Wellemeyer, Edward Mathew

Other Events:

• Moved To: 1876, Garner, Hancock County, Iowa, USA

Notes:

Buried:
He was buried in Concord Cemetery.

Died:

     The following transcriptions were supplied by Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts.

Garner Signal; 25 February 1931

Word was received in Garner Tuesday that E. M. Wellemeyer had passed away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Foster Bickel, at Washington, Iowa, Monday night, 23 February at nine o'clock. One of the first days of February Mr. and Mrs. Wellemeyer left Garner for Iowa City, where Mr. Wellemeyer hoped to receive relief from a combination of ailments from which he had suffered for several years. However, the Iowa City specialists held out no hope for him, but appeared to be of the opinion that his trouble was of a nature that was not liable to prove fatal for some time at least. Iowa City is but 30 miles from Washington, so Mr. and Mrs. Wellemeyer went to the home of the daughter for a visit. His condition grew worse and the end came as we have previously stated, Monday evening of this week. News of his death was brought to Garner in a message from Mrs. Wellemeyer to Mrs. J. E. Fraser, an old time friend of the family. Data from which to prepare a biographical sketch is not available at this time, nor is there a person in Garner from whom correct dates, etc., could be obtained. For this reason approximate dates will need be used, and these gathered from memory of those of our people who have known Mr. Wellemeyer for a long, long time. E. M. Wellemeyer was 71 years of age. He was born in Wapello, Iowa in 1860. The arrival in Hancock County of Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Wellemeyer and family dates back all of 60 years. The old Wellemeyer homestead where a family of nine children were raised is the property now owned by C. U. Smith in southeast Garner. In this home there were six sons and three daughters. Six of these children, along with the parents, have passed to the great beyond. The living members of the family are: George L. of Corning, Iowa; Charles of Wichita, Kansas; and Mrs. George Addicks of Warrenton, Missouri. Many years ago E. M. Wellemeyer and Miss Amelia Haefner were married. To this union two children were born: Mrs. Viola Bickell of Washington, Iowa at whose house Mr. Wellemeyer died, and Elmer D. Wellemeyer of St. Rose, Louisana. In his younger days, when health and vigor were his, E. M. Wellemeyer was a moving spirit in the affairs of Garner and vicinity. Ed was interested in everything that meant a bigger, better Garner -- a better place in which to live. Arthur Wellemeyer of Klemme, a nephew of the deceased, went to Washington Monday night and took charge of the funeral arrangements. From him we learn that the body will arrive in Garner today and that funeral services will be held at the Methodist Church tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon at two o'clock. Interment will be at Concord Cemetery.


Garner, March 11, 1931

In the death notice of our townsman, E. M. Wellemeyer, published in last week's issue of the Garner Leader, we mentioned the fact that authentic data from which to prepare a complete biographical sketch was not available. Since that time, however, all necessary information has been obtained, and is published here. There will be some repetition of what was said last week, but we wish to make this story as complete as possible. Edward Mathew Wellemeyer was born at Wapello, Iowa on 16 November 1860. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. W. Foster Bickell, Washington, Iowa 23 February 1931 having attained the age of 71 years. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Wellemeyer. His boyhood days were spent on the home farm near Wapello, Louisa County. In 1876, at the age of 16, he moved with his parents to Garner. He was enrolled in Garner's first public school and completed his education here. At the age of 20 he united with Grace Methodist Church, transferring his membership to First Methodist Church with the consolidation of the two church bodies, seven years ago. He has been a member of the Methodist Church for more than half a century. For the past 34 years he has been on the official board having been appointed to that place upon the death of his father who had served in a like capacity since the erection of Garner's first Methodist Episcopal Church. June 27, 1889, he was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Haefner of Giard, Iowa. He and his bride took up housekeeping in a home which he had previously built. This was on the farm a short distance west of Garner now known as a J. N. Sprole farm and tenanted by Floyd Franklin. Into this home two children were born, Viola and Elmer. During his younger years, Mr. Wellemeyer was one of this community's most active farmers. Later he served Garner as dairyman. In more recent years, he has been engaged in such activities as his health would permit. Last fall a gradual decline in health overtook him; his ailment failed to respond to medical attention, so about four weeks ago he was taken to a hospital at Iowa City where his trouble was diagnosed as paralysis agitars, a paralytic condition of the nerves. After the trip through the clinic, he was taken to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Foster Bickell at Washington. For a short time he appeared to improve but an unexpected sharp change for the worse set in and he passed away. He leaves to mourn his death his wife; his daughter Mrs. Bickell; his son, Elmer H. Wellemeyer of St. Rose, Louisiana; three grandchildren: Verna Bickell; Marilyn and William Wellemeyer; a sister Mrs. Mary Addicks of Warrentown [sic], Missouri; two brothers George of Humiston, Iowa and Charles of Wichita, Kansas, as well as a host of relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by two sisters Lizette Minden and Amelia Neuman; and three brothers Rev. Frank H., William and H. Fred Wellemeyer.

Edward married Haefner, Amelia H. 27 Jun 1889, Giard, Clayton County, Iowa, USA. Amelia (daughter of Haefner, Charles and Horney, Mary) was born 24 May 1864, Giard, Clayton County, Iowa, USA; died 17 Oct 1950, Washington, Washington County, Iowa, USA; was buried 19 Oct 1950, Concord Township, Hancock County, Iowa, USA. [Group Sheet]

Agnes married Bickell, Wilbur Foster 10 Jun 1915, Klemme, Hancock County, Iowa, USA. Wilbur (son of Bickell, John and Frölich, Martha) was born 27 Aug 1891, Froelich, Clayton County, Iowa, USA; died Jul 1967, Iowa, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Occupation: a chemical engineer in the oil industry.

Notes:

Occupation:
The following is a transcription supplied by Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts of an article for Elmer H. Wellemeyer which she reported had appeared on Wednesday, 1 August 1951 in the Garner Leader.

Elmer H. Wellemeyer, one time Garner farm boy, who is now vice-president of Cities Service Oil Company, is the subject of a lengthy article in the current issue of the Cities Service Company magazine. Wellemeyer was graduated from Garner High School a few years before World War I. Upon graduation he taught Liberty Township School Number Two, according to his cousin, Arthur Wellemeyer of Klemme. Elmer Wellemeyer is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wellemeyer of Garner. His mother died at Washington, Iowa in October of 1950, and is buried in Concord Cemetery here. His father died several years ago. He has one sister, Viola Bickell of Washington, Iowa. The magazine article is an old fashioned success story of a farm boy who made good in the big city. We quote "Picture a pre-machine-age farm, circa 1910. The only tractor a sway-back horse. The only milking machine, a small boy named Elmer -- his hands already muscular from the job of milking eight cows night and morning -- farm life was no bed of hay in those days. 'I had college dinned into me -- oh, as far back as I can remember,' says Wellemeyer. 'Dad had a flock of brothers -- a bishop, a publisher, a professor, a musician and a merchant. Mother said what they could do I could do. Since everybody agreed that chemical enginering held the promise of a big future, I went to Iowa State to see if they could make a chemical engineer out of me.' This was Iowa State's first class in chemical engineering, and according to Wellemeyer probably its best. For the students not only made wallboard out of cornstalks and extracted acid from cornstalks, but set up the equipment for their experiments. It was here that Wellemeyer made his first analysis of lubricating oil. 'Today's oil engineers seem to think they are doing something new when they road-tested lube oils in one of the first automobiles in my part of Iowa -- and I wrote my first major thesis on the results.' World War I snatched Elmer from college. When the war ended, he finished at Iowa State, answered a newspaper ad for a chemical engineer, and his work as an oil man began in earnest. He invented and patented several stills, to expedite his work of analyzing Mexican crude oil. He was then given a job as chief chemical engineer of a refinery in Tampico, Mexico. But halfway to Tampico, he was transferred to Good Hope, Louisana where he first came in contact with Cities Service. Later he was asked to take over the laboratory of the refinery of a Cities Service subsidiary. In 1931 he was sent to India to check on the interests of a company connected with Cities Service. After his India assignment, he returned to Texas and Louisiana, where he opened the Houston office of Cities Service. During World War II Wellemeyer's executive capacities were instrumental in setting up a new refinery on the Gulf coast to produce aviation gasoline for the government. He was noted for his ability to slash through red tape. After the war he was sent to New York and became assistant to Hi Brandli, vice-president in charge of the Cities Service export department. Soon Brandli was made general manager of the company, and Wellemeyer was elected vice-president. As a vice-president Wellemeyer's secretary characterizes him with one word: determine. No use telling him a thing can't be done, because he'll step right in and prove you are wrong by doing it himself. His methods are often unorthodox -- but they work. Wellemeyer starts his day at 4:30 a.m. by helping milk cows on his New Jersey farm before going to his city office. Once a farmer, always a farmer, Wellemeyer states. He launches into an enthusiastic description of his dairy farm, its head of Guernsey cows, 40 head of beef cattle -- and his Reserve Champion bull of the state of New Jersey last year. Wellemeyer's son, William, is his farm manager, with very able assistance from his younger son, John. 'My daughter, Marilyn, has the brains of the family. Four colleges offered her scholarships. She chose to finish at the Sorbonne -- on another scholarship.' Elmer Wellemeyer has a genius for friendship. An incident is recounted which shows he was a vocational ag teacher in his own way, back at Liberty number two. He was teaching eight grades in a one-room schoolhouse for the salary of $52.80 a month. When the time came to teach arithmetic, he threw away the book -- literally. He reasoned this way: his boys were farm boys and would probably be farmers all their lives. So he took them out to a cornfield and taught them arithmetic by the number of rows of corn, number of stalks to a hill, number of ears to a stalk. He opened account books for the boys, borrowed money for them (on paper of course) and set them up in business. This was long before the days of earn-as-you-learn, remember?"

Elmer married Hess, Edith. Edith died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]