Louis Bittner, b. 22 Jul 1848

CARL, NIEMEYER

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 2/20/2004 at 12:06:05

The Bellevue Planing Mill occupies no unimportant position among the industries along the eastern line of this county, and enjoys the patronage of a large proportion of the leading citizens of this region. It is a solid two story stone building, 32 x 64 feet, in dimensions, and is equipped with modern and improved machinery, the lower part being occupied as the planing room, and an addition in the rear is utilized for the engine. The upper floor contains the machinery and workshop. There is a 24-inch surface planer and a flooring machine, with a capacity for dressing 14-inch boards, besides the other machinery required in this line of business. From a modest beginning the mill has grown in importance, and now yields a handsome income.

Louis Bittner, the proprietor of the above-named institution, besides operating his mill, is recognized as the leading builder and contractor of Bellevue and vicinity. He possesses more than ordinary abilities in this line, making his own plans and architectural drawings. He gives employment during the summer season usually to fifteen men, and his patronage come largely from Bellevue and the country adjoining. He has all the business to which he can conveniently attend, and bears the reputation of a man straightforward in his dealings, and prompt to meet his obligations.

A native of Cambria County, Pa., our subject was born July 22, 1848, and is the son of John L. and Mary A. (Carl) Bittner, who were likewise natives of the Keystone State. He received his education in the distruct school, but this has been greatly supplemented by his habit of reading and observation, he keeping himself well posted upon the current events. Upon leaving school he began making himself useful in various ways and upon approaching manhood, was more or less occupied in teaming. At the age of twenty-two he took up the trade of a carpenter and joiner which he followed most of the time until 1885. He came to Bellevue in 1881, and worked as a journeyman carpenter, four years after which he established himself in his present business.

Mr. Bittner came to Iowa in 1855, and was married Feb. 16, 1876, to Miss Mary, daughter of Henry Niemeyer, who is now a resident of Los Angeles, Cal. Four of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bittner, are living, namely: Clara A., Charles O., Ella E., and Grover E. From the last named we can safely guess at the politics of Mr. Bittner, who cast his first Presidential vote for Horatio Seymour, and who still remains a member of the Democratic party. He is a man looked up to in his community, has officiated as a member of the Town Council, and was the Democratic candidate for Mayor of Bellevue in the spring of 1888. He is Past Master in the A. O. U. W., and a favorite both in social and business circles. The enterprises calculated to build up his town and elevate society find in him a cordial and uniform supporter.

("Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson County, Iowa", originally published in 1889, by the Chapman Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois)