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apothecary shop, first in the town, was located in connection with his office in a lean-to near the residence of the Catholic priest. Later he operated a retail and wholesale drug store between 2613 and 2623 Eleventh Street. This establishment was finally moved to Thirteenth Street where Doctor Stiliman's son, Charles B. Stillman, was owner and operator until 1903. The store now belongs to E. T. Miessler.

Another early physician was Doctor Edward Hohen. A native of Switzerland, Doctor Hohen studied medicine at the University of Zurich and immigrated to the United States in 1857. After first locating in Wisconsin, he moved to Columbus about 1865. He was the father of Helen Hohen, who later became Mrs. L. F. Gottschalk of Columbus.

Doctor Jeremiah Polly practiced medicine in Columbus in the 1860's. A kindly man, he is remembered as the prototype of the pioneer physician and the father of Mrs. Albert D. Arnold and grandfather of Doctor Harry J. Arnold.

A native of Canada, Doctor Samuel A. Bonesteel, a cousin of Phillip B. and Norris G. Bonesteel, was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1867 and from the Medical Department of McGill University in Montreal. From 1868 he practiced medicine in Columbus where he married Louisa Weaver, a daughter of Michael Weaver, in 1871.

Doctor Frederick J. Schug, who came from Ohio, took medical courses at Louisville, Kentucky, and in New Orleans. He was graduated from the Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, in 1876, and spent some time studying in Europe. While practicing in Columbus in the 1880's he was appointed surgeon for the Nebraska National Guard.

One of the most distinguished physicians of central Nebraska was Doctor David T. Martyn. A native of Vermont, he came to Illinois at the age of eighteen. After serving in the United States Army during the Civil War, he went to Northwestern University in 1865 to study medicine and was graduated from there in 1869.

Doctor Martyn served an internship at Mercy Hospital in Chicago and came to Nebraska in 1870. First locating in Clarks, he was then the only doctor between Clarks and Columbus. In 1876 he established his practice in Columbus and became the first doctor at St. Mary's Hospital, Doctor Martyn was married to the former Susan George of Clarks and was the father of Doctor David T. Martyn, Jr. During the 1870's, the elder Doctor Martyn was associated with Doctor E. L. Siggins, and later with Doctor C. D. Evans.

Doctor Carroll D. Evans, one of the prominent early surgeons in Columbus, was born in Pennsylvania, and was graduated from the Physicians and Surgeons College at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1882. Arriving in Columbus in 1883, Doctor Evans was appointed surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital, a position he held for many years. He was married in Columbus on May 27, 1886, to Lorena Rose North, a daughter of James and Nellie Arnold North. In 1921, Doctor Evans was president of the company that built the Evans Hospital, now the Lutheran Hospital.

Doctor Francis Heman Geer, father of Howard Geer, practiced in Columbus during the 1890's and early 1900's. The owner of the first automobile in the county seat, he died some years later in California.

Doctor Homer F. Hansen, who was associated with Doctors D. T. Martyn, C. D. Evans, and F. H. Geer in their offices west of Frankfort Square, later moved from Platte County to Pasadena, California.

Another physician, Doctor Philip Metz, son of Philip and Josephine Becher Metz and a brother of Mrs. H. F. J. Hockenberger, had an established practice in Humphrey around the turn of the century.

On February 12, 1902, the first Platte County Medical Society was organized in the Meridian Hotel parlors. This first group of Platte County doctors included: Doctors Philip H. Metz and J. M. McKinley of Humphrey; Doctor Frank Grabel of Creston and the following Columbus practitioners: Doctors David T. Martyn, Jr., Hans Peterson, Harry J. Arnold, Berthold C. Tiesing, Francis H. Geer, Homer F. Hansen and L. C. Voss. The first officers of the organization were: Doctor Harry J. Arnold, president; Doctor B. C. Tiesing, secretary; and Doctor Homer F. Hansen, treasurer.

