Edward Abend (May 30, 1822 – July 17, 1904) was a

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

politician, lawyer, and banker from the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

. He came with his family to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

as a child, later moving to

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is a southeastern suburb of St. Louis. The population was 42,404 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populated city in the Me ...

. After studying at Lebanon College, Abend became a lawyer, eventually opening a practice in Belleville. Abend was active in the affairs of the city and county and was elected mayor four times. He served one term in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

as a

Free Soil The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was focused on opposing the expansion of slav ...

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Biography

Edward Abend was born in

Marnheim Marnheim is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Marnheim is located around 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Kirchheimbolanden. The nearest bigger cities are Worms and Kaiserslautern. The Pfrimm river ...

, on May 30, 1822. His family emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, settling in

. After a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

outbreak killed his father, brother, and sister, Abend's family moved to

. Abend attended public schools in St. Louis, but attended a private academy in Belleville. He was admitted to Lebanon College in 1840. He was admitted to the bar in 1843 and practiced in

Lebanon, Illinois Lebanon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,691 at the 2020 census It is a part of the Metro East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Lebanon is home to McKendree University, the oldest ...

for two years. In 1844, he purchased a farm and operated it for six years. He then returned to Belleville to again practice law. Abend was elected to the

in 1848, serving one term. He was affiliated with the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. The party was focused o ...

and the Democratic Party. He maintained his affiliation with the Democrats, but often voted for Republican presidential candidates. He served as mayor of Belleville five times. He also served a term on the St. Clair County Board of Supervisors. In 1860, Abend founded the Belleville Savings Bank and was named its first president. He also became president of the Electric Light Company of Belleville. He was the manager and president of the St. Clair Turnpike Company, which built a road in 1850 that was later sold to an electric railroad company. He was a director of the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad for twenty years. Abend married Caroline Westermann in 1852. They had one daughter, Louisa, who died young. He remarried to Anna Hilgard in 1856. They had six children. He enjoyed traveling in his spare time and twice visited Europe. He died on July 17, 1904.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abend, Edward 1822 births 1904 deaths Illinois Free Soilers Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Belleville, Illinois Emigrants from Bavaria to the United States 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly