Frederick Weyerhaeuser
| Friedrich Weyerhäuser | |
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| Born | November 21, 1834 Nieder-Saulheim, Grand Duchy of Hesse |
| Died | April 4, 1914 (aged 79) Pasadena, California, United States |
| Resting place |
Chippiannock Cemetery Rock Island, Illinois 41°28′54″N 90°34′40″W / 41.48167°N 90.57778°WCoordinates: 41°28′54″N 90°34′40″W / 41.48167°N 90.57778°W |
| Nationality | German–American |
| Other names | Frederick Weyerhaeuser |
| Known for | Founder of the Weyerhaeuser Company |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Elizabeth Bloedel |
| Children | John, Elise, Rudolph, Frederick, Apollonia, Charles, Margaret |
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Friedrich (Frederick) Weyerhäuser (November 21, 1834 in Nieder-Saulheim, Rhenish Hesse – April 4, 1914 in Pasadena, California), also spelt Weyerhaeuser, was a German-American timber mogul and founder of the Weyerhaeuser Company, which owns saw mills, paper factories, and other business enterprises, and large areas of forested land. He is the eighth-richest American of all time, with a net worth of $85 billion in 2016 dollars.
Friedrich was one of 11 children of Johann Weyerhäuser and his wife. The family supported itself by working a 15-acre (6.1 ha) farm and a 3-acre (1.2 ha) vineyard near Nieder-Saulheim in the independent Grand Duchy of Hesse. Friedrich started attending the Lutheran school at Nieder-Saulheim when he was 6, and at 8 began helping on the farm. When he was 12, his father died, and Friedrich had to give up most of his studies to help out on the farm. The Revolutions of 1848 in Germany prompted several members of his family to emigrate to western Pennsylvania in the United States. They sent back glowing letters describing the conditions they found.
In 1852, at the age of 17, Weyerhäuser emigrated with a group of his family from Hesse to the United States. They landed in New York City in July and proceeded to Pennsylvania, settling at North East. Frederick went to work for an earlier immigrant in a brewery. After two years, he abandoned the brewing business, because, as he put it, he felt that a brewer “often becomes his own best customer.” He then worked on a farm for a year.
His share of the funds from the sale of the family farm in Germany enabled him to move on further west in search of opportunity, and 1856 found him in Rock Island, Illinois, working on the construction of the Rock Island and Peoria Railroad. After a short time, he entered the sawmill of Mead, Smith and Marsh as a night fireman, quickly moving up to tallyman and then yard manager and salesman. When the company opened a new yard in Coal Valley, he was sent to manage it. Though his yard prospered, the firm got into financial difficulties, and with savings from his salary Frederick bought the business. Thus he began doing business under his own name.
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