Notes:

The writer of this account is Venice Brink, son of Henry Ernst Brink, the son of Heinrich. I was born in 1907, near Moweaqua in Shelby County, Illinois. My mother was Amelia Ludwig, whose father Philip Ludwig left Holzhausen, Hesse, Germany, as a young man in 1852. He landed in New York and worked his way west to Arnheim, Ohio, where he met and later married Elizabeth Bohl, also German. Some years later they moved to Shelby County, Illinois.

After my mother's death in 1909, my father came back to Washington County. I grew up in Nashville. I served 3 1/2 years in the U. S. Army in World War II in the 9207th Technical Service Unit. After a number of years, including 25 years with the Hileman and Gutzler Furniture Stores, am now engaged in growing fruit, nuts and vegetables and daffodil bulbs. I grow over 1200 kinds of daffodil bulbs, one of the largest collections extant today.

Electricity in Nashville dates back to 1899. The first electricity was furnished to Nashville on a dusk to dawn basis by a home owned plant operated by C.M.Forman of E. St. Louis. The plant was located on property which lies due west of Greenwood Cemetery and is now owned by Venice Brink. Vol. 1, #1, 1977

Notes:

Christened New Minden, Illinois.

HENRY married LUDWIG AMELIA in Feb 1905 in Mowequa, Illinois. AMELIA (daughter of LUDWIG PHILIP PETER and BOHL ELIZABETH) was born on 8 Apr 1870 in Mowequa, Flat Branch Twp., Shelby County, Illinois; died on 22 Dec 1909 in Mowequa, Flat Branch Twp., Shelby County, Illinois; was buried on 24 Dec 1909 in Mowequa, Flat Branch Twp., Shelby County, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Christened 1870, Mowequa, Flat Branch Twp., Shelby County, Illinois.

HENRY married WEIHE WILHEMINA on 16 Apr 1871. WILHEMINA (daughter of WEIHE UNKNOWN and UNKNOWN WILHELMINA) was born on 30 Dec 1840; died on 2 Jun 1891 in North Prairie, Hoyleton Township, Washington County, Illinois; was buried on 4 Jun 1891 in New Minden, IL. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Left Germany in 1852,
Christened Holzhausen, Hesse Germany February 22, 1832.

PHILIP married BOHL ELIZABETH on 14 Jun 1857 in Arnheim, Ohio. ELIZABETH (daughter of BOHL JOHN GEORGE and UNKNOWN) was born on 16 Jul 1836 in Germany; Of Arnheim, Ohio; died on 28 Jun 1931 in Edwardsville, Illinois; was buried on 1 Jul 1931 in Mowequa, Flat Branch Twp., Shelby County, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Christened 1836.

Notes:

Johann and his wife, Anna Maria, were the parents of the first of our Ancestors to come to America. All ten of their children, except those several who were already in America and one who died in infancy in Germany, joined their parents on the trip to America in 1845. The story of this trip occurs in Chapter 1, German History. Johann was christined October 18, 1788, at Bergkirchen, Westfallen, Prussen. He was a soldier in the French/German War (Napoleon War).
Johann's wife was always known to us as "Anna Maria Dorthea Schalotte
Ilsabein Meier Brink". The Bergkirchen records give her name as Anna Sophie Dorothea Marie Ilsabein Meier. The St. John's Lutheran Church in New Minden, IL. shows her name as Tisabein instead of Ilsabein.
In 1945 , there were 56 grandchildren who grew to maturity here and whose progeny down to the eighth generation are now scattered all over the U.S. This information was collected by Minnie Brink Ludwig when she published her Brink History in 1945. Frederick, their son, served several terms in the Illinois Legislature, both as Representative and Senator. Christian's great-great-granddaughter, Martha Keyes, was elected a Representative in Congress from the Second Kansas District.
We have not made an attempt at counting the number of descendants as of today. We're satisfied to say the number is very large.



