John W. Wingert, born on July 18, 1831, in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, was a Civil War veteran and prominent farmer in Nachusa Township, Lee County, Illinois. In 1852, he moved to Illinois with his family, and in 1877, he acquired a 200-acre farm along Franklin Creek, where he raised livestock and cultivated the land. Wingert enlisted in the 75th Illinois Infantry in 1862, participating in significant battles such as Perryville and Stone River. He married Hannah M. Hittle in 1869, and together they raised six children. Wingert was an active member of the Methodist Church and the G.A.R.
John W. Wingert is one of the enterprising and well-known farmers of the county. His home is on section 29, Nachusa Township, where he owns a valuable farm of two hundred acres under a high state of cultivation, well-watered by Franklin Creek and complete in all its appointments. There is a good residence (view of which will be noticed on another page), as well as the necessary outbuildings, and the farm is well stocked with horses, cattle, and hogs. It has been the property of our subject since 1877, but his residence in the county covers a much longer period, the date of his arrival being October 1, 1852.
Mr. Wingert was born in Greencastle, Pa., July 18, 1831. Records say that the family was of German origin and its members were early settlers of Franklin County, Pa. Jacob Wingert, the grandfather of our subject, was there reared to manhood upon a farm and spent his entire life near Greencastle, dying at the ripe old age of eighty-seven years. He was one of nature’s noblemen and the upright life which he lived won him the esteem of all. He was long a minister of the United Brethren Church, with which his wife was also connected as a faithful member. They had a family of eleven children, nearly all of whom reached mature years, were married and left families. Only one yet survives—Daniel, who is now living in Iowa at the age of seventy-five years.
The father of our subject, Henry Wingert, a native of Franklin County, Pa., learned the tanner’s trade in his youth. In the Keystone State, he married Anna Bentz, who was also born in that locality, her parents being natives of Pennsylvania, of German lineage. After the birth of three children, Henry Wingert emigrated with his family to Preble County, Ohio, where for five years he carried on a tannery. He then purchased eighty acres of land, upon which he made his home until 1852, when selling out he emigrated to Illinois, and cast his lot with the early settlers of Lee County, where he arrived on the 1st of October. Upon a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which he soon afterward purchased, they began life in the West and continued to reside there until called to their final home. Mr. Wingert, who was born February 23, 1804, died on the 24th of August, 1891. His wife had previously been called home, dying suddenly December 24, 1877. Her birth occurred May 4, 1805. For years they had been members of the Methodist Church and in politics, Mr. Wingert was a stalwart Republican. In their family were fifteen children, nine of whom are yet living and all are married with the exception of one daughter. Success has attended them in life and they are now well-to-do people.
John Wingert was the third of the family. In his youth, he was inured to hard labor and his educational advantages were those of the common schools. After coming to Illinois he became acquainted with Miss Hannah M. Hittle and they were married in Nachusa Township, January 28, 1869. The lady is a native of Columbia County, Pa., and in 1842, when a young maiden, accompanied her parents to Illinois, the family settling in Nachusa Township upon a new farm. Her father, Jacob Hittle, died at the age of sixty-nine years, and his wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Culp, departed this life when seventy years of age. He was a member of the Christian Church and his wife held the religious views of the Dunkards.
After the breaking out of the late war, Mr. Wingert responded to the country’s call for troops, enlisting on the 13th of August, 1862, as a member of Company G, Seventy-fifth Illinois Infantry, under Capt. Williams. Col. Ryan commanded the regiment, which was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee and was first under fire at the battle of Perryville, October 8, 1862. In January, 1863, the troops participated in the battle of Stone River, where the Seventy-fifth sustained heavy losses; later they were in the battles of Lookout Mountain and Iuka, and in many other engagements followed the stars and stripes. Mr. Wingert was honorably discharged from the service at the close of the war, June 28, 1865. He went to Washington and attended the theatre on the night that President Lincoln was assassinated and saw the shot fired. His health was seriously impaired from exposure during the service and the hardships of army life.
Returning to the North, Mr. Wingert resumed farming to which he has since devoted his energies. Six children have been born to him and his estimable wife, five yet living—William B., Fred A., Adelbert G., and Burton B. and Bertha B., twins. They lost one son, Charles H. Mr. and Mrs. Wingert are members of the Methodist Church, contribute liberally to its support and take an active interest in its work. In politics, he is a Republican, but has never sought public office. He is a member of George W. Hewitt Post, No. 398, G.A.R., of Franklin Grove. Throughout the community, he is recognized as a successful farmer and an influential citizen who is true to every duty as he was to the country in her hour of peril.