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parents to Polk County in 1878, was born at Winona, Marshall County, Illinois, May 9, 1870.

Mr. Branting attended rural school and in 1916 was graduated from Luther College at Wahoo, Nebraska. For eight years he was connected with the general mercantile, for six years was engaged in the implement business, at Osceola, and for six years was engaged in that business at Stromsburg. During the World War he assisted in loan drives. He is a member of the Red Cross, the Midwest Implement Dealers Association, the Nebraskana Society, and Salem Lutheran Church of Stromsburg. He likes to fish and hike.

His marriage to May Sarah Louise Gustafson took place at Axtell, Kearney County, Nebraska, June 9, 1920. Mrs. Branting was a nurse before her marriage. They have one child, Kermit, born July 14, 1921. Residence: Stromsburg.

Mary Bratt

Dr. Mary Bratt, physician and surgeon of Beaver City, was born at Arapahoe, Nebraska, November 2, 1891, the daughter of Reuben W. and Daisey (Clark) Bratt. Reuben W. Bratt was born near San Jose, Illinois, March 25, 1865, of English descent. He came to Nebraska in 1890 and settled on a farm four miles south of Arapahoe, where he now resides. His wife, Daisey Clark, was born in Charleston, Illinois, November 13, 1876, of German and Dutch descent. She came to Nebraska with her parents in 1879 and settled on a farm near Arapahoe. Six children were born to their union, Mary, born November 2, 1894; Lawrence W., born June 26, 1896, who is now in the theological school at Boston and has a charge at Hillsboro, New Hampshire; Wesley R., born April 3, 1899, who is now instructor at Hastings College; Elmer C., born November 12, 1901, who is now instructor in Lehigh University at Bethelhem, Pennsylvania; Orin J., born January 24, 1904, who is auditor for the Continental Oil Company of Nebraska; Clara May, born August 26, 1908, who is a teacher in the high school at Franklin; and Dr. Mary Bratt.

Dr. Mary Bratt attended public school and was graduated from high school at Arapahoe in 1912. She taught rural schools in Furnas County for three years and attended Kearney State Normal College two years. The following three years she was principal of the high school at Cordova, Nebraska. She later attended the University of Nebraska, where she was elected to membership in No Sigma Phi. There she received her Bachelor of Arts and her degree of Doctor of Medicine.

Following her graduation from medical college Dr. Bratt spent one year interneship at the Methodist Hospital at Omaha, and one year as resident physician and surgeon at the Methodist Hospital at St. Joseph, Missouri. From 1925 until 1930 she practiced in Arapahoe. In the fall of 1930 she was sent to Sleeper Davis Hospital in Peiping, China, as a medical missionary under the Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, but was forced to return because of ill health. She then located in Beaver City, where she is now Practicing.

She is an outstanding citizen, and greatly devoted to her medical practice. She is a member of the Methodist Church and a life member of the Nebraskana Society. Residence: Beaver City.

Fritz Brauer

Fritz Brauer, prominent retired farmer, was born in Essen, Germany. January 22, 1860, and came to the United States in September, 1878.

His father, John Fred Brauer, was born in Essen, Germany, in 1822, and died at Malcolm Nebraska, in October, 1878 He was a farmer.

Elizabeth Tuhnhorst was born in Bohnte, Germany, in 1834, and died at Lincoln, in 1925.

Mr. Brauer attended public school at Essen, Germany, and soon thereafter became engaged in farming. He came to this country when 18 years old and worked for his mother until he was married. He then farmed for himself near Malcolm, Lancaster County, until 1892, when he removed to Sidney, Cheyenne County, where he took a homestead of 160 acres, 14 miles southeast of Sidney. He bought more land from time to time and his ranch now consists of 1600 acres. He is now retired from active work, but has managed for the last eight years the Farmers Elevator. He is a Republican.

