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794
The History of Platte County Nebraska

Louis, Sr., who died April 26, 1943; and a brother and sister who died in infancy.

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Jacob Louis, Jr.

Jacob, Jr. was graduated from the Columbus schools and lived on the home place east of Columbus until a young man.

On November 16, 1916, he was married in Columbus to Miss Louise Henrietta Rudat, daughter of Julius Johan and Minnie C. Jackstadt Rudat, pioneer Platte County residents. They had two children. Margarette Louise was born in Columbus, November 20, 1918, and in 1936 was graduated from Kramer High School. She is married and lives in Omaha. Jacob John III, a veteran of World War II, was born September 29, 1920, and was graduated in 1938 from Kramer High School.  During World War II he was a radio operator on C-54, C-46 and C-47 planes he took part in ferrying and transport missions in North and South America, North Africa, and the Asiatic Pacific Theatre of Operations. He was in the service three and one-half years. Since 1947 he has been a teller at the Central National Bank.

In 1917 J. J. Louis entered the employ of the First National Bank as a clerk. He was promoted to cashier and remained there until 1928. The next ten years were spent in life insurance work, and clerking at public sales. In 1939 he was elected to office of County Treasurer. He held this office until March 31, 1946, when he resigned because of illness. For more than thirty years he was director of the Columbus Land Loan and Building Association from 1915-1946.

Jacob Louis was a member of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Columbus. He was on the church board for ten years, and for four years held the office of president. He was also a member of the church choir.

 

FRANZ LUCHSINGER

 

Franz Luchsinger was born in Canton Glarus, Switzerland, May 30, 1846. He died February 20, 1918, in Columbus, Nebraska.

On April 1, 1867, he was married to Miss Katherina Luchsinger (they were not related).

Mr. and Mrs. Luchsinger immigrated to the United States in 1873, homesteading in Colfax County, six miles northwest of Schuyler, Nebraska. In 1879 they bought a farm eight miles north of Columbus in Bismark Township where they lived until 1910 when they retired and moved into Columbus, buying a home at the southeast corner of Twenty-first Avenue and Eighth Street.

Franz and Katherina Luchsinger had four daughters and three sons: Susan, Mrs. Henry Heitz, of East Lynn, Missouri; Katherine, Mrs. Matthew Schmid, of Columbus; Mary, Mrs. Charles Welch, of Colfax County; Lena, Mrs. John Klug, of Columbus; Peter, of Columbus Township; Henry, who died in 1940 in Columbus; and Frank, who married Melinda Schmoll of Pleasant Hill, Missouri. Peter's wife, Emma Ernst, is deceased. Frank died in November, 1918. Mrs. Heitz died in 1949.

PETER LUCHSINGER

Peter Luchsinger, the son of Franz and Katharina Luchsinger, was born in Canton Glarius, Switzerland. He immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1873, and they first settled on a homestead in Colfax County. After six years, they bought land in Bismark Township and moved to Platte County. Peter had two brothers and four sisters: Henry; Frank; Susan, Mrs. Henry Heitz; Katharine, Mrs. Mathew Schmid; Mary, Mrs. Charles Welch; and Lena, Mrs. John Klug. Frank died in 1918, Henry died in 1940, and Susan died in 1949.

On February 5, 1896, Peter Luchsinger was married to Emma Ernst, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Ernst, pioneers of Butler Township. Mrs. Luchsinger had two brothers, Samuel and Paul, of the Duncan vicinity.

After their marriage, Peter and Emma Ernst Luchsinger established their home on his farm in Columbus Township, where Mr. Luchsinger was engaged in farming and stock raising.

Mr. and Mrs. Luchsinger had four sons and three daughters, all of whom attended the District 1, and District 80 schools. They all live in Platte County. They are: Franz, II, of Butler Township; Paul, Samuel and Ernst, of Columbus Township; Elisa, Mrs. Alfred Rodehorst; and Mrs. Henry Durkop.

