For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 49
JACOB P. LEYSEN. Jacob P. Leysen, a well known shoe dealer of Muscatine, has built up an extensive and profitable trade during the eighteen years of his connection with the business. His establishment is located at No. 113 East Second street. His birth occurred in Muscatine, Iowa, on the 17th of March, 1859, his parents being Peter and Elizabeth ( Kaefering ) Leysen, who are natives of Luxenburg and Kiel, Germany, respectively. Jacob Leysen, the paternal grandfather, was born in Germany and crossed the Atlantic to the United States about 1855. He settled in Muscatine, Iowa, and here spent the remainder of his life, passing away at a ripe old age. Unto him and his wife were born thr following children: Peter; Charles; Mary; Lena, the wife of Jospeh Rank; Helen, the wife of George Arnold; and Magdalena, who gave her hand in marriage to John Knopp. The maternal grandfather of our subject, who was a farmer by occupation, passed away in Germany.Peter Leysen, the father of Jacob P. Leysen, emigrated to the United States about 1855and located on what is now Park Place in Muscatine. He followed dairy farming as a means of livlihood and passed away in this county when sixty-eight years of age. Both he and his wife, who died at the age of sixty-four, were devoted and faithful communicants of the Catholic church. During the period of hostilities between the north and the south Peter Leysen defended the interests of the Union as sargeant of Company D, Thirty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until the close of the war. He participated in a number of important engagements and was severely wounded in the hip and thigh in the battle of Chicot Lake, Arkansas, on the 7th of June, 1864. At the time of his discharge, on the 13th of July, 1865, he was a member of Company A, Fifteenth Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps. After returning from the war he resumed the pursuits of civil life, being numbered among the substantial agriculturalists and respected citizens here until his final rest. Unto him and his wife were born eight children, six sons and two daughters, namely: Jacob P., of this review; Anton, who is deceased; John; Charles; Joseph; Mary; Julia, the wife of C. T. Edwards; and Peter, who died in infancy.
Jacob P. Leysen was reared in Muscatine and acquired his education in the parochial schools. After completing his studies he took a position in the book and stationary store of Schmidt Brothers, in whose employ he remained for eight years. On the expiration of that period, on 1884, he embarked in business on his own account, conducting a book and stationary concern in association with F. A. Neidig, under the firm style of Neidig & Leysen, for about nine years. On the 1st of October, 1893, he withdrew from the firm and became identified with mercantile interests as a dealer in shoes, being proprietor of the Leysen shoe store for the past eighteen years. He is a wide-awake, energetic business man of known reliability and has met with deserved success in his undertakings.
On the 4th of May, 1887, Mr. Leysen was united in marriage to Miss Jennie A. Cassiday, a native of Iowa City, Iowa, and a daughter of William P. and Jane E. ( Morris ) Cassiday. They are the parents of three children : Ralph, city editor of the Muscatine Journal; Albert, a clerk in his father's store; and Genevieve, a student at St. Mathias Academy.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Leysen has supported the men and measures of the democracy. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus and both he and his wife are valued members of St. Mathias Catholic church. They reside at the corner of Sixth and Iowa avenue, where Mr. Leysen erected a modern and attractive home. They are well knnown throughout the community and justly merit the high regard and esteem which are uniformly accorded them.
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