BIOGRAPHY - ALBERT LANGE
Albert C. Lange who carries on general farming in Sullivant township, was born in La Salle, Illinois, December 15, 1875. His parents were Theodore and Minnie Lange, who were natives of Germany and on coming to America made their way direct to La Salle county, Illinois, where they were married. Theodore Lange was a blacksmith and farmer and was closely associated with business interests in La Salle county until 1879, when he removed to McLean county. He was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for his death occurred shortly after his arrival there. Unto him and his wife were born five children: Edward and Ernest, who are living in Fairbury, Illinois; Albert C., of this review; Paul, whose home is in Cropsey; and Annie, the wife of John Brucker, of Cropsey. Following the death of her first husband Mrs. Lange became the wife of August Seifert, also a native of Germany, and they have three children: Joseph, living in Cropsey; and Minnie and Arthur, who are at home with their parents, the family residence being in McLean county.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Albert C. Lange in his boyhood and youth. He was educated in the public schools and gained a knowledge of farming through the assistance which he rendered in carrying on the work of the home place. When he had arrived at years of maturity he made arrangements to establish a home of his own by his marriage, in February, 1901, to Miss Minnie Brucker, of McLean county, a daughter of Adam and Pauline (Stahl) Brucker, who were natives of America and were residents of Illinois when Ford and McLean counties constituted a most sparsely settled section of the state. The Bruckers are one of the most influential and prominent German families of McLean county.
Following his marriage Mr. Lange rented a tract of land, where he lived for five years and there successfully carried on farming, the sale of his crops bringing him sufficient capital to enable him, after three years, to purchase land. He invested in one hundred and twenty acres near the town of Milford in Iroquois county. This was improved and for it he paid one hundred and five dollars per acre. It is today worth one hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre. Mr. Lange has for some time also rented land from his father-in-law in Ford county and is thus carrying on farming on an extensive scale. He is regarded as one of the most successful, enterprising and progressive agriculturists in the northeastern part of the county. In addition to tilling the soil he is also interested in other business ventures. He owns a large interest in a threshing outfit, is a stockholder in the grain elevator at Cropsey and a director of the Cropsey Telephone Company.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lange have been born four children: Earl, Ray, Fern and Cecil. The parents worship in the Methodist Episcopal church and in the community are widely and favorably known. Mr. Lange is practically a self-made man, having received only a small legacy from his father's estate, and with this beginning he has gradually worked his way upward, finding that indefatigable industry constitutes the key that will unlock the portals of success. He is yet a young man but has attained a position in the financial world that many another twice his years might well envy.
Extracted 17 Oct 2016 by Norma Hass from History of Ford County, Illinois, From Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, author E. A. Gardner, Volume 2, pages 868-870.
