The Mueller Family of Scott County, Iowa

There is no man among Davenport's honored dead who deserves more prominent mention than Christian Mueller, who for many years figured as one of the keding lumber merchants of the city and while conducting an extensive business enterprise found opportunity for active and effective cooperation in many movements which have left their impress upon the city's growth and substantial development. Moreover, the salient qualities of his character were such as made him respected and beloved by all who knew him. Born in Holstein, Germany, on the ist of March, 1823, he was sixteen years of age when he was apprenticed to a mercantile concern and thus laid the foundation for his business career in the thorough commercial training which he there received. Wisely utilizing his opportunities and husbanding his resources, in 1844 he was enabled to engage in merchandising on his own account, opening a store in Kiel. While there he also took active interest in athletics and was the instructor in a turners' society. Moreover, he was keenly interested in the vital questions and issues of the day relative to the government policy and, holding decided views concerning many public affairs, during the winter of 1847-8 he organized a company of volunteers to aid the forces operating to secure greater freedom from the oppression of the Danish monarchy. In the latter year he joined some Schleswig-Holstein soldiers and other volunteers and this heroic band attacked a fortified post at Rendsburg, Holstein, which they captured. In the rebellion which followed he was wounded three times and in July, 1850, was taken prisoner, after which he laid for nine months in a hospital in Denmark. After peace had been declared he spent some time recuperating his health and in 1852 he sailed for the United States, determined to enjoy in the new world the liberty which was denied him in his native land.

Mr. Mueller reached Davenport in July of that year and soon after his arrival established a vinegar factory on the present site of the Kohrs Packing Company. This was destroyed by fire in 1854 and he lost all he had, but he did not become discouraged and with resolute spirit set to work to retrieve his losses. A few months later he married Elfrieda Claussen, a daughter of Hans Reimer Claussen, and with the added stimulus of having a home of his own to provide for he started again in the business world.

It was at this time that Mr. Mueller obtained his first experience in connection with the lumber trade, securing a position in a sawmill and thus gaining a knowledge of the business which stood him in good stead in later years. He worked for a time in a sawmill in Davenport and afterward operated a flour mill in Lyons, Iowa. On his return to this city, in 1857, he accepted a position as foreman and salesman with the lumber firm of French & Davis and when that failed in 1858 he was given charge of the disposition of their stock. In 1860 he became salesman for several lumber firms and from 1863 until 1868 engaged in the grain business on his own account. He had found the lumber trade congenial, however, and in March of the latter year he purchased the Dessaint interest in the lumber firm of Dessaint & Schricker, while in July, 1883, on the death of Mr. Schricker, he became sole proprietor. On the ist of January, 1895, he associated his three sons, Frank W., Edward C, and William L., with him in the business, which was then continued under the name of Chris Mueller & Sons. He ranked as one of the leading lumber merchants of the west, the firm enjoying a reputation from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The straightforward, honorable business policy which he instituted at the commencement of his career was ever maintained, and the reliability of the house constituted one of the most potent forces in its continued and growing success.

The death of Mr. Mueller occurred on the loth of September, 1901, and was the occasion of deep and widespread regret. He was one of the most prominent and most beloved citizens of Davenport, his personal traits of character gaining him a firm hold on the affections of those with whom he was associated. His name was regarded as synonymous with business integrity and enterprise, and in social circles he was ever a welcome guest. He enjoyed association with his old friends but home was never forgotten and his happiest hours were spent at his own fireside. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Davenport Turngemeinde and was looked upon as the father of the organization. He was also one of the oldest members of the Davenport Schuetzen Gesellschaft. In public affairs relative to the city's growth and improvement he was deeply interested, as was manifest by his tangible support of many movements for the public good.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ED C. MUELLER.

Ed C. Mueller, associated with his brothers in the Mueller Lumber Company, was born January 8, 1865, in this city, and pursued his education through successive grades in the public schools until he undertook the mastery of the branches taught in the high school. He afterward attended the Duncan Business College and when his course was completed, like his brothers, became connected with the father's business. All were thoroughly trained in the various departments of the business and the result is that the enterprise has continued to grow under their management since the father's death. From 1886 until 1907 Ed C. Mueller had charge of the manufacturing interests in the summer and was superintendent of the logging in the winter. He thus gained intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the business in its operative department and since 1907 has looked after the buying for the Mueller Lumber Company, of which he is now the secretary and treasurer. He also has considerable supervision over the interests of the

Mueller Land & Timber Company, of which he is the president. The latter company has very large interests in Oregon and the scope of both business enterprises is being gradually extended, while the firm has become widely known throughout the middle portion of the country and even far into the west.

