Peter’s Bar and Grill in Warsaw, Illinois

This image comes from the estate of my Peter Bieger which was probated in Hancock County, Illinois, in the mid-1850s.

He had twenty gallons of cherry brandy, among a variety of other items, some of which are shown here. The inventory of his estate confirmed what had been suggested from other records: that Peter was a tavernkeeper. That’s a little too much booze to have on hand for the typical person.

I don’t have a direct statement that Peter ran a tavern and my references to his occupation always reference this inventory. He is not enumerated in the 1850 census that I can locate and the 1855 Illinois State Census does not provide any occupational information. Warsaw does not have any city directories that are extant for the time period and local newspapers make no mention of Peter’s tavern either. Those would have been good places to potentially find occupational information for someone during this time period.

I was fortunate that the inventory was even available. And I don’t know that his establishment was called “Peter’s Bar and Grill.”

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