Jacob Zimmerman
| Jacob Zimmerman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Illinois Representative | |
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In office 1878–1882 |
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| Wabash County, Illinois County Commissioner | |
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In office 1890s – 1900s |
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| Illinois State Highway Commissioner | |
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In office 1890s – 1900s |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | September 27, 1831 Greensburg, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County |
| Died | March 25, 1912 (aged 80) Mount Carmel, Illinois Wabash County, Illinois |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Belinda Hinde(1856-1865) Emma J. Harris(1875-1912) |
| Children | Charles Zimmerman Frederick Hinde Zimmerman Herbert Zimmerman John H. Zimmerman |
| Parents | Henry Zimmerman Elizabeth Steelsmith |
| Occupation |
Illinois Congressman Newspaper Editor Businessman |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Signature |  |
Hon. Jacob Zimmerman (September 27, 1831 – October 17, 1912) was an Illinois state legislator, newspaper editor, and businessman. Zimmerman was a pioneer in the newspaper business in Illinois and Ohio and was an active businessman who invested in mining, land, and banks in the Midwest. Zimmerman held a number of elected political offices in Illinois before his death in 1912.
Zimmerman was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 1831. Zimmerman's father’s family emigrated from Germany and his mother’s family was of Welsh descent. Zimmerman's parents moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio around 1840.
Zimmerman's father, Henry Zimmerman, purchased farmland from the Wyandot Indians where the family lived in Ohio. Zimmerman was educated in the common and select schools of Upper Sandusky, Ohio.
At 18, Zimmerman took up the printer’s trade by working at the Wyandotte Pioneer in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. After moving from several different newspaper jobs, Zimmerman eventually ended up in Marshall, Illinois, and bought two different newspapers and consolidated them into one paper. This successful endeavor lead to many other acquisitions of newspapers in the following years.
Zimmerman also served as the editor of The Wabash Democrat. In the diaries of Edmund C. Hinde, Zimmerman was said to have gained a substantial amount of weight after he retired from the newspaper business.
From 1860 until 1903, Zimmerman lived near the Grand Rapids Dam on the Hinde family farm in Wabash County Illinois. He moved to a 160 acre farm in Friendsville, Illinois in 1903 after he gave his son Frederick the family farm as a wedding gift.
In 1878, Zimmerman was elected to represent his district in the Third General Assembly of the State of Illinois and was reelected for a second term. Zimmerman was a registered Democrat. While a member of the legislature, he secured the passage of funds for the erection of a court house in Mount Carmel, Illinois. During his second term he secured the appropriation for placing the statue of Gen. James Shields in the House of Fame at Washington, D.C. for which he was publicly thanked.
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Wikipedia