Jonas Burger is a prominent farmer in Palmyra Township, owning 110 acres of well-cultivated land. He arrived in the county in 1854 with limited means, establishing his home and progressing from a log cabin to a modern dwelling. Originally from Columbia County, Pennsylvania, he was born in 1824 to German ancestry and came from a family of twelve children. Married in 1848 to Rebecca Loreman, they had eight children, with six surviving. The couple is active in the Presbyterian Church, and Burger supports the Democratic party in his political endeavors.
Jonas Burger is one of the most successful farmers in Palmyra Township. He owns a very attractive and productive farm of one hundred and ten acres on sections 16 and 17 of the above-named township, every foot of which is under the most excellent cultivation. He came to this county in 1854 and landed in Dixon with $110 in his pocket and a wife and one child to care for. They thus began at the bottom of the ladder, erecting on their purchase a log cabin, which has since been supplemented by a comfortable and convenient frame dwelling.
Mr. Burger removed to Crawford County, Mo., in 1858, but two years later returned to Lee County, and has since made this county his abiding place. He was born in Columbia County, Pa., June 1, 1824, and is the son of Abraham Burger, also a native of Columbia County, Pa., and of German ancestry. His mother was Miss Mary Hower, a native of the same county and State as was her husband. After their marriage the parents located on a farm in Columbia County, where they lived good honest lives and died, the father when seventy-nine years of age and the mother two years younger. They were active and influential members of the Presbyterian and Lutheran Churches, respectively. Mr. Burger was a believer in Democratic principles and always cast his vote and influence in favor of the candidates of that party.
The parental family of our subject numbered twelve children, five sons and seven daughters, of whom our subject was the youngest but one in the order of birth and the only son now living. Mr. Burger has three sisters living, two making their home in Pennsylvania and one in Nebraska. He was reared to man’s estate in his native county and received a good education in the common schools. He was married November 23, 1848, to Miss Rebecca Loreman, who was born in Columbia County, Pa., January 15, 1830, where she was reared and was given an excellent education.
Mrs. Burger was the daughter of Jacob and Lydia (Drumm) Loreman, both of whom were natives of Franklin Township, Columbia County. They were well-to-do people and died at the respective ages of seventy-nine and seventy-two years. They were of Pennsylvania Dutch stock and very prominent in the work of the Lutheran Church, of which denomination they were members. Mr. Loreman was a believer in Democracy and took a lively interest in local politics.
Mrs. Burger, the wife of our subject, was the eldest child of three sons and four daughters born to her parents and besides a sister and brother, is the only one now living. Her union with our subject has been productive of eight children, two of whom are deceased: Lydia A. and Anna M. Those living are Alice, who is the wife of Abraham Cliets, and makes her home in Mills County, Iowa, on a farm; Amanda M., the wife of Jacob Kline, now resides in Jordan Township, Whiteside County, Ill.; William, who took to wife Miss Barbara Wolford, and who lives on a farm in Ogle County, this State; Sarah, the wife of Erastus A. Covert, she resides on a farm in this township; Ida M., wife of Samuel McGaffy, also making Palmyra Township their home; Eldora makes her home under the parental roof. Our subject and his wife are conscientious members of the Presbyterian Church and in politics Mr. Burger votes with the Democratic party.