In the story of the travels from Germany to Washington County, Illinois, it is mentioned that they sailed by boat up the Mississippi being stopped by ice at Grand Tower. Grand Tower is a rock tower left in place for a bridge which was never built. Tower Rock stands majestically in the Mississippi River still today.

JOHANN married MEIER ANNA SOPHIE DOROTHEA MARIE ILSABEIN on 10 Mar 1816 in Bergkirchen Parish, Westfalen, Prussen.. ANNA (daughter of MEIER ZACHARIAS JOHANN CHRISTIAN and RODEKOFF ANNA MARIE ILSEBEIN) was born on 19 Sep 1799 in Eicksen #1, Rothenuffeln, Kreis Minden, Westfalen, Prussen; Dob may be 9/9/1799; died on 12 Feb 1846 in North Prairie, Hoyleton Twp., Sec. 30, Washington Co., Illinois; was buried in Field to the east of the home.. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Chap4.doc
FTM in notes of Anna Meier
CHAPTER 4

Our Brink Ancestors arrived in America in Washington County in December of 1845. They were a people of high standards, high moral values, integrety, and had a strong faith in God. According to information passed on from older family members of the first generation in America, the Brinks were first associated with St. John’s Lutheran Church in New Minden, Illinois. Then as the German Methodist Conference of St. Louis provided a preacher for the circuit which included North Prairie, many of them became Methodists. See appendix 2 for location of Brink settled land in 1845.

“WASHINGTON COUNTY IN THE 1850s” copied from the Hoyleton Centennial Celebration 1858 - 1958.

