Kleinpell, W. F., hardware
merchant of Elkader, Iowa, was born in Cassville,
Wisconsin, December 10, 1864, and was the son of Carl
and Louisa (Wagner) Kleinpell, both natives of
Germany, who came to America in 1850, locating at
Freeport, Illinois, where they lived about eight
years before finally locating in Cassville,
Wisconsin. The father was a harnessmaker by trade,
which occupation he followed for some years, but
later went into general merchandizing. He died in
Cassville, but his wife is still living in that town,
a well known and competent woman, and where, during
the administrations of Grant and Hayes, she held the
position of postmistress. To their union was born a
large family of children, the first three of whom are
dead. The oldest living child is Julius, who is a
dealer in lumber in Cassville, Wisconsin; our subject
comes next in the point of age and is followed by
Amelia, who died at the age of fifteen; Henry, a
physician of Chicago; Walter, deceased; Freda, living
at home with her mother, and Reinhardt, of Flint,
Michigan.
At the age of fourteen years, W. F. Kleinpell left
home and began to make his own way in the world,
going first to Freeport, Illinois, where he served an
apprenticeship of two and a half years to a
machinist, after which he went to Elkport, Iowa, for
two years, and to Cassville, Wisconsin, for three
years, in both of which places he engaged in a
general merchandise business. In 1887 he moved to
Elkader, Iowa, where he conducted a hardware store
for a firm that he afterwards bought out and has
continued in the business with such great success
that he has enlarged it by adding heating and
plumbing departments.
He was married January 18, 1888, to Minnie Schmidt,
who was born in Clayton county, and is a daughter of
J. B. and Carrie (Hartman) Schmidt. Two children have
been born to them: Louise Caroline, born in 1890, now
the wife of C. F. Murphy, of Elkader; and Dorothy
Ella. Mr. Kleinpell is a democrat, has served on the
city council and on the school board, and is a member
of the Woodmen of the World.
source: History of Clayton County, Iowa; From The
Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present; by
Realto E. Price, Vol. II; page 212
-OCR scanned by S. Ferrall