Emma Ernst Luchsinger was born south of Cherry Hill, in Butler Township, Nebraska, on January 16, 1870, and died on January 26, 1933, in Columbus.

The Peter Luchsingers are members of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Columbus.

FRANZ LUCHSINGER, JR.

Franz Luchsinger, Jr. was born in Bismark Township in 1883 and died in November, 1918. He was the son of Franz and Katherina Luchsinger.

Franz Luchsinger, Jr. received his early education in the district school and worked on his father's farm north of Columbus;

On March 7, 1912, he was married at Harrisonville, Missouri, to Miss Melinda E. Schmoll.

Franz, Jr. and Melinda Luchsinger had five children: Walter W., born April 7, 1913, married to Loretta Aerni, daughter of Jacob Aerni; Franz III, born May


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30, 1914, married to Helen Mohlman; Marguerite M., Mrs. Alvin Meyer, of Columbus; Katherine E., Mrs. Floyd Croisant; and Lucille, a stenographer at the Central National Bank in Columbus. All attended the Columbus schools and were graduated from Kramer High.

Franz Luchsinger died in November, 1918. Mrs. Melinda Luchsinger lives in Columbus, and is a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church.

P. F. LUCHSINGER

Peter F. Luchsinger was born in Schwanden, Canton Glarus, Switzerland, October 19, 1875, and died in Columbus, Nebraska, December 28, 1936.

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P. F. Luchsinger

In 1891, after a high school education in Schwanden, he came to America with his parents and Agatha, his sister. They came directly to Platte County where they joined John, a brother of Peter, who had immigrated to America in 1889. The family remained in Columbus until 1892 when all of them except John returned to Switzerland. Shortly thereafter, Peter Luchsinger was employed in the office of a macaroni factory near the Adriatic Sea Coast of Ancona, Italy, where he stayed for two years.

In 1894 he returned to Columbus, and for a time worked for John Wullshleger on his farm near Leigh, Nebraska. He was later employed in the Merz Meat Market and the Bucher Saloon.

On June 3, 1902, he was married to Miss Anna Iossi, daughter of Christian and Anna Heiman Iossi. Christian lossi was a native of Grindlewald, Canton Bern, Switzerland. Anna lossi was born at Hasliberg, Canton Bern.

Peter and Anna lossi Luchsinger had three daughters and one son: Susan, Mrs. Carl Glur, of Columbus; Henrietta, Mrs. Alfred Angell, of Columbus: Martha, Mrs. Joseph Walsh; and Fred C., of Los Angeles.

After his marriage, Mr. Luchsinger was a teller at the Columbus State Bank, then located on the northeast corner of Twelfth and Platte Streets, now Twelfth Street and Twenty-seventh Avenue. He later was cashier of the First National Bank, a position he held intermittently until 1917.

In 1917, he became cashier of the Commercial National Bank, and remained there until he became Secretary-Treasurer of the Columbus National Farm Loan Association.

In 1912, Mr. Luchsinger took his family to Switzerland, returning to Columbus in 1913. In 1914 they again went to Switzerland, returning in December, 1915.

In 1919, he organized the P. F. Luchsinger Real Estate and Insurance Company and at this time the Globe Savings and Loan Association was organized.

Mr. Luchsinger, in 1923, became treasurer of the Federal Land Bank in Omaha. In 1934 he retired, his son, Fred C., taking over his business.

P. F. Luchsinger was a member of the Sons of Herman, the Royal Highlanders, and the Columbus Swiss Society. A member of the Independent Evangelical Protestant Church, he served seventeen years as its treasurer.

FRED C. LUCHSINGER

Fred C. Luchsinger was born January 27, 1905, in Columbus, Nebraska. Son of Peter F. and Anna lossi Luchsinger, natives of Switzerland, he had three sisters: Susan, Mrs. Carl Glur of Columbus; Henrietta, Mrs. Alfred Angell of Columbus; and Martha, Mrs. Joseph Walsh of Los Angeles.

