Henry Deisel
Henry Deisel, president of The Deisel-Wemmer Company, cigar manufacturers, at Lima, and one of the city's leading business men, was born in Germany, in 1862, and is a son of Edward Deisel who spent his whole life in his native land.
Henry Deisel was 19 years of age when he came to America. He had received a good education and been instructed in the cigar making craft and soon after locating at Lima, in 1881. He found employment at his trade with Henry Sontag, a pioneer in that business here. He remained with Mr. Sontag for two years, and then was employed for a year by another firm, but by 1884 he was prepared to embark in business for himself. He continued an individual business until 1891 when, in association with his friends, Henry G. and William J. Wemmer, also practical cigarmakers, he formed a partnership which continued as Deisel & Wemmer until 1902, when the expansion of a great business made incorporation advisable. Through the energy and enterprise of Mr. Deisel and the Wemmer brothers, the establishment has become one of the largest cigar manufacturing houses in all this section. The present officers of the corporation known as The Deisel & Wemmer Company are: Henry Deisel, president; William J. Wemmer, vice president; Henry G. Wemmer, general manager and Robert J. Plate, secretary and treasurer.
In 1884 Mr. Deisel was married to Emma Wolf, who was born in Germany and is a daughter of J. B. Wolf. They have five children. Mr. Deisel and his wife are members of the German Reformed Church. He is a talented musician and is the director of the church choir. Mr Deisel's fraternal connections are with the Old Fellows, the Elks, the United Commercial Travelers, and the Traveling Men's Protective Association.
In addition to directing the policy of the immense business which he assisted in founding, Mr. Deisel is interested in number of other successful enterprises. As a business man, Mr. Deisel stands deservedly high, and his career has been an almost unbroken line of successes. In the face of fierce competition, he has guided his great enterprise through every crisis, has out distanced other firms and has established one of the important industries of this section, which is a credit to himself and a pride to the community.