Arnold Boettcher
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| Biography | 609 |
was born, January 26, 1845, in Wurttenberg, Germany, and died in Humphrey, Nebraska, in 1929. His mother was born May 18, 1854, in Chicago, Illinois, and died in Humphrey in November, 1939.
There were twelve children in the Boesch family: Math, William, Henry, Anna, Magdalene, Andrew, John, Albert, Rose, Philomena, Fred, and Catherine. Catherine, William, Philomena and Fred are deceased.
Math Boesch finished school in St. Edward, Nebraska, and was then apprenticed as a carpenter. He is a journeyman carpenter in Humphrey. On September 24, 1913, he married Anna Frenking, daughter of Francis and Anna Frenking.
The Math Boeschs have one daughter, Coletta, born January 4, 1916. Mr. Boesch is a member of the St. Francis Catholic Church, in Humphrey.
August Boettcher, son of Carl and Katrina Hader Boettcher, was born on the Island of Rugen, off the coast of Germany, on March 15, 1850, and died in Columbus, Nebraska, October 21, 1918. His father died in Germany.
His formal schooling was limited, as his early years were spent in the fishing industry. In the fall of 1871, at the age of twenty-one, he immigrated to the United States, and went to Dodge County, Wisconsin, where he was employed as a clerk in a general mercantile store until the spring of 1873. That year, he came west to Nebraska, and homesteaded eighty acres in Platte County. He also engaged in the selling of harvesting machinery and following this, owned a hotel in Duncan, Nebraska, for a short period.
In the spring of 1882, he made a trip to his native land. After several months, he returned to the States with his mother and sister, who came to Columbus with him.
He bought grain for a local elevator for a few years, and around 1884 purchased the Emil Pohl Hardware Store, on Eleventh Street. He conducted that business for nearly a quarter of a century, and as the years passed, increased his land holdings in the county.
He was a staunch Democrat and served both as a member of the City Council and as Mayor of Columbus, his administration being characterized by needed reforms and improvements. He belonged to the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen, the Sons of Herman, and the Columbus Maennerchor Society.
August Boettcher was twice married. His first wife, Mary Loseke, whom he married in April, 1874, died a short time later of diphtheria.
On October 20, 1885, he married Jennie Adamson, who was born July 15, 1864, in Leeds, England. Her parents were George and Jane Adamson, who came to the United States and settled at Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1870. In 1880, they moved to Nebraska, and located on a farm north of Genoa.
August and Jennie Boettcher had twelve children: Anna, Mrs. C. E. Lawson, died in North Platte, Nebraska, in 1945; Lena Boettcher Grimes, Mrs. C. A. Monteen, lives in Grand Island; Marie, Mrs. J. S. Matlick, lives in Klamath Falls, Oregon; Dorothy, Mrs. Ralph Meays, lives in Pasadena, California; Walter, married to Elsie PohI, lives in Columbus; Mark A. married Mildred Jens, also lives in Columbus; Herbert married Monica Czuba, and they live in Klamath Falls; Ray married Florence Szudlo, and lives in Columbus; August F. married Mary Briggs, of Columbus, and died in 1944; Paul married May Lamb, of Norfolk, and died in 1943; Garfield, of Columbus, died in 1926; and Louis, of Columbus, died in 1941.
Jennie Adamson Boettcher died August 25, 1941.
Walter A. Boettcher a son of August and Jennie Adamson Boettcher was born in Columbus in the late 1880's.
He attended the Columbus grade and High Schools, and following that worked in the Real Estate, Insurance and Loan Office of the Elliott, Speice, Echols Company. In 1913 he became a member of the firm and the name of the company was then changed to the Speice, Echols, Boettcher Company.
Mr. Boettcher also has been an executive of the Equitable Building and Loan Association for several years.
He is a Democrat and has been a prominent leader in its party councils. He served the City of Columbus as its treasurer from 1911-1950
He was one of the organizers of the Loup River Public Power District, and served on its early board of Directors. He was an organizer of Consumer's Public Power District and served on its Board of Directors from August 7, 1939, to January 1, 1949.
