Biography/Notes

History taken from: "Dei Geschichte von Davenport" (History of Davenport)
by August Reichter, 1917, Davenport, Iowa.
Notes shared by Marianne Ruppersberger of Timonium, Maryland.

Ezechiel Steinhilber, born January 10, 1819, in Mössingen in the Black Forest, Germany, came to America at the age of twelve accompanied by his parents and brothers and sisters. The family landed in Baltimore, Maryland after a sixty-eight day voyage. Ezechiel took his citizenship papers out in Baltimore and became a citizen February 3, 1840. The family settled in Wheeling, Virginia, later West Virginia, and from there moved to Crawford County, Ohio. While in Wheeling, he married Mina Mast who was born in Grünplan, Braunschweig, Germany; she was the sister of our former fellow citizen, August Mast.

Mr. Steinhilber, before long, was attracted by the thriving new West and in 1842 came to Davenport. First he worked as a bookkeeper in the newly opened LeClaire House which at the time was the largest hotel north of St. Louis. On the side and on his own he managed a stable, where for the convenience of the hotel guests, carriages and horses could be hired. Among the guests, one found many renowned planters and their families who spent the summer months at LeClaire House, known as the "Sarasota of the Mississippi," and considered the jovial Steinhilber a fine companion on their hunting trips.

After some years, Mr. Steinhilber opened a bar on Front and Brady Streets, and subsequently became the first ice dealer in Davenport. His bar was a popular meeting place for the business world of those days and frequently there was much merry making. This is best illustrated by an anecdotal poem composed in those times:

On Water Street down by the ferry
Zeke Steinhilber makes Tom and Jerry
And sells sardines and oysters fine
Coblers and julips, punch and wine.

The poem goes on to say that on a certain night in February 1848, the agent of a shipping company rushed into the bar and begged those present to help the liner "Otter" to continue her course, the ship being stuck in the ice. All the fellows left, stumbling through the dark to the river only to find they were the dupes of a practical joke. They felt the ice under their feet, but there was no ship ice-bound or otherwise.

The building which contained the bar had originally stood on the island known as Rock Island. In 1839 it was moved to its new site where it served various business purposes. Quite often Indians visited the place and enjoyed that "sweet fire water." Later it became a spot where more civilized people forgot their boredom and daily worries. The bar had a big door and one day the jolly shoemaker, Casper Schmuser, entered on his white horse. In March 1857 the place together with adjacent buildings was destroyed by fire.

What Mr. Steinhilber accomplished in those days in his capacity as adviser to German immigrants can hardly be appreciated in this day and age what with circumstances and conditions all changed. You have to put yourself in the place of people who had no command of the language and were completely helpless when transacting business. Mr. Steinhilber was their interpreter and when farms were bought, he acted as mediator, always in their interest.

In 1854, Mr. Steinhilber purchased from the government ground in Blue Grass Township. Here he turned to
Ezechiel Steinhilber family home  D farming, cultivating the soil with diligence and success. He enlarged his holdings through the purchase of an additional 480 acres. It became one of the finest farms in Scott County. The "Duchess Oldenburg" apple, a yellow variety, originated in his orchards and won many prizes.

His children were educated by German tutors living in the area. In 1864, Mr. Steinhilber was nominated as a candidate for the Senate. He was a faithful Democrat, but the Republicans were in the majority, and he was not elected.

During the last years of his life, he suffered from asthma. In the fall of 1886, he went to southern California. However, he did not regain his health and died April 4, 1887. Besides his wife, seven children survived: Louise Krause, Virginia Holm, Tillie Kirchner, Aggie Baker, and three sons--Charles, Edward, and Harry.

Through his entire life, Ezechiel Steinhilber remained a loyal German--one who appreciated German culture. In 1852, he donated two lots on 6th Street to the "Freien Deutschen Schulverein" (German Free School Society) intending that a German free school be erected. However, some citizens were in favor of connecting the school with the church and nothing came of that plan. The lots were sold and the money was added to the school fund. When the new German free school was founded in Davenport, Mr. Steinhilber's daughter, Mrs. Robert Krause, donated $1,000 in memory of her father in February 1899. Just as was done in the case of the other founder, Mathias Frahm, a room was named "Steinhilber Room."

History taken from: History of Scott County, Iowa, 1882,
Chicago: Interstate Publishing Co.

