Wellemeyer, George Leonard

Male 1865 - 1932  (66 years)


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  • Name Wellemeyer, George Leonard 
    Born 8 Oct 1865  Wapello Township, Louisa County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Gender Male 
    Died 8 Apr 1932  Afton, Union County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3, 4
    • The following are transcriptions supplied by Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts of obituaries for George Leonard Wellemeyer which she reported had appeared on 13 April 1932 in local Iowa newspapers, as noted.

      Klemme Times and Britt Tribune

      George Leonard Wellemeyer was born 8 October 1865 on a farm near Wapello, Iowa. He was the seventh of a family of nine children, six sons and three daughters born to his parents, Henry F. Wellemeyer and his wife Catherine (nee) Fiegenbaum. Mr. Wellemeyer received the instruction of his childhood years in the common schools of Wapello, and later attended a few terms in the Academy at Garner, which at that time was managed by Professors Worden and Polock. For two years he attended Western College at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. George Wellemeyer taught school in Hancock County for several years. It happened that he was the first teacher to serve the Will Stille District two miles west of Klemme. His life work, however, was that of a printer. He moved often, and several times tried other work but always came back to the print shop which was the work he liked best. He worked on the Garner Democrat for many years. He owned at one time a paper and print shop at Cope, Colorado. He started the Iowa Valley Press at Helmond. He was at one time editor of the Klemme Times and for a few years owned and operated the Britt Tribune and for a number of years was at Harris, Iowa. He carried mail and owned and operated the Harris Herald which later he consolidated with the Ocheydan Press. After moving to Ocheydan, he and his son, Leonard, operated this paper for several years. Mr. Wellemeyer was Mayor of Ocheydan for two terms. It was here that he affiliated himself with Silver Cord Lodge 525 A.F. & A.M. At the time of his demise he was operating a movie theater at Afton, Iowa. The departed was married in the year 1899 to Aurilla Sage of Garner, Iowa. From this union came three sons, Leonard, Lyle and Mahion. His wife preceeded him in death in the year 1903. In the year 1910 the departed again married; this time to Mrs. Emma Town of Spirit Lake, Iowa. To them one son, Roland, was born. In his younger days, the work of the print shop being quite confining, Mr. Wellemeyer found recreation in hunting and fishing and in playing baseball. The departed was an optimist, generous to a fault with those he loved, and a friend to every man. One of his favorite poems was:
           Let me live in a house by the side of the road, where the race of men go by.
           Some are good and some are bad -- wise -- foolish. So am I.
           Then why should I sit on the scorners bench or hurl the cynics bomb
           Let me live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend to man.
      Mr. Wellemeyer was always in good health until about a year ago when he noticed some irregularity of the heart, which did not seem to get much better or much worse. Suddenly he felt an unusual pain in the region of his heart. A doctor was called but he died within the hour. This was early Friday morning the 8th of April. He had reached the age of 66 years, 5 months and 29 days. He leaves of his immediate family his wife, Mrs. Emma Wellemeyer of Afton, Iowa; four sons: Roland of Afton; Leonard of Pipestone, Minnesota; Lyle and Mahlon of Baltimore, Maryland; five grandchildren and one brother Charles L. Wellemeyer of Wichita, Kansas and one sister Mrs. Mary Addicks of Warrenton, Missouri. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Whyte in Klemme at the home of Arthur Wellemeyer, a nephew of the deceased. The Masons were in charge of the services at the Garner Cemetery.


      Garner Leader

           The body of George L. Wellemeyer was brought to Garner for burial Sunday, 10 April, and placed in the family lot in Evergreen Cemetery. Mr. Wellemeyer passed from this earth at his home at Afton, Iowa early Friday morning, 8 April, the result of a heart attack. Mr. Wellemeyer was operating a movie theater at Afton at the time of his death. George Wellemeyer will be remembered by a large number of Leader and Signal readers. For many years he was a resident of Garner and Hancock County. In early life he learned the printing business and followed that profession for 40 years at least. He managed or owned papers in Garner, Britt, Goodell, Klemme, Crystal Lake, and we believe, Corwith. During those years, he naturally gained a wide acquaintance throughout the county. He was born on a farm near Wapello, Iowa 8 October 1865. When but a child, he came to this county with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Wellemeyer. The original Wellemeyer estate is what is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. U. Smith, in southwest Garner. Here George resided when a growing boy. When the Northern Iowa Normal College was a flourishing institution under the management of the Rev. Samuel I. Lindsay and Professors Pollock and Worden, George was a student there. He taught in the rural schools of our county for several terms. In the year 1899 he was married to Aurilla Sage of Garner.
           To this union three sons were born: Leonard, Lyle and Mahlon. The mother of these boys died many years ago. Mr. Wellemeyer married again, this time to Mrs. Emma Town, of Spirit Lake. To this union one son, Roland, was born. He operated a newspaper at Spirit Lake for years and then moved to Harris, Iowa. Later he consolidated his Harris publication with the Ocheydan Press and he and his son, Leonard, operated the Press for many years. He served the town of Ocheydan as mayor for two terms, and while a resident of that town, and while a resident of that town he became affiliated with the Masonic Fraternity, and that body was in charge of the burial, which took place in Garner Sunday afternoon, 10 April. The Rev. David J. Lewis, pastor of the local United Presbyterian Church, read the Masonic burial ritual at the grave. Previous to bringing the body to Garner, a funeral service was held at the home of his nephew, Arthur Wellemeyer, at Klemme. There were nine children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Wellemeyer. Three daughters and six sons. Of this number two are still living: Mrs. Mary Addicks of Warrenton, Missouri and Charles Wellemeyer of Wichita, Kansas. His wife and four sons survive: Mrs. Wellemeyer and Roland of Afton, Iowa; Leonard of Pipestone, Minnesota; Lyle and Mahlon of Baltimore, Maryland. Deceased had been in good health until about one year ago, when heart disease developed.
    Buried 10 Apr 1932  Garner, Hancock County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 5
    • He was buried in Concord Cemetery.
    Person ID I280  Fiegenbaum
    Last Modified 21 Mar 2010 

