Henry H. Deisel is another example of the man who wins success and the respect of his community through his own integrity and perseverance. [1]
These words memorialized Deisel in Allen County’s The Book of Remembrance. Other descriptions of Henry Deisel would be entrepreneurial, hardworking, and a champion of Allen County. Diesel, who is well-known for the cigar company he started, was also involved in other businesses: banking, department stores, and real estate. He not only created one of the most iconic brands of Allen County but also dedicated a significant portion of his time and resources to the county’s overall improvement, a testament to his unwavering dedication to our community.
Heinrich Hermann Deisel, Sr., best known as Henry, was born June 6, 1862, in Gieselwerder, Germany.[2] His parents were Eduard and Sophia Christiana van Buelow Deisel.[3] While receiving the average German education of the time,[4] he also was being instructed in cigar making.[5] In 1881, at the age of eighteen, Deisel would take the SS Hoehenstaufen from Bremerhaven, Germany, to New York City.[6] He would go straight from there to Lima and arrive by June 22, 1881.[7] Immediately, he would work for Mr. Henry Sontag, who was a pioneer of cigar making in Lima.[8] In 1883, Deisel worked with another cigar company in Lima, but by the following year, 1884, he broke off on his own.[9] Around that same time, Emma Katherine Wolf moved with her parents to Lima.[10] Emma had been born to John Bernhardt and Eva Katherine Mueller Wolf[11] on April 25, 1865, in Germany.[12] Their family first moved to Pittsburgh in 1882, but then would move to Lima two years later.[13] According to Emma’s obituary, Henry and her were married not long after she moved to Lima.[14]
With Henry setting up his own cigar business and marrying Emma, the story of Deisel-Wemmer Co. begins. In their kitchen at 223 N. Jackson St., Emma would strip the tobacco while Henry would make the cigars before peddling them from a cart on the street.[15] The business must have gone well because by 1886 they opened a store at 315 N. Main Street[16] –where they sold the titular “Henry’s Best” cigars.[17] That same year, Deisel had around ten men working for him, but it is uncertain if some had begun working for Deisel during the previous two years.[18] An early hurdle in Deisel’s company was the unionization of his workers in 1888. [19]In the past, this event has often been cited as the reason for Deisel’s partnership with the Wemmer brothers, William and Henry. [20] However, throughout the research done for this article, it became clear that the Deisel & Wemmer partnership did not begin until 1891. [21]With that three-year time gap between the unionization of the cigar makers and the formation of Deisel & Wemmer Co., it seems unlikely that the unionization was the main catalyst. [22] More likely, the continuous problem of supply and demand, as the cigar brand became a household name, was the reason the brand needed more capital and management staff.[23] Into that role stepped William and Henry Wemmer, who would be the subsequent Vice Presidents, Henry Wemmer was also the General Manager, and Deisel was the President of Deisel & Wemmer Co.[24]
Once Deisel & Wemmer Co. was formed, the company grew rapidly. By 1892, they had to move locations to a block south on Main Street for more room and had a total of thirty-five cigar makers employed.[25] Unfortunately, a fire burned down that second building in 1894, forcing them to move to the 100 block of W. Wayne Street.[26] It was then reported that they had twenty-five employees; it is unknown why they lost ten.[27] During this time, they were producing twelve different cigar brands.[28] Growth continued during the next decade, and they built their own building at 435 N. Main Street and expanded it five years later.[29] The N. Main Street location was ideal because of the ease of shipping on the Pennsylvania Railroad track, and no doubt this helped the brand expand throughout the country.[30]
In 1902, it finally made sense for the business to incorporate, so they could have shares and stocks to sell.[31] It is at this time that we can see an immense advancement in their production. In 1900, the employees made 9,595,250 cigars.[32] By 1909 there is an unbelievable growth of 77,309,940 cigars made.[33] During that decade, Deisel & Wemmer Co. became a household name in America, and the demand is evident by the increase in production. Likewise, Deisel and the Wemmer brothers stayed up to date with the cigar world. They took a tour of Cuba, which is described by a Lima newspaper as being “for an extensive investigation into tobacco condition in Havana and through Cuba, and the tobacco zone.”[34] They desired to know more about where the tobacco they were buying was coming from and no doubt made more advantageous business contacts. The year 1913 brought them another extraordinary production year: 114,000,000 cigars were made by their 3,000 employees with an estimated $4,000,000 in sales.[35] At that time, they had eight factories located all over northwest Ohio: Lima, Wapakoneta, Delphos, Sidney, Findlay, Toledo, Fostoria, and Van Wert.[36] The following year they opened another factory in St. Mary’s, and it is estimated they made between 135 and 150 million cigars.[37] These were the early years of immense growth within Deisel & Wemmer Co. that made it a well-known and omnipresent company of the era.
