USA > Minnesota > Brown County > History of Brown County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions (Volume 1) > Part 38
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stores in the prosperous chain of the Columbia Clothing Company, of which Mr. Zschunke is the head.
On October 22, 1901, Frank P. Zschunke was united in marriage, at Minneapolis, to Emma Schilling, who was born at New Ulm, daughter of Louis and Cecelia (Ochs) Schil- ling, natives of Hanover and early settlers of New Ulm. Louis Schilling was a veteran of the Civil War and for many years a prominent resident of this section of the state. He died in 1895, at the age of seventy-five years and his widow is still living. They were the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. Zschunke is the third in order of birth, the others being Louis, Albert, Rose and Lydia.
To Frank P. and Emma (Schilling) Zschunke four children have been born, Gretchen, Melvin, Joslyn and Albert. Mrs. Zschunke is a member of the Catholic church and she and her husband take a warm interest in all worthy movements for the advancements of the community's general welfare, being held in high regard by their many friends hereabout. Mr. Zschunke is a Democrat and gives thought- ful attention to local political affairs, but is not included in the office-seeking class. He is a member of Charity Lodge No. 98, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at New Ulm; of New Ulm Chapter No. 57, Royal Arch Masons, and of New Ulm Commandery, Knights Templar, and is also a member of the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, in the affairs of which organizations he takes an active interest.
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WILLIAM J. WINKELMANN.
William J. Winkelmann, well-known dealer in musical instruments and general musicians' supplies at New Ulm and one of the most enterprising and energetic business men in that city, is a native of Germany, having been born at Mecklenburg-Strelitz, near Berlin, in Prussia, May 6, 1856, son of John and Johanna (Frank) Winkelmann, both natives of that same district, who later came to America, locating in this county, where their last days were spent.
John Winkelmann was the third in order of birth of the five children born to his parents, John Winkelmann and wife, natives of Germany, the former of whom was a carpen- ter, the other children having been Carl, Fred, William and Henrietta. He was trained to the trade of brickmaker and was thus employed in his native land. He married Johanna Frank, who was the eldest of the children born to her parents, the others having been Theodore, Julia, William and Caroline. Grandfather Frank died in Germany in middle life and his widow afterward came to America and rejoined her children in this county, where she spent her last days. In the summer of 1867 John Winkelmann and his family came to the United States, proceeding directly from their port of landage to Minnesota, locating in New Ulm, the entire trip covering the period from early in May to the latter part of July. Shortly after arriving here, John Winkelmann rented the old Jacob Brush farm in Cotton- wood township, this county, and there he made his home for
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three years, at then of which time, in 1871, he began the operation of a limekiln near there and was thus engaged until 1881, in which year he moved to New Ulm and engaged in teaming. He died in 1882, at the age of sixty-one years. His widow survived him but a short time, her death occuring in 1883, at the age of fifty-nine. They were members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There were five of these children, namely: Theresa, deceased, who was the wife of Gottlieb Schmidt; Carl, deceased; William J., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Anthonia, wife of John Gratz, of Waseca, this state, and Augusta, deceased, who was the wife of Henry Knees, of New Ulm.
William J. Winkelmann was eleven years old when he came with his parents to this country and he consequently had received his elementary education in the schools of his native land. Upon arriving here his schooling was resumed in the schools of Cottonwood township and later in the schools at New Ulm. He then began clerking in a grocery store, at the age of fourteen, and in 1871 changed from that form of service to that of a clerk in a drug store. After a year and a half of the latter form of service he abandoned the idea of becoming a druggist and began clerking in a hotel. He presently returned to the farm, however, and remained there for several years, at the end of which time he traveled quite extensively in the South, being thus employed for six years. He then located in Chicago, remain- ing in that city for three years, after which he returned to New Ulm and was married. He then established a general express and delivery line, in connection with his contract to carry the United States mails, and was thus engaged for
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fifteen years. In 1911 Mr. Winkelmann established his present music business and has built up a large trade in that line throughout this part of the state. He owns a fine business block at the corner of Minnesota and Center streets and carries a full and complete line of musical instruments of all kinds, including high-grade pianos and organs, and also a well-selected line of general supplies for musicians and those of musical tastes. Mr. Wilkenmann is not only an enterprising and energetic business man, but he is a close student of the world's best literature and is regarded as one of the best informed men in New Ulm.
On December 19, 1890, William J. Winkelmann was united in marriage to Maria Gley, who was born in Fried- land, Mecklenburg-Strelitz March 1, 1855, daughter of Frederick and Alvina (Bossard) Gley, natives of that same locality, who came to America in 1866 and settled on a farm in Home township, this county, where they remained until 1873, in which year they moved to New Ulm, where Mr. Gley engaged in the mercantile business and so continued the rest of his life, both he and his wife now being dead. They were the parents of three children, of whom Mrs. Winkelmann is the eldest, she having had two brothers, Fred and Carl, who are deceased.
To William J. and Marie (Gley) Winkelmann seven children have been born, as follow: Alvina, who married Richard Hicks, of New Ulm; Martha, who married Julius Thorsthes and lives in Hanska, this county, and Louisa, Clara, Paul, Gretchen and Gertrude. Mr. and Mrs. Winkel- mann are members of the Lutheran church and their child- ren have been reared in that faith. They take an earnest interest in the general social and cultural activities of the
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community and are held in high esteem by their many friends hereabout. In his political beliefs Mr. Winkelmann is a Socialist and is an ardent advocate of the principles of that rapidly growing party.
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HENRY SEIFERT.
Henry Seifert, a well-known retail liquor dealer at New Ulm, this county, is a native son of Brown county, having been born on a pioneer farm in Cottonwood township, July 11, 1864, son of John and Catherine Seifert, natives of Bohemia and early settlers in this part of Minnesota, both of whom lived to ripe old ages, long being numbered among the most useful and influential residents of this community.
John Seifert was the eldest of five children born to his parents, John Seifert and wife, substantial farming people of Bohemia, the others having been Joseph, Andrew, Christ- ian and Mary. The mother died in her native land, after which the father followed his son, John, to this country and his last days were spent in Milford township, this county, he being past eighty years of age at the time of his death. The younger John Seifert and his wife came to America in 1856, proceeding straightway to Minnesota and locating in Cottonwood township, this county. John Seifert was possessed of considerable substance when he came to this country and upon locating in Brown county bought a quar- ter of a section of land in Cottonwood township, where he established his home and proceeded to bring his wilderness tract under cultivation. There were but few settlers in that part of the county in those days and the Seiferts were thus among the real pioneers of that community.
St. Paul then was the market place for this region and John Seifert was accustomed to be gone fourteen days on trips to that outpost with his ox-team, going laden with
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grain and returning laden with a supply of provisions. During the Indian uprising in 1862 he was enrolled among the brave defenders of New Ulm and in all his activities was actuated by a desire to promote the best interests of the pioneer community, so that he soon came to be regarded as one of the leading citizens of that section. As he prospered in his farming operations he added to his land holdings, buying an adjoining quarter section soon after locating on his original homestead and later buying a tract of two hundred and four acres, thus becoming the owner of a fine farm of five hundred and twenty-four acres. In their declining years he and his wife moved to New Ulm, where their last days were spent, he being eighty-two years of age at the time of his death and she seventy-five. Both were earnest members of the Catholic church and their children were reared in that faith. Seven of these children are still living, namely: Mary, wife of Peter Arbes, of New Ulm; Anna, wife of John Korbel, of the same city; Peter, a well- known resident of Sigel township, this county, Henry, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Joseph, of Lamberton, this state; Clara, wife of Joseph Wiesner, of New Ulm, and John, of Cottonwood township, this county.
Henry Seifert was reared on the old homestead farm in Cottonwood township, receiving his education in the district school in that neighborhood, and remained at home until he had reached manhood's estate. His father then gave him a farm of one hundred and twenty-four acres of land in that neighborhood, on which he lived for two years, at the end of which time he went to LeSueur and engaged in the retail liquor business. After two years thus engaged in LeSueur, he sold his place there and moved to New Ulm, where he
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opened a similar place of business and has ever since been thus engaged in the latter city, being one of the best-known publicans in this part of the state.
Henry Seifert was united in marriage to Anna Forster, who was born in Wisconsin, daughter of Carl and Barbara (Steiner) Forster, natives of Bohemia and later residents of Brown county, a history of which family is set out in the biographical sketch of Mr. Seifert's brother, John H. Forster, furniture dealer and undertaker at New Ulm, presented elsewhere in this volume, and to this union five children have been born, as follow: Dr. Otto Seifert, a physician at New Ulm, who married Marian Field and has one child, a daughter, Muriel; Dr. Arthur Seifert, a dentist at New Ulm; Elsie, who married Doctor Warner, of Canby, this state, and Leo and Myra. Mr. and Mrs. Seifert are members of the Catholic church and their children were reared in that faith. They have many friends in New Ulm and vicinity and are popular in their circle. Mr. Seifert is a Democrat and for years has given attention to local politi- cal affairs, but has never been an aspirant for public office. He is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and of St. Joseph Society and takes a warm interest in the affairs of both organizations.
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WILLIBALD EIBNER.
The name of Willibald Eibner, who maintains a whole- sale and retail bakery, ice cream and confectionery estab- lishment at New Ulm, is well known in Brown and adjoin- ing counties, for his business was launched here over three decades ago and has been gradually growing ever since.
Mr. Eibner was born on January 21, 1863, in Bavaria, Germany, and is a son of Max and Anna (Steigleder) Eibner. His father engaged in the milling business, owning a large flour-mill which he operated until his death. He never came to the United States. He died when Willibald was seven years old, and two years later the mother passed away, a brother and sister, both younger than our subject, dying about the same time. Willibald was then adopted by a relative with whom he lived until he was eighteen years of age, having in the meantime attended the public schools and an industrial school, similar to the gymnasium. After leaving school he was employed as an assistant forester by the government of Bavaria, and continued in this line of work for two years, without pay, for the purpose of learn- ing the business. He then came to the United States, arriv- ing in New York in August, 1882, where he remained three years, being forced to stay there for lack of money to bring him on to the West. He worked in grocery stores, restaur- ants, kitchens, etc., starting in at three dollars per week, finally receiving as much as fifteen dollars per week. How- ever, he saved some money, and in 1885 came to New Ulm, Minnesota, where he remained a few months, then went on
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to St. Peter, this state, where he was manager of the old Commercial hotel for two years, then returned to New Ulm, and bought out a small confectionery store, the total invest- ment being about six hundred dollars. He met with much discouragement for awhile, but by perseverance, economy and good management forged ahead until he built up one of the largest businesses of its kind in southern Minnesota. He rented his buildings at first, but in 1890 bought the property. He gradually worked into the restaurant busi- ness, in connection with which he kept a boarding house, finally establishing a bakery business in a small way, in 1893. He has since discontinued the restaurant and boarding house and now devotes his attention to his large wholesale and retail bakery and ice cream factory, along with his con- fectionery, shipping large quantities of his various pro- ducts over a territory contiguous to New Ulm within a radius of one hundred and fifty miles. He also conducts a high-class retail store. The substantial brick building which he now occupies was the first of its kind to be built in New Ulm, and during the Indian massacre it was used as a shelter by the women and children. It was a government station and in the basement were stored the supplies of powder. The men defending the town intended to blow the building up rather than surrender the women and children to the savages. The building has since been remodeled and enlarged.
