Santa Clara County
Biographies
ROBERT MENZEL
ROBERT MENZEL. One of the leading enterprises of Santa
Clara is the hardware and tinware establishment owned
and conducted by Mr. Menzel, who was the founder
of the business and has been its sole proprietor. When he came to this city
about 1880, he started in business on a very small scale. At first he carried
only a line of tinware and in addition conducted a
general plumbing business, but later, when the demands of the trade increased
and his capital justified the enlargement, he added a stock of hardware, since
which time he has devoted himself closely to the management of the store. His
present position as a prosperous business man may be attributed solely to his
unaided exertions, for he had no one to assist him in starting out in the
world, nor did he have the advantage of attendance at school for more than a
brief period.
In Silesia, Prussia, Germany, Robert Menzel
was born June 16, 1848, a son of Henry Menzel
who immigrated to the United States in 1860 and settled in Mayville, Dodge county, Wis. There he secured employment at the carpenter’s
trade. From that locality he came to California about 1878 and settled near
Sacramento, where he engaged in general farm pursuits and in grape culture
until his death. His only child, Robert, was forced to earn his livelihood at
an age when boys are usually engrossed in the studies and sports of childhood.
Though almost wholly deprived of educational advantages, he has been a close observer
and thoughtful reader, and is now a well-informed man. At thirteen years of age
he was apprenticed to the tinsmith’s trade in Mayville and for three years he
remained in the same place, after which he worked as a journeyman in Milwaukee
and Chicago for three years.
The year 1876 found Mr. Menzel
a newcomer in California, where he was so pleased with the climate and outlook
that he decided to remain permanently in the state. For a year he worked at the
tinner’s trade in Sacramento and next spent three
years in San Jose as an employe with John Stock.
From that city he came to Santa Clara, where he has since made his home.
Starting with a small capital and a stock of goods representing only a small
cash value, he has built up a large business and has in his store a stock
valued at about $10,000. Another local enterprise that has received his
co-operation is the Building & Loan Association, which he assisted in
organizing and with which he has since been connected as a director. The
Republican party, of which he is a member, has elected
him to various local offices, including those of city treasurer, member of the
city council and superintendent of schools. Fraternally he is associated with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has passed the chairs of the local
lodge. A disciple of Masonry, he is past master of the Santa Clara Lodge, a
member of Howard Chapter in San Jose, San Jose Commandery, K. T., in which
he is past commander; Order of the Eastern Star; and Islam Temple,
N. M. S., of San Francisco.
The marriage of Mr. Menzel
took place in San Jose and united him with Miss Ellen Teaford, of Virginia birth and ancestry. Born of their
union are five children, namely: Anna, wife of
C. A. Welch, of Oakland, this state; Henry, who assists his father in
the store; George, Frank and Pearl, who are being educated in the local
schools.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 12 November 2015.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page
873. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Marie
Hassard.