That increase in growth was still the story of the next decade, but World War I did cause some difficulties for the company. By April 1917, the United States joined WWI on the side of the Allied Powers against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empires, and other countries. This created some difficulty for Deisel & Wemmer Co. because all three owners were German. In 1918, racist comments were going around Lima about Deisel and the Wemmer brothers being pro-German.[38] Because of their connections, Deisel and the Wemmer brothers were able to crush these rumors quickly. The Rotary Club was first to denounce the rumors, as all three men were prominent members.[39] Within five days, Deisel & Wemmer Co. took out an advertisement that read as a letter in the Lima Daily News defending themselves[40] –using their many large donations to the Red Cross and other such war charities, and their significant war bond purchases to back their allegiance to the United States.[41] Likewise, the letter was signed by many of the war fund chairmen of the area, two Red Cross chairmen, and a Y.M.C.A. War Work chairman.[42] Additionally, these rumors were stamped out when Deisel & Wemmer Co. became one of the cigar suppliers for the U.S. Army during WWI.[43] At that time, cigars or cigarettes were part of a U.S. soldier’s rations. Thus, although WWI was a difficult era for Deisel & Wemmer Co., they weathered it and even turned it into an advantage.
The last noteworthy change during Deisel’s time as the President of Deisel & Wemmer Co. was the introduction of cigar machines. The first cigar machine was invented around 1915; however, it was not yet up to the Deisel & Wemmer Co. standards so they did not utilize it.[44] It was not until 1918 that the company tried out a much-improved version of the cigar machine.[45] Four of these machines were bought for the Findley plant; it took four employees to run each machine, and they could make around eight cigars a minute.[46] It was about three years later, in 1921, when the Findlay plant was completely converted to these machines, and soon most of the other factories followed.[47] However, with the increase in production, there was not as large of a need for the multiple factories or workers, so Deisel & Wemmer Co. closed a few factories.[48] At the same time, cigarettes were becoming a far more popular tobacco product than cigars.[49] Thus, the cigar demand was decreasing as well. Whether it was because of this decrease or the founders becoming older, a Detroit-based group bought the controlling interest of Deisel & Wemmer Co.[50] At that time, the name changed to Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert Co. or DWG.[51] It was that same year that Deisel stepped down as the President of the company and became relatively retired.[52] It was during the 1930s that their sons William Deisel, Alfred Wemmer, and Deisel’s son-in-law George Glover would become the faces of DWG.
Like every industrialist, Deisel had many other business interests beyond Deisel & Wemmer Co. One of the most prominent of these was banking. It seems Deisel joined the banking industry in 1911 as the president of the German American Bank in Lima.[53] This was the earliest record found of Deisel holding a position in a bank. It was an advertisement encouraging bank accounts for sons in order for the young to understand the importance of saving money.[54] In 1926, Deisel was once again named the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the First American Bank.[55] Unfortunately, it is unclear when he had first been given this chairman position. Deisel was most connected to this bank for the rest of his life. He was also the chairman of the board during the fiscal year of July 1929 – June 1930, which was the year of the stock market crash, one of the many causes leading to the Great Depression.[56] Thus, one could assume the bank had tanked like most of the world. However, they stated most of their essential numbers in the paper, and it looked like the bank was almost four million dollars in the green.[57] That is quite a feat in 1929 and 1930. First American Bank & Trust Co., as it had been renamed, would merge with Lima Trust Co. in 1931.[58] Deisel was the chairman of the executive committee for the new bank that was formed with this merger.[59] Diesel was also appointed as a director of the Colonial Finance Co. in 1929.[60] When he was selected for this role, old stockholders subscribed for another $600,000 in the company. It is apparent from these examples that not only was Deisel connected to banking in Allen County, but he was also trusted as a foremost voice in this industry.
Another type of corporation Deisel was involved in was the department store of the early 1900s. In 1914, Deisel purchased the controlling interest of Hawisher-English Co. for $200,000.[61] The store had opened in 1909 as the dream of George L. Newson.[62] It was located in the Lima Public Square, taking over most of the Cincinnati block.[63] It held over sixteen departments—selling everything from groceries to jewelry.[64] Newson decided to retire in 1913, and sold his controlling interest to Deisel the following year.[65] Henry Deisel Jr. would become the president of the company and William E. English was the General Manager.[66] English had been running the company since Newson retired in 1913.[67] The Deisels would rename the store to Deisel & English.[68] They already had grand plans to grow the company, and even though Deisel Jr. was the president, Deisel Sr. was still involved.[69] In 1916, Deisel Sr., Jr., and English would travel to New York in the interest of adding a ready-to-wear line to the store.[70] The store seems to have grown exponentially under the care of the Deisels.[71] Later in 1916, English would sell his stocks to Deisel and move on from Lima, this changed the name again to the Deisel Co.[72] They would run “The Big Store,” as it was known, until they were bought out by Fred Uhlman’s menswear chain in the summer of 1927.[73] Even in the world of department stores, the Deisel name became well known in northwestern Ohio.
Unsurprisingly, Deisel also did a lot of business in real estate around Allen County. In 1904, Deisel bought 135 and 137 on N. Main Street, in Lima, and rented the space for either offices or apartments.[74] This would be the block between W. High Street and the Public Square. It seems as though he purchased the entirety of the 100 block on N. Main Street for $45,000 in 1906.[75] He would rename the block the Deisel Block.[76] At that time, he had advertisements out for rooms to rent in the block.[77] Again, in 1910, there was an advertisement for a five-room apartment in the Deisel Block.[78] In 1926, Deisel set a lease with the Metropolitan Store for a ninety-nine-year lease at $22,000 a year[79] –which undoubtedly was an exaggerated length of the lease by the newspaper. However, the Metropolitan Store would lease out most of the block and would even expand more during the 1928 renovation.[80] Likewise, Deisel was one of the principal stockholders of the Argonne Hotel.[81] The Argonne Hotel was built as an all-Lima hotel, constructed only by Lima businesses and capital only received from Lima citizens.[82] Deisel’s name, as a stockholder, was toted in many advertisements about the building of the hotel.[83] In 1913, Deisel was also a stockholder in another real estate company, The Home Builders Reality Company. This real estate company focused on creating affordable housing for industry workers like Deisel’s cigar makers.[84] It was logical for Deisel to back this company, knowing that his employee base had grown so much in the previous ten years. Real estate was just another industry in Allen County that Deisel wisely chose to utilize and invest in.
Overall, Henry Deisel believed in creating industry in Allen County. He built and invested in several businesses that demonstrated this conviction. Beyond that, Deisel was highly connected to his community. In his obituary circulated by Van Wert Times, he was described as “[President of] the Lima Chamber of Commerce, an active Mason, an excellent horseman, Rotarian, Elk, Odd Fellow, Moose and church choir director.”[85] He was connected to many institutions and groups of the area. Beyond that, the obituary correctly described Deisel as a businessman and philanthropist.[86] The Lima community was saddened when the seventy-year-old Henry Deisel died of a heart attack after riding his horse on November 29, 1932.[87] Deisel was buried at Woodland Cemetery in Lima in the Deisel family mausoleum.[88] Henry Deisel will always be remembered as a cardinal industrialist and for his deep connections to his Allen County Community.
Endnotes:
[1] “Henry H. Deisel,’ The Book of Remembrance, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[2] Lee G. Van Blargan, “Down Memory Lane – Henry Deisel, Sr.,” in Deisel File at the Allen County Archive, 1.
[3] Deisels’ Family Tree.
[4] Lee G. Van Blargan, “Down Memory Lane – Henry Deisel, Sr.,” in Deisel File at the Allen County Archive, 1.
[5] Jean Engstrom, “The Deisel & Wemmer Families,” The Allen County Reporter, Vol. LV, 1999, No. 2., 3.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Lee G. Van Blargan, “Down Memory Lane – Henry Deisel, Sr.,” in Deisel File at the Allen County Archive, 1.
[9] “Henrey Deisel, Sr., Dies,” unknown Lima Newspaper, November 29, 1932, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[10] “Mrs. Emma Deisel Dies in Cole-St Home After Attack of Pneumonia,” unknown Lima Newspaper or date, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[11] “Deisels,” Family Tree, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[12] “Mrs. Emma Deisel Dies in Cole-St Home After Attack of Pneumonia,” unknown Lima Newspaper or date, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Jean Engstrom, “The Deisel & Wemmer Families,” The Allen County Reporter, Vol. LV, 1999, No. 2, 3.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid.
[21] “Henrey Deisel, Sr., Dies,” unknown Lima Newspaper, November 29, 1932, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Jean Engstrom, “The Deisel & Wemmer Families,” The Allen County Reporter, Vol. LV, 1999, No. 2, 24.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Ibid.
[31] “Henrey Deisel, Sr., Dies,” unknown Lima Newspaper, November 29, 1932, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[32] Jean Engstrom, “The Deisel & Wemmer Families,” The Allen County Reporter, Vol. LV, 1999, No. 2, 24.
[33] Ibid.
[34] “Going to Cuba,” Lima Daily News, January 12, 1911, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1911_01_12_0004.
[35] “Four Millions Represent the 1913 Business,” Lima Daily News, January 4, 1914, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1914_01_04_0004.
[36] Ibid.
[37] “Cigar Company Ready to Open Tenth Factory,” Lima Daily News, January 13, 1914, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1914_01_13_0011.
[38] “Rotary Club’s Members Stand Behind Industry,” Lima Daily News, April 8, 1918, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1918_04_08_0002.
[39] Ibid.
[40] “Members of the Deisel-Wemmer Co. Brand as False and Malicious Every Rumor and Statement Attacking Their Loyalty and Patriotism for the United States,” Lima Daily News, April 13, 1918, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1918_04_13_0002.
[41] Ibid.
[42] Ibid.
[43] Jean Engstrom, “The Deisel & Wemmer Families,” The Allen County Reporter, Vol. LV, 1999, No. 2, 28.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Ibid.
[46] Ibid.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Karen K. Gerlach, K. Michael Cummings, Andrew Hyland, Elizabeth A. Gilpin, Michael D. Johnson, and John P. Pierce, cancercontrol.cancer.gov, accessed February 18, 2025, “Trends in Cigar Consumption and Smoke Prevalence,” https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/m09_2.pdf
[50] “Henry H. Deisel,’ The Book of Remembrance, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[51] Ibid.
[52] Ibid.
[53] “The German American Bank,” Lima Daily News, May 18, 1911, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1911_05_18_0007.
[54] Ibid.
[55] “First American Ban Re-Elects Old Officials,” Lima News, January 14, 1926, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1926_01_14_0005.
[56] “Report of the Condition of The First American Bank & Trust Co.,” Lima News, July 3, 1930, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1930_07_03_0007.
[57] Ibid.
[58] “Bank Merger is Approved by Stockholders,” Lima News, May 9, 1931, ancestry.com, accessed February 7, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1931_05_09_0001.
[59] Ibid.
[60] “Named on Colonial Finance Board,” Lima News, May 26, 1929, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1929_05_26_0003.
[61] “Control of ‘Big Store’ Passes to Henry Deisel Great Expansions Coming,” Republican Gazette, November 10, 1914, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archive.
[62] Greg Hoersten, “Reminisce: ‘Lima’s Big Store,’” Lima News, accessed February 19, 2025, https://www.limaohio.com/top-stories/2024/06/11/reminisce-limas-big-store/.
[63] Ibid.
[64] Ibid.
[65] “Control of ‘Big Store’ Passes to Henry Deisel Great Expansions Coming,” Republican Gazette, November 10, 1914, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archive.
[66] Ibid.
[67] Ibid.
[68] Ibid.
[69] Ibid.
[70] “The Idler,” Lima Daily News, January 31, 1916, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1916_01_31_0005.
[71] Greg Hoersten, “Reminisce: ‘Lima’s Big Store,’” Lima News, accessed February 19, 2025, https://www.limaohio.com/top-stories/2024/06/11/reminisce-limas-big-store/.
[72] Ibid.
[73] Ibid.
[74] “For Rent,” Lima Times Democrat, June 9, 1904, ancestry.com, accessed February 7, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8018/images/NEWS-OH-LI_TI_DE.1904_06_09_0004.
[75] “Chain Stores to Pay Total of $1,980,000,” Lima News, December 12, 1926, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1926_12_12_0001.
[76] Ibid.
[77] “For Rent,” Lima Daily News, May 18, 1906, ancestry.com, accessed February 7, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1906_05_18_0004.
[78] “For Rent,” Lima Daily News, November 27, 1910, ancestry.com, accessed February 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8017/images/NEWS-OH-LI_DA_NE.1910_11_27_0016.
[79] “Chain Stores to Pay Total of $1,980,000,” Lima News, December 12, 1926, ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1926_12_12_0001.
[80] Greg Hoersten, “The Satterthwait Block,” Lima News, accessed February 19, 2025, https://www.limaohio.com/archive/2017/05/30/the-satterthwait-block/.
[81] “New Argonne Hotel to be Opened January 1,” Lima News, August 1, 1920, ancestry.com, accessed February 7, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7751/images/NEWS-OH-LI_NE.1920_08_01_0015.
[82] Ibid.
[83] Ibid.
[84] Ibid.
[85] “H. Deisel, Sr, Dies in Lima,” Van Wert Times, November 30, 1932, In Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[86] Ibid.
[87] “Henrey Deisel, Sr., Dies,” unknown Lima Newspaper, November 29, 1932, in Deisel File at the Allen County Archives.
[88] Anne Beehler and Anna B. Selfridge, “The Valley of the Kings, Revised Addition,” The Allen County Reporter, Vol. LXV, No. 1 & 2, 2011., 11.
Photo Credit:
“Back up our boys with your Liberty Bond You buy Liberty Bonds and Uncle Sam’s boys will do the rest,” [1917], LC-USZC4-8121, accessed February 25, 2025, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/00652399/.
“Cigar Rolling Machine,” Oscar Hammerstein, 1910, accessed February 25, 2025, https://patents.google.com/patent/US969274A/en.
All other images came from the Allen County Archives or were taken by Allen County Museum workers.
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