From "History of Davenport and Scott County" Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1910 Chicago.
Through the inherent force of his own character, his strong determination and his close application to the duties that have devolved upon him, combined with the development of his native powers along the lines of invention, W. P. Bettendorf has won distinction and honors in his native land. He is today president of the Bettendorf Axle Company, controlling the most important industrial enterprise of Davenport, and the extent of his business has made him one of the best known men of the state. He was born in Mendota, Illinois, July 1, 1857, and is the eldest of four children, whose parents were M. and Catharine (Reck) Bettendorf, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was a young man of eighteen years when he crossed the Atlantic to America an took up his abode in Mendota, Illinois, where he engaged in school teaching. Later he removed to Missouri, and, settling at Sedalia, there established a grocery store. He was afterward employed as a government clerk at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and is now living retired in Bettendorf, the town which is the home of the great enterprise that was established and is being conducted by his sons. O the family of four children, the only two living are W. P. and J. W., who are partners in the conduct of a business which in extent and magnitude has no equal in Davenport.
W. P. Bettendorf accompanied his parents on their removal to Missouri and to Kansas and in these states acquired the greater part of his education. He attended for a time the St. Mary's Mission School, which was an Indian school in the latter state. In 1870 he began providing for his own support as a messenger boy at Humboldt, Kansas, and about 1872 he accepted a clerkship in the hardware store of A. L. Shepard at Peru, Illinois. He filled that position for two years, after which he became an apprentice to the machinist's trade with the Peru Plow Company. This was more in accordance with the natural bent of his nature and he served his full term of indenture, becoming an expert workman. Later he left Peru and entered the employ of the Moline Plow Company, with which he remained for ten months, at the end of which time he accepted the position of foreman of the fitting department of the Parlin & Orendorff company at Canton, Illinois, manufacturers of plows and agricultural implements. Not only did he faithfully execute the tasks assigned him but unlike many workmen-and they are of the class who never progress-he gave active attention to every duty and thought out along original lines until as the result of experiment and research he invented, in 1878, the first power lift sulky plow. He was still in the employ of the Peru Plow Company at that time. His invention was adopted by most of the plow manufacturing plants. After leaving Canton, Illinois, in 1882, he returned to Peru to accept the superintendency of the establishment in which he had served his apprenticeship and while thus connected he invented the Bettendorf metal wheel, together with the necessary machinery for its manufacture. He then granted a shop right to the Peru Plow Company and as the metal wheel branch of the business soon assumed large proportions it was decided to change the name of the company to the Peru Plow & Wheel Company. This company, however, was slow to increase its capacity for the manufacture of metal wheels, the demand for which was constantly increasing, and Mr. Bettendorf therefore saw the necessity of looking around for other interests that would undertake the manufacture on a greater scale, keeping up with the market demand. He made the acquaintance of E. P. Lynch, who was president of the Eagle Manufacturing Company at Davenport, and they entered into negotiations which resulted in the establishment of a wheel manufacturing plant in this city. Therefore in 1886 the two brothers, W. P., and J. W. Bettendorf, came to Davenport and undertook the manufacture of metal wheels, in which particular line they continued with substantial success until 1899. In that year the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company was incorporated and there was established an enterprise which is today the largest manufacturing concern in Davenport. Being of an inventive turn of mind, W. P. Bettendorf was constantly on the alert for opportunities to improve their output and to further the use of metal wheels, and steel construction for farm equipment. He therefore developed a steel gear for farm wagons in 1892 and the manufacture of this was at once undertaken. He severed his connection with the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company and after three years' experimental work resigned and built necessary machinery for the manufacture of steel gears. This machinery was sold to the International Harvester Company in 1905 but the Davenport company still manufactures steel car trucks and steel underframes for cars as well as complete cars. The Bettendorf Axle Company was organized and incorporated January 1, 1895, with W. P. Bettendorf as the president. The history of the development of this enterprise constitutes a most important chapter in the annals of Davenport. From the beginning the business has continually grown and such is the success of the company that in the year 1909 the plant was increased in size threefold. Its equipment is of the most modern character and eight hundred employes are continually busy in turning out the output, which covers a wide range of iron manufacture, Mr. Bettendorf of this review has in large measure been a potent force in the development and success of the business. The two brothers, however, work together in utmost harmony, the talents of each being such as well qualify them for the conduct of the especial interests under their charge.
In January, 1895, their interests were incorporated under the name of the Bettendorf Axle Company, with J. W. Bettendorf as secretary. The business factory and main offices were then located on First street, between Ripley and Scott, and there, on the 28th of January, 1902, they suffered heavy losses through fire. In May of the same year a second disastrous fire occurred, destroying their plant, and as the business was constantly increasing it was decided to locate elsewhere. At length they determined to establish their plant at the town of Gilbert, now Bettendorf, about three miles east of Davenport. Here they are controlling the largest manufacturing establishment of the kind in the west and perhaps in the entire country, employment being given to eight hundred men. Recently they have made extensive additions to the plant through the erection of a foundry four hundred and thirty-six by four hundred and forty feet, each of its departments being larger than the average comp!
leted foundry. No provision for the economical handling of the immense volume of work done in the building-the avoidance of congestion and the delay that attends upon it-has been overlooked. The buildings are heated by steam and every regard has been paid to the comfort of the employes, for whom in a large separate building commodious lockers and lavatories have been established. There are tow regenerative open-hearth basic steel furnaces, having a capacity of twenty-five tons of heat, with an output daily of about one hundred tons of finished steel castings, which the company use in the steel car construction. They have also recently built an erection shop tow hundred and forty six by seven hundred feet, with a further extension fourteen hundred by two hundred and fifty-six feet, giving the building a total length of two thousand and one hundred feet. The entire amount of ground covered by the foundry and erection shop and the buildings for the storage of materials is forty!
-two hundred feet, or about four-fifths of a mile in length, along the Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern tracks. Their grounds comprise two hundred forty-seven acres and there is nothing lacking in the equipment of this extensive plant, every modern device being employed that will facilitate the work or improve the character of the output. Something of the growth of the business is indicated in the fact that in 1909 the plant was increased to three times its original size. The seventy acres of ground that the company's shops and tracks occupy were originally laid out with a thought to the additions that have recently been made. Careful consideration was given to locating the buildings and the tracks laid to and from them so as to handle the material quickly and at the lowest cost. From the great piles of steel at the east of the shop locomotive cranes carry the material to the east end of the shop, where other traveling cranes reach down powerful magnets, take up the imm!
ense bars that would defy the lifting strength of many men, and carry them to various machines, until they issue from the west end of the shop in the Bettendorf steel car, underframes and trucks, which have been pronounced by railroad men generally as the finest cars of the kind ever produced.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of W. P. Bettendorf and Miss MARY WORTMAN. They became parents of two children, ETTA and HENRY, but the mother and both the children have passed away, Mrs. Bettendorf dying in august, 1901.
In 1908 Mr. Bettendorf was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Elizabeth Staby. Mr. Bettendorf is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure for activity in fraternal circles. He stands today as a splendid example of what may be accomplished when one has determination and energy. Opportunities that others have passed by heedlessly he has noted and improved. Modest and unostentatious in demeanor, he is nevertheless spoken of in terms of admiration and respect, for his life work has been so varied in its scope, so honorable in its purposes and so far reaching in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of Davenport. In all of his business career he has held to high standards and should he at once retire from business the extent and importance of his activities thus far would leave the indelible impress of his individuality upon the history of the state.
Transcribed by Elaine Rathmann, thank you.
Above info provided FAG contributor
Collend "Family Finder" # 47321903
Suggested Edit: Dav. Daily Republican - Aug. 15, 1901 - The funeral of Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf will be held at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon from the late home, 402 East Sixth street. Interment will be made at Oakdale cemetery.
Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf, whose sudden death was mentioned in the Republican yesterday morning, was born at Peru, Ill., Feb. 25, 1858, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wartman. She was married to W.P. Bettendorf on Jan. 29, 1878, and they lived at Peru until 1886, when they came to this city. Two children were born to them, Henry, who died Nov. 1, 1893, at the age of three years, and Henrietta, who died on Jan. 6, 1894, at the age of four years. Both deaths were due to diphtheria. An adopted daughter, May, survives, beside the bereaved husband.
Contributor: Irwin
Through the inherent force of his own character, his strong determination and his close application to the duties that have devolved upon him, combined with the development of his native powers along the lines of invention, W. P. Bettendorf has won distinction and honors in his native land. He is today president of the Bettendorf Axle Company, controlling the most important industrial enterprise of Davenport, and the extent of his business has made him one of the best known men of the state. He was born in Mendota, Illinois, July 1, 1857, and is the eldest of four children, whose parents were M. and Catharine (Reck) Bettendorf, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was a young man of eighteen years when he crossed the Atlantic to America an took up his abode in Mendota, Illinois, where he engaged in school teaching. Later he removed to Missouri, and, settling at Sedalia, there established a grocery store. He was afterward employed as a government clerk at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and is now living retired in Bettendorf, the town which is the home of the great enterprise that was established and is being conducted by his sons. O the family of four children, the only two living are W. P. and J. W., who are partners in the conduct of a business which in extent and magnitude has no equal in Davenport.
W. P. Bettendorf accompanied his parents on their removal to Missouri and to Kansas and in these states acquired the greater part of his education. He attended for a time the St. Mary's Mission School, which was an Indian school in the latter state. In 1870 he began providing for his own support as a messenger boy at Humboldt, Kansas, and about 1872 he accepted a clerkship in the hardware store of A. L. Shepard at Peru, Illinois. He filled that position for two years, after which he became an apprentice to the machinist's trade with the Peru Plow Company. This was more in accordance with the natural bent of his nature and he served his full term of indenture, becoming an expert workman. Later he left Peru and entered the employ of the Moline Plow Company, with which he remained for ten months, at the end of which time he accepted the position of foreman of the fitting department of the Parlin & Orendorff company at Canton, Illinois, manufacturers of plows and agricultural implements. Not only did he faithfully execute the tasks assigned him but unlike many workmen-and they are of the class who never progress-he gave active attention to every duty and thought out along original lines until as the result of experiment and research he invented, in 1878, the first power lift sulky plow. He was still in the employ of the Peru Plow Company at that time. His invention was adopted by most of the plow manufacturing plants. After leaving Canton, Illinois, in 1882, he returned to Peru to accept the superintendency of the establishment in which he had served his apprenticeship and while thus connected he invented the Bettendorf metal wheel, together with the necessary machinery for its manufacture. He then granted a shop right to the Peru Plow Company and as the metal wheel branch of the business soon assumed large proportions it was decided to change the name of the company to the Peru Plow & Wheel Company. This company, however, was slow to increase its capacity for the manufacture of metal wheels, the demand for which was constantly increasing, and Mr. Bettendorf therefore saw the necessity of looking around for other interests that would undertake the manufacture on a greater scale, keeping up with the market demand. He made the acquaintance of E. P. Lynch, who was president of the Eagle Manufacturing Company at Davenport, and they entered into negotiations which resulted in the establishment of a wheel manufacturing plant in this city. Therefore in 1886 the two brothers, W. P., and J. W. Bettendorf, came to Davenport and undertook the manufacture of metal wheels, in which particular line they continued with substantial success until 1899. In that year the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company was incorporated and there was established an enterprise which is today the largest manufacturing concern in Davenport. Being of an inventive turn of mind, W. P. Bettendorf was constantly on the alert for opportunities to improve their output and to further the use of metal wheels, and steel construction for farm equipment. He therefore developed a steel gear for farm wagons in 1892 and the manufacture of this was at once undertaken. He severed his connection with the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company and after three years' experimental work resigned and built necessary machinery for the manufacture of steel gears. This machinery was sold to the International Harvester Company in 1905 but the Davenport company still manufactures steel car trucks and steel underframes for cars as well as complete cars. The Bettendorf Axle Company was organized and incorporated January 1, 1895, with W. P. Bettendorf as the president. The history of the development of this enterprise constitutes a most important chapter in the annals of Davenport. From the beginning the business has continually grown and such is the success of the company that in the year 1909 the plant was increased in size threefold. Its equipment is of the most modern character and eight hundred employes are continually busy in turning out the output, which covers a wide range of iron manufacture, Mr. Bettendorf of this review has in large measure been a potent force in the development and success of the business. The two brothers, however, work together in utmost harmony, the talents of each being such as well qualify them for the conduct of the especial interests under their charge.
