WILLIAM HACKMAN, a practical German farmer and stock raiser of section 30, township 17, range 11, is the owner of a good farm where he lives. He was born in Hanover, near the city of Osnabruck, on September 13, 1820. He was the third son born to John E. and Maria (Struve) Hackman, natives of Hanover, who came of pure German blood. After his marriage, John E. settled in his native land as a farmer, on a small scale, and there all the children were born. Later in life, Mr. Hackman sold all his interests in his native land and set sail from Bremen for the United States with his wife and family. After a voyage of seven weeks and two days, they landed at Castle Garden, coming on at once to Illinois via Albany, New York, Buffalo, across Lake Erie, landing at Cleveland, across the canal, down the Ohio to Cairo, up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, and thence up the Illinois River to Beardstown in June 1835.
The father purchased 120 acres in township 12, range 11, but before they were settled, he sickened and died. He had procured the deed, so his family had the farm. He was only fifty-eight years of age and had been in the country but a few months. The widow moved onto the farm with her children, and they began their life as farmers in a new country. Some years later, she went to live with her only daughter, Mary Bushman, of Beardstown, where she died at the age of seventy-two. She lived to see her children all well married and settled in life. Mrs. Hackman joined the Methodist Church in this county and died in that faith. Her husband was a Lutheran.
William and a brother, Fred, are the only surviving children, the latter also being a farmer at Arenzville. William grew to manhood in this county. He is now the owner of two fine farms, totaling 320 acres, both having a complete set of farm buildings built by Mr. Hackman. The land is in fine condition and yields good crops.
He was married in this county to Elizabeth Meyer, born in Germany in 1828. She was a small child when brought to America by her parents. They made their first settlement on the farm now owned by Mr. Hackman. It was on this farm that Mr. and Mrs. Meyer both lived and died when they were thirty years old. They were Lutherans in religion. Mrs. Hackman is one of seven children, of whom she and a sister, Mrs. Fred Hackman, of this county, and a brother, Henry, a retired farmer of Oregon, are the only surviving members. In July 1835, the year after they came to America, Mr. and Mrs. Meyer died, and Mrs. Hackman was reared by Mrs. Freeman Skinner. She has been a true, good wife to a devoted husband for the past forty-five years.
Mr. and Mrs. Hackman are the parents of six children. One, Matilda, died when young; one, William E., died at the age of twenty-two; and Louisa, after her marriage to George Keoneke, bore him five children before passing away. The living children are Louis; Lucinda, wife of Theo. Heierman, a farmer in Morgan County, Illinois, and they have one child.
Mr. and Mrs. Hackman are regarded as being among the good, kind, and hospitable old settlers of the county. They are upright, Christian people, being members of the Emanuel Methodist Episcopal Church, two miles from Arenzville. Mr. Hackman and his son are sound Democrats in politics.
Mr. Louis Hackman is now the manager of his father’s old homestead, and he is conducting it in a way that reflects great credit on him. He is a hard-working man and thoroughly understands his business, as the fine condition of his fields testifies. He was married to Amelia Kors of this county, and they are the parents of three bright little ones. Mr. Louis Hackman has been County Commissioner for the past nine years.
The whole family are just the kind of people that make Cass County so prosperous, and if there were more like this worthy German and his son, the prosperity of the State would be greatly increased.
Biographical Review of Cass, Schuyler, and Brown Counties, Illinois, Biographical Review Publishing Co., Chicago, 1892, pages 235-236.