For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 587
ANTHONY J. FULLER....Labor, carefully directed, constitutes the secret of success in the life work of Anthony J. Fuller, now well known in industrial circles of Muscatine, where he is engaged in the manufacture of brick. He is a native son of this city, born January 12. 1865. His parents were Henry and Elizabeth ( Beck ) Fuller, natives of Germany. The father was reared as a farm boy in that country and when a young man determined to try his fortune in America for he had heard favorable reports concerning the opportunities offered in this country. He first settled in St. Louis, where he married, and later became one of the pioneer residents of Muscatine, casting his lot with the inhabitants of this city at the time when the population was very small. He began the manufacture of bricks and continued in the business for many years, furnishing building material for many of the substantial structures in this city and the surrounding country. He died in 1892 at the age of sixty-seven and his wife passed away in March, 1905, when seventy-eight years of age. In the family of Henry and Elizabeth Fuller there were seven children, five of whom are now living : Joseph, of West Liberty, Iowa ; Henry, residing in Muscatine ; Mary, the wife of Martin Havercamp, of Muscatine ; Anthony J. and George, both of this city.Anthony J. Fuller was born and reared in Muscatine and attended the parochial schools. In his youth he learned the brick-maker's trade under the direction of his father, and that has been his life work with the exception of a period of six years spent in clerking. In 1892 he formed a partnership with John Shoemaker and the association was maintained for nine years, at the end of which time Mr. Fuller purchased Mr. Shoemaker's interest and is conducting the business alone at the present time. He now has a well equipped plant supplied with the latest improved machinery necessary for the manufacture of brick, and his output amounts to three hundred and fifty thousand brick annually. The business has constantly grown, owing to his capable direction and he is numbered among the most industrious, upright and honorable business men to whom success has come as the reward of close application and untiring effort. The many buildings that have been erected from the bricks he has manufactured will be lasting testimonials of his business ability and enterprise.
On the 23d of November, 1887, Mr. Fuller was united in marriage to Miss Anna Schaefer, a daughter of George and Anna ( Daflor ) Schaefer. Mrs. Fuller was born in Muscatine and her father and mother were natives of Germany. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have been born five children : George, Anthony, Florence, Mabel and Harold.
The parents are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Fuller belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 1909 he erected a commodious and beautiful residence and he owns four and a half acres of ground containing about eighteen lots. Success has come to him as the reward of earnest, persistent effort. He early realized the fact that " There is no excellence without labor," and in his business career he has always given proof of the old-time adage that " Honest is the best policy." Reliable, persevering, and determined, he has made constant progress since starting out in life for himself and is now a well known and worthy representative of industrial interests in Muscatine.
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