    Father Wellemeyer, Henry Frank,   b. 15 Dec 1822, Kingdom of Hannover Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 12 Aug 1899, Garner, Hancock County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 76 years) 
    Mother Fiegenbaum, Christine Elisabeth,   b. 25 Oct 1827, Lengerich, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Feb 1918, Warrenton, Warren County, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 90 years) 
    Residence (family) Between 1847 and 1850  Warrenton, Warren County, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    Married 22 Aug 1847  St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7, 8, 9, 10

    •      Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts provided the following transcription of an article which she reports appeared on 26 August 1897 in the Hancock County (Iowa) Democrat.

           Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Wellemeyer of this place celebrated the 50th anniversary of their marriage last Saturday, 21 August. A large number of relatives and friends graced the happy occasion showing their congratulations and good wishes together with more substantial tokens of their regard upon the worthy old couple. At about half-past four o'clock the guests were called in to partake of an old fashioned wedding dinner with their host and hostess. About ninety persons partook of the bounteous repast prepared. After dinner while the friends were gathered on the lawn around father and mother Wellemeyer, a short address was made by Rev. F. H. Wellemeyer, another by Mr. August Beinke of St. Louis, Missouri, which was followed by the reading of a short poem by C. L. Wellemeyer. After the short impromptu program the whole company led by the children again filed past the old people with hearty and heart felt congratulations. It was a very affective scene and one never to be forgotten. Tears flowed on every side, but they were tears of joy. When the invited guests had taken their departure, the children and grandchildren gathered in the pleasant sitting room and closed the day with songs and speeches and happy converse. All in all a most enjoyable occasion. Gifts were as follows: $50 in gold, Mr. and Mrs. Beinke; $50 in gold from the children; $2 in gold each from Rev. and Mrs. C. Schuler, Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Schneider and Mr. and Mrs. John Ulrich; $1 in gold each from Mr. and Mrs. Louis Able, Mr. and Mrs. A. Schneider, Rev. and Mrs. H. R. Fiegenbaum and Rev. and Mrs. Fiegenbaum. One dozen gold coffee spoons in a handsome case from Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Lauf; two gold tablespoons from Mr. and Mrs. H. Woestman; gold crescent pin from Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Gove; chased silver cup and saucer from Mr. and Mrs. William Schneider, two gilded china cups each from Mr. and Mrs. August Grunze and Rev. and Mrs. A. Haefner; one gold salad fork from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Schroeder; bread plate from Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Wells and a dinner set in china and glass from the grandchildren.
    Residence (family) Between 1850 and 1875  Wapello Township, Louisa County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [11
    Residence (family) From 1875 to 1899  Concord Township, Hancock County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [12

    •      According to a passage from an obituary for Heinrich Frederick Wellemeyer:

