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David Blumenfeld
1828 - 1905
1879“The History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin”, published: Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. David Blumenfeld
was born in the ancient city of Creglingen, Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Feb. 13,
1828; received a common-school education and in 1841, entered a printing office
at Stuttgart, the capital city of Wurtemberg; left that city in February, 1848,
and worked at the case as a journeyman type-setter, in the cities of Neuwied,
Dusseldorf and Schwerin.
Emigrated
to America in June, 1850, via Hamburg, and landed in New York Aug. 15, 1850;
stayed there and in Philadelphia a few weeks and came to Wisconsin in the month
of September of that year; entered, a few days after his arrival in this State,
the service of Messrs. Kohlmann Bros, who intended to publish a German paper in
Racine, and in October, set the first stickful of German type that ever was set
in that place. (See Racine
History.) The Messrs. Kohlmann are now
citizens of Oshkosh and publish a well-known German paper there – the Telegraph.
In
April, 1851, he left Racine and accepted a position as foreman in the office of
the Daily Banner and Volksfreund, at Milwaukee, published by
Morritz Schoeffler, who was well known among all the printers in Germany,
having been, for a number of years, first foreman and manager of the
world-renowned printing establishment of Baron von Cotta, in Stuttgart.
Watertown
Anzeiger - August
27, 1853
In
September, 1852, went to New York to get married to Nancy Lewensen, of
Schwerin, Germany, and in August, the following year, removed from Milwaukee to
Watertown, in company with John Kopp, from Augsburg, a pressman who worked in
the same office with him in Schwerin, and afterward in Milwaukee. They commenced the publication of a
Democratic German weekly paper, called the Watertown
Anzeiger, and issued their first number August 27, 1853.
Weltburger
D.
Blumenfeld has since that time continued in the printing business, since 1859,
as sole proprietor of the Watertown Weltburger.
His
family consists of his wife (with whom he celebrated his silver wedding on
Sept. 11, 1877) and seven children, of whom two are married; has been a member
of the School Board and Common Council from 1868 to 1872.
1903 Fifty Years Old
08 21 Last Saturday, August 15, 1903, David Blumenfeld
celebrated his 50th year as editor in Watertown. Fifty years ago on that day he and John Koop
published the first German paper in Watertown, The Watertown Anzeiger, which one year later was
changed to The Watertown Weltbuerger. Some few years later Mr. Kopp sold out his
interest to Mr. Blumenfeld, but remained as foreman on the paper until his
death. In 1886 his son, Moritz
Blumenfeld, was taken into partnership, and in June last they incorporated as
The Weltbuerger Publishing Co., D. Blumenfeld remaining as editor. The Weitbuerger
is one of the oldest German paper in Wisconsin, and has always been well edited
and enjoyed a large patronage. It has
had many able editorial writers, among them being the Hon.
Carl Schurz and Emil Rothe, the latter becoming editor in later years of
The Cincinnati Volksblatt. Bernard Cramer, editor of The Peoria, Ills., Democrat, and Carl Maag, editor of The
Youngstown, Ohio, Ruendcshau, both
learned their profession in The Weltbuerger
office. Mr. Blumenfeld's son, Ralph,
learned the rudiments of the profession in his father's office and he is now
managing editor of The Daily Express,
London, England. The Weltbuerger still enjoys a large
patronage and is edited in its usual able manner. The Gazette
wishes it continued prosperity. WG
1905
09 29 Monday morning the older residents of this
city were pained to learn that David Blumenfeld, editor of the Weltbuerger, had passed away as the
previous night and although the end was not unexpected, his old friends and
associates for half a century, felt keenly the separation that his departure
occasioned.
The
deceased was born in Creglinger, Germany, Feb. 19, 1828. After learning the printer's trade in his
native town he emigrated to America, landing at Racine, Wis., where he set up
the first German type composed in the state.
The
following year he went to Milwaukee where he was employed as foreman on the
Daily Banner. In 1853 he went to New
York, where he was married to Nancy Lewensen and the couple removed to
Watertown, Wis., where in company with a Mr. John he established a German
newspaper, The Anzeiger, in 1853. The paper was later changed to the Weltbuerger and he had been its editor
since that time and sole owner since 1853.
In
politics he was a democrat . . . He was a close friend of Carl Schurz in the
early days when Mr. Schurz was a resident of Watertown. WDT
Cross-References:
Father
of Ralph Blumenfeld
Father
of Moritz Blumenfeld
Buried in Oak Hill Cemetery 