Before the fifties, Washington County was dotted with the one-room log cabins familiar to this age; the slow, yet dependable ox-team still was here, as well as the wooden mold-board plow, the open fireplace, and the Kentucky (made in Pennsylvania) squirrel rifle. These conditions existed in general until a few years before the Civil War.
The old log cabin will ever occupy a place in American reminiscences. It was picturesque to say the least. One end was devoted to the open hearth and fireplace; the chimney, made of split sticks of wood and clay, ran up on the outside. The clay was first made into a kind of mortar, and with this the sticks were freely plastered, to keep down the fire hazard as well as cement the chimney in place. It was referred to as a “chink-and-daub” chimney.
Usually the fireplace was so large that backlogs for it had to be rolled in at the open door too big to be carried. The forestick and other pieces of wood rested on the “dog-irons,” so as to be above the hearth level. At one side of the hearth, on pegs driven in the logs, hung the various blackened pots, kettles, skillets. There also stood the cupboard, made of smoothly dressed walnut. The prized blue-edged dishes and pewter were kept there. In a corner usually was a rude shelf resting on oak pegs, upon which was a wooden bucket filled with water for drinking and cooking purposes. A gourd, the pioneer’s drinking vessel, always hung on a nearby peg. The dining table was usually a dextrously-made affair that had folded leaves and could be pushed against the wall to save space.
On the other side of the fireplace, about six feet off the floor, and just beneath the low ceiling, resting on wooden hooks, was the long-barreled flintlock Kentucky squirrel rifle. The stock ran the entire length of the long barrel, was made of white walnut and from incessant use added to the original polishing of the gunsmith, had become smooth as ivory. The mounting always was of well finished brass. Near the butt of the stock was a cavity about an inch in width, an inch deep and four or five inches long, covered with a brass lid, controlled by a spring. This was used to carry tallow with which to lubricate the “patchen” that was made to cover the bullet when loading the rifle.
Also hanging on one of the hooks on which the heavy rifle rested was a bullet pouch and a powder horn. The pouch was made of strong leather, usually buckskin; had two or three pockets to hold bullets and cloth for patchen. The powder horn originally adorned the head of a cow; the larger end was closed and into the smaller end was filled a stopper, easily removed. Pouch and horn were provided with leather straps, to be carried over the shoulder. A horn to call the dogs usually rested or was hung from another peg on the wall. If the family was prosperous, there usually was a percussion-type shotgun in a corner, to be used by the boys who were not as accurate in their shooting as father.
Another article of furniture in the cabin was the candlestand, upon which usually reposed a worn copy of the Bible and an almanac. The one window generally contained six 6 x 6-inch panes of glass.
The door of the cabin swung on wooden hinges, the only kind known, fastened with a wooden latch, and raised and lowered by a leather thong which passed through a hole and left the free end hanging outside. At nights, when the pioneer wished to lock his cabin, he merely pulled in the latch-string.
The bed usually was softened by a huge feather-tick. A trundel bed rolled under the big bed in the daytime, and pulled out for the children at night. The floor of the better cabins was made of unhewn oak; on the more common, it was of puncheon-slabs smooth on one side and unhewn on the other. The loft of the cabin was usually reached by a ladder, and the rafters would be festooned with dried apples, hung on strings; dried pumpkin, dried fruits, peppers, bunches of sage with which to season the sausage; pennyroyal to “sweat” the sick ones; boneset to “break the ager”; strings of stuffed sausage, chunks of dried beef.
Crowded as was the cabin, it had at times another article that took up a lot of floor space--the loom to weave cloth. Cumbersome as it was, the housewife was an artist on this pioneer contrivance, and from it came pants for the men, linsey for the women, pretty coverlets, counterpanes and pillow cases. The spinning-wheel was the running-mate of the loom, and upon it the carded wool was woven into thread.
Cooking was done almost entirely in iron pots, a dextrous art for the housewife, who toiled with the heavy utensils, the spider, the iron tongs with which to pick up hot embers, the big shovel to manipulate the wood fire. Always in the cabin was the pleasant odor of burning wood; old-timers insisted that no meal could ever approach the delicacy of one cooked at an open hearth.
With the advent of the 1850’s, matches started to come into more general use. Before this time the fire on the hearth never went out, unless by accident. If it did, someone went to a neighbor’s for live coals; or if there was no neighbor, or the weather was inclement, a bit of powder would be put into the pan of the flintlock rifle, a piece of cotton held beside it then when a trigger was pulled, a spark from the flint would ignite the powder; it in turn would set fire to the cotton, and while this was blazing, it would be hurriedly transferred to “shavings,” or other easily inflammable material under the laid kindling in the fireplace.
Food in the pioneer days was simple: corn bread and salt pork were the staples. Wheat bread was practically unknown before the fifties. The children ate corn mush and drank copious quantities of milk, warm from the cow. In winter, kernels of corn were treated with lye, which removed the hull, after which the grains were boiled or fried. This was a wholesome food that was called “big hominy.” With the coming of the first frost, one neighbor would kill a hog and divide it with his neighbors and friends. Perhaps a little later another would kill a beef and divide it likewise. No one had a cellar in those days.
The present method of canning fruit and vegetables did not come into vogue until about the middle of the fifties. The woods and prairies were full of blackberries, wild plums, crab-apples, wild grapes and persimmons. Pawpaws were eaten like bananas today.
Soap was made with lye and fat, a custom that still prevails today in many rural areas. The lye was made by leaching wood ashes, and the fat came from saving all sorts of meat scraps.
Many an early Washington County settler had to depend upon a nearby spring or the “crick” for their drinking water. The only rain water collected was that in a barrel, set under the eaves, and generally full of “wiggle-tales” as soon as the weather got warm.
The manner of dress was far simpler than today. For everyday wear, men had shirts and jeans cut loosely; trousers were called breeches, and vests were universally known as “roundabouts.” An outer garment called a “wammus” was also popular with men. Boots came into fashion in the early fifties; working men wore heavy shoes referred to as brogans. Clocks and watches were rare, only professional people and ne’er-do-wells carried a timepiece, or owned one; time was referred to “by sun”.