      The rich and cheap lands of northern Iowa induced Mr. Wellemeyer to sell his Louisa County farm and buy several hundred acres of Hancock County prairie. On 4 December 1875 he moved with his family to this county and built their permanent home in Seymour's addition to Concord where they have since resided.
    Family ID F99  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Sage, Aurilla Farnham,   b. 8 Aug 1877, Mechanicsville, Cedar County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 27 Mar 1903, Garner, Hancock County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 25 years) 
    Married Nov 1899  Sibley, Osceola County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [13
    Children 
    +1. Wellemeyer, Leonard Russell,   b. 7 Mar 1900, Garner, Hancock County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 Mar 1985, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 85 years)
     2. Wellemeyer, Lyell Earl,   b. 10 Apr 1901, Garner, Hancock County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Oct 1968, Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 67 years)
     3. Wellemeyer, Mahlon Allen,   b. 22 Jun 1902, Crystal Lake, Hancock County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aug 1976, Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 74 years)
    Last Modified 6 Aug 2018 
    Family ID F1893  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Owen, Emma,   b. Abt 1875, Minnesota, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Married 29 Nov 1910  Jackson, Jackson County, Minnesota, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [14, 15
    Children 
     1. Wellemeyer, Roland,   b. 10 Jul 1911, Ocheyedan, Osceola County, Iowa, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 27 Jan 1996, Hastings, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 84 years)
    Last Modified 6 Aug 2018 
    Family ID F1894  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Sources 
    1. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), pages 29, 71-74.
      George Leonard Wellemeyer, child of Henry Frank Wellemeyer and Catherine Elisabeth Fiegenbaum, was born on 8 October 1865 on a farm near Wapello, Louisa County, Iowa.

    2. [S113] Web site, IAGenWeb Project. Burial Index for all Hancock County Cemeteries. Submitted by the Hancock County Genealogical Society, 1986.
      Accessed March 2010. (http://iagenweb.org/hancock/Cemeteries/burialindex.html). Burial Index - W (http://iagenweb.org/hancock/Cemeteries/bi_w.html).
           Wellemeyer, George L; born: 1865; died: 1932; cemetery: Concord.

    3. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), pages 29, 71-74.
      George Leonard Wellemeyer died at his home in Afton, Iowa, from a heart attack early in the morning of Friday, 8 April 1932.

    4. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), pages 72-73.
      Transcriptions supplied by Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts of obituaries for George Leonard Wellemeyer which she reported had appeared on 13 April 1932 in the Klemme Times and Britt Tribune, and in the Garner Leader. These are Hancock County, Iowa newspapers.

    5. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), pages 71-74.
      George Leonard Wellemeyer was buried on 10 April 1932 at Garner, Iowa. Mrs. Leenerts records that he was buried in Concord Cemetery, but also includes a transcription of an obituary from the Garner Leader that states that George was "placed in the family lot in Evergreen Cemetery."

    6. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), pages 26-27.
      Transcription of an obituary reported to have appeared in the Garner Signal, of Garner, Iowa, on Wednesday 16 August 1899.
           Henry Frank Wellemeyer "emigrated to the United States in 1845 and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Here he married Miss Catherine Fiegenbaum, 22 August 1847 and moved to Warrentown, Missouri where they resided for nearly three years."

    7. [S119] Harriet L. Fiegenbaum and Judith L. (Fiegenbaum) Miller, Genealogical research.
      Rev. Wellmeier and (Catherine) Christine Elisabeth Fiegenbaum; married 1905 [sic].

    8. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), page 24.
      Henry Frank Wellemeyer and Catherine Elisabeth Fiegenbaum were married 22 August 1847 at St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri.

    9. [S177] Ancestry.com (library edition), Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
      Original data from: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, Missouri: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm.
           Henry "Wellemeir" and Catherine Fiegenbaum were married in St. Louis, Missouri on 22 August 1847.

    10. [S113] Web site, "Julius Neumann-Amelia Catherine Wellemeyer Family Group Descendant Tree.".
      (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~drpatek/gp401.htm). D. R. Patek Family Ancestors - Rushton, Todd, Black, Neumann. 12 August 2010. Accessed 12 October 2012.
           Henry F. Wellemeyer and Katherine Elizabeth Fiegenbaum were married in 1847. No place given.

    11. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), pages 26-27.
      Transcription of an obituary reported to have appeared in the Garner Signal, of Garner, Iowa, on Wednesday 16 August 1899.
           "Mr. and Mrs. Wellemeyer could not reconcile the institution of slavery, which then prevailed in Missouri. With their love of personal liberty, they moved to Louisa County near Wapello, Iowa, where they resided until 1875."

    12. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), pages 26-27.
      Transcription of an obituary for "Henry Frank Wellemeyer" reported to have appeared in the Garner Signal, of Garner, Iowa, on Wednesday, 16 August 1899.

    13. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), p. 71.
      George Leonard Wellemeyer and Aurilla Farnham Sage were married in November 1899 at Sibley, Osceola County, Iowa.

    14. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), p. 71.
      George Leonard Wellemeyer and Emma (Owen) Town were married on 1 December 1910 at Jackson, Jackson County, Minnesota.

    15. [S175] Frances Gretchen (Klein) Leenerts, Descendants of Father Fiegenbaum (Chinook, Washington: F. Leenerts, 2002), page 71.
      Quoting the Hancock County Democrat, on 1 December 1910: "Tuesday afternoon at Jackson, Minnesota, occurred the marriage of Emma Owen Town to George L. Wellemeyer." December 1 was a Thursday. Tuesday presumably refers to 29 November 1910.