Courtesy/Friedens Church Brazito
John Hirschvogel was a first-generation U.S. citizen and son of a veteran of the military of Austria-Hungary. During World War I, he served with an ambulance company, catching the bacteria that would years later become tuberculosis and cause his early death.
Mathias Hirschvogel was approaching his mid-30s when he immigrated to Cole County from his ancestral home in Austria-Hungary in 1880.
At the time of his immigration, there was a mandated three-year period of military service through conscription for those living in Austria-Hungary.
