth in the middle of the ship, surrounded by 250 people. A Hungarian cabinetmaker by name of Grisei who was next to us with his family volunteered to help me. I gladly accepted, had to accept. 18th This night at 2 o�clock, things were progressing. We made 2 curtains around the bed and awaited with pounding hearts the final outcome. Soon a little girl came into the world without any noise, it proceeded so quietly that the passengers were amazed the next morning that they did not notice anything going on, and we were happy that we had such good luck. Happily I erected a Metie, which I didn�t know how, but at such time of need, one can do anything. My wife was feeling well, but there was no warm soup, etc. We had to wait until morning when we were allowed to build a fire. I reported this to the captain and begged him to allow me to get something out of his kitchen for my wife, which he allowed. The cook brought soup twice, and once a bunch of chicken bones, which I showed the captain, but it made no difference. The captains eat and drink very well and worry little about the 5 people. Like when I told them in Le Havre that my wife was expecting, �no need to worry, there will be doctor on board ship.� 19th At night, strong wind. Again the seasickness began but I was feeling well. We all slept in one bedstead. Pretty mess! 20th There was more favorable wind. But my wife received nothing from the kitchen. 21st Once again, I went with one of the English speaking people to the captain about my wife. He again gave the order: Nothing out of his kitchen. We helped ourselves as well as we could, luckily we planned our purchases well so that we could make all kinds of soup. 23rd Battle in the kitchen, one after the other, thank God I came through it o.k. 24th Strong and favorable wind. Boxes tumbling over each other, cooking utensils rolling around and there was laughter during dinner because the ship leaned so much that you couldn�t stand up. 25th My wife was doing very well, she is up, the only thing lacking is the kitchen, what I could not help. Today I saw a sailor being beaten horribly with a whip because he did not perform his duties properly. We passed the island. (Portuguese). During the evening fights broke out in the middle deck-always are arguments, that is a type of people like the devil. 26thth Nothing new. 27th Some drunks causing trouble again, I finally had to get rid of one from our bedstead by kicking him in the rear. 28th Good wind and warm weather, so that we took everything off except shirt and pants. But that was just as well because by cooking, one became so black from the coal smoke that one looked like a pig. 29th Rain. We had to stay in the hole. It was so steamy that it was almost unbearable. 30th Best of winds. We watched flying fish. Note: two Parisian girls made good profits aboard ship. 31st Winds unfavorable, but very warm. People are saying it is getting warmer every day. September 1, 1850 Favorable wind, one believes that we should arrive in New Orleans next Sunday, what seldom happens in such short time. 2nd Our child contracted the Flaps (trench mouth), was very sick. We had strong wind. We were in the midsection of the ship, where to our luck, the pitching and rolling were not as severe as in front or rear. 3rd Because of the heat, the eggs are starting to go bad, and the wine is foaming. Everyone wanted to use up their eggs, so there was a great deal of baking, etc.
6 4th The captain put an end to a fight. We had no wind at all, afternoon we saw large fishes, like large dogs, they came out of the water and sprayed high up. Supposedly, there will be a storm. 5th Unbearable heat, always disputes in the kitchen, recommend everyone to wear old clothes to the kitchen, because at cooking one comes out looking like the devil. 6th Favorable wind and strong. Everything was topsy turvy. If one would want to imagine how it looked where we were quartered , so you can think of a beggar stable, only they have better order. Because on this ship, it is not rare to see meat, butter tubs, water bottles, suitcases, chamberpots, everything rolling over and under each other. Favorable wind, but rain, what is welcome because of the heat. 7th Nothing new. 22 sails rigged, we believe we will see the islands tomorrow. 8th The kitchen is improving. Every morning black coffee and well baked potatoes; noon- soup and meatloaf, often small cakes and all sorts of baked things in the evening. 9th Nothing new. Mornings passed the islands. Soon to be redeemed from all this. 10th Still strong wind, but pitifully hot. I slept on the foredeck. 11th Rainy, everyone had to stay in the hole. We passed the island Dominica, met a Portuguese ship. We passed real close to each other, the captains talked to each other. 12th No wind at all. The ship is totally stopped, terribly hot. Our children all suffered heat rash, but that was gone again in a few days. 13th We saw large fish again, a sign that there will be wind, they are coming toward us. We are passing the island Cuba. We hope to be in the Gulf tomorrow. 14th Very favorable wind-everyone is happy to be released soon. The water is beginning to stink. 15th Always good wind. The helmsman caught a fish of about 5 lb. This animal has beautiful coloring. 16th A child died, a sailor took it and unceremoniously threw it overboard. It was quickly out of sight. Evenings there was bartering on the middle deck, no kind of order. Too bad for the orderly people that they have to be continually molested by these dogs. 17th Passed the island in the gulf. There was strong wind, no one could remain on the foredeck. The ship pitched and swayed so badly that the deck was so slanted like a house roof. If one wanted to get from one side to the other, you had to get a running start, otherwise you would land on the floor, and not softly. 18th Very cold and still sick from yesterday. We bettered out stomachs with hard tack. 7