Willibald Eibner was married in New Ulm on April 17, 1887, to Mary Rosskopf, who was born in Waupun, Wiscon- sin, and is a daughter of Xavier and Magdaline (Roesch) Rosskopf, natives of Germany. They were among the early pioneers in Brown county, locating here shortly after the
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Indian outbreak. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eibner, nine of whom are living, namely: Cecelia, born on February 5, 1888; Caroline, July 7, 1889, married Joseph Bianchi, and they have two children, Josephine and Willibald; Veronica, June 16, 1891; Thecla, May 2, 1893; Alois, May 6, 1895; Willibalda, April 11, 1899; Patrick, March 17, 1901; Mildred, November 9, 1902; Marie, March 26, 1905; Lauretta, January 11, 1897, died on October 4, 1907.
Politically, Mr. Eibner is a Democrat. He was council- man of New Ulm for eight years, seven years of which he was president of the council. He was mayor for six months, filling out an unexpired term. He is still a councilman. He has done much for the general development of New Ulm, whose interests he has at heart. He and his family are members of the Catholic church, in which he has been a trustee for the past twenty years. He is president of the St. Joseph Society, which has a membership of about five hundred. This office he has also held for twenty years. He is secretary of the Staats-Verband, having held this office since its foundation in 1896. He is also a member of the grand council of the German Catholic Aid Association of Minnesota, which has a membership of over seven thousand. He has been very faithful in the discharge of his duties in all positions of trust and responsibility. He is also a mem- ber of the Knights of Columbus.
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EMIL MUELLER, D. V. S.
Dr. Emil Mueller, well-known veterinary surgeon of New Ulm and the oldest continuous practitioner in that line in that city, is a native son of Minnesota, having been born on a pioneer farm in the neighboring county of Nicollet, September 8, 1870, son of Henry C. and Fredericka Mueller, both natives of Germany and early settlers in this part of Minnesota.
Henry C. Mueller was trained as a carpenter in his na- tive land and when he came to the United States, in 1855, for a short time worked at his trade in Chicago. The next year, in 1856, he came to Minnesota, settling in Brown county. He entered a homestead claim to a quarter of a sec- tion of land in Milford township, built a cabin on the same, broke the sod, proved up the claim and the next year sold it. He then wintered at New Ulm and in the spring home- steaded a quarter of a section in Nicollet county on which he established his home, and soon became recognized as one of the most substantial and influential residents of the neigh- borhood in which he settled. At the time of the Indian up- rising Mr. Mueller was warned of the advance of the treach- erous redskins by an old Indian whom he and his wife had often fed and befriended during the winters. Heeding the warning he and his wife and their small children at once set out for St. Peter for protection, and had gone hardly more than a quarter of a mile when the savages surrounded their house and burned it before their eyes. Fortunately, how- ever, the family's hiding place had been well selected and all
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EMIL MUELLER, D. V. S.
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eventually found safe refuge at St. Peter. During those trying times Mr. Mueller served as a valiant member of the Home Guard and in all ways did well his part as a sturdy pioneer. Henry C. Mueller prospered in his agricultural operations and when he retired from the active labors of the farm, in 1893, was the owner of a fine place of five hundred and forty acres. Ten years later, in 1903, he and his wife moved to New Ulm, where both spent their last days. Mrs. Mueller died in 1905 and Mr. Mueller survived but a little more than two years, his death occurring on December 19, 1907. They were the parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last born, all of whom are living save two, the other survivors being Henry, Herman, Mary, Martin, Frank and William.
Emil Mueller was reared on the home farm in Nicollet county, receiving his elementary education in the district schools, supplementing the same by a three-years course in the Dr. Martin Luther College at New Ulm, after which he entered the Chicago Veterinary College, from which he was graduated, after a three-years course, in 1892, receiving the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. Thus admirably equipped for the practice of his profession, Doctor Mueller returned to New Ulm and opened an office in that city, where he ever since has been very successfully engaged in practice, being now the oldest veterinarian in continuous practice in that city. Doctor Mueller is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but is not in- cluded in the office-seeking class.