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Fred C. Luchsinger

As a boy, Fred Luchsinger made two trips to Switzerland, and spent two years in the schools there.

On his return, he attended the Columbus schools and in 1923 was graduated from the Columbus High School. The following year, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska.

In 1924, he was associated with his father in the management of the Globe Savings and Loan Association, and of the P. F. Luchsinger Real Estate and Insurance business and in 1932, became active manager of the business, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Columbus National Farm Loan Company.

He works for the California Bank of Los Angeles in the Trust Department.

In 1934, he was made manager of all the P. F. Luchsinger business interests and three years later he became owner of the Real Estate and Insurance Company. He disposed of this business in the early 1940's when he joined the Nielsen Chevrolet Company. He later was co-owner with E. M. Nielsen of the Columbus Electric Appliance Company, which he managed until 1948 when the company was sold.

On October 8, 1927, he was married at Syracuse, Nebraska, to Miss Elva Redding, daughter of John T. and Elizabeth Redding of Auburn, Nebraska, both of whom are deceased. Mrs. Luchsinger had two brothers and two sisters: Carl, Earl, Zelda Redding Steger, and Moda.



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The History of Platte County Nebraska

Fred C. and Elva Redding Luchsinger had one son and one daughter: Frederick Kent and Sandra. Frederick was born August 30, 1928, in Columbus. He was graduated from Kramer High School in 1946 and attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln for one year. He was employed with his father at the appliance store. Sandra was born March 5, 1935, in Columbus, and attended school in Columbus and at Alhambra, California.

Fred C. Luchsinger, a Democrat, held memberships in the Chamber of Commerce, the B.P.O.E. (Elks), and the Lions Club.

The Luchsingers were members of the Federated Church in Columbus.

In 1948 Fred C. Luchsinger moved his family to Alhambra, California, where he joined the Trust Department of the Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles.

WILLIAM HENRY LUCKEY

William Henry Luckey, Platte County farmer, was born in Bismark Township March 9, 1888. He was the son of Fred and Mary Katherine Engel Luckey. Fred Luckey, born in Furstentum, Waldeck, Germany, October 28, 1859, immigrated to St. Louis in 1866 and in 1873, at the age of thirteen, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Luckey, Sr., came to Platte County. His father, Fred Luckey, Sr., homesteaded northeast of Columbus. Fred Luckey, Jr., died March 8, 1934, in Denver, Colorado. Mary Katherine Engel Luckey was born April 5, 1868, in Middletown, Ohio, and died April 5, 1937, in Columbus.

William Luckey had three brothers and one sister: Louis C., married to Nellie Taylor; Charles; Louise, Mrs. Herman W. Meyer; and Emil, married to Mary Byrnes.

William attended the District 44 Rural School and St. John's Parochial School, and was graduated from the College of Agriculture at the University of Nebraska.

On March 6, 1912, he was married to Miss Elise Loseke, daughter of Gerhard and Elise Mueller Loseke, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Bismark Township. They had five children. Esther, born February 3, 1913, attended the University of Nebraska and received a degree in Dietetics. She married Walter Rodenburg and lives at Neola, Iowa. Clarence, born October 7, 1915, holds a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Nebraska, and served in the United States Army as a Captain in the Medical Corps. He married Waunetta Minor and lives at Stockton, California. Walter, born October 17, 1917, is married to Gladys Hoessel and lives on a farm near Columbus. Irene, born September 24, 1919, married Werner Hake and resides on a farm near Platte Center. Jerome, born October 21, 1922, lives on a farm near Columbus and is married to Dorothy Mae Heibel.

William H. Luckey was engaged in farming and stock raising in Bismark Township. He moved to Columbus in 1947 and is a member of the Farmer's Union in which he has held several offices. He was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Bismark Township, and served more than ten years as secretary of the Calvary Cemetery Association.

