Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 409 - 411

 ADOLPH E. FEHLEISEN, capitalist and dealer in real estate, in former years carried on carpentering and farming, and may be singled out as a man who has been uniformly successful in life.  Industrious and enterprising by nature, he has never been content to lead a life of idleness, and the fine property of which he is now the possessor is but the just reward of his industry.  He came to this State in 1878, and first purchased a farm in Marmaton Township, Allen County, where he carried on agriculture seven years.  Then selling out, he changed his residence to Wichita, erected a fine dwelling, and is now numbered among its most valued and prosperous citizens.

      The property of our subject included originally, besides his own mansion, seven other dwelling-houses with their lots, the latter of which he disposed of at a good profit.  He has operated largely as a contractor and builder, and several of the fine residences and business houses of the city attest his skill and reliability.  He served a thorough apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, and has been called the finest mechanic in his line in the State.  In the finishing of inside work he has no superior, being an expert at carving and mosaic work. Perhaps the finest specimen of this will be found in the house of Joseph Longworth, on East Walnut Hill, Cincinnati, on the parlors of which Mr. Fehleisen spent two years, and which has called forth unbounded admiration from the people of taste and culture who frequent that house. Since coming to Kansas he has been given the contract in this line especially for some of the finest dwellings in Wichita. 

     The parents of our subject, William H. and Louisa (Grumbach) Fehleisen, were natives of Stuttgart, Germany, and Adolph E. was born during the voyage across the Atlantic on the 16th of September, 1840.  His father, a man of fine education, was born in 1801, and departed this life at his home in Ripley County, Ind., Oct. 17, 1872.  For many years he officiated as a minister in the Lutheran Church, but later in life, about 1842, espoused and taught the doctrines of Emanuel Swedenborg.  He taught both the German and English languages, could read Hebrew readily, and translate it, and was master of four other foreign tongues.

      The parents of our subject after coming to the United States located in Ripley County, Ind., where the mother died ten years before the decease of her husband, at the age of fifty-three year, her birth having taken place in 1809.  Of the eight children comprising the parental household but four are now living, namely: Theodore, Amelia, Edward, and Adolph E. of our sketch.  The latter was the youngest of the family, and spent his boyhood and youth on the farm with his parents in Indiana.  Upon the outbreak of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company K, 22d Indiana Infantry, being mustered into service July 14, 1861, for three years or during the war.  He participated in many of its important battles, including the seige of Corinth, the engagements at Stone River and Perryville, the regiment losing heavily in the latter place, and was also at Mission Ridge and Lookout Mountain.  He was promoted to Corporal, and placed in the pioneer corps, thereafter serving as a portion of the bodyguard of Gen. Morton six months. Later his company was transferred to the command of Gen. Thomas, and before leaving the army his genius as a natural mechanic having been discovered, he was given a position on the public works at Murfreesboro, Tenn.

      Upon receiving his honorable discharge at the expiration of his term of enlistment, Mr. Fehleisen returned to Ohio, of which he continued a resident for some years following.  In 1869 he set out for California by the Panama route, and in Stockton, that State, employed himself as a carpenter.  While a resident of Indiana, he was married on the 23d of May, 1870, to Miss Emma Z. Jackson, a native of Indiana, and born Jan. 31, 1847.  Mrs. Fehleisen is the daughter of Joseph H. and Sarah Jackson, of Ripley County.  The father, a native of New York State, was born March 7, 1822, and removed with his parents to Indiana when a small boy.  From there in 1879, he emigrated to this State, locating first in Allen County, and subsequently took up land in Lane County.  In making his last visit from his home to the latter county, and while at the residence of his daughter, the wife of our subject, he was seized with paralysis of the heart, which terminated fatally on the 20th of October, 1886.  He was a Mason of long standing, and was buried with the honors of the fraternity.  He had, during his early manhood, been occupied both as a farmer and miller, and held the office of Justice of the Peace for a period of twenty-eight years.  The children of the parental household are recorded as follows: Emma Z., the wife of our subject, was the eldest born; Omar died in infancy; John G. died at the age of ten months; Monclove was born Sept. 16, 1849; Elmer, Oct 23, 1851; Omar (2d), July 8, 1854; Joseph H., March 31, 1856; William T., March 12, 1858; Franz Siegel, Feb. 17, 1860.  The mother, formerly Miss Sarah J. Watson, was born Feb. 2, 1824, and was the sister of Rev. James V. Watson, the first editor of the Christian Advocate, Chicago.  She departed this life at the old homestead in Ripley County, Ind., on the 27th of May, 1870.

      To Mr. and Mrs. Fehleisen there have been born three children, namely: Leora S., Jan. 19, 1871; William H., March 1, 1875, and Lottie G., Aug. 25, 1877.  The latter died of membranous croup, aged four years and two months.  Leora, the eldest daughter, a highly intelligent and accomplished young lady, is a member of the Christian Church, while our subject and his wife are communicants in the Episcopal Church.

      Mr. Fehleisen in early manhood identified himself with the first Lodge No. 1, I. O. O. F., established in the State of Ohio.  He is now a member of Summit Lodge No. 182, K. P., and also of the G. A. R.  Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party.  Mrs. Fehleisen belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star and Rebecca degree.  She is a lady of fine education, having completed her studies in the High School at Moore's Hill, Dearborn Co., Ind., and was employed as a teacher for a period of six years thereafter.  The portrait of Mr. Fehleisen deserves a place among those of the representative men of the county, and we give it in this connection.

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