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GEORGE W. ZIEBOLD.
Men contribute by various services and diversified gifts to the building up of a city—some by the foundations of law and municipal order; others give themselves to founding churches and schools; still others open up avenues of commerce and furnish facilities for the transaction of business; in a thousand different but converging directions they bend their energies, according to some occult law of organization, to the common weal. Among all the various lines of activity none has been more promotive of the reputation of Waterloo, Illinois, than the milling business, and the men who are at the head of the large industries here have been the7city's real benefactors. Among those who have identified themselves with the milling business in Waterloo, George W. Ziebold occupies a prominent place. As secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Waterloo Milling Company he has charge of one of the largest enterprises of this section, and he has also served as chief executive of the city with such distinction that it was difficult for him to resign the office. Mr. Ziebold was born March 1, 1860, at California, Missouri, and is a son of Gottlieb and Magdalena (Schnaiter) Ziebold.
The political struggles of some of the European countries have contributed largely to America's best citizenship, and it was thus that this country gained benefits accruing from the activities of Gottlieb Ziebold. Born in Baden, Germany, as a young man he became identified with the movement to secure independence for that country, allying himself and his fortunes with the young band of patriots who were destined to exile. He was forced to flee from his native land in 1848, in which year he came to the United States and located at Poughkeepsie. New York, subsequently going to Ohio and later to Missouri. In 1863 he engaged in the milling business at California, Missouri,
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and in 1867 transferred his activities to Monroe county, Illinois, where the remainder of his life was spent, his death occurring at Red Bud, Illinois, on the 26th of December, 1911, at the age of eighty-nine. He was first married to Miss Magdalena Schnaiter, and they had five children, as follows: George W.; Nelson G., who died in 1900, at Red Bud, Illinois; Mrs. Joseph W. Rickert, who died in 1900, at Waterloo; Mrs. Mary Bonnet, wife of the famous perfume maker of Geneva, Switzerland, and Paris, France; and Charles F., one of the most eminent attorneys of St. Louis, author of the Free Bridge Bill, originator of the well-known phrase “No Bridge, No Bonds,” president of the West End Business Men's Association. Gottlieb Ziebold married for his second wife Mrs. Margaret (Schneider) Miller, of Bavaria, and they had three children: Mrs. Anna Helber, of Red Bud; and William and Gottlieb, who are engaged in the milling business at that place.
George W. Ziebold secured his education in the schools of Monroe City, lllinois, although the greater part of his knowledge has been gained in later years. His advantages in youth were somewhat limited, but he has been a great reader, a keen observer and a deep thinker, and thus has secured the education which was denied him as a lad. Reared in the atmosphere of the mills, it was only natural that Mr. Ziebold should choose that vocation as his life work, and the position that he has attained in the commercial world is ample evidence that he chose well. The Waterloo Milling Company was established in 1886 by Mr. Ziebold, and from a small and modest start it has grown into one of the leading industries of the city, having a capacity of 250 barrels per day, and an elevator storage of 75.000. The following well-known brands are sold throughout the southern states: “Monarch,” “America,” ''Blue Seal,” “Oneeta.” Mr. Ziebold is also president of the G. Ziebold Milling Company, at Red Bud, this mill having a capacity of 400 barrels and storage of 50,000 bushels. He is a director in the Harrisonville Telephone Company, and since June 1, 1900, has been a co-partner in the Commercial Bank of Waterloo. From the beginning of its organization Mr. Ziebold has been a large stock holder in the Central National Bank of St. Louis, one of the strongest and most progressive as well as widely known financial institutions of St. Louis., In January, 1912, he was elected a member of its board of directors, by a unanimous vote.
While Mr. Ziebold's business activities have made him well-known in the commercial world, it has been as a public official that the general public has known him best. From 1894 until 1904 he acted as mayor of Waterloo, and upon retiring from that office was nearly elected again, the voters freely scratching their tickets to substitute his name in place of the regular party candidate. During his able administration the electric lighting plant and water works, owned by the city, were installed, and with the hope that he would secure for the city a thorough sewerage system, the voters endeavored to send him back to the chief executive's office even against his wishes. The sewerage system is still conspicuous by its absence. Mr. Ziebold is a member of the Commercial Club, and no movement for the public or civic welfare is considered complete unless his name is enrolled with its supporters. For nine years he has been an elder of the German Evangelical church, in the work of which he is very active. His wife and children, however, belong to the Roman Catholic faith. Mr. Ziebold's home life has been beautiful and it has been a matter of almost general comment among his neighbors that a cross word has never been heard in his household. Examples are not few of men who have achieved prominence in any one chosen field, but to attain elAintnce in the realm of
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business, earn the gratitude of the general public in the highest office in Its gift, and withal conduct oneself as a true, Christian gentleman, is deserving of more than passing mention.
In 1883 Mr. Ziebold was married to Miss Minnie E. Hoffmeister, of St. Louis, Missouri, daughter of Christian and Margaret (Hemm) Hoffmeister, natives of Prussia, and sister of Christ, Charles, Jacob, John, Fred, Nicolaus and Maximilian Hoffmeister, of whom John, Nicolaus and Maximillian are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Ziebold have had the following children: George C., who is engaged in business with his father and acts as his assistant; Adina C., who is studying music in New York; Clara M., Evelyn A., Florence M., Maximillian G. and Loretta L. A., who reside at home; and Minnie, who died at the age of seven months.
Although this sketch is brief, Mr. Ziebold's life has been a busy one. The various large enterprises with which he has identified himself have served to take a great deal of his time and attention, but he has managed to find leisure moments in which to entertain a hobby, and he and his son George C. are joint owners of one of the finest show stables in Southern Illinois. Here may be found such fine animals as “Forest King,” 1354 American Hackney Society, one of the best bred hackneys in the United States; “Blondie Rose,” champion five-gaited saddle and high school horse; “Golden King” and “Golden Prince,” carriage horses which have won prizes all over the southern part of the state and have never been defeated; and “Glory Montrose, daughter of “Artist Montrose,” champion of the World's Columbian Exposition. A true lover of fine horse-flesh, Mr. Ziebold is recognized as an authority, and his advice is eagerly sought in equinal matters.