In January, 1895, their interests were incorporated under the name of the Bettendorf Axle Company, with J. W. Bettendorf as secretary. The business factory and main offices were then located on First street, between Ripley and Scott, and there, on the 28th of January, 1902, they suffered heavy losses through fire. In May of the same year a second disastrous fire occurred, destroying their plant, and as the business was constantly increasing it was decided to locate elsewhere. At length they determined to establish their plant at the town of Gilbert, now Bettendorf, about three miles east of Davenport. Here they are controlling the largest manufacturing establishment of the kind in the west and perhaps in the entire country, employment being given to eight hundred men. Recently they have made extensive additions to the plant through the erection of a foundry four hundred and thirty-six by four hundred and forty feet, each of its departments being larger than the average comp!
leted foundry. No provision for the economical handling of the immense volume of work done in the building-the avoidance of congestion and the delay that attends upon it-has been overlooked. The buildings are heated by steam and every regard has been paid to the comfort of the employes, for whom in a large separate building commodious lockers and lavatories have been established. There are tow regenerative open-hearth basic steel furnaces, having a capacity of twenty-five tons of heat, with an output daily of about one hundred tons of finished steel castings, which the company use in the steel car construction. They have also recently built an erection shop tow hundred and forty six by seven hundred feet, with a further extension fourteen hundred by two hundred and fifty-six feet, giving the building a total length of two thousand and one hundred feet. The entire amount of ground covered by the foundry and erection shop and the buildings for the storage of materials is forty!
-two hundred feet, or about four-fifths of a mile in length, along the Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern tracks. Their grounds comprise two hundred forty-seven acres and there is nothing lacking in the equipment of this extensive plant, every modern device being employed that will facilitate the work or improve the character of the output. Something of the growth of the business is indicated in the fact that in 1909 the plant was increased to three times its original size. The seventy acres of ground that the company's shops and tracks occupy were originally laid out with a thought to the additions that have recently been made. Careful consideration was given to locating the buildings and the tracks laid to and from them so as to handle the material quickly and at the lowest cost. From the great piles of steel at the east of the shop locomotive cranes carry the material to the east end of the shop, where other traveling cranes reach down powerful magnets, take up the imm!
ense bars that would defy the lifting strength of many men, and carry them to various machines, until they issue from the west end of the shop in the Bettendorf steel car, underframes and trucks, which have been pronounced by railroad men generally as the finest cars of the kind ever produced.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of W. P. Bettendorf and Miss MARY WORTMAN. They became parents of two children, ETTA and HENRY, but the mother and both the children have passed away, Mrs. Bettendorf dying in august, 1901.
In 1908 Mr. Bettendorf was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Elizabeth Staby. Mr. Bettendorf is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure for activity in fraternal circles. He stands today as a splendid example of what may be accomplished when one has determination and energy. Opportunities that others have passed by heedlessly he has noted and improved. Modest and unostentatious in demeanor, he is nevertheless spoken of in terms of admiration and respect, for his life work has been so varied in its scope, so honorable in its purposes and so far reaching in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of Davenport. In all of his business career he has held to high standards and should he at once retire from business the extent and importance of his activities thus far would leave the indelible impress of his individuality upon the history of the state.
Transcribed by Elaine Rathmann, thank you.
Above info provided FAG contributor
Collend "Family Finder" # 47321903
Suggested Edit: Dav. Daily Republican - Aug. 15, 1901 - The funeral of Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf will be held at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon from the late home, 402 East Sixth street. Interment will be made at Oakdale cemetery.
Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf, whose sudden death was mentioned in the Republican yesterday morning, was born at Peru, Ill., Feb. 25, 1858, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wartman. She was married to W.P. Bettendorf on Jan. 29, 1878, and they lived at Peru until 1886, when they came to this city. Two children were born to them, Henry, who died Nov. 1, 1893, at the age of three years, and Henrietta, who died on Jan. 6, 1894, at the age of four years. Both deaths were due to diphtheria. An adopted daughter, May, survives, beside the bereaved husband.
Contributor: Irwin
From "History of Davenport and Scott County" Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1910 Chicago.
