The Tuesburg family is of Danish origin,
the grandfather of C. Elmer Tuesburg, Hanson Tuesburg, being a native of
Denmark, a lieutenant in the navy of his country at the age of twenty-two
years, and subsequently captain of a merchant vessel in the South American
trade for a period of thirty years. One of C. E. Tuesburg 's most highly-prized
possessions is an old flint-lock pistol with a steel bayonet which belonged to
his grand- father. This weapon was generally used by the mariners of that day in
their frequent conflicts with the pirates who swarmed the South American
waters. It has a romantic story, and shows the effects of usage, but, while
probably 150 years old, is still in a state of good repair. In 1835, at the age
of fifty-two years, Captain Hanson Tuesburg came to America and located at
Tremont, Tazewell County, Illinois, where he was married to Mary Jones. She was
born near Boston, Massachusetts, in 1808, and removed with her father's family to
Tremont, Illinois, in 1834, becoming a member of the first colony that settled
that place and developed it. She was of Puritan stock, and was a Baptist in
religious belief, while Captain Tuesburg adhered to the faith of the Lutheran Church.
Politically he was a democrat.
Charles H. Tuesburg, father of C. Elmer Tuesburg, was born at Tremont, fourteen miles south of Peoria, Illinois, in December, 1844, and was still a lad when his father died, in 1859, and was one of three sons and an adopted son left to be reared by the widowed mother. The two older sons enlisted for service in the Civil war, in 1861, and the foster son served efficiently as an array surgeon for a period of six years, while Capt. Hanson, the eldest son, met a soldier's death in the advance on Corinth, during Sherman's march to the sea, being shot from ambush while leading his company. He was unmarried. Charles H. Tuesburg served as a lieu- tenant of Company C, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the latter part of the war, where he had an excellent record.
At the age of twenty years Charles H. Tuesburg went to Livingston County, Illinois, and there entered upon his real career, in which he has since gained much success and reputation. Without influential aid or funds he purchased and undertook to pay for 160 acres of land, and during the next fifteen years his struggles were of a nature which tested to the limit even his strength and capacity. However, when he had his land paid for and improved he found his lot easier, and began to add to his original purchase until he owned an entire section in Odell Township. There he resided until 1892, at which time he removed with his family to Pontiac, Illinois, in order that he might find better educational advantages for his children.
Having early shown his natural adaptation for business, and his fidelity to engagements even when he was young and without means, Mr. Tuesburg attracted the attention of the owners of the large Scott Estate, extensive landed interests in Central Illinois. Although still a young man, Mr. Tuesburg was selected to manage their interests, representing several thousand acres of land in the control of which he was practically given carte blanche. He early conceived the idea of the importance of underground drainage, and became one of the pioneers of this system in Illinois, spending "$60,000 of his employer's money in tiling in less than two years. The wisdom and foresight of this move is shown by the fact that these lands in Livingston, Champaign and other counties formerly practically worthless, for a cost of from $5 to $8 per acre for drainage, became worth from $200 to $300 an acre. Later Mr. Tuesburg became interested in the swampy and apparently unreclaimable lands of the Kankakee Valley, in Indiana, especially in Starke and Laporte counties, and in 1891 he transferred his operations to this locality, the center of his activities being the Town of Lacrosse, right in the heart of the swampy section. Here he not only invested his own money, but induced his friends to do likewise, and while making a fortune for himself aided others to clear large sums of money. The leader in any new movement receives a certain amount of ridicule from those who have not the foresight to see beyond the conventional rut of time-worn methods, and in Mr. Tuesburg 's case it was no exception. Time and again real estate men, with high opinion of their own sagacity, "unloaded" upon the newcomer what they believed to be worthless properties and laughed to themselves at his credulity. They lived, however, seeing him increase the value of the lands to many times their original worth, and to regret the shortsightedness that made them dispose of their holdings. To illustrate: Mr. Tuesburg by persistent effort induced five of his friends to join with him in the purchase of 5,000 acres of frog-pond land at $22 an acre, the original owners feeling that they had driven a great bargain. With characteristic energy Mr. Tuesburg set his machinery to work, and under his efforts the frog ponds were soon yielding marvelous crops of corn, oats and wheat. The result was that the land brought a rental equal to the most fertile Illinois lands, and later sold as high as $200 per acre, yielding the new owners about one hundred thousand dollars each in profit. This is but an instance. All along Mr.Tuesburg has been in the front rank of developers, improving the value of lands, and in this he has been ably seconded by his sons.