Ezekiel Steinhilber was born in Moessingen, Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, January 10, 1819, son of Conrad Steinhilber, who went with his family to Wheeling, Va., in 1832; thence to Crawford County, Ohio, where he died September, 1855.

Ezekiel came to Davenport in 1842. He clerked in the LeClaire House about five years and kept bar four years. In 1848 he established a livery stable, which was the first one in Davenport, and is still standing on Second Street. He was also the first ice merchant in this city. He was one of the guards over the murderers of Col. Davenport, being a personal friend of his. He relates the following reminiscence of Col. Davenport: Two or three days before the murder he dreamed of dying and going to join his Maker. Coming events cast their shadows before. It seemed like a warning of the terrible deed that was to be enacted only a few days later.

Mr. Steinhilber located in 1854 in Blue Grass Township, which was at that time a vast, unbroken and pathless prairie. He now owns 480 acres of finely cultivated land. He was married July 25, 1840 to Minnie Mast of Brunswick, Germany. Her father, Erhart Mast, was one of the early settlers of Wheeling, Va. This union has been blessed with eight children: Louise, Virginia, Matilda, Agnes, Charles, Edward, Harry, and Albert who is now deceased. Mr. Steinhilber is one of the prominent farmers and stock raisers of the county and makes a specialty of raising fine fruits.

Children of Ezechiel and Minnie (Mast) Steinhilber:

1. Louisa (b 1841 d 1920) married 1860 to Robert Krause
2. Virginia (b 1844 d 1914) married Mr. Holm
3. Albert (b. 1846 d before 1888)
4. Mathilda (b 1848 d 1924) married 1871 to Otto Kircher
5. Agnes (b 1851) married to Cornelius Baker
6. Charles Ezekiel (b 1854)
7. Edward R. (b 1857)
8. Harry (b 1860 d 1943)

History taken from: Deutschen von Iowa und deren Errungenschaften
(The Germans of Iowa and their Accomplishments), 1900, Des Moines, Iowa.

Mr. Steinhilber was born January 10, 1819 in Mossingen, Wurtenburg and died April 4, 1887 in Stockton, California at the home of his sister, Mrs. Smallfield. He came to America with his parents in 1832, settling in Wheeling, Virginia. It was there that he married Minnie Mast in 1840. She was the daughter of one of the first German settlers. Seven children (one son died at an early age) blessed this marriage. In 1841 Ezekiel came to Davenport where he was employed in the LeClaire House as a manager. He remained there five years and became the intimate friend of Colonel George Davenport and Joseph LeClaire, the founder of the LeClaire House. Later he opened his own place; he was the first to open public stables and had the first ice house in Davenport.

In 1854 he moved to his big farm located in Blue Grass Township. At that time that region had neither roads nor paths, in fact there was nothing but wild prairies. Being both a nature lover and an efficient person, he cultivated the largest orchard in Scott County. Many blue ribbons won in various exhibits offer good proof of his success. For reasons of health he went to Davenport to his eldest daughter, Louise Krause, but shortly went to California where the climate was to improve his condition. However, he died there not long after.

Every bit of his career testifies to the integrity, sincerity, and benevolence of the man. His wife was his worthy counterpart known for her loving kindness. Pioneers who survived are witnesses of the couple's staunch friendship, good advice, as well as the unselfish way in which help was extended and care given. Nor did Steinhilber adhere to tradition, for he was always ready to embrace progress and improvement. In fact, he was a fighter for the development in every line both in a financial and cultural vein. No matter what his position, he never changed and these true German precious traits seem to have been passed on to his eldest daughter, Mrs. Robert Krause. In her lives the same spirit; the tendency to be charitable, the feeling for all that is beautiful, genuine and great. Where ever the opportunity, she takes up the cudgel for that valuable heritage. The legacy of her father, the municipal German Free School, has to thank her for its existence and that institution is lucky to enjoy her patronage.

Mrs. Ezekiel Steinhilber was a typical German Pioneer. She was an individual who understood how to adapt herself to circumstances. Her kindness and modesty won her many friends in many circles, and her house was open to all those who shared her views and the ideals of her husband. Born August 16, 1822, she died in Davenport November 26, 1896.

Burial note: Ezechiel and Minnie are buried in Oakdale Cemetery, lot 76, block 9.

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Graves of Ezechiel and Wilhelmine Steinhilber,
Oakdale Cemetery, Davenport, Iowa