EMIL FRED LUCKEY

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Emil Fred Luckey

Emil Fred Luckey, son of Fred and Mary Katherine Engel Luckey, early pioneers, was born February 27, 1897, in Columbus, Nebraska. Fred Luckey, born in Germany October 28, 1859, came to the United States with his father at the age of seven, first settling in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1873, he came to Platte County, where he farmed until his death, March 8, 1934, in Denver, Colorado. Mary Katherine Engel Luckey, a native of Middletown, Ohio, vas born April , 1868, she died in Columbus April 6, 1937.

Emil F. Luckey had three brothers and one sister: Louis C., an automotive mechanic, in Columbus, married to Nellie Taylor; William H., a farmer, married to Elise Loseke; Charles, a farmer; and Louise, Mrs. Herman W. Meyer, of Columbus.

Emil Luckey attended the District 44 Rural School, and was graduated from Columbus High School, and the University of Nebraska Law School where he received his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1922. He was admitted to the bar shortly thereafter. While attending the University of Nebraska, he was affiliated with the Sigma Phi Epsilon and Phi Alpha Delta Fraternities. In 1925-26, Mr. Luckey served as State Senator from the Twentieth District. In &927-34, he served as County Attorney for Platte County.

In August, 1947, he was in to Mary Byrnes, daughter of John C. and Magdalena Gietzen Byrnes.

Emil Luckey is a member of the Wayside Country Club, the B.P.O.E., the Knights of Pythias, the F.O.E., the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Platte County Bar Association, the Nebraska State Bar Association, and is a Republican; He is a member of the Lutheran Church.

WALTER LUEKE

Walter Lueke, the son of William and Anna Grotelueschen Lueke, was born November 15, 1896, in Rogers, Nebraska. His father, a farmer, was born in Oldenburg, Germany, on November 3, 1860. His mother was born on April 12, 1865, at Mayville, Wisconsin. Walter attended the Schuyler, Nebraska, schools. Fol-


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lowing this he trained with the Student Army Training Corps, of Manhattan, Kansas.

On March 10, 1920, at St. John's Church on Shell Creek, Walter Lueke was married to Lillie Held, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Emil Held. Mr. and Mrs. Lueke had two children: Vernetta, born November 13, 1920; and Milton, born May 28, 1924.

Vernetta was married to Arthur Hellbusch, a farmer, on February 23, 1945, in Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Hellbusch have three children: Barbara Jean, born May 2, 1942; Jo Ann, born August 26, 1943; and James Arthur, born July 30, 1946.

Milton Lueke was graduated from Kramer High School in 1941. During World War II, he served with the United States Army in the European Theatre of Operations. On February 14, 1946, he was married to Evelyn Dietz, the daughter of Frank and Lillian Berney Dietz. Milton Lueke is employed by the Railway Express Company, in Columbus.

Walter Lueke was engaged in farming and stock raising in Colfax County for over a quarter of a century. He came to Columbus in 1946, where he worked with a retail oil and gasoline company at their station. He is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, of Shell Creek.

HERMAN G. LUESCHEN

Herman G. Lueschen, son of Henry and Kate Margaret Kuhlman Grotelueschen, was born on January, 2, 1838, in Oldenburg, Germany. He had two brothers, Henry and Gerhard.

H. G. Lueschen immigrated to America in 1858, and settled at Mayville, Wisconsin, where he found employment as a laborer on a farm. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served with honor throughout the Civil War. Through an error in the enlistment, his name was changed from "Grotelueschen" to "Lueschen." Army officers had enrolled him as Herman G. Lueschen, and he adopted that form and used it throughout his lifetime, as did his brothers, Henry and Gerhard. One memorable experience in the service which Mr. Lueschen recalled was the fact that he took part in "Sherman's historic march to the sea."

At the close of the war, he returned to Wisconsin. On December 3, 1865, he was married to Bertha Catherine Spanhake, who was born in Oldenburg, Germany, October 28, 1848, and came to America with her parents when she was ten years old, her family settling in Wisconsin.

Herman G. and Bertha Spanhake Lueschen had ten children: Emma, Mrs. Mayer, who lived at Osmond, Nebraska; Mary, Mrs. Bade, who lived at Leigh; Alvina, Mrs. Hellbush, who lived at Gage, Oklahoma; Alfred, who lived at Leigh, was married to Dorothea Henrietta Gertrude Bade; Oscar, who lived near Creston, was married to Creda Merritt; Julius Herman, who lived at Creston, was married to Amalie Cattau; Henry, of Creston; Alma, Mrs. Bisson, lived at Columbus; and Lucia, Mrs. Hollman, lived at Leigh. One child died in infancy.

After his marriage, H. G. Lueschen farmed for himself for a while in Wisconsin. In 1869, he and his family moved to Nebraska, and he homesteaded one hundred sixty acres of land in Sherman Township. They conquered the hardships of that pioneer era and gradually increased their holdings until they had three hundred ten acres of Sherman Township land.

Throughout all his years in Platte County, Mr. Lueschen was a prominent resident of Sherman Township and took a keen interest in township, school and church affairs. He was one of the founders and a lifelong member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church.

He also had the distinction of being the first clerk of Sherman Township, elected to that position when the county was changed over to the township form of organization, and served continuously in that capacity from 1884 to 1895.

Similarly, he was the first director of School District 46, an office in which he served for many years. During the early years, that district comprised both the Districts 46 and 26.

Back in the days when there was a star-mail route between Columbus and Creston, Mr. Lueschen was postmaster at Boheet, a rural post office. He served as postmaster, with the office in his home, for twenty-two years prior to 1903, when the rural free delivery system was inaugurated and the star route and Boheet Post Office passed into history.

For twenty years, from February, 1908, to February, 1928, he was a member of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Commission of Platte County. Politically, he was affiliated with the Republican Party.

Mrs. Lueschen died on May 12, 1910. In 1917, Mr. Lueschen retired from active farm life and deeded most of his land to his son, Oscar. Herman G. Lueschen died on May 26, 1934, at the age of ninety-six, on the farm home where he had resided for sixty-five years.

JULIUS HERMAN LUESCHEN

Julius Herman Lueschen, son of Herman G. and Bertha Spanhake Lueschen, was born April 20, 1878, on a Sherman Township farm which his father had homesteaded in 1869. He had five sisters and three brothers.

J. H. Lueschen attended school and grew up in Sherman Township. He 1-earned the business of farming at an early age and followed it throughout his lifetime.

On April 4, 1902, he was married to Amalie Cattau, a member of a well-known Platte County family. Julius Herman and Amalie Cattau Lueschen had five children: Julius, Arthur, Lucy, Florence, and Hugo.

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lueschen, in 1904, moved to a farm near Clarks. However, after four years, they returned again to Sherman Township and


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The History of Platte County Nebraska

made their home on a farm adjoining his father's old homestead.

J. H. Lueschen was precinct assessor in Sherman Township for five years, from 1920-1925, a position he held until 1925. He was a progressive, active farmer, and politically, he was affiliated with the Republican Party.

The Lueschens were members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, north of Columbus. Julius Herman Lueschen died in 1925, at the age of forty-six.

OSCAR LUESCHEN

Oscar Lueschen, son of Herman G. and Bertha Catherine Spanhake Lueschen, was born on September 24, 1884, in Sherman Township, on the farm his parents homesteaded in 1869. He died on that farm on December 28, 1940.

On July 20, 1909, Oscar Lueschen was married to Creda Merritt, in Sherman Township. Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Lueschen had three adopted daughters: Mrs. Kenneth Morkett; Mrs. Albert Brauner; and Elaine. The family lived on their farm, south of Creston.

Mr. Lueschen resided in that community for more than half a century, and had a part in its activities. He was Republican precinct committeeman for many years and served on the Boheet School Board. He was a charter member of the Boheet Farmers Union, and was a member throughout the twenty-seven years of its organization. For many years, he was secretary and treasurer.

His father was one of the founders of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church, and Oscar Lueschen was a life-long member.

GERHARD G. LUESCHEN

Gerhard G. Lueschen, son of Henry and Kate Margaret Kuhlman Grotelueschen, was born in Oldenburg, Germany, on December 24, 1840. In 1859, when he was about nineteen, he immigrated to the United States. After spending several months in the east, he located at Mayville, Wisconsin.

In November, 1866, Gerhard Lueschen was married to Margaret Kuehlmann. Gerhard and Margaret Lueschen had four sons and one daughter: Adolph; William; Edward; Doctor A. G. Lueschen, of Los Angeles, California; and Anna.

In 1879, Gerhard Lueschen and his family moved to Platte County. They bought a quarter section of railroad land in Sherman Township, north of Columbus, on the Monastery Road.

As the years went by, Mr. Lueschen became prosperous through his farming and. stockraising pursuits and gradually acquired more than seven hundred acres of land, which he disposed of by dividing it among his children.

Gerhard Lueschen was a brother to Herman G. Lueschen, who came to Platte County in 1869, and to Henry. The brothers changed their name from Grotelueschen to Lueschen when an error was made by the Army in the enlistment papers of Herman and Henry, during the Civil War.

As a member of the German Lutheran Church, Gerhard Lueschen was one of the founders of St. John's Church, which he attended during his residence in the county.

For many years, he was assessor of Sherman Township and also served as road overseer there for a short time. Politically, he was affiliated with the Republican Party. Gerhard Lueschen died in 1928.

EDWARD LUESCHEN

Edward Lueschen, son of Gerhard G. and Margaret Kuehlmann Lueschen, was born on October 31, 1867, in Mayville, Wisconsin. He had three brothers and one sister: Doctor A. G. Lueschen, of Los Angeles; Adolph; William; and Anna.

In 1879, Edward came to Platte County, Nebraska, with his parents, and they settled on a farm in Sherman Township where he lived until 1937.

On June 27, 1893, he was married to Emma Goetz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Goetz, a pioneer family. Edward and Emma Goetz Lueschen had three sons and three daughters: Henry died in infancy; Oswald died on July 21, 1936, in Denver; Edgar lived on the home farm; Mrs. William Loseke, of Creston; Mrs. Otto Loseke and Mrs. Wesley Stevens, of Leigh.

Edward Lueschen was active as a farmer and also active in community affairs. In 1916, when his father-in-law, John Goetz, died, Mr. Lueschen was appointed to fill Mr. Goetz' unexpired term as Platte County Supervisor. At the next election, Mr. Lueschen was the Republican candidate for that office and was elected to that office for four successive, two-year terms.

Edward Lueschen was a member of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church. He died on the Platte County farm where he had lived for almost sixty years, on February 12, 1937.

EDWARD F. LUSIENSKI

Edward F. Lusienski, the son of Constans and Katherine Juskiewic Lusienski, was born in Columbus, Nebraska, on December 24, 1884.

His parents, natives of Galicia, Poland, after immigrating to the United States settled at Columbus in the late 1870's. His father, a shoemaker by trade, was employed there by the Griesen Brothers and remained with them until he moved to Platte Center, where he died in 1903.

Edward received his early formal education in St. Joseph's School, at Platte Center, and later attended school in Omaha. Following this, he spent several years in the mercantile business in Platte Center, where from 1901-1902 he worked at the Greisen-Bruckner Store. From 1902- 1904, he was associated with Ripp and Company. From 1904-1906, he was with J. H. Fremont Store, and from 1906-1913, he worked for Riley and Sandberg as a bartender.

From 1913-1914, he worked in the same capacity for Gates and Hoare in Columbus. In 1914, he re-


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