Biography - Constantine Hoog
Constantine HOOG, dealer in boots and shoes, Litchfield, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1825. At the age of nineteen he began learning the shoemaker's trade, and completed it in two years. In 1850, he came to the United States with his parents, and in that and the year following, worked as journeyman in Alton, Ill., where he opened a shop of his own and carried on his business until 1856. In that place, he married Miss Charlotte NIEMANN in 1854. In April, 1856, he came to Litchfield, and lived in a small shanty just east of the dwelling now owned and occupied by William WIEGREFFE; here he put out a sign and made shoes during the summer; then he bought the site of his present home, it being Lot 3 in Block 29, and occupied a little frame building which stood on it until 1859, in the fall of which year he built the present two-story brick residence, moving into it the same year. He conducted a shop for the manufacture of custom work from 1856 to 1873, when he began selling Eastern work. Two years later, he sold his store, and, for three years, ran a hide house and sack depot. In 1878, he re-opened his present shoe store, and has since conducted a good business in boots and shoes. He was the second shoemaker of Litchfield, and, from his humble beginnings, he has steadily gained a prominent place among the business men of this city. He has always been a Democrat, and was Alderman from the Second Ward in 1869. Mr. HOOG's wife died in 1874. He has one son and four daughters living.
Extracted 19 Nov 2016 by Norma Hass from 1882 History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, Part 2 Biographical Department, page 145.