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY SETTLERS

When the white man came to Southern Illinois, this area was the home of the Illini Indians, mostly from the Tamaroa sub-tribe. They had been preceded by several other groups of Indians over a period of some thousand years. All left some of their artifacts behind them, which are still being found. In the War of 1812 it was the Kickapoo tribe from Central Illinois which raided this far south and killed the first settlers, the Livelys. In the same war, the Shawnee, being driven out of Indiana and Ohio, came to Southern Illinois, some to the county. The last resident Indians were removed to Oklahoma in the 1830’s. We also have a number of families who have some Indian ancestry, most often Cherokee.
The first white settlers here were Americans who came from the southeastern coast states, part of a migration that began in the early 1800’s, when small farmers in Georgia, North and South Carolina, were being crowded out by the large spread of cotton plantations worked by slaves. While some stayed in the South in mountain valleys, others headed north and west to a new and free land. Many who came here after the War of 1812 came from Kentucky and Tennessee. They were mostly of English ancestry, a varying amount of Irish, German, Scotch, and Welsh blood, and a few free slaves. By 1830 they had spread to every part of the country.
In 1830 there was a well organized migration from South Carolina by several groups of Presbyterians of Scottish descent. They were people with quite strong religious convictions and who were opposed to slavery. They settled in and around Oakdale. In 1837 the first Low German emigrants from north Germany came to Venedy and Hoyleton townships and in the next twenty years, they were followed by more. They spread over the northern tier of townships and then to the south. They came mostly from Westphalia, but also Hanover, Oldenburg, and Saxony. Most of the early emigrants traveled by boat to New Orleans and then up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Later, they entered the country at New York and came west by rail. They were mostly craftsmen and farmers.
Selected from article written by Venice Brink for the 1979 Washington County History book.

Newspaper article re. original Zion Evangelical Cemetery in North Prairie - date of article unknown.
HOYLETON CHURCHMEN HONOR PIONEER DEAD by Grover Brinkman

Back in 1861, a group of eighteen farmers met at the home of Frederick E. W. Brink in North Prairie to establish a new church. Eight acres of land was purchased from F. W. Krughoff for $12.50 per acre, and preliminary plans were made for the building program, which included a church, school, parsonage and "laying-off" a cemetery. Later that year, carpenter Henry Hake was given a contract to build a church 30 x 50 feet, 16 ft. high, with eight windows and a tower. He was to receive $217 for his labor.
The day the tower of the new church was completed, a bad storm leveled the building. Undaunted, the members set about to rebuild the church, completed it in 1863.
Back in those days, when the infant farm congregation was being organized, prices of commodities, compared with today, are little short of amazing. For instance, when the parsonage was ready for painting, the labor amounted to $15. Later a fence was built to enclose the property, each member being required to furnish ten fence posts or contribute a dime. On one occasion, the pastor was compelled to build his own chicken house. Another pastor, desiring a porch on the parsonage, added it himself.
Today this pioneer church is gone, its members long ago having transferred to Hoyleton, but the old cemetery remains. And recently a cemetery committee composed of Rueben Westerfeld, Clarence Hake, Roland and William Beckemeyer, were appointed to restore the long-neglected burial ground, now a thicket of hedge and bramble, dug up by marmots. Many of the old stones were gone, broken or vandalized. So, for the record, a large central marker was erected, upon which are engraved the names of all who are buried here, 85 in number. The oldest grave is that of Marie Westerfeld, born in 1832. In the photo are Reuben Westerfeld and Clarence Hake, two of the four-man committee responsible for this fine restoration. (We do not have the photo.)
A new chain fence protects the site, which is southeast of New Minden and southwest of Hoyleton. Here is an example of pioneer cemetery restoration that is commendable. Washington County, like its sister counties in southern Illnois, has many of these old burial grounds, most of them completely neglected. Updating the same with a central marker, inscribed with all the names of those buried, seems a fine idea. See Appendix 17 for list of people buried in this cemetery.

