MICHAEL BRANTNER, resident on section 24, in the township of Lincoln, came to Ogle County in 1839. He accompanied John Coffman, who came from the same locality, and is now living in Pine Creek Township. Mr. Brantner went to that township and in the next month proceeded to St. Charles, Ill., where he passed his frist winter in the Prairie State. In the spring of the next year, 1840, he returned to Ogle County, and was employed as a farm assistant until 1844, when he purchased 120 acres of land in the township of Pine Creek, south of the village of Mt. Morris. That township at that time, was not named, and was in a wholly unbroken condition. Mr. Brantner gave his undivided attention to the work of improving his property, which he afterwards sold, and removed to the section of Ogle County now included within the township of Lincoln. His removal hither was effected in 1846, when he purchased about 100 acres of land, situated in the northern portion of the township, on which he settled, and was the resident owner of the same until the expiration of about 18 years. He then sold out, and bought the farm on which he has since lived and operated as an agriculturalist. The estate contains 200 acres, and is valuable for its location on the West Branch Creek, by which it is watered, and for its good outfit of farm buildings. Mr. Brantner is interested in the raising of stock of good grade. He was born August 24, 1816, in Washington County, Maryland, the name of his father being the same as his own, Michael Brantner. The latter was a cooper by vocation, and was of German descent. He was a soldier through the period of the Revolution, in behalf of the Colonists. His wife, whom he married in Maryland, was Miss Mary Wished. She was of German extraction, and bore nine children to her husband. Her son was in early manhood when he lost his mother by death. He was 23 years old when he came to Ogle County, and was unmarried. Moreover, he was the possessor of the smallest cash capital, when he cast his lot with the large number from his native county who had chosen Ogle County as a fair field for making their way in the world. As soon as he was fairly on the road to comfort, he decided to follow the example of multitudes who had gone the same way, and change his condition. He married to Miss Mary Ann Phillips, Sept. 18, 1845.
She is the daughter of William and Susan (Hufford) Phillips. The family came here from Washington County, MD., where Mrs. Brantner was born Nov. 12, 1826. They removed to Ogle County in 1844. They settled in the township of Lincoln where the parents both died. Mrs. Brantner is the mother of 11 children, and four of them have passed to the better country. Six of the sons and a daughter are married. Mr. Brantner is a decided Republican. He is a trustee in the Church of the United Brethren, and his wife is a member of the same communion.

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