|
ANDREW HAGEMAN, one of the honored pioneers of Henderson Comity, now residing
in Raritan, and a man respected by all who know him, was born on the 27th of June. 1824, in Somerset County, N. J.
He was the ninth in a family of eleven children born to Andrew and Ann (Hoagland) Hageman, but only three of the
number are living: John, who resides in New Jersey; Elsie Elizabeth, widow of Gilbert L. Kershaw, and a resident of
Raritan; and Andrew of this sketch.
The father was born May 5. 1779. in Somerset County, N. J., and his parents
were natives of the same State. The family dates its residence in America back to 1650, when Aaron Hageman and his
wife came from Holland and settled on Long Island. A short time afterward, however, they removed to New Jersey.
Andrew Hageman, Sr., was reared on a farm in his native State, and there spent his entire life. He was a member of
the Dutch Reformed Church, and died February 8, 1860, at the age of eighty-one years. His wife was born November
21, 1785, in Somerset County, N. J., and died April 28, 1866. She was also of Dutch extraction, her ancestors
coming to this country in an early day.
Our subject remained at home with his parents until he had attained his
majority, when he commenced a course of study with a view to taking up the work of the ministry. He entered
Rutger's College, of New Brunswick, N. J., in September, 1847, but in less than a year his health failed, and he
was compelled to abandon mental work. He then returned to the farm, and there remained until 1854, when he removed
to New Brunswick, where he engaged in the manufacture and sale of clothing until April, 1856, in which year he
emigrated to Illinois, and purchased eighty acres of land where he now resides. In the spring of 1868, he removed
to Bushnell, Ill., and began the publication of the Bushnell Weekly Record. After three years, however, on account
of ill-health, he sold his paper, and for a time was engaged in grain-dealing at Swan Creek, Warren County. He also
engaged in house, sign, buggy and decorative painting. Mr. Hageman then returned to Prairieside Farm, and afterward
embarked in the furniture business in Raritan, which he continued for seven years. He then sold his store, and has
since lived retired at his beautiful home, which adjoins the town of Raritan, and is known as Prairieside Park.
On
the 28th of November, 1849, Mr. Hageman was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Kershaw, who was born March 7,
1832, in Somerset County, N. J. They became the parents of six children. Gilbert, who was born November 27, 1853,
died March 14, 1869. Charles, born November 27, 1859, died October 12, 1862. Both were buried in Raritan. Those
still living are Sarah Anna, born October 7, 1850. She is now the wife of A. W. Van Dyke, a newspaper man of St.
Louis. Phoebe, born May 19, 1864, is the wife of W. B. Rhodes, a merchant of Monmouth, Ill.. Herman, born April 3,
1866, is clerking in Monmouth. Frank, born March 22, 1869, is a carpenter by trade, and makes his home with his
parents.
For many years Mr. Hageman was a supporter of the Republican party, but now votes with the Prohibition
party. He served as Town Clerk while in New Jersey, and for eight years has filled the office of Justice of the
Peace in Raritan. He is a man of broad and liberal mind, and possesses considerable talent in several directions.
He has composed several pieces of music, and expects soon to publish a volume of his own poems. He is a member of
the Reformed Church, has served as Elder, and was chosen Superintendent of the Sabbath-school on its organization
in 1856. Twenty-five years later he delivered an historical address on the occasion of the twenty-fifth
Sabbath-school anniversary. He has a fine library, containing about eight hundred volumes, including the American
Cyclopaedia and the Encyclopaedia Britannica, together with a wide range of standard historical and scientific
works.
Mr. Hageman is also an artist of considerable merit, and has become quite widely known as the "Prairieside
Poet. ' ' We give to our readers two of his poems, one written for the Harvest Home Festival held at Prairieside
Park, August 17, 1893, and read l by him on that occasion, and the other an acrostic, called "A Reverie.''
Youth;s happy years too swiftly glide;
Oh ! could they span Life; s river
Unhastened by its flowing tide,
9;er cease but, stretching far and wide,
Go on, and on, forever!
Life seems a voyage in time a stream,
In which we, gently gliding,
Forget all else as in a dream
Except the joys and hopes that gleam
So bright, yet unabiding!
Shall living friends and kindred meet
When safe beyond the river?
Enraptured there each other greet,
Exulting most at Jesus' feet,
To love and praise forever ?
Death's but a change to raise us higher,
Release our captive spirit.
Ecstatic bliss, hope's long desire,
And joys to which our souls aspire,
May we, at last, inherit!
COLUMBIAN YEAR.
Gathered here as friends and neighbors,
Seeking rest and recreation,
We to-day with joy and gladness
Celebrate our Harvest Home.
Through the year's successive seasons
We have traced our onward journey,
While unnumbered daily blessings
Into all our lives have come.
Deep in labyrinths of memory,
We discern, in retrospection,
Hopes and fears, and lights and shadows,
Cares and comforts, new and old;
All along life's pleasant pathways
Have been sources of enjoyment,
Mingled oft with soul experience,
Of which half was never told.
In the onward course of nature,
Toward the second Advent tending,
We have reached a year of wonders —
Eighteen hundred ninety-three:
Year of marvellous surprises,
Cyclones, floods, and conflagrations,
Omens rare, and grim forebodings,
And what shall its harvest be?
Will a conflict of the nations
Soon precipitate the horrors
Long foretold in prophecy
Of an internecine war ?