VILLAGE OF HOYLETON

Hoyleton was settled in 1858 by two Ministers of the Congregational Faith. Rev. A. Bent and Rev. Ovid Miner and their group came from the state of New York. That is why Hoyleton, until 1860, was called Yankee Town. The name Hoyleton came from a man named Henry Hoyle, who donated a bell for the Seminary belfry, which was completed in 1860.
An election was held on March 26, 1881, to incorporate Hoyleton as a village under the general incorporation laws of Illinois, 37 votes being cast, 25 for and 12 against. The first officers of the village were: president, Christ Krueger; clerk, Wm. Weigel, Sr.; treasurer, Wm. Heidler; and trustees were Henry Horst, Sr., Wm. Grote, Christ Grabenkrueger, Diedrich Rixmann, Sr., and Fred Pries, Sr.
In 1883 the first wooden sidewalk was built and 1896 the first brick sidewalk was laid.
In 1901 the Village Board granted H. William Rixmann and Henry F. Rixmann the right to build the first telephone line within the village limits. In 1915 the president and the board of trustees signed a franchise granting H. Rixmann the right to furnish electric current for light, heat and power and also a contract for street lights. Many improvements followed over the years.


ELM POINT SCHOOL

Elm Point School was district #31 and was not annexed to another school until 1947. All the young people from Huegely and the surrounding area walked to Elm Point school, some of them four and five miles.
The Elm Point School was opened in 1896 and stood west of the Evangelical Cemetery in North Prairie. From there it was moved to a hill near the German Methodist Episcople Church to be more centrally located.
It was a one room school, but at times had forty pupils enrolled. After the regular school year, came one month of German school taught by the pastor of the Methodist Church, for North Prairie was a tri-lingual community -- English, German and Flemish called low-German. The school was closed in 1947. See Appendix 18 for a picture of Elm Point School.


