Jacob Cornelius Meyer
1878 - 1975 (96 years)-
Name Jacob Cornelius Meyer Immigration 1868 Born 10 Oct 1878 Town of Grand Chute, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin 
Gender Male Occupation Farmer Died 31 Jan 1975 Biloxi, Harrison Co, Mississippi Person ID I55200 Little Chute Genealogy Last Modified 17 Jan 2010
Father John Cornelius Meyer, b. 16 Jan 1842, Dordrecht, South Holland, Netherlands , d. 29 Jun 1935, Town of Grand Chute, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin (Age 93 years) Mother Hendrika Maria Elizabeth VanBeuningen VanHelsdingen, b. 20 Nov 1842, Buren, Gelderland, Netherlands , d. 01 Nov 1930 (Age 87 years) Married 26 Jun 1876 Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin Family ID F20103 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Alma Grace Collins, b. 18 Oct 1877, Chilton, Calumet Co, Wisconsin , d. 29 May 1945, King, Waupaca Co, Wisconsin (Age 67 years) Married 14 Nov 1901 Clintonville, Waupaca Co, Wisconsin Children 1. Cornelius Collins Meyer, b. 20 Dec 1902, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin , d. 12 Sep 1988, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin (Age 85 years)2. William Carter Meyer, b. 07 Aug 1904, Town of Grand Chute, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin , d. 04 Dec 1995, Fairhope, Baldwin Co, Alabama (Age 91 years)3. Ruth Meyer, b. 21 Mar 1906, Town of Grand Chute, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin , d. 10 Jul 1910, Town of Grand Chute, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin (Age 4 years)4. Marguerite Meyer, b. 10 Jun 1909, Town of Grand Chute, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin , d. 21 Apr 1971, Louisiana (Age 61 years)5. Winifred Meyer, b. 11 Oct 1910, Town of Grand Chute, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin , d. Sep 1987, Cape Coral, Lee Co, Florida (Age 76 years)6. Robert Smith Meyer, b. 12 Jul 1915, Town of Center, Outagamie Co, Wisconsin , d. 10 May 1991, Madison, Dane Co, Wisconsin (Age 75 years)Photos 
55200a.jpg Last Modified 21 Jul 2022 Family ID F20104 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Photos 55200a.jpg
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Notes - 'He was the first milkman in Appleton
to put milk in bottles ...'
Meyer family
By Diane Esselman
What is now Memorial Park in
Appleton was the site of the first
Meyer farm.
In 1868, at the age of 26, my
great-great grandfather, Cornelius
Meyer, along with his three brothers,
Peter, Frank, and Jacob came
to Wisconsin from the Netherlands.
They purchased 120 acres
and cleared the land for cultivation.
In 1910, Cornelius moved to his
new concrete block residence, still
standing along Potato POint near
Ballard Road and Wisconsin
Avenue. He originally purchased
15 acres along the Fox River, and
be and his son, Jacob spent the
winter of 1908 clearing a road
across the ravine so he could sell
lots along the river bank.
Jacob was born in 1878 and
lived with his parents until the age
of 19 when he joined the army to
fight the Spanish-American War.
Upon returning home, he purchased
a five-acre farm near Apple
Creek and started a milk route. He
sold thousands of quarts of milk at
5 cents each. He was the first
milkman in Appleton to put milk
in bottles, to much opposition
from his customers who missed
the extra "dip" they got from the
"loose" milk being ladled out of a
can. In 1901, Jacob married AJma
Grace Collins, daughter of Samuel
and Martha Collins of Menasha.
They had six children.
In 1911, Jacob got an Appleton
mail route. He delivered mail by a
small team of horses until 1919.
He then sold his farm near Apple
Creek for a home on Wisconsin
Avenue across from Coated Paper
Co., now Appleton Papers. He
got employment there as a millwright
for nine years until he got
work as a lock man at Appleton's
FIrSt Lock. He had to ride a boat
down to the second lock to let
them through there, also. Tugs
and barges used to bring coal from
Green Bay to supply paper mills
along the river and the power
house in Appleton.
Jacob's eldest son, Cornelius,
born in 1902, also worked the second
and third locks until he had
so many bees to care for that he
gave up outside work. Cornelius
started a "honey" farm on Ballard
Road near Glendale Street. This
was across from the airport, before
the new airport was built in its present
location.
Cornelius and Clara (Lietz)
Meyer remained there until 1961
when the city insisted they move
their bees because of complaints
from the growing neighborhood.
They moved 10 miles down Ballard
Road to establish their honey
farm in the country. This became
a family business since both their
children, Gerald (born 1924) and
Raymond (born 1930), worked the
extracting facilities that were built.
While it was mainly a hobby for
Gerry, Ray became one of the
largest beekeepers in the area.
- 'He was the first milkman in Appleton