Of this group Doctor Lorenzo C. Voss was married to Carrie Todd at Holton, Kansas, in

The Lutheran Hospital of Columbus. Formerly the Evans Hospital, built by Doctor Carroll D. Evans, Sr., and the Evans Hospital Company in 1922.

October, 1891. Shortly after their marriage, Doctor and Mrs. Voss came to Columbus, where Doctor Voss practiced for forty years. His office was located on Twenty-sixth Avenue.

Doctor Berthold C. Tiesing, born in New Haven, Connecticut, and married in 1907 at Auburn, Nebraska, to Amalie Dirks, practiced medicine in Columbus from 1897 to 1930. He studied in Europe and specialized in surgery at the University of Jena in Saxe-Weimar. Doctor Tiesing was a member and former director of the community orchestra, in which he played the violin. His office, on Twenty-second Avenue, between Tenth and Eleventh Streets, was shared around 1910 with Doctor P. T. Conlan. After Doctor Conlan left Columbus for California, he shared the office from 1912 to 1920 with Doctor Harry J. Arnold, a Columbus physician and surgeon.

Doctor Arnold was the son of Albert and Amanda Polly Arnold. His father had come to Columbus in 1858. Doctor Arnold's first wife was Lena Costello. Some years after her death he was married to Martha Bean of Columbus. Doctor Arnold's son of this latter marriage, Doctor Chad Arnold, who was graduated with a doctor of medicine degree, became a specialist in the field of internal medicine. He completed a residency at the Government Hospital in St. Louis in 1949.

Among the other doctors who practiced in Columbus after the turn of the century was Doctor William S. Evans, who established his Platte County practice in 1905. A native of Pennsylvania, William Evans came to Columbus as a boy with his parents in 1879. He was graduated from Columbus High School and the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore in 1903. In 1908 he was married to Florence Whitmoyer, the daughter of Michael Whitmoyer, of Columbus.

Doctor A. G. Lueschen, a native of Sherman Township, Platte County, practiced medicine in Columbus for several years. He was married to Gertrude Elias, the daughter of C. F. Elias of Columbus, and moved to Los Angeles, California, about 1926.

Members of the Platte County Medical Society in 1915 included: Doctors Robert Seasongood and A. A. Bald from Platte Center; F. B. Cyphers of Duncan; H. G. Morris of Creston; D. G. Walker of Lindsay; Doctors George F. Pugh, Philip H. Metz and Fred A. Lemar of Humphrey; and Doctors C. D. Evans, D. T. Martyn, D. T. Martyn, Jr., C. A. Allenburger, W. S. Evans, W. R. Neumarker, F. H. Morrow, C. H, Campbell, B. C. Tiesing, and H. J. Arnold of Columbus.

In 1949 the citizens of Platte Center honored Doctor A. A. Bald for his services to that community. Doctor Bald had started his practice there in 1912. Previous to his coming to Platte County Doctor Bald was married to Alice Newton.

Other doctors practicing in the county out-.

side of Columbus in the years following the turn of the century were: Doctor E. J. Gillespie of Monroe, and Doctors B. L. Benthack and R. N. Ryan of Platte Center. Doctor Benthack was a brother of Mrs. Fred Behlen of Columbus.

A well known Duncan practitioner was Doctor F. B. Cyphers, who lived in Platte County for many years and was married to Clara Kummer of Gruetli. Doctor Cyphers died in 1949.

Doctor F. A. Lemar, prominent in Humphrey, Nebraska, where he served on the Board of Education, practiced both in Humphrey and at Columbus. Active in both local and national medical groups, Doctor Lemar was married to Rose Alderson, of Humphrey.

Another Columbus doctor, Doctor W. Ireland, practiced around 1908 in this region where he was briefly associated with Doctors D. T. Martyn and C. D. Evans. Also listed in the 1915 Medical Directory was the name of Doctor E. S. Ross. For a brief time prior to 1915 Doctor Clifford Timmons of Chicago was the assistant to Doctor C. D. Evans in Columbus. He was succeeded by Doctor Coefoot in that position.

