LEFFLER, Edward G., M.D.

LEFFLER, GILBERT, PARKS, ALLISON

Posted By: P. Bergmeier (email)
Date: 5/8/2005 at 16:33:21

Edward G. Leffler, M.D., a prominent member of the medical fraternity at La Porte City, Iowa, and a citizen whose intelligent interest keeps him in touch with civic affairs, was born at Hamilton, Illinois, March 14, 1859, and is a son of John C. and Susan (Gilbert) Leffler.

The Leffler family originated in Germany, where Dr. Leffler's great-great-grandfather at one time owned lands and vineyards. For political reasons, this property was all confiscated, and its owner was obliged to flee for his life. He became the founder of the family in the United States, settling in Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until the close of his life.

His son, the great-grandfather of Dr. Leffler, was born in Germany, March 26, 1750, and was but a lad when he accompanied his father to America. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he enlisted and was made an ensign, and carried the flag of the patriot army through the whele of the subsequent struggle. After his discharge he married and had one son born in Pennsylvania, where his wife died. After a second marriage he moved to Ohio, and bought a farm on the Ohio River, at North Bend, 16 miles below Cincinnati, adjoining the homestead of President William Henry Harrison. On this farm a family of 16 children were born.

Joseph Leffler, the grandfather of Dr. Leffler, was born May 19, 1807, at Hamilton, Ohio, and died at Topeka, Kansas, aged 86 years. By trade he was a brick-maker and operated several plants in Cincinnati, and manufactured many of the bricks used in the older buildings in that city.

On November 8, 1827, at Cincinnati, he married Caroline Parks, who was born in that city, December 26, 1813. In April 1856, the Leffler family left Cincinnati and moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where it remained 16 months and then moved across the river to Hamilton, Illinois. In August, 1873, Mr. Leffler moved his family to Des Moines, Iowa. In September, 1872, he was appointed superintendent of mason work on the Iowa Capitol Building, and after completing that contract was appointed superintendent of mason work on the Asylum for the Insane, at Clarinda, Iowa, in April, 1885. Mr. Leffler moved to Clarinda in April, 1886, and has resided there ever since, being actively engaged as a contractor.

The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Leffler were: George W., who conducts a music store at Butte, Montana; Harry C., of Des Moines, who has been a traveling salesman for 27 years; Edward G.; and William Arthur, who died in 1881, aged 16 years.

John C. Leffler is identified with the Republican party. In religious beliefs, Mr. and Mrs. Leffler are Baptists. Fraternally, the former is a mason.

Edward G. Leffler was 14 years of age when his parents moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and he was educated there, graduating in 1878 from the High School. He then entered the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, but later returned to Des Moines and was graduated in 1886 from the medical department of Drake University. He spent the eight succeeding years in active practice in Dubuque County, but in 1896 located in La Porte City, where he has not only built up a large practice, but has also taken a public spirited interest in all that concerns the city's welfare.

He has served six years as a member of the Board of Education. He is a member of the Black Hawk County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association.
On February 22, 1885, at Harvine, Nebraska, Dr. Leffler was married to Ella Allison, who was born October 8, 1866, at Fanklin, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of James Allison. They have one daughter, Ruth Edna, who was born October 8, 1891.

Politically, Dr. Leffler is affiliated with the Republican party. He is one of the leading members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he serves as trustee. Fraternally, he is associated with a number of organizations including the Masons and the Knights of Pythias.

History of Black Hawk County And It's People
1915