Frederick G. Niedringhaus

Who was Frederick G. Niedringhaus?

Frederick Gottlieb Niedringhaus was a U.S. Representative from Missouri, brother of William F. Niedringhaus, father of Thomas K. Niedringhaus, and uncle of Henry Frederick Niedringhaus.

Born in Lübbecke, Westphalia, North Germany, Niedringhaus attended the common schools there and learned the glazing, painting, and tinning trades. He migrated to the United States in November 1855 and settled in St. Louis, Missouri, where he and his brother William started a tinware stamping company in the early 1860's. In the 1870's they developed a process for creating a decorative mottled surface on enameled metal. This "graniteware" became popular, and they established an extensive business, which eventually moved to Granite City, Illinois. He also became interested in various other business enterprises in St. Louis.

Niedringhaus was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-first Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890 and resumed his former business pursuits. He died in St. Louis, Missouri, November 25, 1922 and was interred in Bellefontaine Cemetery.