CHARLES LAUNER, one of the early settlers and representative farmers of
Richland County, residing on section 17, in Olney Township, is of Swiss birth.
He was born in Berne, Switzerland, on the 16th of June, 1837, and is the
youngest in a family of eleven children, numbering seven sons and four
daughters. The parents, Stephen and Catherine (Roth) Launer, were also natives
of that country. The father was a tailor by trade, and followed that business in
Switzerland until his death, which occurred in 1843, when our subject was a lad
of six years.
Two years later, in 1845, Charles accompanied his mother
and three brothers and two sisters to America, and the family made their way to
Richland County, Ill., locating upon a farm of eighty acres in 1846. The elder
brother died about a year later, after which the family was scattered, and our
subject went to live on a farm with a man by the name of Weiss. Since that early
day he has made his own way in the world. He worked by the month until 1859,
when, with the capital which he had secured as the result of his industry and
economy, he bought forty acres of land where he now lives, and began the
development of a farm, devoting his energies to its improvement until 1861.
In June of that year, Mr. Launer offered his services to his adopted
country, and joined the boys in blue of Company A, Benton Cadet Infantry, in
which he served three months. He then joined the Sixty-third Illinois, and was
in the service until January, 1865. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Ft.
Deruey, but after a couple of weeks was released. He was never wounded but had
several narrow escapes. On one occasion a part of his coat was shot off by a
cannon ball. After receiving an honorable discharge he returned to Richland
County and resumed farming.
On the 23d of February, 1865, Mr. Launer was
united in marriage with Miss Caroline Glathart, who was born October 23, 1843,
in Carroll County, Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Catherine (Voncannel)
Glathart. Her parents were both natives of Switzerland. Crossing the broad
Atlantic they settled in Ohio in 1829, and in 1845 came to Illinois, where they
spent the remainder of their lives. The father died in October, 1866, and the
mother was called to her final rest in Janary, 1872. Eight children were born of
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Launer, a son and seven daughters, but two died in
early childhood. Emma C. is the wife of David Shaw, a farmer of Macon County,
Ill.; Alice M. is the wife of George Kinkade, an agriculturist of this county;
Carrie V. and Lulu are both popular and successful school teachers; Stella M.
and June G. are still under the parental roof.
The Republican party
finds in Mr. Launer one of its loyal and stanch advocates. He cast his first
Presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, and has voted for each nominee for the
office since that time. He has served as School Director for several years and
is now serving his second term as Commissioner of Highways, the duties of which
position he has discharged with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his
constituents. Socially, he is a member of Eli Bowyer Post No. 92, G. A. R., and
himself and family are members of the Christian Church. The Launer home is a
pleasant one, situated on a farm of one hundred acres of valuable land, which is
under a high state of cultivation and well improved with all the accessories of
a model farm. In connection with general farming, Mr. Launer is also extensively
engaged in sheep-raising. His property represents his own efforts, as the
advantages of his youth were very meagre, but he has made the most of his
opportunities through life, and a comfortable competence has rewarded his
industry.
Extracted 11 Apr 2020 by Norma Hass from 1893 Portrait and Biographical Record of Effingham, Jasper and Richland Counties, Illinois, pages 228-229.
| Jasper | Crawford | |
| Clay |
 |
Lawrence |
| Wayne | Edwards | Wabash |
