George Christian Thilenius

George Christian Thilenius (August 20, 1829 – July 7, 1910) was a German-born American politician, soldier, and businessman from the state of Missouri. He is known for the being a Missouri state representative, mayor of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and for the Colonel George C. Thilenius House which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Biography Early life Born in the Kingdom of Hanover, his merchant father was also named George Christian Thilenius. He attended private school in Hanover and at age 15 became a merchant apprentice in the city of Göttingen. After the failed Revolutions of 1848, his family fled to St. Louis, Missouri, where he and his father opened a store. He came to Missouri on May 5, 1848. In 1853, he traveled to Cuba where stayed for three years working in the sugar refining business. When he returned to Missouri, he moved to the city of Cape Girardeau where he entered into partnership in a general store business. On March 8, 1857, he married Margaret Fromann with whom he eventually had four children.

Military life Like most German-Americans in Missouri, he sided with the Union during the American Civil War.

Political life Thilenius was elected as the Missouri House of Representatives and was a member of the 40th General Assembly. He represented the Cape Girardeau County district, was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1865, defeating former Jackson mayor Jefferson W. Limbaugh Jr. in 1898 and former U.S. Representative Robert Henry Whitelaw in 1900. He was succeeded in office by Robert Burett Oliver, the husband of Marie Watkins Oliver who designed and created the current Missouri State Flag.

Business Ventures In 1866, Colonel Thilenius constructed a flour mill on Broadway Street in Cape Girardeau. In 1873, his flour won the Medal of Merit at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair in Austria, and in 1876 it was awarded first prize at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. His home included a winery which produced sparkling champagne cider, and he was the first person in Cape Girardeau to produce soda pop.

Death Thilenius died on July 7, 1910, while his wife Margaret had died about 16 months earlier. Their bodies were cremated with the remains buried in the Old Lorimier Cemetery in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.