MANUFACTURER AND MERCHANT: A public spirited citizen. He was born in Burhave, a small country town on the border of the German Sea, in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. His mother, Sophia died at the time of his birth, and his twin brother died in the next year. When Adolph was 4 years old his father, Dr. Ferdinand Meinecke, remarried to Miss Meta Bollenhagen. Dr. Meinecke home-schooled him until the age of 13, when he went to high school in Oldenburg, and then commercial college in Onasbruck. He came to the United States at the age of 17, during the large German immigration of 1848, and found employment with Mr. Edward Hen, a German importer in New York City, where he remained for seven years. In 1854 he married Mary Louise Krafft, of Heilbroun, the daughter of George Krafft, one of the leading revolutionists of southern Germany. They had two sons, Ferdinand and Adolph Jr. Mr. Meinecke came to Milwaukee in 1855, and established the Milwaukee Willow Works in the line of toys and furniture. A year later in 1856 his parents immigrated to Milwaukee. By 1864, when importation of goods was nearly excluded by the high gold premium, he erected a factory, which almost covered the entire block from Wells to Mason Sts. The wicker material was supplied from his 37-acre willow fields at 15th and North Avenue, and he promoted the growing of the osier willow for use in his factory. One large building still stands across the street from the Powerhouse and Pabst Theaters on Wells Street in Milwaukee (2005). In 1876 Mr. Meinecke was appointed by Governor Taylor as one of the Wisconsin Commissioners to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. He made many contributions to the community, and for some years he was vice-president of the Wisconsin Humane Society and the Milwaukee National Bank. He was a member of the Exposition Association and one of the trustees of the Public Museum since its founding. He was a Republican, but not active in politics. "Prominent toy manufacturer Adolph Meinecke, Sr. donated land for Engine House 13 to the city in 1888..." Engine House 13 was located at 19th and North Avenue. When the G. A. R. held its national encampment in Milwaukee in 1889, Mr. Meinecke manufactured 10,000 bamboo canes which were distributed free to the veterans by the Pabst Brewing Company. In 1893 due to ill health he retired from the presidencey of the Meinecke Toy Company and head of A. Meinecke & Sons, and turned the operations over to his sons, Ferdinand and Adolph, Jr. He spent winters in Florida continued his literary pursuits, and wrote a history of his native Oldenburg. He had contributed many literary articles to Frank Leslie's Illustrated News (German edition) and to the German newspapers, both here and in Germany. His native town conferred upon him honorary citizenship. He was highly respected as one of Milwaukee's great business and cultural leaders. Mrs. Meinecke died in 1894 and Adolph died at his home on Milwaukee Street in 1905. He is buried with his family at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee, WI. He was brought up in the Lutheran faith.