WI BIO - Dane Co - SCHLIMGEN, John
Biographical Review of Dane County, WI. Chicago: Biographical Review Pub. Co. 
1893, Vol II, pp 381-382

John SCHLIMGEN, one of the well-known German residents of Wisconsin, a large 
dealer in granite and marble, also interested in insurance and real estate, 
was born near Cologne, in a Rhinish province of Germany, 03 April 1842. He 
is the son of John SCHLIMGEN, who was born in Villa Bergheim, a Rhinish 
province. He grew up a farmer and was first married in his native villa to 
Christina ----, who was born and reared in the same province and died in 
middle life, leaving three children: Mathias, Engelbert and Sibilla. The 
two brothers are married and live in South Dakota, the former [Mathias] in 
Ethan [Davison County, SD], and the latter [Englebert] in Mitchell [Davison 
County, SD]. The sister [Sibilla] is the wife of Lawrence BOWAR, of Pine 
Bluff [Dane County, WI], a retired farmer. Our subject's father [John 
SCHLIMGEN] was a second time married, in his native place [near Cologne, 
Germany], to Margaretha JANSEN, who was born and reared near the river Rhine 
and died in her native province, when about thirty-five years of age. She 
[Margaretha (JANSEN) SCHLIMGEN] left our subject and a sister, Elizabeth, who 
is the wife of Mathias SCHMITZ, a lumber dealer at Ethan [Davison County], 
South Dakota. The widowed father [John], with his children, sailed from 
Antwerp, Germany, in 1854, sailing on the "Clifton" and landing in New York 
18 November 1854, after a voyage of forty-two days. The family came to 
Wisconsin immediately and spent the winter south of Milwaukee [Milwaukee 
County] and the next spring came on to Perry Township, Dane County, and here 
the father [John SCHLIMGEN] died 29 September 1871, aged seventy-six years, 
three months, and five days. He and both his wives were members of the Roman 
Catholic Church.

Our subject [John SCHLIMGEN, son of John] came to this county in 1855 and 
remained on the farm until 1868, when he came to the city of Madison [Dane 
County, WI], being then twenty-one years of age. He began here by working 
for $12 a month at whatever he could get to do. He saved his money and in 
1867 he engaged in business on his own account and dealt in wines and liquors 
until 1886. He has been quite active in local matters, has never sought 
office but has three times been elected Justice of the Peace. His granite 
and marble business was started in 1882, when he became the successor of John 
HENDRICKS. For some eight years our subject had been connected with Mr. W. 
H. ALFORD, and in February 1892 he associated with him his son, Fred M., who 
is a practical marble worker and designer and who now has full charge of the 
business. Our subject is not a practical marble worker himself, but became 
connected with the business in helping out another. For some time he has 
been a real estate dealer. He began in this city in 1872 and since that has 
handled and transferred a large amount of real estate and has been very 
successful. He has also, in the meantime, carried a great many of the old 
and reliable lines of insurance and has been one of the live men of the city, 
and is regarded as one of the best of her German citizens. In politics our 
subject is a true Democrat and takes an active interest in behalf of his 
party. He is a member of St. Michael Benevolent Society, a social order.

Our subject [John SCHLIMGEN] was married in this city [Madison, Dane County, 
WI] to [p 382] Miss Amanda J. HEPPNER, who was born in York [York County], 
Pennsylvania, and was only four years of age when her parents, Jacob and 
Barbara (SCHUMANN) HEPPNER, settled in Madison [WI] and both Mr. and Mrs. 
HEPPNER died when still in middle life. Mrs. [Jacob] HEPPNER was instantly 
killed, in 1857, in her own house in Madison [WI] by a stroke of lightning. 
The stroke did not injure the house nor any other member of the family 
seriously. The wife of our subject [Amanda J.] has three sisters: (1) 
Mary, wife of William FARREL, a retired business man of Madison; (2) 
Catherine, widow of E. STURN, a successful and skillful maker of shoes, and 
resides in Madison; and (3) Elizabeth, wife of John H. STAREK, a successful 
contractor and manufacturer of sashes and doors.

Our subject [John SCHLIMGEN] and his wife [Amanda J. nee HEPPNER] are the 
parents of five living children, namely: (1) William E., an architect, a 
thorough graduate of this country's and European schools, passed the War 
Department of the United States and is now a member of the staff of 
architects of the World's Columbian Exposition and has about thirty 
draughtsmen under him, he lives in Chicago [Cook County, IL] and is a single 
man; (2) Fred M., conducts the marble business for his father, is his 
partner and lives at home; (3) Louisa K., is a skilled seamstress and lives 
at home; (4) J. Michael; (5) B. lives at home and is a printer by trade; 
and (6) Bertha S., a skillful seamstress resides at home. The children are 
all members, with their parents, of the Holy Redeemer [Roman] Catholic Church.

Submitted by Cathy Kubly