NORTH PRAIRIE AND HOYLETON

The North Prairie and Hoyleton Circuit, which in 1849 was founded under the leadership of Brother Hemminghaus, was originally connected to the Mascoutah Mission and counted as its original families the following charter families:
Heinrich Bartelsmeyer, Sr.
Christian Brink
Frederick W. Hake, Sr.
Heinrich Hartmann
Louis Huck, Sr.
Heinrich Lesemann
Heinrich Schnake
William Meyer
and the names of the charter members are as follows:
Heinrich Bartelsmeyer, Sr.
Susan Bartelsmeyer
Christian Brink
Christine Brink
Frederick Hake, Jr.
Frederick W. Hake, Sr.
Heinrich Hake
Henrietta Hake
Heinrich Hartmann
Wilhelmina Hartmann
Maria Hoffman
Heinrich Hoelscher
Ludwig Huck, Sr.
Louise Huck
Frederick Lesemann (could this be Hesemann?)
Heinrich Lesemann (could this be Hesemann?)
Louise Meyer
William Meyer
Heinrich Schnake
Louise Schnake
For a number of years services were held in private homes, but due to the rapid growth of the membership in the congregation, it was decided to build a church. This was completed in 1853, located on a tract of land owned by Heinrich Hartmann and Wilhelmine, his wife; said tract being the Southwest Quarter of the Northwest Quarter of Section Twenty-nine, in Township One South of Range Two West, of the Third Principal Meridian, Washington County, Illinois. The Hartmanns lived in a log cabin situated on the southeast corner of the aforesaid tract, and the church was built on the north end thereof. This church site was one and a half miles south of the later North Prairie Church.
The records of the German Methodist Church are quite vague, however, from the records of the St. Louis Conference book, we find that the Huegely family, who were one of the founders of Methodism in Nashville, established their home here in 1853.
The lot on which the Wesley Methodist Church and Parsonage were situated was deeded to the German Methodist organization by Isaac Miller, on January 22, 1854. Rev. Boeschenz was the first German Methodist Minister to conduct services in Nashville, and later Rev. Peter Hinners was sent by the conference, and he in 1854 organized the congregation of the German Methodist Church in Nashville, Illinois. At this time North Prairie, Grand Prairie, and Little Prairie were included in the Nashville Circuit. North Prairie is often referred to as Crooked Creek Circuit.
Charter members of the Nashville congregation were as follows:
John Huegely
Susannah Huegely
Wilhelmina Hinners
Alois Morawets
The number of members of the aforesaid four missions are as follows:
The Nashville Circuit 4 members
North Prairie Circuit21 members
Grand Prairie Circuit18 members
Little Prairie Circuit 8 members
The first Quarterly Conference was held at Nashville, Illinois, on December 3, 1854, when it was decided to build a parsonage, and the following were elected as a Building Committee:
Christian Brink, North Prairie
John Huegely, Nashville
William Meyer, North Prairie
The following were elected as Stewards in 1854:
Christian Brink, North Prairie
John Geisel, Grand Prairie
William Grote, Grand Prairie
Ernest Hoffman, Little Prairie
John Huegely, Nashville
On December 31, 1854, we find that the following were elected trustees for a term of five years:
Christian Brink, North Prairie
Frederick Hake, Sr., North Prairie
Louis Huck, Sr., North Prairie
John Huegely, Nashville
Heinrich Lesemann, North Prairie (could this be Hesemann?)
Ten years later, due to the rapid growth in membership and also the location, it was decided to build a new church. This took place during the ministry of Rev. H. Schulze, and was completed in the year 1863. The new church was located on the northwest corner of Christian Brink’s land.
After Rev. Boeschenz and Rev. Peter Hinners, the following Ministers named hereafter served the Nashville Circuit:
Rev. H. Schultz 1854-1856
Rev. John Ritter1856-1857
Rev. Paul Hertzel1857-1858
Rev. H. Pfaff1858-1960
It was during Rev. Pfaff’s ministry that the first church in Nashville was built.
Rev. Justus Baab1860-1862
Rev. H. Schultz1862-1865
During Rev. Schultz’s ministry the former North Prairie Church was built.
Rev. Wm. Kleinschmidt1865-1867
Rev. Geo. Buehner1867-1870
Rev. Louis Hornel1870-1871
Rev. George Timken1871-1874
Rev. Charles Rodenberg1874-1877.
The North Prairie Parsonage was built in the summer of 1877.
The Wesley Methodist Church was built in Nashville during the ministry of Rev. Rodenberg.
The members of the Hoyleton Methodist bought the old Nashville Church and moved it to Hoyleton.
At the annual conference in the year 1877, the Nashville Congregation, then called the Bischoefliche Methodisten Kirche, was separated from North Prairie, Grand Prairie and Little Prairie, and after that the following Ministers served the North Prairie and Hoyleton Churches:
Rev. J. M. Rinkel1877-1880
Rev. Wm. Kleinschmidt1880-1884
At this time the Conference had set a limit of three years for any minister to
serve one charge, and we have it on good authority that Frederick Hake was the
minister from 1883-1884, but that Rev. Wm. Kleinschmidt served in his stead.
Rev. G. E. Heidel1884-1886
Rev. F. L. Mahle1886-1889
Rev. C. F. Schlinger1889-1891
Rev. Theopolilus Kies1891-1894
Rev. H. F. Miller1894-1899
Rev. S. Saegesser1899-1900
It was during Rev. Saegesser’s ministry in 1900 that the annex to the church was built and rededicated. The deed given the trustees by Mr. and Mrs. Frederich Krughoff dated 1875 was recorded in December 1901 in Nashville.
Rev. H. F. Miller1900-1903
Rev. J. P. Hehner1903-1904
Rev. F. D. Rademacher1904-1909
Rev. F. H. Austermann1909-1913
Rev. C. J. Lotz1913-1917
Rev. E. Hemke1917-1921
Rev. H. W. Brandt1921-1925
Rev. Henry Idel1925-1929
Rev. Henry Meyer1929-1931
Rev. W. E. Browing1931-1931
Rev. S. Albrecht1931-1936
Rev. Albrecht was the first minister to serve the North Prairie congregation after the separation from Hoyleton.
Rev. C. R. Buess1936-1940
Rev. W. D. Richardson1940-1943
Rev. Chas. Ellis1943-1944
Rev. C. R. Yost1944-1945
Rev. Ray E. Brown1945-1947
Rev. Jerry Weiss1947-1948
Rev. Melvin Byrd1948-1951
Rev. Ray Porter1951-1952
Rev. Wm. Suryear1953-1956
Rev. Charles Hartman1956-1961
Rev. Guy Watson1961-1966
In 1951-1956 Hoyleton and North Prairie were one charge again.
North Prairie was closed in 1966 and a shelter for the church bell was erected in the adjoining cemetery. The bell had been bought in August 1890 for some $180 by J. J. Huck and sisters and brothers as a memorial to their parents Mr. and Mrs. Louis Huck, Sr. One family member told me the church congregation had been advised that if they collected silver coins and other bits of metal and turned it in when the bell was ordered, it could be added to the metal used to make the bell and would in turn give it a better ringing quality. This person said the congregation gathered a collection of such from all its members and took it to St. Louis where the bell was made. It was picked up in St. Louis upon completion and brought back to North Prairie by oxen drawn wagon.

