Possessing the sturdy, industrious characteristics of a long line of German ancestors, C. E. Ackerman, a well known merchant of Coleta, Whiteside county, has won success and an influential position in society. He was born September 19, 1851, in Baltimore, Maryland, a son of Paul and Lizzie (Buck) Ackerman, who were natives of Germany and were married in that country. The father, who had been a coachman, brought his wife to America in the spring of 1851, and after spending a year or so in Maryland, he located on a farm in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and remained there for four and a half years. In the spring of 1855 he removed to Lee county, Illinois, and there farmed rented hand until the fall of 1860.
At that time, he had accumulated enough capital to buy a tract of eighty acres, the land being an unimproved piece of property in Genesee township, Whiteside county. He did not settle there before 1862, and to his original purchase he added until he owned two hundred and twenty acres, all in one body. Stockraising claimed a large share of his attention, as he found it very profitable. In the autumn of 1877, he retired from active cares, moved to Sterling, where he lived five years, and thenceforward made his home in Coleta, his death occurring here in 1890, while his widow died about two years subsequently. They had four children, of whom Christian is a carpenter in Milledgeville, lllinois; Randolph, a farmer of South Dakota, and Barbara is the wife of C. P. Garwick, who is a partner of our subject. Paul Ackerman had married in his early manhood, in Germany, and of their four children two survive, namely; Martha, wife of Victor Wayman, of Madison, Wisconsin; and Anna, wife of Ernest Bussemyer, of Nebraska.
After completing his education in the common schools C. E. Ackerman worked for his father on the farm for several years, and for a few months ran a meat wagon. He then went to Eldora, Iowa, where he found employment with Dr. Myron Underwood for a year, and then returned to this county. He continued to manage the home farm to some extent, and in February, 1883, he went to Clark county, South Dakota, where he entered three hundred and twenty acres, and it was not until November, 1884, that he was at liberty to leave his new purchase.
On the 24th of January, 1885, Mr. Ackerman and Scott Crouch purchased the general store of Cobb, Howe & Crouch, at Coleta, and continued in business together until the fall of 1893. At that time Mr. Ackerman bought his partner's share, and in January, 1895, C. P. Garwick buying a half-interest in the business, the firm name became Ackerman & Garwick. They transact a large and profitable business, and have the respect of all with whom they have dealings.
The marriage of Mr. Ackerman and Dora Smaltz was solemnized December 27, 1877. She was born in Ohio, September 17, 1854, and by her marriage became the mother of three children. Elizabeth, who is a graduate of the Milledgeville high school, and is now a student at the Madison (Wisconsin) University (a member of the class of 1903), possesses marked musical talent. Anna died at the age of two years. Clara is now attending the young ladies' seminary at Mount Carroll (a branch of the Northwestern University). She is taking a literary course, and expects to devote special attention to music. Mrs. Ackerman departed this life March 12, 1896, and was placed to rest in the Morrison cemetery. Her parents, Jacob and Anna Smaltz, natives of Germany, were Ohio farmers for many years, later carried on a farm in Whiteside county, and passed their last years in Clinton county, Iowa. They were the parents of four sons and four daughters, Mrs. Ackerman being the third in order of birth.
As a citizen, Mr. Ackerman has performed his full share toward the betterment of his home town and state. He is a stanch Republican, and for six years was a member of the county committee. (For a period of ten years, he served efficiently as school treasurer, and, fraternally, he is connected with Milledgeville lodge, No. 345, F. & A. M, and with the Sterling chapter and commandery, besides being identified with Coleta camp, No. 76, M. W. of A.; Coleta garrison, No. 160, Knights of the Globe, in which he holds the office of chief justice. Religiously he is a member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church of this place.
Contributed by Myrna Bowman
