Biography of Irwin Borger of Hall, Illinois

The Borger family is of German descent, and for several generations lived in Pennsylvania. The great grandfather of our subject was captured by the Indians on the frontier in Corben County, Penn., while returning from his blacksmith shop. The Indians told him if he would go with them quietly they would keep him five years, and then he might go home. At the end of the five years he volunteered to stay another year, but finally returned to his family. His son, John Borger, had five children, of whom Theobald was our subject’s father. He was a blacksmith, and lived in Pennsylvania, where he married Lydia Miller. Both are now dead. They had five children, viz.: Mrs. Mary A. McKee, of Selby Township; Ephraim, William, both of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Polly Wolle, deceased and Irwin.

Irwin Borger was born January 17, 1832, in Southampton County, Penn., where he was reared and educated. He was married February 2, 1857, to Emma Faust, who was born April 18, 1836, in the same county as her husband. Her parents, Paul and Emelie (Breinig) Faust were natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Borger is the mother of Mrs. Ida M. Combs, born March 22, 1860, widow of Oscar Combs. They had one child. Irwin W., born December 4, 1880.

Mr. Borger has been married twice. His first wife, Sarah Bush, died in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Borger are members of the German Reformed Church. Politically he is Independent, but was formerly a Democrat. He has held various township offices—Commissioner, Assessor and School Trustee, which office he holds at present. He owns 175 acres of land, 120 of which was wild land, which he has improved.

Source: History of Bureau County, Illinois, H. C. Bradsby, Editor. World Publishing Company Chicago 1885

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pin It on Pinterest

Scroll to Top