In 1894 Dr. Emil Mueller was united in marriage to Luella Yates, who was born in Dane county, Wisconsin,
(8a)
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daughter of Ralph Pierce and Mary (Martin) Yates, the former a native of that same state and the latter of the state of New York. For forty years and more Ralph P. Yates has been a locomotive engineer. To him and his wife three children were born, one of whom is dead, leaving Mrs. Mueller one brother, Fred Yates. To Doctor and Mrs. Muel- ler one child has been born, a daughter, Naomi Ruth. Doctor Mueller is a Mason of high degree, a Knight Templar and a member of the temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at St. Paul, while he and his wife are both members of the Order of the Eastern Star. The doctor is past high priest of New Ulm Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and is the present junior warden of New Ulm Commandery, Knights Templar. He also is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and in the affairs of these various fraternal affiliations takes a warm interest.
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JOHN HAUENSTEIN, JR.
John Hauenstein, Jr., secretary of the Hauenstein Brewing Company, of New Ulm, and brewmaster for that well-known concern, is a native son of Brown county, having been born in New Ulm, on the site of the brewery which his late father established, April 11, 1876, son of John and Henrietta (Fritsche) Hauenstein, both natives of Germany, the former of whom was born in Bavaria and the latter in Saxony, who, as youthful members of different parties of colonists, came to this section of Minnesota and thus became early settlers of New Ulm.
John Hauenstein, Sr., was the eldest of the five children born to Casper Hauenstein and wife, the others having been Weigand, Casper, Margaret and Kunikundi. In 1852 the Hauensteins came to the United States and located in Cincinnati, where, not long afterward both the father and the mother fell victims to the cholera scourge which swept that city about that time. John Hauenstein was about twenty-one years old when he came to this country. He had been trained in the cooperage and brewery trades in his home country and upon arriving in this country followed these vocations in Cincinnati. In 1858 he left that city and followed the considerable company of Cincinnati Germans who had come to this section of Minnesota, locating at New Ulm. There he married Henrietta Fritsche, who had come to the United States with her parents, Johann Carl and Fredricka (Ries) Fritsche, and the other members of the family, Ernest, Fred, Louis, Carl, Selma, Mina and Emily,
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in 1852. Upon arriving in this country the Fritsches located in Chicago, where, the next year, in 1853, they joined the colony of Germans organized there by the Chicago Landverein and came to this section of Minnesota, thus being among the very earliest settlers of New Ulm. Johann Carl Fritsche and his wife spent the remainder of their lives in New Ulm, the former dying at the age of sixty-eight years and the latter at the age of eighty-one.
Upon settling in New Ulm John Hauenstein found employment at his trade as a cooper and was thus engaged when the Indian insurrection broke out in 1862. He was one of the first to spring to organized defense of the city and was elected second lieutenant of Company M, of the Mounted Rangers. It was Lieutenant Hauenstein who drew the first redskin blood in Milford township during that conflict. The Indian he shot and wounded was captured and in 1863 met his fate with that of thirty-eight others of his kind on the gallows at Mankato. Following the massa- cre Lieutenant Hauenstein continued to serve in the Rangers, doing scout duty, until the uprising had been put down, after which he resumed his place in the cooper shop. In 1864 he established a small brewery on the site of his home, his expert experience acquired as a young man in Bavaria standing him well instead, and so popular did the quality of his excellent brew prove that it was not long before he found it necessary to increase the capacity of his plant. From this small beginning the present great Hauen- stein brewery at New Ulm has grown, the plant at present having a capacity of about twenty thousand barrels a year, its output being in demand all over southern Minnesota and as far up the state as Minneapolis. Mr. Hauenstein died on
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April 15, 1914, at the age of eighty-three, for many years having been numbered among the leading citizens of New Ulm, and the business which he created is still being carried on by the family. His widow, who survives him, is now in her seventieth year. They were the parents of eight chil- dren, namely: Charles, present head of the Hauenstein Brewing Company; Alma, wife of Martin Hose, treasurer of the same company ; Bertha, wife of Fred Behnke, of New Ulm; Louisa, wife of Charles Furst, of Bedford, Indiana; Emily, wife of Fred Seiter, of Kiesling, Washington; Frieda, wife of Henry Furst, Jr., of Chicago; John, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch, and Louis, who died in infancy.
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