Trapp, Albrecht (Albert) H.

Born: 1813-06-30 Germany

Died: 1901-09-23 Lincoln, Illinois

Flourished: Saint Clair County, Illinois

Albrecht (Albert) H. Trapp was a physician, state legislator, and educator. Born in the village of Romhildt in the Duchy of Saxony, Trapp received his early education at preparatory schools and the local gymnasium. He matriculated to the University of Jena and later the University of Berlin. In Berlin, he became involved in a secret society dedicated to creating a constitutional government for Germany. Arrested for his revolutionary activities, Trapp was confined to prison for a year before escaping to Switzerland, completing his medical studies at the University of Zurich. After spending a year in England, he immigrated to the United States, settling in St. Clair County, Illinois, where he commenced the practice of medicine. Trapp took an active interest in the German community in St. Clair, becoming a director of the German Library Society. In November 1844, he married Wilhemina Michel, with whom he had at least three children. In 1850, Trapp was practicing medicine in St. Clair County and owned real property valued at $1,200. In 1854, Trapp won election, as a Democrat, to the Illinois House of Representatives, serving in that body from January to February 1855. Trapp moved his family to Springfield, Illinois, in 1858, and he practiced medicine in Springfield until well after the Civil War. In 1860, Trapp had a personal estate of $500. During his years in Springfield, Trapp served as member and president of the board of education, as president of the Springfield Medical Society, and assisted in the formation of the German Library Association. He was a member of the Lutheran Church.

Illinois State Register (Springfield), 25 September 1901, 2:3; History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 723; An Act to Incorporate the German Library Society of St. Clair County; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, St. Clair County, 24 November 1844, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), St. Clair County, IL, 276; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 249; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 220; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.