Alfred Christian Mueller

As printed in 1910

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 History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa : Illustrated (1910). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.