Source: The Home Times in Flanagan, Illinois; 1 Mar 1935

Funeral services for the late John Rapp, who lived just west of Pontiac, on Reynold Street Road, were held at three o'clock, Sunday afternoon from the First Lutheran church, Rev. F. L. Schreckenberg, the pastor, conducting.

Mr. Rapp passed away at St. James Hospital, at 11:15 Thursday morning, following an illness of more than one week.

Mr. Rapp was a native of Bureau County, Illinois, where he was born Sept. 13, 1865*. He was the son of Jacob and Katherine* (Swartz) Rapp.

He was united in marriage to Miss Anna Boston at Flanagan, March 1, 1881, surviving with the following children: Louis of Flanagan; Edward of Pontiac; George of Paton, Iowa; Mrs. Simon Weber, Mrs. Victor Hatshauser* and Henry of Pontiac; Fred and William at home; a sister and two step-sisters*: Edward, of Flanagan; George of Bloomington; Mrs. Emma Walters* of Nebraska; Mrs. Elizabeth Boston of Minonk, and Mrs. Lena Hilcher*. There are 25 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Burial was made in Livingston County Memorial Park.

*His mother is Catherina The date is an error as his birth year is 1856.
* Her last name was Holzhauer, not Hatshauser.
* It should say two brothers, a sister and two half-sisters.
* It should say Walther, not Walters.
* It should say Hoelscher, not Hilcher.
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John was a son of Jacob and Catharina (Swartz) Rapp. He was born in Bureau County, Illinois and grew up on the farms his father occupied.

One was 160 acres located on the northeast quadrant of the section along Livingston County line to the east and Hwy 116 to the north. In 2013, this land contains corn and numerous windmills, but no homestead. It is due north of a Century Farm owned by the O. Rients family. The Reints family also owned the land when Jacob farmed there.

According to family documents and census records, John was the third child and was a brother of Charles, Mary, Sophia, Edward, Emma, and George.

John's mother died in 1871, leaving six children at home: Mary 16, John 14, Sophia Elizabeth 12, Edward 8, Emma 6, and George 4. I believe she died during or after childbirth of F. J. Rapp, who died the same day, but I do not have proof.

John's father, Jacob, soon remarried to Maria Twiehaus, a woman who had immigrated to the area just a year before. He became a half-brother of two daughters born to Jacob and Maria: Elizabeth Rapp and Lena Rapp. John continued farming with his father.

John married Anna Mae Boston, daughter of immigrants, Heinrich Boston and Elizabeth (Knack) Boston, on March 1, 1881 in Flanagan, Illinois. They established their home near Flanagan, and in 1902 moved to their home just west of Pontiac where they lived until their deaths.

John owned an L-shaped piece of land that bordered Turtle Creek on the east and Hwy 116 on the north. In 2013, some of this land is to the south of Wal-Mart and a shopping area.

They were members of First Lutheran Church at the corner of W. Water Street and Oak Street in Pontiac. According to church records, John served as an elder in 1914 and was on the property committee in 1927. He and Anna along with Mary Rapp, Henry Rapp, Mr. and Mrs. Otto Rapp, Edward Rapp, William Rapp, Fred Rapp, and Mr. and Mrs. Simon Weber were members there, nephew Ronald Rapp sang in the church, and John's and Anna's funerals were held there. The original church is gone, but the church containing records of their involvement sits along the banks of the Vermillion River in Pontiac.

