Fritz Staemmele

STAEMMLE, JACOBY

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 5/30/2010 at 08:05:11

History of Jackson County, Iowa, 1910, James W. Ellis

FRITZ STAEMMELE.

Fritz Staemmele, proprietor of the Staemmele Brewery of Maquoketa, was born in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, December 21, 1859, and is a son of Michael and Magdaline (Esterhamer) Staemmele, both of whom spent their entire lives in Germany. The father learned the brewer's trade and eventually conducted a business of that character on his own account, so that the early experiences of his youth made Fritz Staemmele acquainted with the business both in the methods of manufacture and in the conduct of the financial interests of the enterprise. When twenty-one years of age he engaged in the hotel business in the town of Greifenberg, Bavaria, and centered his efforts upon that undertaking for four years, but in the meantime the favorable reports which he heard concerning America and her opportunities awakened in him the desire to establish his home on this side the Atlantic. Accordingly, in 1886, he came to the United States and found employment in a brewery in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. After a year and a half there passed he went to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where he remained for six years, being a resident there at the time of the memorable Johnstown flood, in which he lost everything that he had acquired. It was an experience which left an indelible impress upon his mind. He and his wife were carried on the roof of their house two miles through the raging torrent, but eventually were rescued, saving, however, nothing but their lives.
After this Mr. Staemmele engaged in the boarding house and saloon business. He had been married on the 21st of March, 1881, to Miss Josephine Meierhofer, and in 1892 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in that year. He then sold out and returned to Germany, but in 1893 he again came to the United States and for a year resided in Chicago. He afterward spent six months in Geneseo and six months in Mendota, Illinois, while the fall of 1895 witnessed his arrival in Maquoketa, where he secured the position of brew master with the Dostal Brewing Company, with which he was thus connected for nine and a half years. He then resigned his position and went to Patton, Pennsylvania, to superintend the building of a large brewery, which was being erectedthere by one of his friends. He superintended the construction and equipment of the plant, remaining in Patton for more than four years, after which he returned to Maquoketa, and in February, 1908, purchased the plant of the Dostal Brewing Company and also of the Maquoketa Bottling Works, both of which he is now operating. He is an expert brewer, having thoroughly learned the business from start to finish, and the product of his plant is second to none in this country. His trade is constantly growing and the output is now large, while his profits are annually increasing.
In 1895 Mr. Staemmele was married to Miss Johanna Jacoby, then of Chicago but a native of Germany. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and of the Iowa Traveling Men's Association. Well known in business circles in Maquoketa, he is now at the head of a large productive industry here and in the conduct of his business keeps it always to the highest possible standard.