In November, 1948, he was again elected as a Director of the Loup River Public Power District.
He was married to Elsie Pohl, the daughter of Emil and Anna Hoppe PohI. Mr. Pohl a Columbus merchant came here in 1870.
Walter and Elsie Pohl Boettcher have a daughter Gretchen who was graduated from Kramer High School and the University of Nebraska.
She is married to Mr. Schumacher. They live at Hastings, Nebraska, where Mr. Schumacher is a chain store executive.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter A. Boettcher are both accomplished musicians. Mr. Boettcher is a violinist and Mrs. Boettcher a pianist. They played together in the Maennerchor Orchestra for several years.
Walter A. Boettcher is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. and Mrs. Boettcher are members of the Grace Episcopal Church.
Mark Albert "Bid" Boettcher, son of August and Jennie Adamson Boettcher, prominent early-day Columbus residents, was born in Columbus, October 13, 1898.
His father was born on the Island of Rugen, Germany, March 15, 1850 and came to Columbus from Mayville, Wisconsin, in April, 1873. He operated several businesses in Columbus, served as Mayor of the city, and died in
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October of 1918. Mrs. Boettcher was born in Leeds, England, July 15, 1867, and died in Columbus in August, 1941.
"Bid" Boettcher is one of twelve children. He attended the Columbus city schools and is a graduate of Columbus High School, class of 1917. An ardent baseball player and fan, he played the game for twenty-eight years. He was pitcher of the local club for many years and participated in many tournaments in the surrounding territory.
He entered the employ of the Speice, Echols, Boettcher firm in 1917, and became a partner in the business in 1923.
On March 12, 1924, in Columbus, he married Mildred Louise Jessup Jens, daughter of Wilbur and Louise Schram Jessup. After the death of her mother, Mildred Louise lived with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jens. Mrs. Jens was Emma Schram Jens.
The M. A. Boettchers have one son and one daughter: Marilyn is a graduate of Kramer High School, attended Lindenwood College, at St. Charles, Missouri, and the University of Nebraska, where she was affiliated with the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. She is married to Fred W. Hecox, D.D.S. They have one daughter, Teresa Kay, and live in Cozad, Nebraska. Mark Boettcher, Jr. is also a graduate of Kramer High School and attended the University of Nebraska. During World War II, he was with the United States Army, stationed at Ladd Field, Fairbanks, Alaska. He was born in Columbus, December 2, 1927.
Extremely active in organizational and civic work, M. A. Boettcher is one of Columbus' best known men. When he was Mayor of Columbus, his administration was characterized by its progressiveness and the accomplishment of many long-needed improvements for the welfare of the community. He was treasurer of the F.O.E., of which he is a member; treasurer and a past exalted ruler of the B.P.O.E., a member of Thusnelda Lodge No. 12, the Sons of Herman; Lebannon Lodge, the A.F. and A.M., the Wayside Country Club, and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. He served as president of the Izaak Walton League in 1945, and is active in Y.M.C.A. and Boy Scout work. He has been a board member of the Y.M.C.A. for ten years.
A staunch Democrat, "Bid" Boettcher served on the State Committee of the party for six years, was County Chairman for four years, and City Chairman for four years. He was formerly a representative of the Third Ward in Columbus, on the City Council.
The Boettchers are members of the Federated Church in Columbus. Mr. Boettcher was a member of the church board for ten years and during that time chairman of the board for five years.
Friedrich Boettcher, son of Carl and Katrina Hader Boettcher, natives of Germany, was born in Nepernitz on the Island of Rugen, on October 30, 1852, and died in Columbus on June 9, 1926. His father died on the Island of Rugen, and his mother came to the United States and to Columbus in 1882, with her son, August. She died here.
Friedrich Boettcher had two sisters and three brothers: Minnie, Mrs. Julius Hoth; Caroline, Mrs. Carl Ewert, Sr.; August, Carl and Henry, all of whom lived in Columbus and Platte County.