(Birdseye view of New Orleans, artist J. Bachman, 1851, Library of Congress. The scene shows ships from the gulf passing New Orleans and heading up the Mississippi River.) 19th No wind at all-the ship stands still. There was much bread being thrown into the ocean, all gray. Nobody took much of the hard tack, and none of the ordinary bread. Rather than that, they took half the allotment of the finer white bread. 20th Really good wind, we are almost flying and everyone is happy to see the steam boat which is to pick us up and take us to New Orleans. 21st The wind receded again-this morning no wind at all. 22nd Still no wind, but best of hopes. Groceries were becoming sparse, but it could not be otherwise, because in the cellar, there was such bad order that no one knew where his potatoes were. Everyone had to pass by when they carried water to the stove and the sacks were being walked on and everything was trampled so that it was a disgrace. They started to spoil so that more than 50 sacks were gone to the dogs. I found mine on the first day and stashed them so well that I even sold 2 sacks in New Orleans. 23rd Another child died, which found the same fate as the first. Today we are finally being picked up by 8 the steam boat. We are going towards New Orleans and see all sorts of ships and many of them. 24th Arrived in New Orleans, everyone put on their holiday clothes, so that we hardly recognized each other. 25th I lugged my belongings onto a steamboat which is going to St. Louis. We paid $2 per person, children half-fare. 26th Today we left on the �Amazona� on the evening at 8 o�clock. There were so many passengers that many had to sleep on the floor. There was another funny experience- 300 people on one cook stove.
(An 1850�s steamboat passes Cairo, Illinois, en route to St. Louis. Image courtesy of Steamboat Times.com) 27th Today a man died directly under our bedstead. In the morning he was taken ashore and buried in the woods. 28th Today again 2 dead, one believes it is the cholera. These were also taken ashore and buried in the woods. In any case, I would not recommend anyone to get into such a crowd of people and to check first how many people will be going on such a ship if he does not want to risk his life. 29th Again, 2 dead. Again they were buried in the woods. There I saw my first American farmer cabin. A white farmer had his house abutting the cabin for the negroes. There was a young negro and a negro woman which looked at us in a friendly way. Our children looked at these people in wonder, they 9 wanted to catch the young chickens that were there and play with them. 30th Again, 3 dead. My wife, because of lack of room, had to fix the children�s hair on one of the deathbeds. We come to the town Napoleon (Arkansas) which is halfway to St. Louis. October 1 Again, several dead- I really don�t like this because people who were o.k. in the evening were dead the next morning, but I�m keeping up a good spirit until the end. 2nd Now is the time to get out. This morning, again several dead. A Prussian who had traveled with us came to me; he had the bedstead next to me and said: �Schweizer, take your family which is still well out of here, my children have this ship�s sickness, or you will be with yours in danger.� It seemed like everyone was infected. I took the mattress to the foredeck. It was terribly cold, I covered my wife and children to the best of my ability. I walked the whole night back and forth, I had to keep from freezing, now and then took some Cognac to renew myself. The cold night came to an end, but my family was still freezing. We were unable to get our boxes and night sacks out, everything was still down below and I was afraid to go down there. I gave someone 10 cents to bring everything out. The well meaning neighbor was not doing well, because on the same evening his 5 children died, and next morning, his wife. 3rd The next day as one realized we were almost freezing to death with our children we were allowed to go to the cabin of Miss Geschwend where we could not all stand when we were all in the cabin. Evenings we laid on the floor and under the bedsteads and didn�t mind at all, just so we didn�t have to be out in the air. We were almost normal. In this fashion, we made the rest of the days. I don�t even want to mention about cooking, we begged a little bit of meat from the waiter and made that do us. Today we ran aground on a sandbar which took 3 hours to get free and I repeatedly believed that the overworked machinery would fly into the air. 4th We did not travel last night because of the darkness. I was always in trouble with the children because of the cold. 5th We think we should arrive in St. Louis tomorrow. Always many dying, it was a mob scene on the foredeck, everyone wanted to be up above, no one below anymore. 6th Today, arrived in St. Louis. We were glad to be here because there were 102 deaths. Thank God we were spared. When I came to the �Schweizewrhaus� I had planned to continue my trip to Mascoutah at once, but there laid a letter from our relatives saying that they were no longer there, had sold their house and moved to Hannibal, Missouri. We were to follow them, they had already made plans for us and they think it would be good for us there. I managed to get us onto a steamboat on the same day and at 8 o�clock evening, we started out. I paid $9 to use a cabin, I didn�t want to be below again, and get sick and die, and secondly, it was so cold that the river almost froze. 