John Leonard Roeder Story

One of
the scrapbooks in the Historical Society’s collection has a story from the
Quincy Daily Herald dated July 24, 1909 about Quincyan John Leonard
Roeder. At the time of his death it was
reported that Mr. Roeder was the oldest man in Illinois at 109 years old. According to Roeder he was born in
Grossheubach, Bavaria, Germany on January 21, 1800. He started an apprenticeship with his father
as a cobbler at age 8 a profession that he held for the rest of his life.

When
he was 15 he was denied enlistment into the German Army to fight Napoleon, but
entered service as an orderly for Prussian General Blucher. His service took him to the Battle of
Waterloo with General Blucher who combined with the Duke of Wellington to
defeat Napoleon. John Roeder even claimed
that General Blucher ordered him to deliver a message to Napoleon Bonaparte
during the Battle of Waterloo. This is
where the fantastical story and account of Mr. Roeder starts to strain under
scrutiny.

The
Historical Society reached out to Alexander Mikaberidze author of

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History

who after reviewing the Roeder account stated, “I
have not seen any evidence that Blucher tried contacting Napoleon – he wanted
the man captured and shot, so not sure what the letter would have been about.
Even if there was an attempt to contact, a fifteen-year old would have never
been entrusted such an important missive, since for this type of missions a
more experienced messenger.” Professor
Mikaberidze went on to say that John Roeder was the son of a common shoemaker
and an individual from such a humble backgrounds would not have been allowed to
serve as an orderly for a Prussian Field Marshall. Further research also indicated that the
story may have been just a tall tale of an old man.

John Roeder emigrated to the United States with his wife in
1844 first going to Philadelphia, PA, then to St. Louis, and then up the
Illinois River to Pike County where he chopped wood for a few months. In the spring of 1845 he arrived in
Quincy. He was 44 years old. He was married to his wife Marie Appolonia
Dehm for many years, but the couple was not able to have children.

John Roeder went to work in Quincy. He started a shoe and boot making business on
State Street between 6th and 7th Street. His business did
well and he used to brag that he made all of the shoes and boots for John
Wood. In fact, he made him a special
pair of boots when Wood became the Governor of Illinois in 1860. His profession also allowed him to meet other
prominent Quincy residents Orville Hickman Browning, William Richardson, General
Benjamin Prentiss, and Jackson Grimshaw.

Whether the cobbler Roeder actually made all of the boots for
John Wood or knew all the prominent Quincyans of the day it is hard to say, but
there is no question his shop was only a few blocks from John Wood’s Mansion. Roeder worked at his shoemaking shop for many
years until Hannah urged him to retire when he was 75, but he continued to work
on and off until he was 90. Appolonia
Dehm Roeder died in 1867. John Roeder
never remarried.

In later years Roeder lived with his adopted daughter at 300
Payson Avenue who married John P. Liebig in 1868. Liebig owned a coal company in West Quincy
called J. P. Liebig & Sons. The
company was in the drayage business which moved containers from boats to wagons
and wagons to boats on the Mississippi River.
The business managed by John and Hannah’s three sons was in involved in
storage, ice, wood, and coal.

John Roeder continued to work especially in and around his
home. He lost sight in one of his eyes
when a splinter flew into his eye while he was sharpening pea-sticks. He eventually lost sight in his other eye and
was completely blind for the last five years of his life. It was said that he would not let a day go by
without a glass of beer, and smoked a pipe religiously although it was said he
put his pipe down at age 90 and never smoked again. When asked about how he lived so long he said
he did not use medicine and always kept his feet dry.

The final mystery takes us back to the beginning of the
story. Was John Roeder really the oldest
man in Illinois when he died in 1909? A
review of the census records indicates that in 1860 it was reported that he was
46 years old. That would mean that he
was born in 1814 and not 1800. That
would also mean that he was only 1 year old when the Battle of Waterloo was
fought in 1815. One thing we are certain
of is that General Blucher did not send a toddler to deliver a message to
Napoleon during that momentous battle. A
look at the 1880 census shows that John Roeder was 64 that year, so he got two
years younger between the census of 1860 and the census of 1880. Finally, the census of 1900 which was the
last census before his death in 1909 indicates that John Roeder was 100. This would account for the

Quincy Daily Herald

story suggesting
Roeder was the oldest man in Illinois when he died. The records do make it clear he did immigrate
to the United States in 1844, it is just unclear how old he was when he
arrived.

We might never know for sure if John Roeder was the oldest
man in Illinois when he died, or if he met Napoleon while delivering a message
during the Battle of Waterloo, or if he made John Wood’s boots, but we do know
that John Roeder lived an interesting life and if he were here today, he would
tell us just that.

Sources

“Hundred and Nine.”

Quincy
Daily Herald

, July 24, 1909, 12.

“The Oldest in Illinois.”

Quincy
Daily Herald,

January 19, 1909, 5.