Notable people · Business
Ferdinand Schumacher
German-born miller who settled in Akron in 1851 and became known as the Oatmeal King for selling oatmeal as table food. His mills were among those that merged into Quaker Oats. He ran for Ohio office on the Prohibition ticket.
At a glance
- Born
- 1822-03-30
- Died
- 1908-04
- Known as
- Business
- Organizations
- German Mills American Oatmeal, Quaker Oats
Life story
Ferdinand Schumacher was born March 30, 1822, in Celle, in the Kingdom of Hanover, the son of a merchant. He learned oatmeal-making by old methods and emigrated at 28 with his brother Otto. He married his cousin Hermine in 1851.
He opened a grocery in Akron in 1852 and by 1854 was selling oatmeal as a breakfast food. In 1857 he rented water power on the Ohio Canal for a mill, added barley equipment in 1858 and steam power in 1875. Companies he founded later merged into the Quaker Oats Company.
He backed temperance and prohibition and ran on the Prohibition ticket for Ohio Secretary of State (1872, 1882) and for Governor (1883). He had seven children with Hermine; three lived to adulthood. He died in 1908.
Timeline
- 1822-03-30: Born (Celle, Hanover) source
- 1851: Emigrates; marries Hermine Schumacher (Ohio) source
- 1852: Opens grocery (Akron, OH) source
- 1854: Begins selling oatmeal as breakfast food (Akron, OH) source
- 1857: Rents water power on the Ohio Canal for a mill (Akron, OH) source
- 1858: Adds barley-pearling equipment (Akron, OH) source
- 1872: Runs for Ohio Secretary of State on Prohibition ticket (Ohio) source
- 1875: Introduces steam power (Akron, OH) source
- 1883: Prohibition Party nominee for Governor (Ohio) source
- 1908-04: Dies (Akron, OH) source
What Ferdinand is known for
- Sold processed oatmeal as a table food in Akron from the 1850s-60s (German Mills first advertised oatmeal 1861-01-31)
- Built a separate barley mill in 1863
- One of the founders of companies that merged into Quaker Oats
- Prohibition Party nominee for Ohio Secretary of State (1872, 1882) and Governor (1883)
- German Mills American Oatmeal
- Companies that merged into Quaker Oats
Honors and things named for them
- Known as the 'Oatmeal King'
Family
- wife: Hermine Schumacher
- brother: Otto Schumacher
Ohio places
Where Ferdinand Schumacher was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Worked: Akron, Summit County ZIP 44308 · Akron · Summit County
Myths and corrections
- Sources differ on when oatmeal sales began: Wikipedia says 1854, while a German Mills advertisement dates it to 1861.
- Disputed: The Deutsche Biographie gives his death as April 10, 1908, while a genealogy listing gives April 5.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Ferdinand Schumacher (Wikipedia, pointer) biography, Akron grocery 1852, oatmeal 1854, 1857 mill, politics
- Schumacher (Northeast Ohio Journal of History, Univ. of Akron) born Celle 1822, to Akron 1851, German Mills 1861 ad, barley mill 1863
- Deutsche Biographie: Schumacher, Ferdinand born 1822-03-30 Celle; died 1908-04-10 Akron