Through the inherent force of his own character, his strong determination and his close application to the duties that have devolved upon him, combined with the development of his native powers along the lines of invention, W. P. Bettendorf has won distinction and honors in his native land. He is today president of the Bettendorf Axle Company, controlling the most important industrial enterprise of Davenport, and the extent of his business has made him one of the best known men of the state. He was born in Mendota, Illinois, July 1, 1857, and is the eldest of four children, whose parents were M. and Catharine (Reck) Bettendorf, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was a young man of eighteen years when he crossed the Atlantic to America an took up his abode in Mendota, Illinois, where he engaged in school teaching. Later he removed to Missouri, and, settling at Sedalia, there established a grocery store. He was afterward employed as a government clerk at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and is now living retired in Bettendorf, the town which is the home of the great enterprise that was established and is being conducted by his sons. O the family of four children, the only two living are W. P. and J. W., who are partners in the conduct of a business which in extent and magnitude has no equal in Davenport.
W. P. Bettendorf accompanied his parents on their removal to Missouri and to Kansas and in these states acquired the greater part of his education. He attended for a time the St. Mary's Mission School, which was an Indian school in the latter state. In 1870 he began providing for his own support as a messenger boy at Humboldt, Kansas, and about 1872 he accepted a clerkship in the hardware store of A. L. Shepard at Peru, Illinois. He filled that position for two years, after which he became an apprentice to the machinist's trade with the Peru Plow Company. This was more in accordance with the natural bent of his nature and he served his full term of indenture, becoming an expert workman. Later he left Peru and entered the employ of the Moline Plow Company, with which he remained for ten months, at the end of which time he accepted the position of foreman of the fitting department of the Parlin & Orendorff company at Canton, Illinois, manufacturers of plows and agricultural implements. Not only did he faithfully execute the tasks assigned him but unlike many workmen-and they are of the class who never progress-he gave active attention to every duty and thought out along original lines until as the result of experiment and research he invented, in 1878, the first power lift sulky plow. He was still in the employ of the Peru Plow Company at that time. His invention was adopted by most of the plow manufacturing plants. After leaving Canton, Illinois, in 1882, he returned to Peru to accept the superintendency of the establishment in which he had served his apprenticeship and while thus connected he invented the Bettendorf metal wheel, together with the necessary machinery for its manufacture. He then granted a shop right to the Peru Plow Company and as the metal wheel branch of the business soon assumed large proportions it was decided to change the name of the company to the Peru Plow & Wheel Company. This company, however, was slow to increase its capacity for the manufacture of metal wheels, the demand for which was constantly increasing, and Mr. Bettendorf therefore saw the necessity of looking around for other interests that would undertake the manufacture on a greater scale, keeping up with the market demand. He made the acquaintance of E. P. Lynch, who was president of the Eagle Manufacturing Company at Davenport, and they entered into negotiations which resulted in the establishment of a wheel manufacturing plant in this city. Therefore in 1886 the two brothers, W. P., and J. W. Bettendorf, came to Davenport and undertook the manufacture of metal wheels, in which particular line they continued with substantial success until 1899. In that year the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company was incorporated and there was established an enterprise which is today the largest manufacturing concern in Davenport. Being of an inventive turn of mind, W. P. Bettendorf was constantly on the alert for opportunities to improve their output and to further the use of metal wheels, and steel construction for farm equipment. He therefore developed a steel gear for farm wagons in 1892 and the manufacture of this was at once undertaken. He severed his connection with the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company and after three years' experimental work resigned and built necessary machinery for the manufacture of steel gears. This machinery was sold to the International Harvester Company in 1905 but the Davenport company still manufactures steel car trucks and steel underframes for cars as well as complete cars. The Bettendorf Axle Company was organized and incorporated January 1, 1895, with W. P. Bettendorf as the president. The history of the development of this enterprise constitutes a most important chapter in the annals of Davenport. From the beginning the business has continually grown and such is the success of the company that in the year 1909 the plant was increased in size threefold. Its equipment is of the most modern character and eight hundred employes are continually busy in turning out the output, which covers a wide range of iron manufacture, Mr. Bettendorf of this review has in large measure been a potent force in the development and success of the business. The two brothers, however, work together in utmost harmony, the talents of each being such as well qualify them for the conduct of the especial interests under their charge.
