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 a soap making company, F. M. PLEINS & CO., on Dodge and Locust. When Jesse P. FARLEY purchased half ownership the company was renamed the DUBUQUE LARD-OIL, SOAP, AND CANDLE FACTORY. (1)
After James BEACH joined the firm in 1858 by purchasing Farley's share, the company was renamed PLEINS & BEACH. Beach bought his partner's interest in 1857 and expanded the business into what was eventually called JAMES BEACH AND SONS
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)
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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