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Partial 1908 Map of Somers Township, Kenosha County
J. Lippert, 80 acres, Section 26
P. Lippert parcel, 80 acres, Section 28 |
Peter Lippert
Peter Lippert is now living retired in Kenosha, his home being at No. 121 Sheridan Road. He was for a considerable period identified with agricultural interest in the County and afterward engaged in business along industrial lines, his well directed efforts bringing him the success that now enables him to put aside further business cares and responsibilities. He was born in the Rhine Province of Germany, October 22, 1837, and is therefore nearing the eightieth milestone on life's journey. His parents were Phillip and Efer (Kerper) Lippert, who spent their entire lives in the fatherland.
After acquiring his education in the schools of Germany, Peter Lippert learned the butcher's trade and also worked on the farm of his father, but when nineteen years of age he bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the United States, thinking to try his fortune in the new world. Landing on the eastern coast, he made his was to Albany, New York, where he remained from April until the fall of that year and then came to Wisconsin. For seven years he was a resident of Somers Township and afterward of Pleasant Prairie. When he arrived in Wisconsin he had a cash capital of but fifty cents, so that he practically began life here empty-handed.
After working as a farm hand in the employ of others for four years he began renting land and cultivated a large farm of six hundred and forty acres. After renting land for seven years he invested his savings in fifty acres and to this kept adding from time to time until he had two hundred and forty acres.
In 1890 he erected a fine brick residence and he has also built two other dwellings in Kenosha. After leaving the farm he went to Chicago, where he purchased a bicycle shop which he conducted for three years, but at the end of that period he returned to Kenosha and purchased the machine shop that is now owned by Frank Wells, operating that plant until he retired from active business about five years ago. His life has been a busy and useful one. Few men remain active in business until they reach the age of seventy-four years, but Mr. Lippert did and enjoyed the goodwill, confidence, and his regard of all his business associates.
In 1861 occurred the marriage of Mr. Lippert and Miss Magdalena Thomy, who was born in Luxemburg, Germany, a daughter of William Thomy, who came to this county about 1856 and settled in the Town of Somers, there making his home until his death, which occurred about thirty-four years ago. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Felicia Even and was also a native of Germany, survived him for some time and passed away about eighteen years ago. Their daughter, Mrs. Lippert, attended school in Germany for six years and to some extent in America after the emigration of the family to the new world. By her marriage she has become the mother of nine children:
William V. of Kenosha;
Elizabeth, who is bookkeeper for J.A. Pitts of Kenosha;
Catherine, the wife of Joseph Meyers, connected with the Milwaukee Railroad Company at Milwaukee;
Anna, the wife of F.R. Bartsch, a school teacher of Chicago;
Eugene, who is engaged in merchandising in Chicago;
Peter John, a graduate of St. Francis School of Milwaukee and was made Assistant Pastor of St. James Parish in Kenosha where he died sixteen years ago;
Lillian, who is now Sister Mary Bernardo and who after graduating from the High School of Kenosha and the Normal School of Chicago is now Sister Superior of a parochial school at Madison, Wisconsin;
Laura, who is a member of a Catholic Order and is now connected with Mercy Hospital in Chicago, being known as Sister Mary Victoria;
Lou C. a manufacturer of Kenosha who spent three years at the Jesuit Institute in Chicago and one year in St. Francis College at Milwaukee.
Mr. Lippert is a communicant of St. George's Catholic Church and is a member of St. Joseph Council of the Knights of Columbus. He served for fourteen years on the School Board and has long been actively interested in affairs relating to the welfare and progress of his community. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he has found the opportunities which he sought and in their improvement has won success.
(Source: The City and County of Kenosha, Biographical Sketch, Vol. II, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1916)
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John Jacob Lippert and Catherine Pfisterer Lippert
June 26, 1895
(Source: Photo from Linda_Treasure@ public posting of Ancestry.com) |
John Lippert
A well improved farm property is that owned and occupied by John Lippert on Section 28, of Somers Township. He was born near Trier, Germany, September 19, 1869, a son of Mathias and Katherine (Merentens) Lippert. The father is still living in Germany, but the mother passed away in 1885.