Shall the last days of December
Witness world-wide revolution ?
Or shall peace flow like a river,
And men learn to fight no more ?
By the aid of modern science,
Education and religion,
Why should not the world grow better,
Wiser, older, every year ?
Hopeful optimists inform us
That in knowledge and refinement,
In the elements of progress,
They discern no cause for fear.
In the suburbs of Chicago
Has been built "the great white city," —
Grand "Columbian Exposition," —
Latest wonder of the world ;
Wherein works of art and nature
Are displayed in rich profusion,
Products of the world's great nations,
Whose proud flags are there unfurled.
Viewed from highest Christian standpoint.
There is good in this grand showing
Of the wonderful and perfect
Workmanship of God's own hand; —
Rarest birds and beasts and fishes —
Marvellous forms of vegetation —
Things of life and beauty, gathered
Fresh from earth, air, sea and land.
Art exhibits merit study,
While they win our admiration;
Tending much to make us hopeful
For the future of our race.
In them we can see reflections
Of the great Creator's wisdom,
Whom to love, and praise, and worship,
Fit is every- time and place.
Phonographic reproductions —
Telephone communications —
Instantaneous photographing —
Telegrams re-written plain —
Street-cars drawn by endless cable —
Electricity dynamic,
Giving light and heat and power,
Nature's forces to restrain.
In the realm of education
There is evidence of progress:
Mathematics, elocution,
History, have an honored place;
Painting, poetry, and music,
Novelty in decoration,
Endless lines of skill and study,
Elevate the human race.
Much is said of Christian union:
What is it ? — confederation
Of the various Christian churches
Which in modern times abound ?
Nay, not this, we think, but rather
Fellowship of Christ's disciples,
Of whate'er denomination,
Wheresoever they be found.
Oneness of all true believers
Who accept and trust in Jesus
As their all-sufficient Saviour,
Who can for all sins atone:
Oneness in the faith delivered
To the saints, in Holy Scripture,
Who believe in God, the Father,
Son and Spirit, three in one.
While religious controversies
Have prevented churches' union,
Great revivals of religion
Mark the progress of the year;
Orthodox denominations
Have harmoniously been laboring,
Earnest for the world's salvation,
Each within its chosen sphere.
Theological opinions
Now, as always, must be various;
As in every realm of nature
Great variety is found,
So, in matters of religion.
Let each one's own conscience answer
What for him is obvious duty,
And let charity abound.
Evangelic churches differ
In their forms or creeds or worship,
Or historic precedence,
Yet they cordially agree
On essential points of doctrine,
Holding fast to their profession
In the glorious liberty
Wherewith Christ hath made us free.
All believe in God, the Father —
In the Son, our only Saviour —
In the blessed Holy Spirit —
Ever glorious trinity:
'Tis by grace we have salvation:
Through repentance and believing
Sinners shall find peace and pardon.
Life and immortalitv.
In the Cross of Christ they glory,
And with one accord they serve Him:
With His glorious banner marching
On to certain victory,
Over all the hosts of Satan,
Over every form of error,
And of vice and persecution,
Which in later days we see.
Sending forth the glorious message
Of salvation to the heathen,
Through their Boards of Foreign Missions,
Is the work and aim of all;
While, in our own country's borders.
Semi-civilized and Indian,
Through denominational effort
Have received the Gospel call.
Christians thus are all united
In the work of man's redemption,
Through the words of inspiration
And the Holy Spirit's power;
While obeying the injunction
Of their risen, ascended Saviour,
Joy and peace and heavenly blessings
Have descended like a shower.
Through evangelistic efforts,
Earnest, unsectariau preaching
Of the ever-blessed Gospel
To the sinful and depraved,
Thousands have been brought to Jesus,
Have been led to seek salvation
Through the crucified Redeemer,
And are now among the saved.
Satan has not ceased opposing
Whatsoever things are lovely
And of good report, but ever
In all ages, climes and states.
By deceitful subterfuges,
Plots and wiles antagonistic,
Seeketh whom he may devour,
While his own perdition waits.
Some are criticising Scripture:
Its inerrancy they question;
Theories of evolution
Have been widely heralded;
Yet the arguments concerning
"Science, versus Revelation,"
And "The place of man in nature,"
To no great results have led.
Truth, invincible, existing
With the everlasting ages
Of eternity, can never
From its stately temple fall;
Not in least antagonism
To the Book of Inspiration
Which in mercy God has given
As a guiding light for all.
Troublous times have come upon us
In a threat financial crisis,
Marked by failures, losses, panics,
Over all our favored land;
Husbandmen erewhile predicted
Scanty yield of earth's productions,
While the earlier signs of plenty
Seemed to fail on every hand.
Threatening ills have been averted;
We no longer fear a famine;
For the rain from heaven descended
On the dry and thirsty soil;
In the cornfields and the meadows
Crops and pastures, recreated,
Promise now the hopeful farmer
Sure reward of summer's toil.
So, in view of all the comforts
Of this year, let us be thankful;
Countless as the stars of heaven
Or the sands on ocean's shore,
Is the number of our mercies,
And while thinking of the goodness
Of the Lord, we know that for us
Other blessings are in store.
From the Portrait and Biographical Record of Hancock, McDonough and Henderson Counties, Illinois : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county (1894)
May, 1894. Lake City Publishing Co.
|