7th Today we reached Alton where we could proceed no further because of ice. We had to return to St. Louis, I received $6 back. 10 8th We went to �Schweizerhaus� Inn in St. Louis, where we spent 4 days. I looked around the beer brewers for work, what I would have been able to get. I rented 2 rooms, bought a cook stove and kept house here. Another letter from my relatives came to the innkeeper, asking him to advance us some money in case we did not have anymore, and asked us to come as soon as possible, but it is said that it will be impossible to leave for at least two months because of the frozen river. 9th Today we settled into our quarters. 10th I could not think of anything better as to be patient and accept this situation, and to think of spending the winter here. However, my money was just about gone, nice position for me to be in. 11th It gets worse. I become sick. The doctor had to come. Everywhere sickness, it seems to me the whole world was on top of me, the doctor thinks I have cholera. 12th It has not gone well with me. I almost gave up hope, believed to be at the end, that everything that has happened that can happen. We received another letter from our relatives and a credit in St. Louis. 21st I have been in bed now for ten days, it is going better. Today came Juli, brother of my brother-in-law, who really helped me a lot during my illness. He said that a steamboat was leaving for Hannibal this afternoon. We want to leave, I gathered my strength and we are leaving in spite of how bad I felt. 22nd Today 9 o�clock evenings we arrived here, our relatives welcomed us affectionately, and we were given a room right away where we made a fire and rested. 25th We always took our meals at the table with our brother-in-law who is very good to us, I am getting better every day, so that I believe to be well again in a short time. I�m planning to earn something and prospects look good. I�m starting to make Liquer- Absinthe, and it seems to go well, if only I had more money to outfit myself decently, but I only have three Napoleons (60 francs) and am in another part of the world. Thank God that I have a good brother-in-law, who supports me and my family in every way, because we eat as well as at home. But I don�t wish to be back in Europe because I believe I will be happy here. Consequently, arrived here on the 22nd, October, 1850.� Louis had referred to Juli and Beno Burgy, his brothers-in-law, who must have left Mascoutah about the time Louis was leaving Le Havre. The census-taker listed Beno in Mascoutah on August 15, 1850. Cholera may have been the reason why the Burgys left Mascoutah. The July 12, 1849, Belleville Advocate recorded 101 deaths in the previous month from the �frightful destroyer. A Citizens City Health Committee has been appointed and cleared the streets of filth, spread chloride of lime on streets, alleys and cellars and maintained large fires of bituminous coal tar and sulphur at street corners.� Not knowing the cause of cholera promoted questionable cures. Among the suggestions:� burning coffee in sick rooms because the aroma is healthful and grateful,� and,� a change of wind to north or northwest, a dry elastic atmosphere, and a continuing of the present sanitary 11 systems, promises returning health.� (11) By the end of July 1849, the newspaper noted the disease was related to stomach complaints and urged Belleville readers to follow this advice: �Let all intemperance be avoided�.let everyone restrain his appetite for unripe fruit, unwholesome vegetables,�. let there be no unnecessary exposures, especially to the night air, avoid all excess of body or mind, and with a firm reliance upon the mercy of Providence, we may have good grounds for hopes of increasing health.�(12) The epidemic had subsided by August 1849, but not before taking 50 lives of the 350 residents of West Belleville, across Richland Creek. In 1853, the creek was identified as a source of the cholera epidemic. (13) Conditions were no better for the Ab Egg family in Hannibal, Missouri, where sickness was widespread. The Quincy Weekly Whig of June 24, 1851, confidently concluded �imprudence� was a contributing cause to the increasing number of dead. �We regret to be compelled to report that there were an increased number of deaths during this past week,19, as compared with the week previous from cholera, or a disease that resembles many of its symptoms�.These deaths in the most instances were among a class of people but poorly provided with the necessities or comforts of life, and as a general thing can be traced to imprudence in their manner of living. Prudence in diet and a cheerful disposition will do more towards warding off the disease than all the medicines ever invented or compounded.� Bottled liquids, available since the late 1700�s, now became a popular means of combating water-borne illnesses. The sale of beers and soda water was a �reflection of European immigrant origins� and the widespread occurrence of cholera was �another cause for early patent medicine bottling industries in Illinois during the 1840-50�s�. (14) Common fear of fever spurred the sale of liquids. �Medicines compounded and sold by local physicians and capitalists to combat cholera were generally referred to by the sellers, and on their bottles, as �fever and ague cures�, or �fever specifics.