HENRY BIESEMEYER, a thrifty German farmer of Kent Township, owns 180 acres of land on sections 17 and 35, upon which he has effected first-class improvements, and which he has occupied for a period of nearly twenty years. His youth and early manhood were spent on the other side of the Atlantic, in the Province of Germany, where he first drew breath on the 16th of June, 1830. His parents were people of modest means, and were named respectively Cord and Minnie (Elierbrook) Biesemeyer. They also were of German birth and parentage, and spent their entire lives in their native Province, where the father engaged in agriculture, and distinguished himself as a peaceable and law-abiding citizen.

The subject of this biography began early in life to make himself useful in the accomplishment of the lighter tasks around the parental home, and when fifteen years of age commenced an apprenticeship at the mason trade, which he followed near his native town until twenty-four years of age. He was not satisfied with the limited progress which he had made financially, and like many of his countrymen, had begun to look longingly toward the shores of the New World. He finally resolved to emigrate, and accordingly in May, 1854, boarded a sailing-vessel from the port of Bremen, and after a tedious voyage of seven weeks, landed in the city of New York. Thence he proceeded directly to Freeport, this county, and followed his trade here and in Jo Daviess County for the ten years succeeding. He had lived economically, true to the instincts of his early training, and saved what he could of a limited income. In 1864 he invested his capital in land, and took up his abode in Erin Township, of which he remained a resident four years, then selling out, he purchased the land included in his present farm, and since that time has been a resident of Kent Township.

Mr. Biesemeyer, although mainly engaged in the cultivation of the soil, has followed his trade somewhat in connection with farming since coming to this section. He has been fortunate in his investments, and in his cultivation of the soil has exhibited rare good judgment, while the land in return has yielded to his labor some of the finest crops in the Prairie State. He had, in 1856, purchased 120 acres in Jo Daviess County, which he sold, however, before taking possession of his present property. He keeps good horses, cattle and hogs, and the domestic animals, together with the farm implements, and everything about the premises denotes the supervision of a man temperate and thrifty in his habits, and one whose word among his neighbors is considered as good as his bond. Mr. Biesemeyer while a resident of Erin Township, was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Niemayer, a native of his own country, born Jan. 16, 1844. She became the wife of our subject March 7, 1864, the wedding taking place at the home of the bride's parents, John and Minnie Niemayer, who emigrated to America when their daughter was a young child. They located upon land in Erin Township, where they built up a comfortable homestead, and spent the remainder of their days, the mother dying in 1883, and the father in 1884.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Biesemeyer were ten in number, of whom but seven now survive, named respectively, John, Mary, Lena, Daniel, Willie, Henry and Emma. Those deceased are Henry, David and Herman. The parents are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Mr. Biesemeyer, politically, since becoming a naturalized citizen, has been a stanch supporter of the Republican party.

Contributed by Carol Parrish from Portrait and Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Ill. (1888), p. 678