On October 23, 1883, he was married to Albertina Oldenburg, at Malcolm, Nebraska. She was born in Germany, February 13, 1863, and died at Sidney, Nebraska, April 26, 1915. To them were born the following children: Emma; Bertha; Carl; Walter; Mathilda; Richard; Arthur; Clara; George; and Helen. All the children were born in Nebraska. On May 22, 1922, Mr. Brauer was married to Mrs. Emma Teufert. The second wife had three children by a former marriage.

Mr. Brauer is a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. He is fond of driving, while his hobby is reading. Residence: Sidney.

Charles Bray

In the fall of 1661, Charles Bray moved with his parents to Otoe County, in what was then known only as Nebraska territory. A resident of the state since that time, he has seen much of the early pioneer days and the great progress of the west as civilization came in. He recalls the freighters being drawn across the prairie by plodding oxen teams, on their way to the far west in the days before the railroad. His father, Nathaniel Bray, who was a farmer, was born in New York, June 8, 1827, and died at Syracuse, Otoe County, Nebraska, July 6, 1883.

His mother, Emily G. (Daymen) Bray, was born in New York, January 16, 1831, and died at Syracuse, September 14, 1904. She was the mother of seven children, one of whom, Daniel Bray, was a charter member of the Nebraska Sportsman Association, a pioneer buffalo hunter, and held state championship in shooting.

Mr. Bray received his education in a small school in Nursery Hill, the nearest stage coach stop, and lived in this vicinity until his marriage, when he moved to Oakdale, Antelope County, Nebraska, where he and his wife made their home in a dugout. Late in 1893 they returned to Syracuse and purchased a farm which Mr. Bray at the age of 70 still owns and operates. One of the interesting stories told by pioneer settlers, taken from the files of the News Press, published in 1868, is: "Nathaniel Bray, of Nursery Hill lost two horses. He suspected roving Pawnees of the crime, followed them to their village and made them give up the animals."

His marriage to Cynthia Edna Waterman was solemnized at Syracuse, March 10, 1883. Mrs. Bray was born at China, Wyoming County, New York, October 11, 1863. Her parents, Eli Webster Waterman and Louisa (Spencer) Waterman, moved to Otoe County in 1875, and were energetic and prosperous farm people.

There are two children: Edith, born March 26, 1884, who married George Kramer, a farmer at Syracuse; and Walter, born September 27, 1885, who married Emma Scheel, is farming on a large scale at Bird City, Kansas.

Mr. Bray is a member of the Nebraskana Society, and was a member of the Good Templars, a lodge which does not exist now. He is a member of the Congregational Church of Syracuse. He was a Republican until recent years. Residence: Syracuse.

Daniel Harvey Braymer

Daniel Harvey Braymer, mechanical and electrical engineer, was born at Hebron, New York, November 29, 1883, son of George Winfield and Jennie Cordelia (Smith) Braymer. His father was born at Hebron, March 13, 1861, and is a farmer of Swiss-German descent. His mother was born at North Hebron, February 29, 1864, and was

a teacher prior to her marriage. She is past grand matron of the Order of Eastern Star, and is of Scotch and English descent.

Mr. Braymer was graduated from the Granville (New York) High School in 1902, and received his higher education from Cornell University. He received his A. B., in Engineering Chemistry in 1906, and his M. E. in Electric and Mechanical Engineering in 1908. From 1910 to 1925 he was engaged in editorial work with the W. R. C. Smith Publishing Company of Atlanta, Georgia, the Gage Publishing Company of New York, and the McGraw Publishing Company and the McGrawHill Company of New York and Chicago. Since 1925 he has been in private practice as a consulting mechanical and electrical engineer in Omaha.

He is the author of American Hydroelectric Practice (1917); Armature Winding and Motor Repair (1919); Rewinding Small Motors (1925); Repair Shop Diagrams and Connecting Tables (1927); Rewinding and Connecting A. C. Motors (1932). He has served as editor of Electrical Engineering (Atlanta); Electrical Record (New York); and as managing editor and later editor-in-chief of the Electrical World. He was editorial director of Industrial Engineering (Chicago).