Friedrich, with his wife, Johanna, and their children, immigrated to the United States in 1886, and came directly to Columbus, where his brother, August, his mother and his sisters had preceded him. He rented a farm in Platte County, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for twenty years. Later, he moved to Columbus, and was employed by the Columbus Brewing Company.
He was twice married. His first wife, Johanna, died two years after coming to the United States, on November 4, 1888. They had five children: William L. died in August, 1939. He was married to Dora Rohweder, of Grand Island, Nebraska; Minnie, Mrs. Gottfried Meyer, died in Columbus in 1934; Bertha, Mrs. George Gallivan, died in Omaha in 1941; and Albert and Frieda live in Columbus.
Friedrich Boettcher's second wife was Mrs. Anna Kipp. Her daughter, Emma, was married to William Beecroft, a Columbus painter and paper hanger. She died in October, 1938.
Friedrich and Anna Kipp Boettcher had three children: Arthur married Marguerite Geiser, and is employed by the Union Pacific Railroad in Columbus; Catherine married Roy Westbrook, of Columbus, and they live in Marsing, Idaho; Louise married Elmer Saalfeld, of Richland, and they live in Colfax County.
Friedrich Boettcher was a member of the Modern Woodmen and the Sons of Herman.
William L. Boettcher son of Friedrich and Johanna B. Boettcher, was born on the Island of Rugen, which is in the East Sea, off the coast of Germany, on November 24, 1878. He came to this country with his parents when he was eight years old, and settled on a farm near Columbus. He received his schooling in the rural schools of Platte County, and worked on the farm until he was twenty-one. He then came to town and worked for a short time in a livery stable, for an uncle who was a hardware merchant, and for the Union Pacific Railroad.
Following this, he went to Grand Island, Nebraska, to clerk in a grocery store, and later worked for a brewing company for a short time before he engaged in the saloon business. He stayed in Grand Island for five years.
On October 16, 1907, he married Dora Gertrude Rohweder, of Grand Island. After their marriage they came to Columbus where they established their home, and Mr. Boettcher operated a saloon in the Thurston
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Annex. Nine years later, he built his own building, at 2407 Thirteenth Street, where he conducted one of the best regulated establishments of its kind in the city. The closing of the saloons, during the prohibition era, necessitated a change in his business, so at that time he transformed the interior of his building into a sporting goods store. He combined his sporting goods stock with hardware stock. In 1920 he sold the hardware business to the Held Hardware Company, but retained ownership of the building. He then took the agency for the New York Life Insurance Company and remained in that work until he was elected Platte County Treasurer, in the fall of 1922, an office he held until 1939.
He enjoyed out-of-door sports, and was also much interested in lodge work. He was a charter member and first president of the F.O.E., Lodge No. 1834, was a member of Columbus Lodge 1195, B.P.O.E., and was a member of the Sons of Herman. He also held memberships in the Columbus Fire Department and the Maennerchor Society. Politically, he was a Democrat.
Arnold Boettcher |
Mr. and Mrs. Boettcher had seven children: Florence, the wife of Carl Perini of Denver, Colorado; Leona the wife of J. G. Salak, of Columbus; William L., Jr. married Edna Jaworski; Walter married Marjorie Loseke; Lester married Leona Henggeler; Arnold and Leo live in Columbus.
William L. Boettcher was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church. He died on August 13, 1939.
Arnold Boettcher, son of William L. and Dora Gertrude Rohweder Boettcher, was born in Columbus, January 19, 1910.
Arnold attended the Columbus schools and is a graduate of Kramer High School, class of 1927. Prior to 1943, he was engaged in the oil business in Columbus. During World War II from January, 1943, to December, 1945, he served in the United States Armed Forces. He and his brother Leo, also a World War II veteran, are owners and operators of the "B and B" Bar, in the building where their father operated a saloon, many years ago.
Arnold Boettcher is a member of the F.O.E., the Izaak Walton League, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and is an honorary member of the Columbus Fire Department. He is affiliated with the Democratic Party, and is a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbus.
