Kahn Bros.

The following data is extracted from Biographical Sketches, Coles County, Illinois - Mattoon Township.

Kahn Bros., dealers in clothing, Mattoon. Mark Kahn, senior member of the firm of Kahn Bros., was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, Nov. 7, 1841; he emigrated to America in 1856, and first settled in Marshall Co., Ill., and engaged in peddling dry goods and clothing for eighteen months; during the summers of 1858, 1859 and 1860, he worked on a farm in Shelby Co., and during the winter season was employed in a store; in the fall of 1860, in connection with a Mr. Steiner and his brother Moses, he began the business of merchandising in Mattoon, under the firm name of Steiner & Kahn; in 1863, Mr. Steiner retired from the firm, and his brother Lewis became a member; the firm name was then changed to Kahn Bros.; Lewis died in the fall of 1867; in 1871, his brother Felix became a partner; his brother Moses was lost in the ill-fated Schiller, May 7, 1875, on her passage from America to Germany. From 1863 to 1869, the firm also operated a clothing house in Charleston, Coles Co., and from 1869 to 1874, conducted the lumber trade in Mattoon in connection with the merchandising business. He was married in March, 1875, to Minnie Steiner, a native of Illinois; she died in February, 1876. Has one son-Lewis. In June, 1878, he was chosen President of the First National Bank of Mattoon, which position he now holds. Owns 1,140 acres of land, valued at $40,000.

Source: Biographical Sketches, Coles County, Illinois - Mattoon Township

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