Jacob Friedrich Gmelich

Jacob Friedrich Gmelich (born July 23, 1839 in Germany , † February 21, 1914 in Boonville , Missouri ) was an American politician . Between 1909 and 1913 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Missouri.

Career

At the age of twelve, Jacob Gmelich came with his parents to the United States, where the family settled first in Ohio and then in Peru ( Illinois ). He attended the public schools in his respective homeland and then completed an apprenticeship as a watchmaker and jeweler. He then worked in Chicago for two years and then in St. Louis for a year and a half in his craft. Since May 1861 he lived in Boonville, Cooper County . Gmelich became a member of the Missouri National Guard and took part in the Civil War at times . During the war, his jewelry and watch shop was destroyed and robbed in a raid by Confederate troops . He then rebuilt his business in Boonville and got involved in other industries. In doing so, he soon made considerable fortunes. For several years he was President of Boonville Commercial Bank . He has also worked in the real estate industry and owned several properties in Boonville himself. His jewelry store became known under the name Gmelich & Schmidt .

Politically, Gmelich joined the Republican Party . In the early 1870s he was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives . He was the mayor of Boonville for eight years. Between 1905 and 1909 he was State Treasurer Treasury Secretary of Missouri. In 1908 he was elected lieutenant governor of his state at the side of Herbert S. Hadley . He held this office between January 11, 1909 and January 13, 1913. He was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate . He died in Boonville on February 21, 1914. Jacob Gmelich was married to Doris Mueller (1841–1932).

Web links

• Jacob Friedrich Gmelich in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard
• biography