He is a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

He was married to Ruth Marie McGuire at Chicago, August 29, 1925. Mrs. Braymer was born at Omaha, October 8, 1892, and is of Irish descent. Mr. Braymer is a member of the University Club, and is a Democrat. Residence: Omaha.

Charles Brazda

For the past 32 years Charles Brazda has been engaged as a photographer at Dodge, Nebraska. He was born at Racine, Wisconsin, November 2, 1869, the son of Frank and Catherine (Pavel) Brazda. His father, who was a farmer, was born at Viasim, Bohemia, October, 1839, and died in Dodge County, February 20, 1919. His mother was born in Bohemia, in 1845, and died at Racine, August 6, 1881.

Mr. Brazda was graduated from the Racine public school in 1883, and until 1899 lived on a farm. In 1899 he moved to Dodge, and has since been a photographer there. He has resided in Nebraska for 47 years. For a number of years he was a member of the village board at Dodge, and for more than twenty years has been a member of the school board there. He holds membership in the Dodge Commercial Club; the Nebraskana Society; the Modern Woodmen of America, and Z C B J, Bohemian fraternal society. His political affiliation is with the Democratic Party.

His marriage to Christina Mathilda (Bartosh) was solemnized at West Point, Cuming County, Nebraska, November 27, 1894. Mrs. Brazda was born in Dodge County, April 14, 1871, the daughter of Frank and Christina (Legro) Bartosh; her father was a farmer. They have two children: Daniel Steven, born December 7, 1895, who married Gladys Munro; and Adolph William, born January 11, 1899, who married Ellie Carter. Both were graduated from college with M. D. degrees. Daniel S. is now a doctor at Blossburg, Pennsylvania, while Adolph W. is practicing at Stockton, California. Residence: Dodge.

Henry Bredthauer

Henry Bredthauer, automobile dealer, was born at Ord, Nebraska, May 4, 1888, son of William and Dorothy (Vogeler) Bredthauer. William Bredthauer was born in Steinhude, Schaumburg, Lippe, Germany, April 1, 1845, and came to America in June, 1883. He was a farmer and stock dealer until his death at Scotia, February 28, 1914.

Dorothy Vogeler was born in Mardorf, Hanover, Germany, February 11, 1852, and died at Scotia, January 1927. She was an active church worker, of a family o private bankers.

Educated in grade school until 1905, Henry Bredthauer attended Kearney Normal School in 1906, and Boyles College at Omaha, in 1907. On June 16, 1913, he was married to Cecile M. Daily, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Daily, pioneer Nebraskans, at Scotia. Mrs. Bredthauer was born at Greeley, January 20, 1891.

To Mr. and Mrs. Bredthauer three children were born Dale, on July 31, 1915; Dean, on December 12, 1919, and William, on June 19, 1927. The family attends the Lutheran Church at Scotia.

Mr. Bredthauer is an automobile dealer at Scotia with a branch at Wyoming, Colorado. He is treasurer of the Dominion Oil Corporation, has served twelve years on the town council (chairman 3 terms) ; president of the Scotia Business Men's Club 1922-28; and is a member of the Lions International. He is a member of the Red Cross the Parent-Teachers' Association, and the Nebraskana Society, and is fond of golf, football and baseball. He is a Republican. Residence: Scotia.

Carl Theodore Bremer

Carl T. Bremer, farmer of Hamilton County, Nebraska, has lived in this state all his life and has taken an active part in the political and civic affairs of his community and state for many years. He was born at York, April 28, 1886, the son of John Henry Christian and Mary (Schrader) Bremer. His father, a farmer, who was born at Hanover Germany, September 23, 1847, and died at York, April 18, 1911, was a Democratic candidate for state representative from York County in 1902; he came to America in 1867 and a few years later homesteaded in Fillmore County, Nebraska.

Mary (Schrader) Bremer, mother of Carl Bremer, was born in Stephenson County, Illinois, August 23, 1858, and died at York, September 30, 1901. Her ancestry was German.

