Biography of Jacob Held "PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM OF WOODFORD COUNTY, ILLINOIS"       Chapman Bros., Chicago, 1889    Pages 361-363 contributed by Jane Foster, transcribed by Dena Whitesell

Jacob Held, a wealthy retired farmer, residing in one of the pleasant homes of Washburn, was for many years a powerful factor in developing the agricultural interests of Linn Township, of which he was an early settler, and thus promoting the growth of Woodford County.  He was for many years actively and profitably engaged in farming in that township, and is still the proprietor of a fine farm there, besides having valuable property in Washburn. He was born in Baden, Germany, Sept. 24, 1823.  His father, Conrad Held, and his ancestors as far back as known, were natives and life-long residents of the same country.  His father was a sober-minded, honest man of industrious habits, and comfortably supported his family by farming.  The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Mary Wolfe, and she also spent her entire life in Baden.  There were five children born to her and her husband -- Christian, Conrad, Jacob, Mary and John -- all of whom came to America at different times, settled in Illinois and all married and reared families with the exception of Christian.  The father owned a small farm in the old country, and it remained in the hands of the family till the death of the mother, eight years after the father's demise.  On that our subject was reared to agricultural pursuits and he remained a citizen of the Fatherland till 1845, when he resolved, if possible to better his prospects in life by emigration to the United States of America, where so many of his countrymen, with their simple, frugal, industrious habits, had been so greatly prospered.  And in the month of August, that year, he set sail from Havre de Grace, with his brothers Conrad and John, and after a voyage of twenty-nine days landed safely in New York.  They came directly to Illinois, by the way of the Hudson River to Albany, the Erie Canal to Buffalo, the lakes to Chicago, whence they took a team for Peru.  The only capital that our subject possessed in all the world, was good health and willing hands, but he was not long in finding work, obtaining employment on the Illinois Canal at Peru.  He remained there two weeks, and we next hear of him in Henry, Marshall County, where he and his brother Conrad, bought eighty acres of timber land for the sum of $150.  It was located two miles from Henry, and on it was a log cabin, in which the brothers resided the ensuing three years, and our subject then sold his share of the place to his brother, and resumed working by the month for a time.  He subsequently rented land in Marshall County, and was busily engaged in its cultivation till 1858, when he settled on his farm, the one that he still owns, he having previously bought 160 acres of wild land in Linn Township, and eighteen acres in Cazenovia.  He had built a small frame house on the land, and had a few acres broken, which constituted all the improvements that had been attempted before his settlement on the place.  In the busy years that followed, Mr. Held developed it into a valuable, highly productive farm, provided it with suitable buildings, and increased its area to 180 acres of choice land, which he has since reduced to 240 acres, having deeded to each of his three sons eighty acres apiece.  In 1876 he came to Washburn, bought a neat little farm of eighteen acres of land adjoining the village, and has resided here since in one of the coziest and most comfortable of homes. The first marriage of Mr. Held took place in 1850 to Miss Lucy Shugart, a native of DeWitt County, Ill.  Their wedded life was not destined to be of great length, for after they had been together fifteen years they were called upon to part, death removing the patient, devoted wife and mother from the scene of her labors in 1865.  Five children had been born to them -- Zion, John, Charles, Kate and Jennie.  Our subject was married a second time, Miss Margaret Howell, a native of Pennsylvania, becoming his wife.  Mrs. Held died Feb. 3, 18887, and Mr. Held contracted a third marriage, with Wilhelmine Benecke, March 5, 1889. When our subject came to Woodford County, a quarter of a century or more had elapsed since the first settlement had been made within its borders, and civilization had made much progress; good farms had been opened, and several prosperous towns had sprung up, although much of the county was still in the hands of the pioneers.  Especially was this true of that part of it included in Linn Township, and the country round about, which still presented to the eye of the beholder its primeval condition, the land being considered swampy and worthless for agricultural purposes.  It remained for men of keen discriminination and shrewd, practical judgment, like our subject, to prove the contrary.  That they have succeeded, perhaps far beyond their expectations, is attested by the many broad, rich farms of which this region can boast, the beautiful homes and busy vllages that have been built up.  Mr. Held may well take pride in the fact that he has had a hand in bringing about this great change.  He has in every way proved himself a worthy and desirable citizen of any community.  While a resident of Linn Township, he took a deepinterest in its social, moral, educational and material welfare.  He served as Assessor of the township, and held the office of School Trustee many years, and in that capacity aided in securing the excellent facilities the children of the present day are afforded for obtaining a substantial education.  In regard to National politics, our subject voted with the Democrats, but in local affairs he is independent, supporting the man, not the party.  He is a faithful member of the Evangelical Associated Church, and in him his fellow members find an efficient co-worker in their labors for the good of the community.

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