John F. Bossemeyer, born May 24, 1849, in Maryland, was a respected farmer in South Dixon Township, Illinois. The son of German immigrant Frederick Bossemeyer and Hannah Gammer, John moved to Illinois with his family, settling on a farm in Lee County. A dedicated and innovative farmer, John purchased and improved a 107-acre farm on section 22. He was married to Fannie A. Smith on September 4, 1874, with whom he had four children: Arthur J., Etta L., Lester O., and Nellie H. John passed away on April 1, 1888, leaving a significant impact on his community and family.
John F. Bossemeyer was a man of intelligent mind and superior character, exemplary in his habits, manly and straightforward in his dealings, and true in the various relations that he sustained towards others as son, husband, father, neighbor, and steadfast in his friendships. And the death of such an estimable citizen was a serious loss to his community. For several years he had been busily engaged in improving a farm on section 22, South Dixon Township, and in general agricultural operations, and there, while yet in life’s prime, with a promising future before him, his hand was stayed from its labors, and he passed from the scenes of earth April 1, 1888.
Mr. Bossemeyer was born in the State of Maryland, May 24, 1849. His father, whose given name was Frederick, was of German birth and ancestry. He was a young man when he came to the United States and settled in Maryland, where he met and married Miss Hannah Gammer, a native of that State. They continued to live in that commonwealth until after the birth of their eldest children and then they came to Illinois and cast in their lot with the pioneers of Lee County. They located on a tract of wild, unbroken land on section 24, South Dixon Township, where they established a little home, which was afterward replaced by a more commodious dwelling, and in the course of time Mr. Bossemeyer opened up a valuable farm of two hundred and fifty acres. In 1880, he retired from active business with his wife to the city of Dixon, and they quietly passed their remaining days in their residence on Galena Street, his death occurring in 1886, at the age of threescore and ten years, and hers in 1889, when she was well advanced in years. She was a woman of many virtues, of a warm and tender heart, and was regarded with great affection by all about her. Mr. Bossemeyer, Sr., was considered one of the leading German farmers of his day, and was well and favorably known. He was a prominent Republican, taking an active part in local politics, and he was a great worker in the church; both he and his wife belonged to the Lutheran Church of Dixon.
A boy of ten or eleven years when his parents brought him to this county, our subject grew to man’s estate on his father’s farm, and there received the practical training that was to make him successful as a farmer on his own account. He remained on the paternal homestead until he attained his majority, and after his marriage he purchased a farm of one hundred and seven acres on section 22, South Dixon Township, and made many improvements in the shape of good farm buildings, etc. He was a young man of much ability, was remarkably industrious, was progressive in his ideas, and was ambitious to make a pleasant home for his family, to whom he was devoted. He was a student and a thinker, and seemed to have an aptitude for inventions, which might have made him famous one day had he lived. He was well educated, and made his mark as a teacher, engaging in that profession in this county for some three years. His religion was that of the Lutheran Church, of which he was a member. In politics, he was a decided Republican.
September 4, 1874, the marriage of our subject with Miss Fannie A. Smith was duly solemnized in Dixon Township, and in her he found an affectionate and devoted wife, who made his interests her own, and materially added to his success in life and to his comfort and happiness. She was born in this township on her father’s homestead March 15, 1858. She was carefully reared under wholesome home influences and was educated in the public schools. At her husband’s death, she bravely took up the work that he laid down and is managing the farm with consummate skill, displaying an undoubted talent for business. She is the mother of four children, who are at home with her; their names are as follows: Arthur J., Etta L., Lester O., and Nellie H. For Mrs. Bossemeyer’s parental history, see the sketch of Joseph Smith on another page.