WARREN TEELE.
Mr. Teele was born December 31, 1828, in the town of Woburn, Massachusetts, where his father, Joseph Teele, took up his resi dence in 1818, and lived until his death in 1839. Mr. Teele's ancestry came to this country from the Netherlands in 1642 and settled at Medford, Massachusetts, where they lived until Joseph removed to Woburn. Warren's mother was Hepsibeth (Wheeler) Teele, who died in 1832. She was the daughter of General Abijah Wheeler, who was born in Temple, New Hampshire. The Wheelers came originally from England.
In the family of Joseph and Hepsibeth Teele were seven children, only three of whom are living. These are: Warren, of Davenport; Joseph E., a retired farmer residing in Waverly, Illinois, and Luthera, unmarried and residing in Winchester, Massachusetts. Those who have passed away were: Mary Wheeler, Lafayette, Edwin and Lucy.
Warren received the only schooling he ever had at the schools in and about his native place. He was not suited for a profession, so he fitted himself for general business and left school when seventeen years of age. He went to Cannelton, Indiana, where he remained a number of years, engaged in the mercantile business, which finally proved a failure, owing to the fact that some large manufacturing establishments there proved unprofitable and their employés, who owed the merchants large sums, were unable to meet their obligations.
Having suffered a heavy loss Mr. Teele returned to the East. That was in 1856. Not satisfied to remain there, he, on the eleventh of October in that year, turned his steps westward and finally settled in Davenport, where he has resided ever since.
He took a position in the wholesale and retail grocery store of Messrs. M. Dalzell, Jr., and Company, where he kept books and was a salesman for several years. When President Lincoln was elected for his first term Mr. Teele was appointed by Montgomery Blair, the Postmaster-General, mail route agent between Davenport and Dubuque, which position he held five years, serving the Government with faithful ness and great industry. In 1865 he became a traveling salesman for the firm of Sanger & Leal, manufacturers of paper bags and dealers in vinegar. This position he held until 1869, and during that time he had the distinction of introducing the now commonly used paper flour bag in the West.
In 1869 he was appointed assistant postmaster at Davenport, under Mr. Edward Russell. His efficient work and his fidelity to the interests of the people commended him to succeeding postmasters and he was reappointed successively, even under the Democratic appointee under Mr. Cleveland's first administration, and again under the Democratic postmaster who took the office on the eighth of February, 1894. He has never been a partisan in politics, nor has he ever changed his politics in order to secure the appointments he has had, but has been kept in the office solely upon his merits.
In many ways his is a distinctive type of manhood. He has strong characteristics, which are especially shown in his moral and temperate habits. He has never touched liquor, nor has he ever been inside of a saloon; he was raised in the faith of the Congregationalists, but in early life he listened much to the teachings of Theodore Parker, and hence is a more liberal churchman, perhaps, than the average Congregationalist. His is chiefly a religion of liberality of thought, coupled with charity, and a belief that in this world we should prepare ourselves, physically, mentally and morally, so that we may be fit subjects for the life eternal.
On the twentieth of September, 1853, Mr. Teele married Miss Dora Nichols, a daughter of Stephen Nichols of Winchester, Massachusetts, who is descended from one of the Pilgrim Fathers. Their children are: Jennie, who is a teacher in the public schools of Davenport, and Addie Sanger, who is the wife of Herman Zeuch, a native of Davenport and now in the employ of Messrs. Van Patten and Marks.
BIOGRAPHIES