Henry Uhl was a well-informed and progressive man in Lee County, Illinois, who built a comfortable fortune through industry and enterprise. Born on November 19, 1827, in Allegany County, Maryland, he moved to Illinois in 1852, where he cultivated and improved a 260-acre farm in South Dixon Township. In 1882, he relocated to Dixon, residing in a good home on Hennepin Avenue. His father, Peter Uhl, born in 1794, moved the family to Illinois in 1852. Henry married Susan Wilhelm from Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Active in politics as a staunch Republican, he held numerous local offices and was dedicated to the community’s growth and welfare.
Henry Uhl. This gentleman is one of the well-informed and progressive men of this county, who, from a small beginning, has built up a comfortable fortune, and is now enjoying the result of his industry and enterprise. He resides in Dixon, where he owns a good home on Hennepin Avenue, having moved to this city in the spring of 1882, from his farm on section 12, South Dixon Township, where he had resided for many years.
In 1852 Mr. Uhl took up a tract of raw prairie land which he cultivated and improved until now it is an excellent farm of two hundred and sixty acres. He came to this county a poor man, and in 1853 began the business of general farming, in which he has since been engaged. He was a native of Allegany County, Md., his birth taking place November 19, 1827, and he continued to reside in that county until coming to Illinois in 1852. His father, Peter Uhl, was born in 1794, and was a native of the same county as his son, his father, Charles Uhl, having settled there about 1785. The latter gentleman was born in Germany and was only one year old when his father, Michael Uhl, emigrated to this country in Colonial days, and some years prior to the Revolutionary War, settled in Pennsylvania, Somerset County, where he and his wife both died when quite aged. They were members of the Lutheran Church, and were estimable people. Charles Uhl, the grandfather of our subject, was one of a family of three sons and one daughter, and when sixteen years of age enlisted in the Revolutionary Army and served during the last year of that struggle. After his marriage in Pennsylvania to a lady of German birth, they settled on a new farm in Allegany County, Md., and there lived and died when about sixty years old. They were worthy members of the Lutheran Church. Their large family consisted of twelve sons and three daughters, of whom Peter was one of the elder ones. All are now deceased, most of them having lived to maturity and becoming heads of families.
Peter Uhl, when a young man, learned the trade of a hatter under Mr. Johnson, in Berlin, Somerset County, Pa., following that business until in the ’40s, when trade becoming dull, he quit the business and became a farmer, following that occupation until 1852, when he left the East and came with his wife and family to Illinois, locating on a farm in South Dixon Township, and there lived until his death in 1871, at the age of seventy-eight years. He was originally a Whig, and later a Republican in politics, and was a good and worthy citizen, making many friends in the community where he resided. He was for many years a Justice of the Peace, and held other local offices. His wife died in 1876. She was born in Baltimore County, Md., in 1791, her maiden name being Hager. Her parents were born in this country, and were of German and Scotch ancestry. Both she and her husband were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Henry Uhl, our subject, is the youngest but one in a family of five children. One son, Samuel H., was a soldier in the War of the Rebellion, and died as a result of his services in that struggle. Our subject and a sister, Mrs. Susan Beall, now of Allegany County, Md., are all the children now living. Mr. Uhl was married in his native county to Miss Susan Wilhelm, who was born in Somerset County, Pa. Her father died when she was quite young, and her mother spent her last years in Marion, where she died in 1872, at a ripe old age. They were the parents of three sons and three daughters.
Mr. Uhl is a prominent man in his community, being much interested in politics, and is a staunch member of the Republican party. He has held a number of local offices, is well-informed on all the issues of the day, and takes a lively interest in everything pertaining to the growth and welfare of his county.