A man of education himself, Mr. Tuesburg has been a great friend of the schools, was a member of the school board for a number of years at Pontiac, Illinois, and at Lacrosse has continued to promote and support movements of an educational nature. He has long been prominent in the ranks of the prohibition party, and at one time was candidate for lieutenant-governor and stumped the State of Illinois. He was married in Fulton County, Illinois, to Miss Sarah E. Dunn, who was born in that county in November, 1843, and has been of the greatest assistance to her husband in helping him to his present high position. They have four children : John, who has been since 1899 a resident of North Bend Township, Starke County, where he is largely engaged as a farmer, stock- raiser and peppermint and onion grower, married in Illinois Bertha Cox of that state and has six children, — Arthur, Claude, Gladys, Ethel, Madge and Robert ;Lillian, who is the wife of John Adams of Laporte County, Indiana, and lives on the old Adams homestead, one of the first farms to be settled in the southern part of that county, and has one child, — Clarence ; C. Elmer, of this review ; and William, the owner of the finest developed truck farm in Laporte County, a tract of 300 acres, near Hannah, married Nellie Hansen, of Laporte County.
Charles H. Tuesburg, father of C. Elmer Tuesburg, was born at Tremont, fourteen miles south of Peoria, Illinois, in December, 1844, and was still a lad when his father died, in 1859, and was one of three sons and an adopted son left to be reared by the widowed mother. The two older sons enlisted for service in the Civil war, in 1861, and the foster son served efficiently as an array surgeon for a period of six years, while Capt. Hanson, the eldest son, met a soldier's death in the advance on Corinth, during Sherman's march to the sea, being shot from ambush while leading his company. He was unmarried. Charles H. Tuesburg served as a lieu- tenant of Company C, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the latter part of the war, where he had an excellent record.
At the age of twenty years Charles H. Tuesburg went to Livingston County, Illinois, and there entered upon his real career, in which he has since gained much success and reputation. Without influential aid or funds he purchased and undertook to pay for 160 acres of land, and during the next fifteen years his struggles were of a nature which tested to the limit even his strength and capacity. However, when he had his land paid for and improved he found his lot easier, and began to add to his original purchase until he owned an entire section in Odell Township. There he resided until 1892, at which time he removed with his family to Pontiac, Illinois, in order that he might find better educational advantages for his children.
Having early shown his natural adaptation for business, and his fidelity to engagements even when he was young and without means, Mr. Tuesburg attracted the attention of the owners of the large Scott Estate, extensive landed interests in Central Illinois. Although still a young man, Mr. Tuesburg was selected to manage their interests, representing several thousand acres of land in the control of which he was practically given carte blanche. He early conceived the idea of the importance of underground drainage, and became one of the pioneers of this system in Illinois, spending "$60,000 of his employer's money in tiling in less than two years. The wisdom and foresight of this move is shown by the fact that these lands in Livingston, Champaign and other counties formerly practically worthless, for a cost of from $5 to $8 per acre for drainage, became worth from $200 to $300 an acre. Later Mr. Tuesburg became interested in the swampy and apparently unreclaimable lands of the Kankakee Valley, in Indiana, especially in Starke and Laporte counties, and in 1891 he transferred his operations to this locality, the center of his activities being the Town of Lacrosse, right in the heart of the swampy section. Here he not only invested his own money, but induced his friends to do likewise, and while making a fortune for himself aided others to clear large sums of money. The leader in any new movement receives a certain amount of ridicule from those who have not the foresight to see beyond the conventional rut of time-worn methods, and in Mr. Tuesburg 's case it was no exception. Time and again real estate men, with high opinion of their own sagacity, "unloaded" upon the newcomer what they believed to be worthless properties and laughed to themselves at his credulity. They lived, however, seeing him increase the value of the lands to many times their original worth, and to regret the shortsightedness that made them dispose of their holdings. To illustrate: Mr. Tuesburg by persistent effort induced five of his friends to join with him in the purchase of 5,000 acres of frog-pond land at $22 an acre, the original owners feeling that they had driven a great bargain. With characteristic energy Mr. Tuesburg set his machinery to work, and under his efforts the frog ponds were soon yielding marvelous crops of corn, oats and wheat. The result was that the land brought a rental equal to the most fertile Illinois lands, and later sold as high as $200 per acre, yielding the new owners about one hundred thousand dollars each in profit. This is but an instance. All along Mr.Tuesburg has been in the front rank of developers, improving the value of lands, and in this he has been ably seconded by his sons.
A man of education himself, Mr. Tuesburg has been a great friend of the schools, was a member of the school board for a number of years at Pontiac, Illinois, and at Lacrosse has continued to promote and support movements of an educational nature. He has long been prominent in the ranks of the prohibition party, and at one time was candidate for lieutenant-governor and stumped the State of Illinois. He was married in Fulton County, Illinois, to Miss Sarah E. Dunn, who was born in that county in November, 1843, and has been of the greatest assistance to her husband in helping him to his present high position. They have four children : John, who has been since 1899 a resident of North Bend Township, Starke County, where he is largely engaged as a farmer, stock- raiser and peppermint and onion grower, married in Illinois Bertha Cox of that state and has six children, — Arthur, Claude, Gladys, Ethel, Madge and Robert ;Lillian, who is the wife of John Adams of Laporte County, Indiana, and lives on the old Adams homestead, one of the first farms to be settled in the southern part of that county, and has one child, — Clarence ; C. Elmer, of this review ; and William, the owner of the finest developed truck farm in Laporte County, a tract of 300 acres, near Hannah, married Nellie Hansen, of Laporte County.
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