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An initial question for the beginning genealogist with the Kellogg surname
is, inevitably, how are we related to the cereal people?
The Kellogg Company http://www.kelloggs.com/ considers Will
Keith Kellogg to be the founder. His father, John Preston Kellogg, was born in
Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1807. He had sixteen children before he died in 1881.
Will Keith and John Harvey Kellogg were children by his second wife, Ann Janette
Stanley. The family were Seventh-Day Adventists and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was a
physician who had some unusual ideas about health and foods.
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John Harvey Kellogg |
The Road to Wellville, [ISBN 0-14-016718-8] by T. Coraghessan Boyle, (1993) provides a fictionalized account of the doctor and some of his methods. The book was made into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins as John Harvey Kellogg.
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Suffice it to say that Dr. Kellogg was one of the first health fanatics in the United States.
He
particularly was against the consumption of meat, and believed that a man should
conserve his "precious bodily fluids" and may have remained celibate despite his
marriage: he and his wife adopted at least seven children.
See Great American Quacks http://www.mtn.org/quack/amquacks/kellogg.htm for a description of his unorthodox theories.
Dr. Kellogg founded the Battle Creek Sanitarium (an early health spa). His brother Will Keith (who had been trained as a broom maker) worked at the Sanitarium where he helped create health foods for the patients. Through the brothers' experimentation with wheat, they happened upon a method for flattening wheat berries into small, thin flakes. When the flakes were baked, they became crisp and light, creating an easy to prepare breakfast when milk was added. The ready-to-eat cereal industry was formed. The following comes from the Kellogg company web site:
In 1906, the year of W. K.'s 46th birthday, he ventured from producing cereal products for patients at the San to opening his own company in an old, wooden frame building - the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flakes Company - now Kellogg Company. By then, word of the popularity of cereal products had spread and when W. K. first began production, 42 other cereal companies also existed in Battle Creek. To help consumers distinguish Kellogg cereals from other brands and identify the original, the packages were labeled with the words "The Original Bears This Signature..." and W. K.'s signature appeared on each package. Although admitting, "I was green when I started the business," W. K. was an entrepreneur in every sense of the word, and his intuition for promoting and advertising his products was unparalleled. Courage proved to be one of his strongest assets. When Wall Street collapsed in 1929, W. K. shrugged confidently and doubled his advertising budget..."This is the time to go out and spend more money in advertising." He was right. Certain that Americans would eat breakfast - especially a breakfast of low-cost cereals - W. K.'s company was scarcely affected by the Depression. Early on W. K. recognized the potential of international markets, and the 1920's found Kellogg cereals being exported to countries throughout the world, with manufacturing facilities built in Canada and Australia. "Wherever you find people, you'll find Kellogg's," W. K. was known to say . In 1909, W. K. wrote, "If I am successful in getting out of debt and becoming prosperous in my business affairs, I expect to make a good use of any wealth that may come to me." Even before his idea for the cereal company originated, W. K. Kellogg had established himself as a generous person, especially to those in need. Years later, when asked what he would do with his newly acquired wealth he replied, "I know what I'll do with it. I'll invest my money in people." His dream of helping others came true when the W. K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 to "help people help themselves." Within a year, endowments totaling nearly $50 million were given for educational or charitable purposes. Through the years, hundreds of millions of dollars have been given to institutions serving health, education and agriculture. Meanwhile, under W. K.'s leadership, the Kellogg Company dealt responsibly and udiciously with its employees. During the Depression, W. K. added work shifts to his plant schedule so that more family men and women could be hired. President Herbert Hoover saw potential in the experiment for a nationwide program, and summoned W. K. to the White House or a discussion. Throughout his life, W. K. retained a firm grip over his company. In later years, he turned control over to a hand-picked group of businessmen, but he would not slow down his own pace. He continued to strive for the goals of his diversified interests almost as ardently as he had worked to build his company. However, in 1946, W. K. declined re-election to the Company's Board of Directors. The break was never complete, and the pioneer work ethic he had maintained throughout his life continued to rule him. On this 90th birthday, the Kellogg Company presented him with a 45-year pin, and W. K. responded with uncharacteristic tearfulness..."I don't deserve it. After all, I don't work here anymore." W. K. Kellogg's 91st year found him struggling with illness and then seeming to rebound. But, on October 6, 1951, he died very quietly and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, the city he had helped to make "The Cereal Capital of the World." W. K. Kellogg also established the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which today is one of the world's largest.
