Belleville in St. Clair County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Gustavus P. Koerner / Sophia Engelmann Koerner

1809-1896 / 1815-1888 (respectively)

— German-American Reformers —

Gustavus P. Koerner/Sophia Engelmann Koerner Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jason Voigt, July 15, 2020

1. Gustavus P. Koerner/Sophia Engelmann Koerner Marker

Inscription. Abandoning hope of political reform in Germany, members of the Friedrich Engelmann family, including daughter Sophie, immigrated to the Belleville area in 1833. Sophie's suitor, Gustave Koerner, accompanied them after participating in a failed revolt. He served as a state supreme court justice and lieutenant governor, becoming the first German American to be elected to a statewide office in Illinois. His hostility to slavery led him to the new Republican Party and to garner German-American support for the party. He was a manager for Abraham Lincoln at the 1860 Republican Convention and was minister to Spain during the Civil War. Sophie was a founder of the Belleville Kindergarten Association in 1874.

Erected 2016 by Belleville Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • Education • Settlements & Settlers • Women.

Location. 38° 30.827′ N, 89° 59.068′ W. Marker is in Belleville, Illinois, in St. Clair County. Marker is at the intersection of West Main Street and North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street. Marker is in front of the St. Clair Annex building, with

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other Belleville Walk of Fame plaques at the northwest quadrant of Belleville Public Square. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 23 Public Square, Belleville IL 62220, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Edward A. Daley (here, next to this marker); Lyman Trumbull (here, next to this marker); Ninian Edwards (here, next to this marker); George Blair (here, next to this marker); Les Mueller (here, next to this marker); Julius Liese (here, next to this marker); Robert "Bob" Goalby (here, next to this marker); Theodor Erasmus Hilgard (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Belleville.

More about this marker. The Koerners, along with Edward A. Daley and Julius Liese, were inducted into Belleville's Walk of Fame with a plaque ceremony on October 1, 2016.

Regarding Gustavus P. Koerner / Sophia Engelmann Koerner. There is a marker that was erected by the Illinois State Historical Society located a mile east, in front of his old house.

Also see . . . Gustav Koerner on Wikipedia. (Submitted on July 21, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)

Photographed By Jason Voigt, July 15, 2020

2. Gustavus P. Koerner/Sophia Engelmann Koerner Marker

Plaque is where red arrow is pointing

Credits. This page was last revised on April 7, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 21, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 189 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 21, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.