Burkhardt, John M.

Born: 1807-02-02 Württemberg

Died: 1868-08-01 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Springfield, Illinois

John Burkhardt immigrated to the United States in 1832. He worked on Pennsylvania farms and on the Ohio and Mississippi river flatboats before taking a position at a store in St. Louis, Missouri. He arrived in Springfield, Illinois, in 1836. A Whig in politics, Burkhardt was a dry goods merchant in Springfield from 1850 to 1859. In 1850, he owned $10,000 worth of real estate. By 1860, Burkhardt had amassed $22,000 in real estate, with a personal estate of $4,700.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 160; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 69; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Sangamon County, IL, 29; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Sangamon County (Chicago: Munsell, 1912), 2:1088-89; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL; Whig City Meeting.