Schroeder, Herman

Born: 1821-05-22 Prussia

Died: 1905-04-07 Bloomington, Illinois

Flourished: Bloomington, Illinois

Dr. Herman Schroeder, a physician, was born in the town of Althaldensleben, near the city of Madgeburg in Prussia. A good student as a boy, his Catholic parents planned for him to go into the priesthood. After his mother's death, Schroeder began studying medicine, although he changed his path to architecture when his benefactor died. In 1848, he married Baroness Maria Prinz von Buchau. Soon after, Schroeder became involved in the revolutionary ferment sweeping Europe. In the aftermath of the failed revolutions, Schroeder escaped political persecution by hiding on a ship to New York. He emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio, and returned to his studies to become a physician. Schroeder moved to Bloomington, Illinois, in 1851. In addition to being a physician, he also dabbled in real estate, land, and grape vines. In 1858 he was sued for slander, and the plaintiff hired Abraham Lincoln as his attorney. Schroeder lost the case. In 1860, he was practicing medicine in Bloomington and owned real property valued at $30,000 and had a personal estate of $1,500.

The Weekly Pentagraph (Bloomington, IL), 14 April 1905, 8:3; Lehman v. Schroeder, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=136776; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Ward 1, Bloomington, McLean County, IL, 134; Gravestone, Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington, IL.