The following article was taken from the Daily Republican Register of Mount Carmel,
IL on 19-May-1976. It was written by Anna Rae Anderson of Lancaster, IL.
Lancaster's German emigration in the 1830's through 1850's is represented by
the numerous German surnames recorded on tombstones here. One old stone, that
of Andreas Reiber, bears an inscription in the German language: Andreas Reiber
geboren (born) 8 Mai (May), 1783; gestorben (died) 8 Nov. 1865. Andrew Reiber
came to the U.S. in 1846 and settled in Pennsylvania. In 1857 he and members
of his family emigrated to Wabash County, Illinois and settled in Lancaster,
where his son Henry conducted a blacksmith shop. Among his descendants are
included the following family names; Biehl, Seibert, Courter, Stillwell and
many other allied lines.
