HENRY DIEHL FAMILY

Sometime in the last century, a girl, Ingrid Nelson, came from Wisseltofte, Sweden to Naestved, Denmark to work as a milkmaid in the Madsen farm dairy. One of the Madsen forebears was Royal Gamekeeper to Denmark’s King, an esteemed position.

Ingrid married young Kristoffer Madsen and 2 children, a boy and a girl, were born to them before coming to Lockport, Illinois in 1890 to own and operate the first horticulture farm in Illinois, now the site of Stateville Penitentiary. Kristoffer, on emigrating, Anglicized his name to Christopher Matson.

Four more daughters were born and the growing family moved onto Lockport Street, east of Plainfield. The eldest of those born here, Hilda, grew up on the farm and in young womanhood worked as an operator with the Plainfield Telephone Co., later moving with a sister to Denver, Colorado, where she married Henry Diehl of Lockport, Illinois; his roots tracing back through his mother, Margaret Adelman, to immigration in 1847 from Bamberg, Bavaria.
Henry worked in Aurora, CO. in dairy farming and helped in the construction of Fitzimmons Hospital. Two children, Katherine Finkbeiner of Naperville and Earl of Joliet were born to them before moving back to Illinois in 1920 following the death of Christopher Matson. Henry and Hilda moved onto the George Boardman farm, which later belonged to Tom Crego. Two more children were born there; Leverne of Lisle and Margaret Meisinger of Naperville. 

George Alan Diehl of Wheatland, named for George Boardman, was born when they next moved to dairy and farm for 3 years on what is now the SE corner of Naper Blvd. and Bailey Rd., Naperville. Hilda, by the time they moved to the Murr farm on Boughton Rd. (Barbaras Corner area) and field experienced ahead of the times, was competing in plowing matches in addition to a major part in the family business of farm and dairy operation and training German Shepards. For the Next few years, she was an entrant in Wheatland, Lily Lake, Big Rock, and Troy matches. 

In 1927 she was winner of the Special Tractor Event in Wheatland’s 50th Match. It was the first time women were permitted to enter. She also entered in 1928 and won that year at Big Rock by having more points than any man.

In 1930, Henry and Hilda moved onto the Abraham Eichelberger (later) Elmer Staffeldt farm that is now known as Hunter’s Woods in Naperville where they farmed until 1949. The last of their 6 children, Jeanne Craig of El Paso, IL, was born and reared here.

Late in her life, Hilda entered Pie-making competition in the last of the Wheatland Plowing Match Association events and remained in Naperville until her death in 1979.

From fir forests of Sweden to prairie’s edge of Illinois; from milkmaid to plow-women, the respect and knowledge of working with soil, animals, and related values gained by our forebears contributed to enriching the family’s later generations.

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