WILLIAM MANGELSDORF.
The name of Mangelsdorf is indelibly linked with the story of the commercial development of northeast Kansas and the Middle West, and the Mangelsdorf family is one of the most respected and substantial of Atchison, Kan. The review of the life of William Mangelsdorf, deceased, begins across the Atlantic in the Fatherland of Germany, where he was born and spent part of his youth, coming to America with his parents when twelve years of age. William not only achieved a wonderful success in business and accumulated wealth, but he assisted in making the family name known and respected throughout a great extent of territory wherever the output of the great seed house founded by him and his brother, August, carried its business. He left behind him a monument for business integrity and upright methods which has made his name universally respected and honored for years to come.
William Mangelsdorf was born in Armin, Prussia, February 15, 1845, a son of Christopher and Marie Anna Dorothy Mangelsdorf. Christopher Mangelsdorf died in Germany in 1849 and his widow married Andrew Stehwein, who with the family emigrated from their native land in 1849 and settled on a farm in Gasconade county, Missouri. In 1868 the family removed to Douglas county, Kansas, where they resided until the mother’s demise, after which Mr. Stehwein came to Atchison to spend the remainder of his days with his children. Five children were born to Christopher and Marie Anna Mangelsdorf: Mrs. Anna Buhman, of Atchison, Kan.; Henry, in New Mexico; Mrs. Dorothy Beurman, Lakeview, Douglas county, Kansas; William, with whom this review is directly concerned; and August, residing in Atchison.
In 1868 William Mangelsdorf left the family home in Gasconade county, Missouri, and came to Atchison, Kan. His first employment in this city was as a laborer in various capacities until 1872. During the four years in which he was earning his living by the hardest kind of labor he was all the time obsessed with the idea that the mercantile field of the new country being developed afforded opportunities to become successful for an ambitious young man. He accordingly, carefully saved his money, and with a small capital embarked in business for himself. He was first engaged in the retail grocery business with John Ratterman under the firm style of Ratterman & Mangelsdorf, and remained a member of the firm until 1875, when he disposed of his interest in the grocery business and purchased a half interest in the retail grocery conducted by his brother, August Mangelsdorf, forming the firm of Mangelsdorf Brothers. It was about this time that the brothers tried the experiment of adding a seed department to the grocery in order to meet a growing demand for farm and garden seeds. The experiment proved successful and the business grew even beyond the greatest expectations of the promoters. What was intended as a side line on their part developed into an extensive business which soon dwarfed the grocery trade; it was not long until they engaged in the wholesale line; the enterprise grew to be one of the most important in northeastern Kansas, and was later incorporated as the Mangelsdorf Brothers Company. An extended mention of its development is to be found elsewhere in this publication. Not many years after the partnership of the Mangelsdorf Brothers was formed, William established another general merchandise store at Ellinwood, Kan., in 1877, and later another store at Bushton, Kan. The stores were conducted under the name of the Mangelsdorf Brothers Company, which was incorporated about this time, and the other partners in the various enterprises were August Mangelsdorf, of Atchison, H. D. Back, of Atchison, Kan., and C. F. Stehwein, manager of the Bushton store. William resided in Ellinwood in active management of the stores until 1895; then he removed with his family to his farm near there. In 1898 he moved to Bushton, taking the active management of the store at that place. He also established a banking business at Bushton which was successful from the start, and his activity in commercial life continued until 1904, when he removed to Atchison, where he lived in retirement from active business pursuits until his demise, May 15, 1911.
Mr. Mangelsdorf was married August 6, 1875, to Miss Minnie Halling, and this marriage was blessed with six children, namely: Clara, residing in Pueblo, Colo.; William C., who also lives in Pueblo, Colo.; Edward F., a member of the Mangelsdorf Brothers Company; Minnie, at home; Frank A., cashier of the German-American State Bank of Atchison; Albert H., cashier of the Farmers State Bank, Potter, Kan. Mrs. Mangelsdorf was born in 1854 in Pennsylvania, and died in Atchison, Kan., in 1904. Her father was an early settler in Kansas, and first resided in Doniphan county, where he preëmpted land on Independence creek, later removing to Atchison. William Mangelsdorf was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, to which denomination he was a liberal contributor. During his life he was a hard and indefatigable worker, who was ambitious to succeed and achieve a competence for his children. He was a liberal supporter of local enterprises, and was regarded as one of the wealthy and substantial citizens of Kansas, and will long be regarded as one of the leading figures of the commercial development of Atchison county and central Kansas.