William Louis Boettcher, Jr. |
William L. Boettcher, vice-president of the Central National Bank of Columbus, and member of a well-known family, is the son, of William L. Boettcher, former Platte County Treasurer, and Dora Gertrude Rohweder Boettcher. He was born in Columbus, July 10, 1912.
His brothers and sisters are: Florence, Mrs. Carl Perini of Denver; Leona, Mrs. J. G. Salak; Arnold, Walter, Leo and Lester.
William Boettcher attended the Columbus schools, is a graduate of Kramer High a School. Previous to 1932 he was a bookkeeper at the Farmers State Bank and since that time has been associated with the Central National Bank. On April 15, 1936, at Columbus, he married Edna M Jaworski, daughter of Andrew A. and Della M. Augustyn Jaworski They have two daughters: Nancy Jane, born in Columbus, March 24, 1937; and Elaine Adele, born in Columbus, July 24, 1939.
Mr. Boettcher is a member of the Columbus Fire Department, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, The Izaak Walton League and the Wayside Country Club. Politically, he supports the Democratic Party.
The Boettchers are members of St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church.
Herman Bokelmann, pioneer retired farmer living in Columbus, was born in Grafel, Hanover Province, Germany, May 12, 1863, the son of Peter and Anna Hedwig Vogts Bokelmann, also natives of Germany. His father was born in 1818, and died in Germany, May, 1897. His mother was born in 1821, and died in Germany in 1884. Herman was one of five children.
He attended the elementary schools near his home in Germany, and had three years of regular army training, at Neumuester, Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1889, landing in New York on October 12. He came to Nebraska and settled in Nance County, where he farmed until 1913, when he moved to Platte County.
In Merrick County, Nebraska, February 19, 1896, he married Louise Westmeyer, daughter of William and Marie Kirkman Westmeyer. They had six children: William Henry, born at Silver Creek, Nebraska, No-
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vember 30, 1896, is married and engaged in farming near Ulysses, Nebraska; Ernest Peter is a farmer near Monroe, Nebraska; Louis Herman, born at Silver Creek, April 13, 1900, is married and farms near Genoa, Nebraska; Hedwig, born at Silver Creek, is superintendent of the Lutheran Hospital in Columbus; Theodore, born in Silver Creek, April 10, 1908, is married and farms near Genoa; Helen, born at Genoa, is an X-ray technician.
Mr. Bokelmann has always taken an interest in rural and community affairs. He served as a school director for eighteen years, as justice of the peace for two years, and has long been a member of the Farmer's Union. Politically, he supports the Republican Party. The Bokelmanns are members of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Columbus, and Herman Bokelmann is a past elder of that church.
Ernest Bokelmann, prominent Oconee Township farmer and stockman, was born at Genoa, Nebraska, December 4, 1898, the son of Herman and Louise Westmeyer Bokelmann, both natives of Germany. His father was born May 12, 1863, and his mother, January 12, 1874. After coming to this country, they settled in Nance County, Nebraska, and made their home on a farm. They moved to Platte County on March 1, 1913.
The Bokelmanns have always been interested in farming. Ernest's grandfather, father, and his three brothers, William, Louis, and Theodore, have been farmers. Ernest has two sisters: Hedwig is Superintendent of the Lutheran Hospital, in Columbus; Helen is an X-ray technician.
Mr. Bokelmann attended the rural schools. In Nance County, he attended school in District 25, and in Platte County in School District 13.
On September 5, 1933, in Columbus, he married Sylvia Grossnicklaus, daughter of Arthur and Minnie Durkop Grossnicklaus. Mr. and Mrs. Bokelmann have three children: Sylvia Ellen, born February 21, 1935; Arden Ernest, born August 26, 1938; and Lois Ann, born January 27, 1942.
The Bokelmanns are members of the Lutheran Church.
Louis Herman Bokelmann, son of Herman and Louise Westmeyer Bokelmann, was born in Genoa, Nebraska, April 13, 1900, and came to Platte County in March, 1913. His father, a retired farmer, was born in Germany, May 12, 1863. His mother was born in Germany, January 12, 1874.