In the early 1900s, probably 1903 or 1904, the congregation had approximately 160 members and the following brethren comprised the Administration Board of the Church. Finance Board included Fred Bartelsmeyer, Henry Dueker, L. Wehking, Fred Gerling, John Hake, and H. Peithman. Trustees were Louis Hake, Edward Krughoff, Fred Bartelsmeyer, Henry Dueker, A. Grote, Fr. Wacker, Wm. Huck, Chr. Stelzriede, H. Uphoff, L. Huck and E. Hake. The congregation had two Sunday schools which were attended by 125 children and there was a young people’s society with 58 members.
The following are the names of those who entered the ministry from the North Prairie Church:
Rev. Theodore Brink
Rev. John J. Huck
Rev. Karl Krughoff
Rev. Elmer Wehking
and we also find that a number of women from the church became ministers’ helpmates, and are as follows:
Mr. F. D. Rademacher, nee Brink (Mary)
Mrs. Theo. Ludwig, nee Brink (Minnie)
Mrs. Gustav Brink, nee Brink (Bertha)
Mrs. Carl Opp, nee Dueker (Agnes)
Mrs. Richard Muelder, nee Huck (Esther)
Mrs. Gail Hines, nee Huck (Helen)
Mrs. Harold Dude, nee Kleeman (Clara)
Mrs. William Hummel, nee Wehking (Carrie)
The following were the current ministers and officers of the North Prairie Church in 1946:
MinisterRev. Ray Brown
Sunday School SuperintendentW. L. Dueker
W. S. C. S. PresidentMrs. George Dueker
Youth Fellowship PresidentMary Louise Dueker
StewardsJulius Krughoff
Charles Bartelsmeyer
Julius Hake
Oscar Kleeman
Arthur Dueker
Parsonage TrusteesAlbert Brink
Oliver Huck
Virgil Hoffman
PianistsGladys Marie Hoffman
Eunice Rixman
TrusteesMartin Huck
John Gerling
Gilbert Hake
Walter Hake
Alfred Rixman
UshersJohn Hoffman
W. L. Dueker
JanitorHenry Idel

Most of the above information on the North Prairie Emmanuel Methodist Church was collected and written by H. L. Krughoff. In his closing words, he stated:

“The zeal with which our forefathers worked should be an inspiration to all who read this and be inspired to greater courage and loyalty to the task of building God’s kingdom.
We must confess that we very little realize the hardships
that the founders of our church went through, and it behooves us to carry on this noble work as they would have us do.”

The North Prairie Church was noted for musical talent. The original male quartet consisted of Louis Bartelsmeyer, Julius Hake, Elmer Hake and Edwin Huck. Other later members were Harvey Hake, Arthur and George Dueker and others from time to time. These men were in much demand for funerals, conferences and even political rallies. They were succeeded in later years by a men’s chorus. A concert band by H. F. W. Hake often furnished music for picnics and other programs. See Appendix 19 for a picture of the North Prairie Band.

