George Holzhauer and Rosa Edna Wilhelmi
A HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS By E. POLK
JOHNSON 1912 The Lewis Publishing Company
Transcribed by Kim Mohler
GEORGE WILHELMI–The present postmaster of Newport is one of the representative business men and highly esteemed citizens of Campbell county, and he resigned his seat in the state senate to assume the office of which he is at present incumbent, these preferment's well indicating the popular estimate placed upon him in the community which represents his home.
Mr. Wilhelmi was born in Cumberland, Alleghany
county, Maryland, on the 13th of September, 1873, and is a son of Frederick G.
and Mary Wilhelmi, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, where their
marriage was solemnized, and soon after the event they emigrated to America and
established their home in Cumberland, Maryland. The father was a photographer by
profession and devoted his attention to the same for many years. He moved from
Maryland to Ohio and was engaged in business for a number of years in Urbana,
from which place he removed to Cleveland, and he passed the closing years of his
life in the Ohio metropolis, where he died in 1908. His wife died in Florida in
1902, and of their seven children six are living.
George Wilhelmi was about eleven years of age at the time of his parents’
removal from Maryland to Ohio and thereafter he attended the public school of
Urbana, that state, until he was thirteen years of age, when he went to
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and secured a position in a drug store, where he
learned the pharmaceutical business in all its details. Eventually to fortify
himself further in his chosen vocation, he entered the Cleveland College of
Pharmacy, in the city of Cleveland, in which institution he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1892. Immediately afterward he came to Kentucky and
located in the city of Newport, where he was employed as a drug clerk, until
1900, when he purchased the business of his employer, Gustave Holzhauer.
He has since continued the business with marked success and is recognized as one of the aggressive business men of Newport. In politics Mr. Wilhelmi has ever accorded a staunch allegiance to the Republican party, in behalf of whose cause he has given most effective service. In 1906 he was elected a member of the board of education of his home city and he resigned this position in 1908, in which year he was elected to represent his district in the state senate.
He proved a most active and valuable member of the senate, in which he served during the session of 1909 and he was assigned to various committees of importance, including that of libraries and public works, of which he was chairman. He was the author of the anti-pool-room bill, which he zealously championed and which was finally enacted largely through his efforts. He also introduced bills relative to the regulating of pharmaceutical matters and succeeded in having excellent legislation along these lines. He resigned his position as senator in September, 1909, to assume the office of postmaster at Newport, to which he was appointed by President Taft.
Mr. Wilhelmi is identified with various
fraternal and social organizations, including the Knights of Pythias, the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, in which last organization he has passed all of the chairs of the local
lodge and is at the present time junior warden of the grand encampment of the
state. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church and his wife holds
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South.
In 1898 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wilhelmi to Miss Rosa Harr, who was
born and reared at Ironton, Ohio, and who is a daughter of John Harr, who has
long been a steamboat captain on the Ohio river. Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelmi have two
children, George H. and Edna.
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Kentucky Post, Tuesday, 17 March 1903, page 5
AD-WILHELMI
Successor to Holzhauer, Tenth and Monmouth Sts. Newport.
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Kentucky Post, Friday, 7 January 1910, page 3
Postmaster George Wilhelmi, of Newport, received word today from Washington DC that the United States Senate, in executive session Thursday afternoon had confirmed his nomination as Postmaster to succeed John H Meyer.
This assures the new Postmaster a term of four years at the Newport office at a salary up to July next at a rate of $3300 per annum, when a readjustment of salary will be made based on the years receipts of the office ending March 21, 1910.
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Kentucky Post, Tuesday, 5 December 1944, page 1
Services for George Wilhelmi, 71, former Newport postmaster, will be held at 2 pm Thursday at the C A Smith funeral home, Newport. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery. Mr. Wilhelmi, a druggist for 46 years, died Monday at his home, 1001 Monmouth street, Newport. He served as postmaster from 1908 to 1912. Presivous to that he had served a term in the Kentucky Senate. He was a member of the Newport Masonic Lodge, Newport Odd Fellows, Newport Optimist Club and treasurer of the Monmouth Street Federal Savings and Loan Association. He also served on the Kentucky Board of pharmacy.
Mr. Wilhelmi leaves his wife, Mrs.
Rose Wilhelmi; a son Major George Wilhelmi, serving in Italy; two daughters,
Mrs. Elizabeth Arand adn Mrs. Edna Grundy; two brothers, Fred and Carl and five
grandchildren.