He has three brothers: William H., Ernest P., and Theodore, all farmers; and two sisters: Hedwig, Superintendent of the Lutheran Hospital, in Columbus; and Helen, an X-ray technician.
While living in Nance County, Louis Bokelmann attended the public school at Genoa. He is now engaged in farming in Oconee Township.
On February 9, 1927, at Genoa, Louis Bokelmann married Myrtle Elizabeth Welin, daughter of Fredolf and Elma Jernberg Welin. Her father died in Genoa, October 14, 1914.
The present Louis Bokelmann home is in District 13, Oconee Township. Mr. and Mrs. Bokelmann have three daughters: Bernetta Elizabeth, born May 5, 1928; Elaine Louise, born January 15, 1931; and Aleta Faye, born July 11, 1937. They all attended the District 13 School and Genoa High School.
Doctor Samuel A. Bonesteel, physician and surgeon, was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, on March 22, 1842. He received his early education in Ontario, and attended the Medical School of the University of Michigan, where he completed his medical course in 1867; He then practiced in Detroit, Michigan, for a year before coming to Columbus, in 1868. He was one of the pioneer doctors in the county.
On March 31, 1881, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Medical School of McGill University, in Montreal, Canada.
On July 4, 1871, Dr. Samuel A. Bonesteel married Louisa D. Weaver, daughter of Michael and Dorothea Heckman Weaver, who came to Columbus, Nebraska in 1857, from Columbus, Ohio, where Louisa was born.
Doctor and Mrs. Bonesteel had two children: a son, Arthur E., and a daughter, Gertrude L.
Doctor Bonesteel was a Mason and held membership in the Commandery Lodge, at Fremont, Nebraska. He was also affiliated with all of the subordinate lodges. He was a member of the Nebraska State Medical Society, of Lincoln, and a member of the Omaha Medical Society.
Phillip Bonesteel was born in Canada, December 29, 1849. He came to Nebraska in 1868, and settled at Columbus in March of that year. He engaged in farming in Platte County for a year, and then went into the mercantile business. He and his brother Norris G. (Bonesteel), conducted the Bonesteel Brothers Dry Goods Store, at the southwest corner of Thirteenth Street and Twenty-seventh Avenue, in a building which they erected. The store building and stock was later bought by Theodore Friedhof, who replaced it with a new building, now Schweser's Store.
Phillip Bonesteel was a cousin of Doctor Samuel A. Bonesteel, a doctor of medicine who located in Columbus in 1868, and was married here, in 1871, to Louisa D. Weaver, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Weaver, of Columbus.
In April, 1875, Phillip Bonesteel married a very estimable young lady, Kittie L. Dale, who was born in Watertown, New York, August 27, 1852. They had one daughter, Pearl B.
Mr. Bonesteel continued in business in Columbus
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until his death, September 8, 1878. He was a Mason, a member of the Knights of Honor and was active in the Columbus Fire Department.
Kittie Dale Bonesteel was the sister of Will B. Dale, a pioneer newspaperman, of Columbus, and an aunt to Miss Courtney B. Dale, of Omaha. Kittie's second husband was John Wermuth, of Chicago. They had one son, John, Jr., of Chicago. Kittie Bonesteel Wermuth died January 31, 1910. She was a member of the Grace Episcopal Church, in Columbus.
Louis Bordy, owner of Bordy's Store, a pioneer Columbus business establishment, succeeded his father in that business. Louis, son of Simon and Dora Kavich Bordy, natives of Poland, was born September 23, 1902, in Fremont, Nebraska. His father came to Platte County from Fremont in 1902, and died in Columbus in January, 1935. His mother, born April 12, 1862, died in Columbus, December 25, 1912.
Louis is one of nine children. He received his early education in the Columbus schools and attended Columbus High School.
On April 7, 1929, in Omaha, Louis Bordy was married to Janet Batt, daughter of Joseph and Esther Susie Fink Batt. Mr. and Mrs. Bordy have two sons: Stephen Lee, born April 13, 1937; and Joseph Irwin, born April 9, 1946.
