Dates

• Existence: 1873-1964

Biography

Born December 24, 1873 on a farm in Sac County, Iowa, George J. Schaller was the son of Fred Schaller and Catherine (MIller) Schaller. The family moved to Storm Lake, Iowa, in 1882 where George's father entered the general merchandise business. George attended public school and worked for his father counting eggs, weighing butter, and helping customers. In 1892 George enrolled at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, but after three weeks he took a position as a bookkeeper for a local bank and thus began his career in banking. By 1897 George was appointed Deputy Clerk of the District Court of Buena Vista County and in 1899 George went into partnership with his father on a land and loan business.   George started his own family in 1900, marrying Eloise Warren of Rock Valley, Iowa, with whom he had four children: Catherine, Harry, Earl, and Edward. In 1901 George and his father opened, as co-partners, the Citizen's Bank in Storm Lake; George became President in 1922 after the death of his father. From 1927 through 1928 George was President of the Iowa Bankers Association. Despite hard times after the stock market crash in 1929, George was able to keep the Citizen's Bank active and in 1934 he was elected Governor (later President) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Upon his retirement in 1941, George returned to Storm Lake and and the Citizen's Bank as Chairman of the Board of Directors. George J. Schaller died in 1964.

Citation:

Author: A. Neville, September 2005

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