Well -- thanks to A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS...(here's a shoutout to REBECCA, JULIA AND DOROTHY). I learned a lot more about William Bettendorf.
Here's a link to a wonderful History page from the University of Iowa (called the Biographical Dictionary of Iowa)...
....William and Joseph were the eldest children of German immigrants, Michael and Catherine (Beck) Bettendorf. William was born in Mendota, Illinois, where Michael worked as a teacher and a store clerk. The family moved to Sedalia, Missouri, and then to Leavenworth, Kansas, where Michael worked as a federal government clerk and where Joseph was born. William attended St. Mary's Mission School in Fort Leavenworth, and his father also tutored him at home. At the age of 13, he worked as a messenger boy in Humboldt, Kansas. In 1872 the family moved to Peru, Illinois, where young William spent two years as a clerk in the A. L. Shepard & Company hardware store. He went to work for the Peru Plow Company in 1874 as a machinist's apprentice and in 1878 patented the first successful "power lift" sulky plow. This invention was adopted by seven of the largest manufacturers in the United States, and William received $5,000 in royalty fees. When Joseph reached the age of 18, he, too, went to work for the Peru Plow Company. He started as a machinist and soon became foreman of the assembly department....
As it turns out, William was quite an inventor...and he made his fortune during WW I, as he developed, patented and manufactured improved railroad cars that had more steel in them.
It's a very interesting story...and you should read all about it...!!
http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=26
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