In January, 1895, their interests were incorporated under the name of the Bettendorf Axle Company, with J. W. Bettendorf as secretary. The business factory and main offices were then located on First street, between Ripley and Scott, and there, on the 28th of January, 1902, they suffered heavy losses through fire. In May of the same year a second disastrous fire occurred, destroying their plant, and as the business was constantly increasing it was decided to locate elsewhere. At length they determined to establish their plant at the town of Gilbert, now Bettendorf, about three miles east of Davenport. Here they are controlling the largest manufacturing establishment of the kind in the west and perhaps in the entire country, employment being given to eight hundred men. Recently they have made extensive additions to the plant through the erection of a foundry four hundred and thirty-six by four hundred and forty feet, each of its departments being larger than the average comp!
leted foundry. No provision for the economical handling of the immense volume of work done in the building-the avoidance of congestion and the delay that attends upon it-has been overlooked. The buildings are heated by steam and every regard has been paid to the comfort of the employes, for whom in a large separate building commodious lockers and lavatories have been established. There are tow regenerative open-hearth basic steel furnaces, having a capacity of twenty-five tons of heat, with an output daily of about one hundred tons of finished steel castings, which the company use in the steel car construction. They have also recently built an erection shop tow hundred and forty six by seven hundred feet, with a further extension fourteen hundred by two hundred and fifty-six feet, giving the building a total length of two thousand and one hundred feet. The entire amount of ground covered by the foundry and erection shop and the buildings for the storage of materials is forty!
-two hundred feet, or about four-fifths of a mile in length, along the Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern tracks. Their grounds comprise two hundred forty-seven acres and there is nothing lacking in the equipment of this extensive plant, every modern device being employed that will facilitate the work or improve the character of the output. Something of the growth of the business is indicated in the fact that in 1909 the plant was increased to three times its original size. The seventy acres of ground that the company's shops and tracks occupy were originally laid out with a thought to the additions that have recently been made. Careful consideration was given to locating the buildings and the tracks laid to and from them so as to handle the material quickly and at the lowest cost. From the great piles of steel at the east of the shop locomotive cranes carry the material to the east end of the shop, where other traveling cranes reach down powerful magnets, take up the imm!
ense bars that would defy the lifting strength of many men, and carry them to various machines, until they issue from the west end of the shop in the Bettendorf steel car, underframes and trucks, which have been pronounced by railroad men generally as the finest cars of the kind ever produced.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of W. P. Bettendorf and Miss MARY WORTMAN. They became parents of two children, ETTA and HENRY, but the mother and both the children have passed away, Mrs. Bettendorf dying in august, 1901.
In 1908 Mr. Bettendorf was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Elizabeth Staby. Mr. Bettendorf is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure for activity in fraternal circles. He stands today as a splendid example of what may be accomplished when one has determination and energy. Opportunities that others have passed by heedlessly he has noted and improved. Modest and unostentatious in demeanor, he is nevertheless spoken of in terms of admiration and respect, for his life work has been so varied in its scope, so honorable in its purposes and so far reaching in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of Davenport. In all of his business career he has held to high standards and should he at once retire from business the extent and importance of his activities thus far would leave the indelible impress of his individuality upon the history of the state.
Transcribed by Elaine Rathmann, thank you.
Above info provided FAG contributor
Collend "Family Finder" # 47321903
Suggested Edit: Dav. Daily Republican - Aug. 15, 1901 - The funeral of Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf will be held at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon from the late home, 402 East Sixth street. Interment will be made at Oakdale cemetery.
Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf, whose sudden death was mentioned in the Republican yesterday morning, was born at Peru, Ill., Feb. 25, 1858, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wartman. She was married to W.P. Bettendorf on Jan. 29, 1878, and they lived at Peru until 1886, when they came to this city. Two children were born to them, Henry, who died Nov. 1, 1893, at the age of three years, and Henrietta, who died on Jan. 6, 1894, at the age of four years. Both deaths were due to diphtheria. An adopted daughter, May, survives, beside the bereaved husband.
