SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

Fred Thurmann, Page 197

FRED THURMANN is the head of the firm of Fred Thurmann & Co., Proprietors of a foundry and machine shop in Plymouth.  This firm is composed of Fred Thurmann, his son William, and his son-in-law, Gustav A. Albrecht.  They repair all sorts of machinery and plows.

    The subject of our sketch was born near Berlin, Prussia, Germany, on the 6th of December, 1828, and is a son of Frederick and Dorothea Thurmann.  He was educated in his native country, and there learned the blacksmith's trade in his father's shops.  His father, grandfather and paternal ancestors were blacksmiths for several generations.

    Mr. Thurmann was married on the 10th of March, 1856, to Amelia Meartz, who was also a native of Prussia, Germany.  Immediately after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Thurmann emigrated to America, and came direct to Sheboygan, Wis.  After a few weeks spent in that city, they settled on an eighty-acre farm in the town of Plymouth.  For nine years Mr. Thurmann carried on the farm, when, having decided that he would rather work at his trade then at agricultural pursuits, he sold out and opened a blacksmith shop at a small village in the town of Sheboygan Falls, known as Johnsonville.  There he carried on blacksmithing for two and a-half years.

    In 1867, he removed to Plymouth, and formed a partnership with John and Carl Schwartz, and built the foundry and machine shops he new occupies, engaging in business similar to that he now carries on.  That connection continued until 1870, when Mr. Thurmann sold out his interest in the business and made a journey to the Fatherland.  After a three-month visit he returned to Plymouth, and bought the blacksmith shop at the foot of Mill Street, near the bridge, and carried on blacksmithing there for fourteen years.  He then sold out, and bought a tract of eight acres in the city of Plymouth, which he cultivated for two years.  At that time he traded for the shop he now occupies, and formed the existing partnership with his son William and his son-in-law, G. A. Albrecht.  This company does an extensive business in repairing farm machinery, making plow repairs, feed-cutters, sawing-machines, etc., and employs an average of five or six men.

    three children were born to Mr. Thurmann by his first marriage, two sons and a daughter.  August, the eldest, died at the age of seven years; Anna became the wife of Gustav A. Albrecht; the third, William, married Dora Braun.  August 16, 1862, Mr. Thurmann was called to mourn the loss of his wife.  In the latter part of the dame year he was again married, his second wife being Miss Bertha Halle, a native of Saxe-Weimar.  Six children were born of the second marriage.  Lena, the eldest, is the wife of Adam J. Wolf, agent for the American Express Company; Rudolph died on the 14th of February, 1871, aged seven years; and the younger members are Robert, Amelia, Freddie and Henry, the two last-named being twins.

    In politics, Mr. Thurmann is a Democrat.  He has always been an industrious, hard-working man, having worked fifty years at the bench and forge, and, although now sixty-five years of age, is well preserved and vigorous.  He is a skilled mechanic, and has done his work so well that his business has grown from a small beginning to be a large and prosperous one, and the shop of this firm is always crowded with work.  Our subject enjoys the reputation of being a man of strict integrity and uprightness of character, and is highly respected by a large circle of acquaintances.