Inventor, Businessman. As president and co-founder of Bettendorf Axle Company, he invented the Bettendorf Truck, which revolutionized the railroad industry. Before that time, railroad trucks had been made from many smaller pieces. The Bettendorf Truck was cast from one piece of steel. The city of Bettendorf, Iowa is named for him and his brother, Joseph. (bio by: Dustin Oliver)  Family links:  Parents:  Michael Bettendorf (1836 – 1917)  Catherine Reck Bettendorf (1837 – 1926)  Spouses:  Mary Wortman Bettendorf (1858 – 1901)*  Elizabeth H Bruhn Bettendorf (1857 – 1922)*  Children:  May E Bettendorf Kulp (1879 – 1955)*  Henry Bettendorf (1890 – 1893)*  Heneritta G Bettendorf (1890 – 1894)*  Sibling:  William Peter Bettendorf (1857 – 1910)  Joseph William Bettendorf (1864 – 1933)* *Calculated relationship