Ricklef Ulrich Ricklefs (1843-1899)

From the Monticello Express, August 24, 1899.

  I can always count on Iowa to offer up a previously unknown mayor with an amusing name, and I think you'll agree that one term Monticello mayor Ricklef Ulrich Ricklefs fits the bill perfectly! Sporting a name that's guaranteed to give you a case of the giggles, Ricklefs was a native of Germany who, following his removal to Iowa in 1869, became a leading business figure in the town of Monticello. The operator of a mercantile store and grocery, Ricklefs entered local politics in the late 1880s when he was elected to one term as Monticello's mayor. 

  Born in Sandel, Duchy of Oldenburg, Germany on November 25, 1843, Ricklef U. Ricklefs was the son of Johan Dietrich (1808-1885) and Elizabeth Ricklefs (1809-1879). He received "religious instruction" during his youth in Germany and was confirmed in the local Lutheran Church. His formative years saw him apprenticed to a mercantile business owner, and after five years removed from Oldenburg to Stade in the province of Hannover. He would be employed as a business manager in that city, and in 1869 married to Augusta Margretha Reitzen (1846-1935), daughter of a Stade sea captain. 

  Following their marriage, Ricklef and Augusta Ricklefs immigrated to the United States. Settling in Monticello, Iowa, their three-decade-long marriage produced nine children: Charlotte (1870-1910), August John Diedrich (1873-1940), Emma Henriette (1874-1945), Julia (died in infancy in 1877), Rudolph Ulrich (1879-1932), Clara Marie (1883-1943), Henrietta Elise (1884-1887), Emil (1889-1975), and Rex Helmuth (1892-1977).

  After establishing roots in Monticello Ricklefs took work as a clerk under grocery owner William Schodde, where he continued until 1877. In that year Schodde sold his business to Ricklefs and a partner, with the two men continuing operations under the firm name of Ricklefs and Houser. Their partnership extended until 1887, and their decade-long business as Ricklefs remarked as a "good and careful buyer", even going as far as Chicago to purchase goods to sell in his store. Amongst other grocery items and dry goods, the business also sold clothing like gloves, mittens, caps, and hats, as evidenced by the advertisement below.

A Ricklefs business advertisement from the Monticello Express, March 31, 1881.

  With his name firmly established in the Monticello business community, Ricklefs parted ways with his partner J.C Houser in 1887 and afterward continued in business alone. In addition to his store, Ricklefs added a mill to his business operations in the early 1890s, operating it until his death in 1899. In the mid-1880s he made his first foray into local politics with his election to the Monticello city council, where he served from 1885-87. He would be elected as Mayor of Monticello in 1887 and served a one year term in 1888. He would leave office with a disdain for politics, with the Monticello Express later remarking:

"But while he  took an interest in public affairs, he did not care to be a participant, and was only too glad to leave office to those who preferred its petty annoyances to private affairs."

  Several months prior to his death Ricklefs health began to fail but continued operations with his store until a few weeks before his death. The last weeks of his life saw him confined to his home, gradually weakening and losing over thirty pounds. Ricklefs died at his home on August 18, 1899, aged 55, of "ulceration of the bowels." Memorialized as one of Monticello's "most prominent, best known and successful business men", Ricklefs was survived by his wife and children and was interred at the Oakwood Cemetery in Monticello.