Mr. Bremer attended the public schools of York and was a student at York College for a time. A Democrat, he was a member of the 1931 Nebraska Legislature. He has been moderator of the local school board since 1929, is a member of the Nebraskana Society, and is member of the Presbyterian Church.

His marriage to Emma Elizabeth Jeske occurred at York, September 12, 1916. Mrs. Bremer was born at Adrain, Minnesota, December 24, 1891, of German parentage. They have two children: Mary Jean, born September 3, 1917; and Betty, born August 25, 1920. Residence: Aurora.

John George Bremer

Born at Davenport, Iowa, November 16, 1872, John George Bremer has resided in Nebraska since March 20, 1889. The son of John George Bremer, Sr., his father was born at Gluckstadt, Schleswig, Holstein, Germany, December 27, 1838, and died at Ord, Nebraska, November 21, 1919.

The father, a cooper and farmer, served in Company H, 86th Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He was the son of a farmer, and the grandson of a sailor on a Danish war vessel. He was a charter member of St. John's Lutheran Church of Mira Valley, Nebraska.

His wife, Bertha Wilhelmina Prien, was born in Pomerania, Germany, February 8, 1846. She was a nurse whose death occurred at Ord on April 1, 1929.

John George Bremer attended parochial and public schools, being graduated in June, 1887. For about two years he farmed in Iowa, coming then to Nebraska where he has since continued in his chosen occupation. At the present time he is director and secretary of the Farmers Grain and Supply Company of Ord.

A progressive Republican, he was county supervisor four years, 1905-08, chairman of the county board three

years, clerk of the township of Enterprise and assessor of Enterprise Township. He was unsuccessful candidate or state representative in 1916.

On May 22, 1907, he was married to Elsie Wilhelmina Vogeler at Ord, her birthplace. Mrs. Bremer was born  in 1888.

To them were born eight children, seven of whom are living James, August 17, 1908; George, January 4, 1910; William, February 24, 1912; Lois, November 27, 1914; March 19, 1916; Franklin and Frances, twins, July 20, 1919; and John, Jr., born June 10, 1923, who died August 14, 1923.

Mr. Bremer's favorite recreations are baseball and reading. He is a member of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mira Valley, has served as treasurer of school District No. 15 of Valley County since 1914, and is a life member of The Nebraskana Society. During the World War he participated in all civilian activities, including Red Cross and Liberty bond drives. Residence: Ord.

William Charles Brenke

William Charles Brenke, distinguished educator of Nebraska, was born at Berlin, Germany, April 12, 1874, the son of Fred William and Wilhelmina (Klopper) Brenke. His father, who was born at Lippstadt, Germany, in 1846, and died at Chicago, Illinois, in 1917, was a merchant. His mother was born at Lippstadt, 1848, and died at Chicago, 1923.

Professor Brenke attended the Chicago public schools and in 1892, was graduated from the Northwest Division High School there. He holds the following degrees: A. B., 1896; B. S., 1897; M. S., 1898; all at the University of Illinois. He was awarded the Ph. D. degree at Harvard University in 1907.

He was instructor at the University of Illinois, 1896-1904 was fellow and instructor at Harvard University, 1904-07, and since 1907 has been assistant professor and professor of mathematics at the University of Nebraska. He is the author of Algebra and Trigonometry, (1910); Geometry, (1916); Trigonometry, (1917); Advanced Algebra, (1919); and Calculus, (1912), besides various research papers.

He married Kate Read at Grand Ridge, Illinois, August 16, 1898; Mrs. Brenke was born at Grand Ridge, October 2, 1872. Their children are: Katherine, born August 9, 1900, who married R. T. Dunstan; and Bernice, born August 16, 1902.

Professor Brenke is a member of the American Mathematics Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Mathematical Association of America, the Nebraska Academy of Science, of Sigma Xi, and Deutche Mathematikes Verein. He holds membership in the Nebraskana Society and is a member of the Lincoln University Club. He is affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church of Lincoln. Residence: Lincoln.