� Ague came from French �aigue�, and simply meant �acute fever�.�(15) Louis and family remained in Hannibal, Missouri , for an unknown amount of time. Belleville�s reputation as a German enclave apparently drew Ab egg to the city. In May 1855, he purchased a lot, 110 feet by 99 feet, near the intersection of West Lincoln and South Second Streets in downtown Belleville. Relying on his past experience as a brewer and seeing the potential of the new market for 12 bottled liquids, Louis opened a soda water factory at 120 South Second Street. He partnered for a short period with Joseph Fischer, but the two parted company. Louis continued with a staff of three employees who worked six months a year making soda and mineral waters with sales of $3,300, according to the 1860 Illinois Industrial Census. Louis�s son, Charles, helped run the operation.
(Photo of Ab egg bottle courtesy of Tom Feltman, Ofallon, Ill.) Meanwhile, Belleville�s German immigrant population continued to grow in the 1850�s as coal mining and foundries provided jobs for newcomers. The city�s population was between 6 ,000 and 7,000 residents. Theodore Hilgard, a judge at the court of Appeal in Zweibrucken, Germany, eloquently explained his reasons for leaving his home and moving to Belleville. �I became convinced clearly that a large family such as mine would not find a suitable domaine nor would thrive happily in a small and close land, one afflicted moreover with unnatural conditions, such as the Bavarian Rhein Palatinate. And that on the other hand the great American union, however, with its vast area, its free institutions and its uncalculable 13
future would offer every human force the freest and greatest space to move about.�(16)
Hilgard bought a farm near Richland Creek between Eighth and Sixteenth Streets and subdivided it in the 1830�s into residential lots. It became known as West Belleville and grew to a population of 2,300-said to be 98 per cent German- when it was annexed to Belleville in 1882. Belleville had gained a reputation as an attractive place to start anew. �Belleville soon was called the �German Athens� in America as many of the emigrants influenced highly the cultural, social and political life in this community. As Belleville also the City of St. Louis nearby became an important meeting place of a good many emigrants, then as well as later, of the �Forty-Eighters� like the famous German revolutionary Friedrich Hecker.�(17) The Abegg, (18), family was experiencing an exciting period in Belleville history and their daughter, Amalie, would be a witness to an historic event in the city. The presidential campaign of 1856 in Belleville was a physically and verbally combative affair because some Democrats had abandoned their party to join the new Republican Party over Democrats� support for the possible expansion of slavery. The tension precipitated physical attacks on both sides. Illinois Lieutenant Governor Gustave Koerner of Belleville, who was elected as a Democrat in 1852 but converted to a Republican in 1856, was in the middle of the fight. Koerner took his family east on a vacation trip. A series of �coincidences� related to his political conversion was noted by Mc Kendree College History Professor Dr. Tom Jewett. �He coincidentally spent a few days at the residence of John C. Fremont, shortly before he received the Republican Party nomination for the Presidency. It was also coincidence that Koerner was in Philadelphia during the convention. It was coincidence that on the day of Fremont�s nomination, Koerner was on the floor of the convention, even though he was not a delegate or officially a Republican, and it was by coincidence that the man who put Fremont�s name in nomination was Koerner�s friend, Phillip Dorscheimer, who led the German immigrant delegates.�(19) A Belleville rally for Fremont and Republican Governor candidate William Bissell of Belleville was held October 18, 1856. Abraham Lincoln, who was emerging as a prominent anti-slavery spokesman for the Republicans, was one of several speakers at the event. The Belleville Advocate estimated five to six thousand Belleville residents and people from surrounding cities jammed Belleville, �animated that the reign of ruffianism and the advance of slavery ought to be checked�.the music of the bands, banners and thundering of canons� energized the gathering. (20) Lincoln voiced his opposition to slavery and his support of free labor with the phrase, �We earn the bread we eat; we eat the bread we earn.�(21) 14
After the rally, Koerner took Lincoln to visit several Belleville Republicans. They stopped to see Koerner�s brother-in-law , John Scheel, at his home on South Illinois Street. A small crowd had followed them and asked Lincoln to make additional remarks. Ten year old Amalie Abegg, who lived three blocks away, witnessed Lincoln�s short speech from the second floor porch railing of Scheel�s residence.(22) After resting awhile, an evening �procession of thousands, bearing 800 torches and 30 ornamental lanterns on poles, marched through town and assembled in front of the courthouse� to begin the second stage of the rally.(23) Amalie Abegg Hansig was on the dais eighty years later when the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a plaque to Lincoln�s appearance at Scheel�s home. The ornate 1850�s railing from which Lincoln spoke was procured by the St. Clair County Historical Society and is on display in the front room of the museum at 701 East Washington Street.
