Gottlob
Gmelich, late treasurer of LaSalle county and a man well known and
universally respected, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, February 13, 1843,
and when nine years of age accompanied his parents on their emigration to
this country. They landed in LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1852, and from
that time until his death, April 21, 1898, he made his home in Peru. His
parents were Jacob and Barbara (Walter) Gmelich, and in their family were
four daughters and two sons.
Mr. Gmelich had but limited advantages
for obtaining an education, the most of his schooling being before his tenth
year. At fourteen he became an apprentice to a tinsmith, and thus was at
work in the shop when he should have been in school. However, the broad
school of experience was open to him and in it he obtained a large fund of
useful information as the years went by, being quick to observe and
possessing a good memory, and he never failed to put his knowledge to the
best use in his business life. Books and papers were a never failing source
of interest to him. He worked at his trade until the outbreak of civil war,
when he tendered his services in support of the Union. He enrolled his name
on the volunteer list August 1. 1861; rendezvoused at Camp Ellsworth,
Chicago, Illinois, and was mustered into Company A, Forty-fourth Illinois
Infantry, August 13, 1861, and went to the front. To give a detailed account
of his army life would be to write a history of much of the civil war.
Suffice it to say in this connection that he followed the fortunes of his
command, participating in the various actions in which it was engaged, until
the battle of Resaca, where he was wounded in the knee by a rebel bullet. He
was then placed in hospital at Jefferson and later at Quincy, Illinois, and
altogether was in hospital about three months. During this time his
three-years term of enlistment expired and he was honorably discharged,
being mustered out September 15, 1864. He entered the army as a private and
came out with the rank of corporal.
Immediately after leaving the
army, Mr. Gmelich returned to Peru and resumed work at his trade, which he
continued until 1866. That year he engaged in business on his own account,
dealing in tinware and stoves. He conducted a successful business for a
number of years, until he was elected to the office of county treasurer in
1894, when he sold out in order to give his whole time and attention to the
duties of his office. It was while he was the incumbent of the treasurer's
office that he died.
Mr. Gmelich was a stanch Republican, active and
interested in the success of his party and in the general welfare of his
community. He filled other important official positions besides that of
county treasurer. For six years he represented his ward as city alderman. In
1890 and again in 1891 he was elected mayor of Peru, a position which for
two terms he filled most acceptably. He was prominently identified with a
number of fraternal organizations. He was a member of the G. A. R. and was
the commander of his post; in the I. O. O. F. he filled all the chairs, and
on several occasions as delegate represented his lodge in the state
conventions of that order; was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America;
and served as president of the Peru Turnverein.
Mr. Gmelich was
married, in Peru, in 1867, to Miss Josephine Schmidt, a daughter of Albin
and Caroline (Conrod) Schmidt, natives of Germany. Mr. Schmidt was a baker
and confectioner. Mrs. Gmelich was a child when she came with her parents to
this country, their first location being at Louisville, Kentucky, and from
there in 1853 they came to Peru, Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Gmelich were born
four children, — Lula, Jacob, Robert and Fred. Lula is the wife of Charles
Penning, a clothier of Peru; Jacob, the eldest son, is with an uncle engaged
in the confectionery business in Detroit, Michigan; and Robert is holding a
clerical position in Peru. Mr. Gmelich, the father, was formerly a member of
the German Lutheran Evangelical church, and Mrs. Gmelich was reared in the
Catholic faith. Their children are members of the Congregational church.
Extracted 22 Dec 2017 by Norma Hass from Biographical and Genealogical Record of LaSalle County, Illinois, published in 1900, volume 2, pages 530-531.
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