John Bressmer - A striking example of what can be accomplished by persistent industry and strict attention to business is afforded in the life of John Bressmer, the leading dry-goods merchant of Springfield. He came to Springfield poor, unacquainted with the language and customs of America, but ready to do any honest work and keen to take the advantage of an opportunity to advance. He has risen to a position of prominence in the mercantile world, being the proprietor of an establishment which is by far the largest of its class in Springfield and occupies over twenty thousand feet of floor space. Once a laborer at fifty cents a day he is now the employer of forty clerks and the manager of an extensive business.
Mr. Bressmer was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, June 8, 1833, his parents being Philip and Julia (Follmer) Bressmer. The father was a laboring man and was led to America by the accounts which had reached him of the better opportunities which awaited the poor man here. He embarked with his wife and seven children and landed at New Orleans sixty days after leaving Havre. He came up the river to St. Louis, thence to Pekin, Ill., which he reached July 4, 1848, and thence traveled in a wagon to Mt. Pulaski, Logan County. He stopped over night where Lincoln now stands, then Postville, there being two houses there at the time. At Mt. Pulaski Mr. Bressmer stopped with an uncle a short time, and there died in October, 1848.
Our subject came to Springfield in the latter part of July, 1848, and found his first employment in grading down the street in front of Lincoln's residence. While making excavations he used to watch Lincoln going to and fro, and says that he grew to love the man before he was able to converse with him. It was a proud day for the young man when he could cast a ballot in favor of the man he so admired. After working on the roads for a time at fifty cants a day Mr. Bressmer hauled rock and mortar for a distillery at Carpenter's Mill, and then hired out to S. M. Tinsley, for whom he sawed wood, curried horses and made fires for two winters.
In October, 1851, Mr. Bressmer became a grocery clerk for Hurst & Taylor, and after acting in that capacity two or three years became a dry-goods clerk. In 1855-56 the firm dissolved partnership and Mr. Bressmer continued his duties two years after Charles W. Matheny had entered the firm. Two years later our subject and B. C. McQuester bought C. R. Hurst's interest and the firm became Matheny & Co. This connection lasted until 1868, when Mr. Bressmer took sole charge of the establishment. He continued on the old site until 1881, when he removed to his present quarters. Here he occupies four stories, which are fitted up in the most convenient manner and stored with carefully selected goods. In carpets his establishment rivals anything in the State, the appointments of the department being unique and perfect. A large hall on the upper floor has been provided for the purpose of fitting carpets of any size which may be ordered, and as they are sewed and placed just as they will be on the floor for which they are designed, there is no danger of misfits.
Mr. Bressmer was fortunate in securing for his wife a lady of genuine worth of character and pleasing manners. She bore the maiden name of Mary Weiss and the marriage rites were solemnized in 1855. Two sons and two daughters have come to bless the happy home: Charles has charge of the carpet department in the store; and George is a book-keeper there; Julia and Emma assist their mother in making the home attractive and in drawing to it a pleasant circle of friends.
Mr. Bressmer is a firm believer in the principles laid down in the Republican platform and is always ready to deposit his ballot in their support. He belongs to the German Lutheran Church, has good standing in the organization and throughout the community. That he is shrewd and enterprising his success in business proves beyond a doubt. He possesses the faculty of controlling, which is necessary to the manager of a large mercantile establishment, and while decided in securing efficiency and courtesy on the part of his employees, is considerate and kind in his relations with them.