Oct. 18, 1936 Belleville Advocate Amalie�s sister, Albertina, who was born at sea in 1850 and survived the cholera-ridden trip up the Mississippi River, suffered a hand injury while packing soda water bottles for the dedication of the Eads Bridge in 1876. The injury left her hand in an unusable, bent condition. Louis died in 1879, and his widow, Josepha, sold the business to August Koob of Mascoutah. Louis�s January 17, 1879, obituary in the Belleville Advocate described him as a � quiet, diligent, upright and useful citizen.� Josepha died January 29, 1883. Two Abegg descendents, Albertina Appel Flach and Selma Appel Meyer, were members of the Belleville Storytellers League that was established in 1929 as an affiliate of the National Storytellers League. Through the 1930�s and 40�s, this entertainment form was popular at meetings of various womens� church and civic groups. Abegg descendent Harold Graf noted his grandmother, Albertina, was quite competitive with Selma when it came to storytelling.(24) Louis�s diary was given to me by Selma Meyer in 1965. Louis is my great-great-great grandfather. As I finish this tale, I�d ask that you record your family information-add some foliage to the family tree-for the benefit of future generations. You�ll never know how much they will appreciate your story. 15
A special note of thanks to Harold Graf, an Abegg descendent, for sharing his copy of the Abegg diary and other informative family papers.
Footnotes ? �Old Time Travel: Personal Reminiscences of the Continent Fourty Years Ago,� Alexander Innes Shand, p 148, J. Murray Co., 1903 ? Ibid p 148 ? �The Life of the Empress Josephine, First Wife of Napoleon,� Phineas Camp Headley, p 117, G.M. Saxton, New York, 1859 ? Ibid p 117 ? �The Swiss Republic,� Boyd Winchester, p 232, J.P. Lipincott Co., London, 1891 ? Diary of Louis Ab egg, 1850 ? Ibid p 7 ? Ibid p8 ? Ibid p12 ? Ibid p 13 ? Belleville Advocate, July 12, 1849 ? Belleville Advocate, July 26, 1849 ? Belleville Advocate, December 7, 1853 ? �Bottled in Illinois: Embossed Bottles and Bottled Products of Early Illinois from Chicago to Cairo, 1840-1880,� John A. Walthall, Kenneth Farnsworth, p 30, University of Illinois Board of Trustees, Studies in Archeology #6, Illinois State Archeological Survey, U of I, Urbana, Illinois. ? Ibid p 34 ? �The Emigration from the Palatinate to North America from the 17th to 20th Century,� Roland Paul, ? www.Auswanderermuseum.de/english/inhalt_02_ooohtm ? Ibid p 2 ? The Ab egg name became Americanized at this time, changing to Abegg ? �Gustave Koerner: A Man Who Shaped His Time,� Dr. Tom Jewett, St. Clair County Historical Society Journal, ? www.gustavekoerner.org ? Belleville Advocate, October 22, 1856, p 3 ? Ibid p3 ? Belleville Advocate, October 18, 1936, p1 ? Belleville Advocate, October 22, 1856, p 3 ? Letter from Harold Graf, Abegg descendent, March 4, 2003
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