The people in the vicinity of Claremont township and we might say of
Richland county in general, are well acquainted with the life history of its
pioneer inhabitants, and the story of the career of John T. Hauser is not
the least known. He was born on the 28th day of December 1817, in Stokes
county, now known as Forsythe county, in North Carolina, the son of John and
Annie Hauser, both of his parents natives of the state in which they lived;
his mother's maiden name being Canuse. When six years old his father died
and he came to be of much assistance to his mother on the family farm. At
the age of fifteen he started in to learn the trade of shoemaker and, upon
becoming a proficient workman, he left home. His travels took him over
various portions of the Carolinas and the state of Kentucky, successfully
plying his trade as he went along. On the outbreak of an epidemic of cholera
during his stay in Kentucky he decided to return home, traveling by way of
the famous Cumberland Gap. A short time after his return his mother died and
once more he set about to seek a change. He was then about twenty-three
years of age and upon settling upon a small farm in the state of Ohio, he
soon married. His choice fell upon Lucy Ulrich, but their married life was
unfortunately a brief one, his wife dying in the following year, being
buried at New Philadelphia. On March 21, 1851, he married Elizabeth, the
widow of Oliver Weaver. She was the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Cable,
natives of Pennsylvania, who came to the state prior to the War of 1812,
both of whom were well known and respected in the community.
John T.
Hauser's life in Ohio was not an uneventful one. Those were early Ohian
days; many Indians still lingered in the western part of the state,
reluctant to leave their patrimony; game abounded in large quantities;
marauding bears and ferocious wolves were not uncommon visitors, and
consequently many hardships were suffered.
In the year 1867, once
more a prey to wandering instincts - and possibly with a view of taking a
hand in "the winning of the West," the subject of our sketch pressed onward
to Illinois, where he settled on a farm in Richland county. On his arrival
he set to work and built a rude house, and two months later, his wife and
family arrived in the new surroundings in which they were destined to live.
Year after year has seen improvements made on the property. The land today
is in an admirable state of cultivation. A substantial brick house has been
erected.
The death of his wife occurred on the 26th of September
1908. Seven children resulted from the union, all of whom are still living.
In order of birth they are: Anna Elizabeth, Cable, Ira A., Susie, John L.,
Benjamin F., and Harvey E.
John T. Hauser has now reached the ripe
age of ninety-one years - an age not reached by very many nowadays.
Such a man as John T. Hauser could not fail to be drawn into the whirlpool
of at least one of the struggles for supremacy that convulsed the country in
the early half of the century. He passed through the Civil war, serving four
arduous years in an Ohio regiment. At different periods of the time he
served under Grant and Sherman. He is a member of Grand Army, Post No. 92,
at Calhoun.
In religion Mr. Hauser is a member of the Methodist
communion, though formerly he was affiliated with the German Moravian church
for many years. While his health permitted he was ever active in church
work. His wife was for twenty years a German Lutheran, but at the time of
her death she was a Methodist.
Mr. Hauser has ever been a Republican
in politics and, had his delicate health permitted him, would have attended
the election of November, 1908. Had he done so, he would have voted for
eighteen consecutive Presidents of the United States.
Extracted 26 Apr 2017 by Norma Hass from 1909 Biographical and Reminiscent History of Richland, Clay and Marion Counties, Illinois, pages 387-389.
| Jasper | Crawford | |
| Clay |
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Lawrence |
| Wayne | Edwards | Wabash |
