CHARLES FEUCHTER. The family name of Feuchter is a familiar one to the
citizenship of Cairo, and the influence of its connection with the varied
affairs of this peninsula has permeated financial and business channels of
Southern Illinois. The honor of its founding belongs to Charles Feuchter,
Sr., but to his son and namesake is largely due the credit for placing the
family patronymic among the enduring ones of this financial and commercial
center.
Charles Feuchter, Sr., came to Cairo just before the
outbreak of the Civil war. He had been in America then about five years, had
spent some time in Newark, New Jersey, crossed the country to Dubuque, Iowa,
where he stopped for a short spell, and then returned to Cincinnati, Ohio,
from which point he came to Cairo. He was born in the town of Brachbach,
county of Garabronn, Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1831, and was a son of
Frederick Feuchter, who married a Miss Ricks. Besides himself, the children
of his parents were John; Michael, Frederick, Katherina and Frederica, the
last named of whom became the wife of John Tauber.
Charles Feuchter
is the only member of his family who spent his life in America, his younger
sister, who had lived for a while in Cairo, returning to the Fatherland, and
the remaining children being deceased. He engaged in the brewing of beer in
a small way upon coming to Cairo, and his success as the first of his line
here was a matter of common knowledge. He was of a rather retiring
disposition, and took little part in municipal affairs, although during the
early days he served as a member of the local fire company. He married Anna
Schwanitz in Cairo, and died January 8, 1908, having been the father of two
sons: Charles, Jr., and William.
Charles Feuchter, Jr., was born in
Cairo, November 2, 1863, and was a pupil of the public schools until well
toward the senior year, when he entered Eastman's Business College,
Poughkeepsie, New York, and there took a commercial course. Soon after his
graduation, in 1881, he entered upon his serious business career as a clerk
in the freight offices of the Illinois Central Railway at Cairo, passing
through various grades of clerkship as he climbed upward to the position of
cashier, and resigning that position to take the position of cashier and
chief clerk with the Iron Mountain Railway Company here in 1890. He remained
with the latter company only a year, when his desire for more freedom and a
business of his own caused him to resign. His first business opportunity
came when he joined his brother William in the purchase of the wholesale
liquor business of Judge F. Bross, which was conducted under the name of
Feuchter Brothers until 1907, when the firm was succeeded by The Lazarus
Company, of which Mr. Feuchter is secretary. When the Cuban Cigar Company
was launched he became its president, a position which he has held to the
present time, and he is also a director in the St. Louis & Cairo Railroad
Company, and has been a director in the Alexander County National Bank for
many years, as well as holding the office of vice-president of that
institution. In 1911 he engaged in the fire insurance business with James H.
Galligan, the firm of Feuchter & Galligan being one of the chief agencies of
Cairo. In addition he is secretary of the Cairo Brewing Company, and is
officially connected with the Citizens Building and Loan Association. Mil.
Feuchter holds membership in the Commercial and Alexander Clubs and the
Board of Trade; is past noble grand of Oddfellowship, past exalted ruler of
Cairo Lodge, No. 651, B. P. O. E., past protector of the Knights and Ladies
of Honor, past G. G. M. of the Knights of the Mystic Krew of Comus,
President of Post F, Travelers Protective Association and of the Automobile
Club and of the Cairo Country Club.
On May 26, 1910, Mr. Feuchter
was married at Cairo to Miss Adessa L. Hyde, daughter of George Hyde, and
their new and handsome residence is situated at No. 2601 Washington avenue.
Extracted 15 Jan 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 History of Southern Illinois, Volume 2, pages 873-874.
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