In 1889 Mr. Mueller was married to Miss Clara Bruhn, a native of Davenport and a daughter of John Bruhn, one of the old residents of the city. They have two children: Walter, bom July 5, 1896; and EHnore, born August 19, 1902.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

W. L. MUELLER.

W. L. Mueller was born February 21, 1867, and is a son of Christian Mueller, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The public schools afforded him his early educational privileges and he afterward attended Griswold College. He then became connected with the lumber business which was founded and conducted by his father, spending the first year on the river and in keeping books. Like his brothers, he passed through every department of the business in order that he might thoroughly acquaint himself with the trade, not only in the management of the financial interests but also in the value of lumber. It was in 1895 that he was admitted to a partnership and since the death of the father the business has been carried on by the sons, W. L. Mueller being now the vice president of the Mueller Lumber Company. He gives his undivided time and attention to the management and development of the business and his efforts have constituted an important factor in its expansion and substantial growth.

In 1893 Mr. Mueller was married to Miss Bernhardine Lennhuis, a native of Davenport and a daughter of Bernhard Lennhuis, one of the old settlers of Scott county. They now have two children, Ben and Annie. Mr. Mueller belongs to the Turners and other societies, in which his social qualities and generous spirit have rendered him popular.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ALFRED CHRISTIAN MUELLER.

Fortunate is the man who has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished, and happy is he if his lines of life are cast in harmony therewith. In person, in talents and in character Alfred Christian Mueller is a worthy schon of his race. He is a representative in the material line of a family that has figured conspicuously in connection with the legal history of Davenport for fifty-seven years, and in his personal connection with the bar he has demonstrated the possession of those qualities which win success in law practice — close application, comprehensive study of legal principles and unfaltering devotion to the interests of his clients.

Mr. Mueller was born in Davenport, June 14, 1875, a son of Christian and Elfrieda (Claussen) Mueller. The father, for many years a leading lumber merchant and prominent and beloved citizen of Davenport, is mentioned at length on another page of this volume. The mother was a daughter of Hans Reimer Claussen, who in 1853 was the founder of the present law firm with which A. C. Mueller is now connected. The business has descended by legacy or purchase to son and grandson to the present time and the firm has ever stood as one of the most successful and representative among the practitioners of the Davenport bar. Hans Reimer Qaussen, the founder of the firm, was born in Schleswig-Holstein, in 1804, and prepared for the practice of law as a student in the LTniversity of Kiel between the years 1824 and 1829. The following year he was admitted to the bar and entered upon the active duties of the profession near his old home. In 1834 he opened an office in Kiel, where he remained in active practice until 1851, when he was exiled by the King of Denmark, then ruler of Schleswig-Holstein. He had served as a member of the legislature of Holstein from 1840 until 185 1 and in 1848-9 was a member of the German parliament, which convened in May of the former year. For the prominent part which he took in the discussion of governmental affairs, and because his son Ernest fought in the ranks of the revolutionists of 1848, the family were exiled. America, the refuge of so many political exiles from Germany, offered shelter and opportunity to H. R. Claussen, who, arriving in Davenport in 1851, began the study of the English language and two years thereafter was admitted to the bar. His son Ernest became his law partner and the firm soon took rank with the leading representatives of the legal profession in this city. In 1869 Hans R. Claussen was elected to the state senate for a four years' term, and his knowledge of the law enabled him to take active part in the revision of the court in 1873.

He left the impress of his individuality upon the laws enacted during his connection with the general assembly and also upon the history of the republican party, aiding largely in shaping its history in this state. In May, 1832, he married Anna Rahbeck, a daughter of a Danish civil officer and niece of a celebrated Danish poet. Ernest Claussen, who became his father's law partner and was an uncle of A. C. Mueller, was born in 1833, spent the first two years in America in St. Louis and then became a resident of Davenport. Following his father's retirement from the bar in 1870 he continued in practice alone until his son Alfred became his associate. Moreover, he was prominent in connection with municipal affairs and that his fellow townsmen recognized his devotion to the public welfare is indicated in the fact that he was for five terms mayor of Davenport.

From a family of lawyers, therefore, Alfred Christian Mueller was descended in the material line. At the usual age he became a pupil in the public schools and afterward attended Duncan's Commercial College, while for one year he was a student in the polytechnic school at Hanover, Germany. His literary course completed, he took up the study of law and afterward pursued his reading for one year under the direction of Julius Lischer. He next entered the law school of the Iowa State University, from which he was graduated in 1897 and afterward spent one year in the office of Lischer & Bawden. He next went to New York and pursued a three years' course in law in Columbia University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1901. Returning to Davenport, he became associated with the Mueller Lumber Company as auditor, but in 1903 entered actively upon the practice of law and became the successor of his cousin, Alfred Claussen, thus continuing the firm which was founded by his grandfather.

On the 21st of January, 1903, Mr. Mueller was married to Lulu May Ellsworth, a native of New York city and a daughter of Albert Starr and Cora Ellsworth, who were of English descent. Mr. Mueller takes little active part in politics but is a member of the school board and is much interested in the cause of education, recognizing the full value of public instruction as one of the bulwarks of the nation.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.