The Bordy Store, located at 2417 Eleventh Street, was established at that location in 1916, by Simon Bordy, who managed it until 1931, when he retired and sold his interests to his son, Louis, and his son-in-law, Emil M. Herman, and that same year, Louis Bordy bought Mr. Herman's interest.
Under the ownership of Louis Bordy, the Bordy Store has discontinued its line of ready-to-wear for ladies, and the men's department has been enlarged.
Louis Bordy is a member of the Eagles Lodge, the Izaak Walton League, and the Chamber of Commerce. Politically, he is affiliated with the Democratic party. The Bordys are of the Jewish faith and members of the Beth El Synagogue, in Omaha.
John J. Borer, son of John Borer, was born in Lindsay, Nebraska, December 21, 1894.
His father, a native of Minnesota, was born in Chaska, on February 27, 1870, and migrated to Platte County around the year 1880. Here he engaged in farming. His wife was born in Holland, on November 23, 1872, and died in Forsyth, Montana, February 18, 1938. The nine children in the John Borer, Sr. family are: William J., Lawrence G., Mrs. Ellen McKeever, and Mrs. Hildegard Freshour, who live in Forsyth, Montana; Harry, in Portland, Oregon; Robert, in Billings, Montana; Mrs. Adeline Warth, in Cornlea, Nebraska; John J., the subject of this sketch. One son and three daughters are deceased.
John J. Borer attended St. Mary's Academy in Marion, South Dakota, where he was enrolled from 1900 to 1909. On October 17, 1923, he married Margaret M. Warth, daughter of Simon and Mary Warth, in Lindsay, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Borer have five children: Leona, born May 20, 1925, died in infancy; John J., Jr., born July 12, 1927, was in the armed forces during World War II; Donald J., born September 22, 1930; Mary Helen, born May 29, 1933 and Carolyn Ann, born November 23, 1935, are all attending school.
Mr. Borer has been employed as a rural mail carrier since 1943. Prior to that, from 1919 to 1943, he worked as a general merchandise clerk. During the first World War, he served with the Quartermaster Corps for twenty-one months, and spent seventeen months with the A.E.F. He is a member of the Holy Family Church of Lindsay, and an active member of its choir. He is also a member of the American Legion and the Fire Department. Politically, he supports the Democratic party.
Reverend Henry L. Bornemann, former pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Bismark Township, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 24, 1879. He is the son of Theodore and Dorthea Klippel Bornemann.
When Reverend Bornemann was a small boy, his parents moved to the Gehlenbeck community 30 miles east of St. Louis, in Illinois, where he was confirmed. He then enrolled in the Concordia Seminary at Springfield, Illinois, where in 1900 he finished his theological studies, and was ordained a Lutheran minister of the Missouri Synod. After his ordination, he was installed as pastor of the churches of St. John and St. Paul. at Wakefield, Nebraska.
Reverend Henry L. Bornemann and Miss Wilhelmine Blase of Gehlenbeck, Illinois, were united in marriage on May 8, 1904. Six children were born to this union. Three sons, Theodore, William, and Martin Bornemann, are now Lutheran ministers of the Missouri Synod and hold pastorates. The three daughters are Marie, who is the wife of Pastor Elmer Groteluschen; Dorothy, who is the wife of teacher Linton Ellwein; and Martha, a teacher in the Lutheran parochial school.
Reverend Henry L. Bornemann served the churches of St. Paul and St. John as pastor for twenty-eight years, and taught in the parochial school.
In 1928, Reverend Bornemann became pastor of the Christ Lutheran Church in Bismark Township. This was his second and last charge. He died in the vestry of Christ Lutheran Church after having preached a sermon at the evening service on November 19, 1939.
Pastor Bornemann served as secretary of the Northern Nebraska District of Missouri Synod from 1925 to 1939. From 1933 to 1939, he was visitor of the Columbus circuit
In 1939, the Reverend Martin Bornemann succeeded his father as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church.
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