Contributor: Irwin
Through the inherent force of his own character, his strong determination and his close application to the duties that have devolved upon him, combined with the development of his native powers along the lines of invention, W. P. Bettendorf has won distinction and honors in his native land. He is today president of the Bettendorf Axle Company, controlling the most important industrial enterprise of Davenport, and the extent of his business has made him one of the best known men of the state. He was born in Mendota, Illinois, July 1, 1857, and is the eldest of four children, whose parents were M. and Catharine (Reck) Bettendorf, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was a young man of eighteen years when he crossed the Atlantic to America an took up his abode in Mendota, Illinois, where he engaged in school teaching. Later he removed to Missouri, and, settling at Sedalia, there established a grocery store. He was afterward employed as a government clerk at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and is now living retired in Bettendorf, the town which is the home of the great enterprise that was established and is being conducted by his sons. O the family of four children, the only two living are W. P. and J. W., who are partners in the conduct of a business which in extent and magnitude has no equal in Davenport.
W. P. Bettendorf accompanied his parents on their removal to Missouri and to Kansas and in these states acquired the greater part of his education. He attended for a time the St. Mary's Mission School, which was an Indian school in the latter state. In 1870 he began providing for his own support as a messenger boy at Humboldt, Kansas, and about 1872 he accepted a clerkship in the hardware store of A. L. Shepard at Peru, Illinois. He filled that position for two years, after which he became an apprentice to the machinist's trade with the Peru Plow Company. This was more in accordance with the natural bent of his nature and he served his full term of indenture, becoming an expert workman. Later he left Peru and entered the employ of the Moline Plow Company, with which he remained for ten months, at the end of which time he accepted the position of foreman of the fitting department of the Parlin & Orendorff company at Canton, Illinois, manufacturers of plows and agricultural implements. Not only did he faithfully execute the tasks assigned him but unlike many workmen-and they are of the class who never progress-he gave active attention to every duty and thought out along original lines until as the result of experiment and research he invented, in 1878, the first power lift sulky plow. He was still in the employ of the Peru Plow Company at that time. His invention was adopted by most of the plow manufacturing plants. After leaving Canton, Illinois, in 1882, he returned to Peru to accept the superintendency of the establishment in which he had served his apprenticeship and while thus connected he invented the Bettendorf metal wheel, together with the necessary machinery for its manufacture. He then granted a shop right to the Peru Plow Company and as the metal wheel branch of the business soon assumed large proportions it was decided to change the name of the company to the Peru Plow & Wheel Company. This company, however, was slow to increase its capacity for the manufacture of metal wheels, the demand for which was constantly increasing, and Mr. Bettendorf therefore saw the necessity of looking around for other interests that would undertake the manufacture on a greater scale, keeping up with the market demand. He made the acquaintance of E. P. Lynch, who was president of the Eagle Manufacturing Company at Davenport, and they entered into negotiations which resulted in the establishment of a wheel manufacturing plant in this city. Therefore in 1886 the two brothers, W. P., and J. W. Bettendorf, came to Davenport and undertook the manufacture of metal wheels, in which particular line they continued with substantial success until 1899. In that year the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company was incorporated and there was established an enterprise which is today the largest manufacturing concern in Davenport. Being of an inventive turn of mind, W. P. Bettendorf was constantly on the alert for opportunities to improve their output and to further the use of metal wheels, and steel construction for farm equipment. He therefore developed a steel gear for farm wagons in 1892 and the manufacture of this was at once undertaken. He severed his connection with the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company and after three years' experimental work resigned and built necessary machinery for the manufacture of steel gears. This machinery was sold to the International Harvester Company in 1905 but the Davenport company still manufactures steel car trucks and steel underframes for cars as well as complete cars. The Bettendorf Axle Company was organized and incorporated January 1, 1895, with W. P. Bettendorf as the president. The history of the development of this enterprise constitutes a most important chapter in the annals of Davenport. From the beginning the business has continually grown and such is the success of the company that in the year 1909 the plant was increased in size threefold. Its equipment is of the most modern character and eight hundred employes are continually busy in turning out the output, which covers a wide range of iron manufacture, Mr. Bettendorf of this review has in large measure been a potent force in the development and success of the business. The two brothers, however, work together in utmost harmony, the talents of each being such as well qualify them for the conduct of the especial interests under their charge.
In January, 1895, their interests were incorporated under the name of the Bettendorf Axle Company, with J. W. Bettendorf as secretary. The business factory and main offices were then located on First street, between Ripley and Scott, and there, on the 28th of January, 1902, they suffered heavy losses through fire. In May of the same year a second disastrous fire occurred, destroying their plant, and as the business was constantly increasing it was decided to locate elsewhere. At length they determined to establish their plant at the town of Gilbert, now Bettendorf, about three miles east of Davenport. Here they are controlling the largest manufacturing establishment of the kind in the west and perhaps in the entire country, employment being given to eight hundred men. Recently they have made extensive additions to the plant through the erection of a foundry four hundred and thirty-six by four hundred and forty feet, each of its departments being larger than the average comp!
leted foundry. No provision for the economical handling of the immense volume of work done in the building-the avoidance of congestion and the delay that attends upon it-has been overlooked. The buildings are heated by steam and every regard has been paid to the comfort of the employes, for whom in a large separate building commodious lockers and lavatories have been established. There are tow regenerative open-hearth basic steel furnaces, having a capacity of twenty-five tons of heat, with an output daily of about one hundred tons of finished steel castings, which the company use in the steel car construction. They have also recently built an erection shop tow hundred and forty six by seven hundred feet, with a further extension fourteen hundred by two hundred and fifty-six feet, giving the building a total length of two thousand and one hundred feet. The entire amount of ground covered by the foundry and erection shop and the buildings for the storage of materials is forty!
-two hundred feet, or about four-fifths of a mile in length, along the Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern tracks. Their grounds comprise two hundred forty-seven acres and there is nothing lacking in the equipment of this extensive plant, every modern device being employed that will facilitate the work or improve the character of the output. Something of the growth of the business is indicated in the fact that in 1909 the plant was increased to three times its original size. The seventy acres of ground that the company's shops and tracks occupy were originally laid out with a thought to the additions that have recently been made. Careful consideration was given to locating the buildings and the tracks laid to and from them so as to handle the material quickly and at the lowest cost. From the great piles of steel at the east of the shop locomotive cranes carry the material to the east end of the shop, where other traveling cranes reach down powerful magnets, take up the imm!
ense bars that would defy the lifting strength of many men, and carry them to various machines, until they issue from the west end of the shop in the Bettendorf steel car, underframes and trucks, which have been pronounced by railroad men generally as the finest cars of the kind ever produced.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of W. P. Bettendorf and Miss MARY WORTMAN. They became parents of two children, ETTA and HENRY, but the mother and both the children have passed away, Mrs. Bettendorf dying in august, 1901.
In 1908 Mr. Bettendorf was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Elizabeth Staby. Mr. Bettendorf is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure but the extent and importance of his business interests leaves him little leisure for activity in fraternal circles. He stands today as a splendid example of what may be accomplished when one has determination and energy. Opportunities that others have passed by heedlessly he has noted and improved. Modest and unostentatious in demeanor, he is nevertheless spoken of in terms of admiration and respect, for his life work has been so varied in its scope, so honorable in its purposes and so far reaching in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of Davenport. In all of his business career he has held to high standards and should he at once retire from business the extent and importance of his activities thus far would leave the indelible impress of his individuality upon the history of the state.
Transcribed by Elaine Rathmann, thank you.
Above info provided FAG contributor
Collend "Family Finder" # 47321903
Suggested Edit: Dav. Daily Republican - Aug. 15, 1901 - The funeral of Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf will be held at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon from the late home, 402 East Sixth street. Interment will be made at Oakdale cemetery.
Mrs. W.P. Bettendorf, whose sudden death was mentioned in the Republican yesterday morning, was born at Peru, Ill., Feb. 25, 1858, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wartman. She was married to W.P. Bettendorf on Jan. 29, 1878, and they lived at Peru until 1886, when they came to this city. Two children were born to them, Henry, who died Nov. 1, 1893, at the age of three years, and Henrietta, who died on Jan. 6, 1894, at the age of four years. Both deaths were due to diphtheria. An adopted daughter, May, survives, beside the bereaved husband.
Contributor: Irwin
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