John and Anna Rapp were the parents of Louis Christian Rapp, Edward Rapp, Otto Carl Rapp, George Henry Rapp, Elizabeth C Rapp Weber, Mary Magdalena Rapp Holzhauer, Frederick William Rapp, William D. Rapp, and Henry Rapp. According to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Anna was the mother of 11 children, only 8 were living (that was before Henry was born in 1900), so three other children died as infants. I found some records and have identified two names, Johann and Carl, with one unnamed girl.
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1870 United States Federal Census
Home in 1870: Minonk Twp, Minonk, Woodford, Illinois
Father: Jacob Rapp b. Hanover; Mother: Catherine b. Hanover
Value of Real Estate: $6000; Value of Personal Estate: $800
Household Members:
Jacob Rapp 53 and Catherine Rapp 45
Mary Rapp 15 (b. abt 1855)
John Rapp 13 (b. abt 1857)
Elizabeth Rapp 11 (b. abt 1859)
Edwin Rapp 7 (b. abt 1863)
Emma Rapp 5 (b. abt 1865)
Henry Rapp 3 (b. abt 1867) [George]
Fredrick Rapp 22 (b. abt 1848) - farmhand

1880 United States Federal Census
Home in 1880: Minonk Twp, Minonk, Woodford, Illinois
Father: Jacob Rapp b. Prussia; Mother: Catharine Rapp b. Baden
Household Members:
Jacob Rapp 60 (farmer) and Catharine Rapp 37 (keeping house) - This cannot be Catherina as she died in 1871, before the births of Elizabeth and Lena. The age indicates this is Jacob's second wife, Maria. I do not know why Catharine is listed.
John Rapp 23 (farmer)
Edward Rapp 17 (farming)
Anna Rapp 16 (at home)
George Rapp 15 (at home)
Elizabeth Rapp 7 - half-sister whose mother was Maria
Lena Rapp 1 - half-sister whose mother was Maria

1900 United States Federal Census
Home in 1900: Nebraska Twp, Livingston Co, Illinois
Marital Status: Married to Anna M Rapp in 1881; Years Married: 19
Household Members:
John Rapp 43 (farmer) and Anna M Rapp 44
Edward Rapp 17 (farm laborer)
Otto Rapp 15 (farm laborer)
George Rapp 14 (at school)
Elizabeth Rapp 7
Mary Rapp 5
Frederick Rapp 3
William Rapp 1

1910 United States Federal Census
Home in 1910: Pontiac Twp, Livingston, Illinois
Household Members:
John Rapp 53 and Anna M Rapp 53
Otto Rapp 25
George Rapp 24
Elizabeth Rapp 17
Mary Rapp 14
Fred Rapp 13
William Rapp 11
Henry Rapp 9

Livingston County, Illinois, Farmers Directory, 1917
Given Name: John; Surname: Rapp
Spouse: Anna Boston
Children: Louis, Edward, Otto, George, William, Fred, Henry, Lizzie, Mary
Post Office: Pontiac
Section: 8; Twp Name: Pontiac; Twp #: 28
Owner/Tenant: owner
Acreage: 220
Year Farmer Became Resident of Livingston County: 1881

1920 United States Federal Census
Home in 1920: Pontiac Twp, Livingston, Illinois
Household Members:
John Rapp 68 and Anna Rapp 68
Louis Rapp 37 (son, laborer on home farm) and Bessie Rapp 30 (wife)
Loyd Rapp 2 6/12 (Louis and Bessie's son)
Mary Rapp 24
Fred Rapp 23
William Rapp 21
Henry Rapp 19 (laborer on home farm)

1930 United States Federal Census
Home in 1930: Pontiac Twp, Livingston, Illinois
Neighbors: Several families of Webers (dau Elizabeth's in-laws)
Household Members:
John Rapp 73 and Anna M Rapp 74
Fred Rapp 30
William Rapp 29
Orville Weber 16 (grandson)

Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947
Name: John Rapp
Birth Date: 13 Sep 1850 in Bureau Co., Illinois
Death Date: 21 Feb 1935 in Pontiac, Livingston, Illinois
Burial Date: 24 Feb 1935 at Memorial Park in Pontiac, Illinois
Death Age: 78
Occupation: Farmer
Father Name: Jacob Rapp b. Germany
Mother Name: Katherine Swartz b. France
Spouse Name: Anna
FHL Film Number: 1754240