Of special note to the descendents of Charles L. C. Brink, Charles F. Brink, Raymond L. Brink, and Charles R. Brink is that all four generations have worked on the North Prairie Church. Charles L. C. built the original structure, Charles F. built on the annex, Raymond L. repaired and remodeled it, and Charles R. Brink with Brink and Jones Construction, using their crane removed the bell which is now in the monument they placed on the property. Then others in the community tore the rest of the building down. See appendix 20 for a picture of North Prairie Church, appendix 21 for a picture of the bell being removed, and appendix 22 for a picture of the monument.


HUEGELY

Huegely originally was located further south down the railroad tracks toward Nashville, Illinois. It consisted of only an elevator and a general store. Then the elevator and store were moved to the location where Huegely lies today. Huegely was mainly started by three Brink brothers: Charles F., Fred and Henry.
Charles F., son of Charles L. C., married Emma Charlotte Finke. Their first home was an apartment above Brinks store in Huegely, Illinois. He owned the store in partnership with his brother Fred. See appendix 23 for a picture of the Brink Store. The general store was small but supplied all the needs including food, tools, clothes, etc. As money was not often available payment was made in farm products, garden vegetables, and eggs. As their family grew, Charles F. moved possibly in 1904 or 1905
to the first house on the North side of the road as you come into Huegely from the West. It is not known if Charles F. built the home or if it was preowned. He began carpentering at this time. It is not known at what date he began moving houses. Appendix 24 shows his home in Huegely with his moving van in front of it. Appendix 25 shows a picture of the steam engine he used in moving buildings along with his moving van and wagons of supplies and tools, etc. Across the street from their home was a long building containing a blacksmith shop run by Henry and a carpenter shop on the other end run by Charles F. Above the two shops was a large room used for community gatherings.
The second house to the east on the north side of the road was the home of Henry Brink. Later, the third home was that of Walter Dueker. Across the railroad tracks was the home of Elmer Hake. Across from Elmer Hake's and east of the mill was Rudy Lilenkamps home.
The elevator consisted of one building that the surrounding farmers brought their wheat, corn, oats, and other grains to. Everything originally was handled in burlap sacks instead of bulk as today. It later became the first elevator in the area to have a grain dump which eliminated the use of sacks.
West of the tracks beyond the elevator stood a creamery. At what year in history this began is unknown. They bought milk and stripped the cream. There were no inspections and several times a baby shoe would come in. People were to wash their own cans so the creamery workers would put the shoe back in the can. Yep, it came back the next time still in the can.
Walter Dueker and Elmer Hake bought the Brink store. The date is unknown but was before 1920 when Charles F. moved to Nashville with his family. Walter and Elmer also ran the elevator which was put in by Huegley Elevator of Nashville, Illinois. Walter did this for years.
Huegely was still pretty active in the early 1950’s due to a saw mill first owned by Ed Martin and later by his son-in-law Dale Hassell. But as the roads improved, travel by automobile improved, people began migrating to the larger towns for all their needs and leaving Huegely behind as it is today.

See appendix 26 for a map of Brink holdings as of 1945, appendix 27 and 28 for copies of the Hoyleton, New Minden, Huegely, North Prairie area from the 1971 platbook of Hoyleton Township, Washington County, Illinois and the 1993 platbook of Hoyleton Township, Washington County, Illinois. Appendix 29 is a very early map (date unknown) showing many of the very early owned farms including Stutz Field from Charles L. C. Brink and the farm owned by Casper Finke, the father of Mrs. Charles F. Brink.

UNKNOWN married UNKNOWN WILHELMINA. WILHELMINA was born in in Probably Germany; died after 1860 in New Minden, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

PHILIP married LUDWIG MARY KATHERINE. MARY was born in in (Different family with same last name). [Group Sheet]

JOHN married UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet]