Encyclopedia Dubuque
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PLEINS, F. M.
PLEINS, FRANCIS M. (Rhenish, Prussia, Aug. 13, 1823--St. Paul, MN, June 19, 1894). Pleins came to America in October 1849. He settled in Dubuque on August 10, 1855 and established his business, F. M. PLEINS & CO., in the spring of 1858. (1)
James BEACH joined the firm which was renamed PLEINS & BEACH. Beach later bought his partner's local interest and expanded the business. (2) Pleins moved to St. Paul where he opened a soap manufacturing business to serve as a branch of the local company. In 1873 the Dubuque Herald announced that F. M. Pleins was the first to receive letters of patent on soap making from the Patent Office in Washington, D. C. (2) This new business was destroyed by fire. (3)
See: DUBUQUE LARD-OIL, SOAP, AND CANDLE FACTORY
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Source:
1. Oldt, Franklin T. The History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, p. 858
2. "Patent Soap," Dubuque Herald, August 2, 1873, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18730802&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
3. "F. M. Pleins," The Herald, June 22, 1894, p. 4