John Lippert attended the public schools to the age of fourteen years and afterward worked with his father upon the home farm until he reached the age of eighteen. He then came to the United States, for the reports which he had heard concerning the opportunities of the new world proved very alluring and he resolved to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic. He arrived in Kenosha County empty-handed, dependent upon his own resources for all that he has since acquired and enjoyed. For two years he was employed as a farm hand and later secured employement in Kenosha, spending some time in the Bain Wagon Works, while afterward he was employed in the Allen Tannery for ten years.
In 1893 he went to Iowa and was a farm hand in Dubuque County for one year. In 1894 he returned to Kenosha and for two years was in the employ of John M. Blackman. He next purchased eighty acres situated on Section 26, Somers Township, and has since been upon this farm. All of the improvements are his work and the farm presents a most attractive appearance with its excellent buildings, its well kept fences, its modern machinery and highly cultivated crops.
On the 26th of June, 1895, Mr. Lippert was married to Miss Katrina Pfiesterer, a daughter of Jacob and Julie (Fellhauer) Pfiesterer, who were also natives of Germany and arrived in KKenosha County at an early period in it development. Mr. and Mrs. Lippert became the parents of nine children, of whom Sophia is deceased. Those still living are: Julia; Mathew; Amelia; Marie; Phillip; Valentine; John; and Catherine.
The family are communicants of St. George Catholic Church, and Mr. Lippert is identified with the Catholic Order of Foresters. He is now serving as Chairman of School District No. 2.
(Source: The City and County of Kenosha, Biographical Sketch, Vol. II, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1916)
Philip Lippert
Philip Lippert, one of the representative and enterprising agriculturists of Kenosha County, owns and operates a well improved farm comprising eighty acres on Section 28, Somers Township. His birth occurred in Germany on the 8th of January, 1865, his parents being Mathias and Kathrina (Mertes) Lippert. The former still resides in the fatherland but the latter passed away.
Philip Lippert attended the common schools of Germany until fourteen years of age and then became an apprentice at the cabinet maker's trade. In 1882, when a youth of seventeen, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, hoping to benefit by the advantages which he had heard might be enjoyed in this country. During the first year of his residence in the new world he worked as a farm hand for his uncle in Pleasant Prairie Township and for the next five or six years was similarly employed by others. Subsequently he rented land on shares for three years and during the following three years worked in Kenosha shops. He then began farming on his own account and at the end of a year located on the Stevenson place, which he cultivated for a year and a half. In 1895, he purchased a farm of eighty acres on Section 28, Somers Township, and has since devoted his time and energies to its operation, annually gathering good harvests which find a ready sale on the market.
In 1893 Mr. Lippert was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Kopp, a daughter of August Kopp. He is a Democrat in his political views but not bitterly partisan, considering the capability of a candidate as of more importance than his party affiliation. He is a devout communicant of St. George's Catholic Church and also belongs to St. Michael's Society. Mr. Lippert has never had occasion to regret his determination to establish his home in the new world, for here he has found the opportunities which he sought and through their wise utilization has won a gratifying and well merited measure of success.
(Source: The City and County of Kenosha, Biographical Sketch, Vol. II, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1916)
Valentine Lippert
Valentine Lippert, who died on the 8th of May, 1916, and was buried in Kenosha, made his home on Section 28, Somers Township, and was a well known representative of farming interests in that locality. He was born February 14, 1840 in Germany, his parents being Philip and Eva Lippert. He attended the common schools of his native country until eleven years of age, after which he was employed near his home for three years. Later he took up carpenter work, spending a year and a half in learning the trade, which he later followed for three years. He next went to France, where he worked for two years at carpentering, and then, thinking to have better opportunities in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1867.
The following year Mr. Lippert arrived in Kenosha and for a time was employed at the carpenters' trade by Nicholas Pirsch. He continued to engage in carpentering for several years and later was employed at farm labor for seven or eight years. On the expiration of the period he removed to South Dakota, where he resided for three years, and then returned to Kenosha county, becoming identified with farming interests of Somers township.
Mr. Lipper always voted with the Republican party and for three years he served as Constable in Kenosha and was also a Member of the Town Board. He belonged to the German Catholic Church and its teachings were a guiding force in his life. He became comfortably situated and this was due to his earnest and well directed efforts, which brought to him a well deserved success, enabling him to enjoy all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.
(Source: The City and County of Kenosha, Biographical Sketch, Vol. II, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1916)