Lee Brenner

Lee Brenner, son of Martin and Catherine (Lang) Brenner, was born at Muscatine, Iowa, November 13, 1869. His parents were natives of Germany, the former a farmer. His father died at Fremont, in 1901, and his mother at Wilton Junction, Iowa, about 1876.

Mr. Brenner attended the public schools and Fremont Normal School and engaged first in farming. Later he learned the tinsmith's and plumbing trade, and later engaged in the automobile business. For the past thirty years he has engaged as a funeral director.

On June 30, 1895, he was married to Leva Rica at Coleridge, Nebraska. Mrs. Brenner. who was born in Boone, Iowa, October 4, 1880, was of Scotch and German parentage. They have four children: Vera Agnes, born February 3, 1896, who married Russell L. Larson; Gladys Elizabeth, born March 30, 1899, who married John A. Abts; Ed. Douglas, born November 5, 1906, who married Anna McDonald; and Phyllis Leva Lee, born August 9, 1917.

Until recently Mr. Brenner has been a Republican. He is a Protestant, and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Funeral Directors' Association of Nebraska. He is a life member of The Nebraskana Society, and enjoys hunting and fishing. Residence: Randolph.

Arthur P. Bressler

Arthur P. Bressler, contractor and farmer, was born in Genoa, Nebraska, July 31, 1891, son of Isaac and Lura Lavina (Phillips) Brassier. His father is of Pennsylvania Dutch and his mother of early American ancestry.

For a number of years after completing his public school education, Mr. Bressler was a contractor and builder at Gering. He is now engaged solely in farming. A Republican, he was mayor of Gering two terms, 1926-1930. He is a Royal Arch Mason, member of the Modern Woodmen of America, member of the Scotts Bluff County Red Cross (chairman), and a member of the Christian Church.

On June 10, 1916, he was married to Anna Margaret Roberts at Gering. She was born at Atlantic, Iowa, April 18, 1897. There are three children, Alice, born July 20, 1919; Ruth, born August 22, 1921; and Donald, born April 5, 1923. Residence: Gering.

John Tannehill Bressler

One of Nebraska's pioneer bankers and leading citizens, John T. Bressler has lived in this state since April, 1870, and has taken a prominent part in civic affairs at Wayne, for many years. He was born at Warriors Mark, Huntington County, Pennsylvania, January 14, 1849, the son of Daniel and Mary Ann (Tannehili) Bressler. His father, who was a cooper, was born in Center County, Pennsylvania, November 8, 1808, and died at Fostoria, Pennsylvania; his ancestry was German. His mother was born in Blair County, and died at Fostoria, September, 1880.

Mr. Bressler organized and managed the first bank in Wayne County, which was known as the Logan Valley Bank, 1880. In September, 1885, the bank was re-organized as the First National Bank of Wayne, with Mr. Bressior serving as president. He is chairman of the board of the First National Bank at Wayne, at this time, and spends much of his time in managing his large number of farms in northeast Nebraska.

A Republican, he has held an important place in Nebraska politics for the past 35 years, and has held the following public offices: state senator, 1895; delegate to the Republican Convention, 1896; county treasurer, 1877, and 1879; member of notification committee to inform William McKinley of his nomination as president; delegate to all the Republican National Conventions until 1928, with the exception of 1924; government director of the Union Pacific Railroad, appointed by President McKinley, 1897.

During the World War Mr. Bressler served as chairman of the Wayne County Council of Defense and as Wayne County Fuel Administrator, and was county appeal agent in that county. He is a life member of the Red Cross, and holds membership in the Nebraska State Historical Society, the Nebraskana Society, and the Wayne Kiwanis Club. He is affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church at Wayne, and is a trustee of the Omaha Theological Seminary at Omaha, Nebraska. He is a 33rd degree Mason; charter member of the chapter and commandery at Norfolk; charter member Wayne Lodge No. 120; member of Consistory Number One at Omaha; life member of Tangier Temple, Omaha. His social clubs include, Wayne Country Club, Wayne; West Okoboji Country Club, of Okoboji, Iowa; and the Omaha Athletic Club, Omaha. His hobby is reading history.

© 2005 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller