| Notes |
- “Valentine settled in Metamora, Illinois after living briefly in Bloomington and Gridley. He was a good citizen, his occupation was shoemaker. While in Metamora, Valentine met Abraham Lincoln. An article in a Kansas historical book says, ‘While a resident of Metamora, he met Abraham Lincoln, who frequently came to the place in connection with his law practice and [they] frequently went on hunting trips together.’ Val lived in Metamora until the beginning of the Civil War when he locked the door to the shoe shop and left everything for his country. On Deptember 16, 1861, Val was enrolled in the 17th Missouri Infantry. That day was his 25th birthday. Val was under the command of Gen. Franz Sigel, a German immigrant who came to America in 1852....On October 18, 1864, Valentine was discharged. Val moved back to Illinois, this time settling in Gridley. He continued as a shoemaker and also owned a grocery store in nearby Meadows. These two jobs kept him busy. The news of assassination reached Val sometime on April 15, 1865. The whole nation mourned for the death of their slain leader but for Val a good friend was ruthlessly killed.
“In that same year, Peter Neuhouser died from lock jaw and all evidence shows that Val knew Peter and his wife, Magdalena. On October 11, 1866 Valentine married Magdalena in Bloomington, Illinois. Many years later Val committed a mistake which probably got him in trouble. On a federal pension form Val stated he couldn’t remember when he was married in 1867. Val gave up his Catholic religion to accept Magdalena’s. She was Amish. Val and Magdalena continued in Gridley until 1885 when the Amish decided to ‘plant’ a congregation in Harper, Kansas. The Maningers and the Peter Smith family came to Harper.
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According to Ellen Barth Phelps, granddaughter of Valentine Maninger, Valentine proposed to Magdelena Smith about the time of the Civil War. She refused him because he was a Catholic and to ease the pain of his rejection, he joined up to serve in the war. In the meantime she married Peter Neuhauser and had children. Her husband died of lockjaw in 1865 and by the time Valentine came back from the war, her children had also died. Valentine proposed again and she accepted because they had agreed that both would give up the churches to which they belonged and join another church together. They joined the Christian Apostolic Church and were members of this church when they moved to Harper, Kansas.
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“John L. Maninger has left these words about his father, Valentine, in a Kansas history book: ‘In 1885 he came to Kansas, and bought 480 acres of land, one mile south of Harper. Here he engaged in farming and stock raising and prospered. He bought additional land, and at the time of his death, July 4, 1913, he left each of his eight children 160 acres of improved farm land. He was married October 11, 1866, to Mrs. Magdalena Neuhauser, a native of Butler County, Ohio, born April 27, 1841.
“By the time of his death, Val had become a prosperous farmer. Their family consisted of 8 children--Edward, Fred, Frank, William, John, August, and Joseph. Emma, his daughter, got a farm also but her husband, John Barth, borrowed money against the land and eventually they lost the farm because they couldn’t pay the mortgage.
“On July 4, 1913 at 5:15 A.M. Valentine Maninger died at the age of 77 years, 9 months and 8 days. His obituary called him a prominent citizen and praised him for his life. He was buried in the German Apostolic Cemetery south of Harper. He is sorely missed by his family and certainly not forgotten.” From article by Dennis R. Angle, grandson of Fred Maninger. [2]
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1835 - 1913 (77 years)
[2] 
