Timothy Kraft was a native of Ottenau, Germany and came to this country at the age of 22. He lived in Germantown in Ohio, where he married his wife, Walpurg Hurley. They came to Bloomington in 1860 when he was just 28 and began farming. By trade, Mr. Kraft was a potter. This lovely drawing of their farm appears in the Portrait and Biographical Album of McLean County of 1885. The Krafts had five sons and two daughters. The various items in the drawing denote his success. Note the three vehicles in the farm yard, two wagons and an elegant buggy. The farm animals include horses, cattle and hogs. Mr. Kraft grew both corn and oats on his farm. He began his farm with just 80 acres and in 1885 had 660 acres. Upon retiring, Mr and Mrs Kraft moved to East Street in Bloomington to enjoy their golden years.
Washington Dawson was the husband of Mary Rebecca Fell, one of the daughters of Thomas Fell. That marriage failed and both parties remarried. By the time this album was published, Washington Dawson had married his second wife, Martha Durham. From this drawing, it appears that this was not his working farm, but merely a residence. Mr. Dawson had extensive holdings and was from a family that settled in Money Creek in 1832. He served during the full length of the Civil War, and was lucky enough to survive that war without injury.
William Pfitzenmeyer was another German immigrant who saw his future in McLean County. William came to Illinois in 1848 and first settled in Pulaski. He came to McLean County after about four or five years of brick making in Pulaski. Brick making was the trade that William had learned in Germany and he continued in that trade in McLean County. He started off with just five acres of land in Empire Township that grew to 210 acres of land. In 1854 he returned to Germany to find a wife and married Sophia Ruter. The Pfitzenmeyers had only two children. Their daughter drowned after falling into a well at the age of five years. Their son Hugo lived in Leroy all his life and was a coal mine owner. William built a gracious home of brick that is pictured below.
