ISRAEL ZINSER – LITTLE PIONEER TRAVELING TO WASHINGTON IN A COVERED WAGON AT AGE 7

By KIt Zinser

The plaintive cry of a little boy calling out – “Penny, Penny, where are you?”  The woods of Indiana never gave up the secret of what happened to his beloved dog. 

An unusual trio:  Three families set off in prairie schooners from Circleville, Ohio in 1851 to escape the thick timber to the prairies where a family could farm with success.  Jacob  Zinser, George Ferner and Lewis Tobias were seeking a new life in what Rev. J.W. Ferner later called the “Black Hawk” suburb.  The three families were an adventurous bunch as they endured the primitive log roads. Related not only in spirit, their children married within the group as they became aunts, uncles, in-laws and cousins.  Each family farmed 80 acres about ½ mile south of Washington.

Introducing the parents:  Jacob (born 1802 in Wurttemberg, Germany), crossed the Atlantic in 1818, accompanied by two of his brothers, George and Solomon.  Jacob married Elizabeth Lindner in Philadelphia in 1828.   The couple had 11 children, six boys and five girls.  One of the older boys preceded the family to Washington and set up shop as a wagon maker.  The next in line stayed back in Delaware to finish college.  Education was paramount in the lives of the Zinser sons.  

The Reading Man:  Israel, second to the youngest son of Jacob and Elizabeth, was educated in Washington and then attended Northwestern College in Naperville, IL.  He married Martha Tobias (yes, daughter of the well-established Tobias family who traveled the same log roads in 1851) in November 1868.  He was 24 and she was 19. After partnering in the pharmacy business with Mr. Solomon in El Paso,  he returned to Washington and, in 1876, Israel commissioned the construction of a double, two-story brick building on the NW corner of the square.     Maloof Realty now occupies the site where one of the buildings mysteriously burned to the ground.  The one side left unfazed operated as Zinser’s Drugs until 1924, when Frank Steimle opened his pharmacy, followed by Don’s Pharmacy and then Foster’s Jewelry.

Family of 8, down from the usual 10 to 14 offspring:  Israel and Martha Tobias Zinser had five sons and one daughter – births that spanned 21 years!  Elmer, the oldest assisted his father in the drug business.  Harley went to Rush Medical and practiced medicine locally.  The three youngest boys – Rolla, Steele and Roy – were a bit spoiled as they enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle until Israel’s death in 1901.  Rolla and Steele, with Elmer’s cooperation, operated an open-air theater featuring silent movies and a rather attractive piano player who later married Elmer Z.  The theater was called the AirDome and was on the second floor in back of the pharmacy.  While the three older children were settled, the younger sons did find time to fill positions in the city government.  The only daughter, Ada, married Elmer Kern in 1900, setting up housekeeping in a quaint brick cottage on North Main. (Elmer Kern’s father, George, owned an extensive parcel of farm land just on the North side of Washington. George Kern was a conductor for the Underground Railroad.)  

Serving in country and community:  Israel, as Ada recalled, was a quiet, rather austere father, well educated and an avid reader (a virtue he instilled in all six of his children).  His values included service to his country as he was unwavering in his support of  Mr. Lincoln.  His brothers also served in the Civil War. Israel entered on February 21, 1865, saw no real action, and mustered out on September 4, 1865. The gun Israel carried (soldiers brought their own) still hangs in the family home to this day.  Israel believed in giving back to his community, often anonymously.  However, he did join the Masons, was raised to the 33rd Degree for his good works, and was buried with high honors. 

The end and the future:   On a late October afternoon, Israel crossed the street by the bank and suddenly collapsed on the rough bricks.  Good men rushed to his side, gently picked him up and drove him home in a wagon.  It was only a few hours before he passed, surrounded by the family.  Elmer and Rolla continued working in the pharmacy as Martha kept house.  Soon, her health declined.  Ada and Elmer Kern, with their two children, moved home to take care of the family.  Martha died at home on a cold January night in 1924.  She watched her husband die in 1901, her sons Royal pass in 1911, and Elmer Z. in 1920,   Ada, the only daughter, stood strong as she watched her brothers Steele pass in 1926, Rolla pass in 1934 and Harley die in 1942.  With her mother, father, and brothers gone, Ada and her little family continued to care for the home her father had established.

Segue to 2025 – since 1878, six generations have resided in the house Israel built.  The home received a historic designation from Washington’s Historic Preservation Committee, and is the only home in the city with Zinser descendants still in residence.  Thank you, Israel.