Of the many prominent doctors who came to Columbus and established practices after the turn of the century, a few still reside there today. Among these is Doctor Christian A. Allenburger, a nationally known surgeon, a fellow in both the Clinical Congress of Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, and who was chief of staff at St. Mary's Hospital for twenty-four years, from 1906 to 1930. A member of other national and local organizations, Doctor Allenburger was married to Emma Wake, a member of the Charles Wake family who came to Columbus in 1869.

Also well known in the local medical field is Doctor Charles H. Campbell, who began his practice in Columbus in 1908. He was graduated from the Medical College at the University of Iowa where he became a specialist in eye, ear, nose and throat. He later took post graduate work in Vienna, Austria. In 1926 he was married to Eula Curti, the daughter of J. E. and Alice Curti, of Omaha.

Prior to 1917 Doctor Campbell shared medical offices with Doctor F. H. Morrow, and since 1920 he has been associated with Doctor C. A. Allenburger.

Doctor Frank H. Morrow, a surgeon of note, with membership in both the American College of Surgeons, and the American Medical Association, was graduated from the Medical School of the University of Nebraska in 1908, and shortly thereafter established his practice in Columbus. He was married to Catherine Rusche, a daughter of Frederick H. and Emma Bauer Rusche. Mrs. Morrow was a descendant, on her maternal side, of the pioneer Becker family.

Doctor William R. Neumarker, a son of the Reverend Richard Neumarker, was graduated from Medical College at St. Joseph, Missouri. He came to Columbus in 1909 from Edgemont, South Dakota. In Columbus he was associated with Doctor C. D. Evans from 1909-1917. He was married to Metta Hensley, the daughter of Judge William N. and Margaret McAllister Hensley, pioneers of Columbus. Doctor Neumarker served as a lieutenant-colonel during World War I. He is an outstanding obstetrician and is also noted for his interest in post-graduate medical work. Doctor Neumarker and Doctor F. H. Morrow have offices in the Medical Suite in the Central National Bank Building.

Doctor David T. Martyn, Jr., a native of Columbus, was graduated from Columbus High School and the Creighton University College of Medicine in 1901. Prominent in the social and professional life of Columbus for almost half a century, Doctor Martyn was married to Winifred Rottger in 1909, at Mount Sterling, Illinois.

It was approximately 1920 when Doctor Carroll D. Evans established the Evans Clinic in the Friedhof Building in Columbus. Associated with him at that time were his sons, Doctors J. North Evans and Carroll D. Evans, Jr., both of whom were graduated from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, before serving in the Medical Corps in World War I.

Also associated with the Evans Clinic in 1920 were Doctors Maurice C. James, Julian E. Meyer and Ezra E. Koebbe. After several months in its first location, the Evans Clinic was moved to the North Building at Thirteenth Street and Twenty-fifth Avenue. At that time Doctor Ezra E. Koebbe remained in the Clinic and Doctors Maurice C. James and Julian E. Meyer established a medical partnership with offices on Twenty-sixth Avenue. In 1935 Doctors James and Meyer moved their medical offices to the Weaver Building at Fourteenth Street and Twenty-fourth Avenue.

In the early 1930's Doctor Koebbe moved his office to the Farmers State Bank Building, and since 1937 he and Doctor David T. Martyn, Jr. have occupied a suite of medical offices in the Scott Building on Thirteenth Street. Born in Manchester, Michigan, and graduated from the Medical College at the University of Michigan, Doctor Ezra E. Koebbe served in the United States Navy as a commander during World War I, and was made a captain in

the Navy during his service in World War II. He has been on the faculty at Creighton University in Omaha since 1947. A member of the first Board of Directors of the Loup River Public Power District, Doctor Koebbe has been prominent in the civic activities of the region. In 1917 he was married to Ethel Burkhart in Michigan.

Doctor Maurice C. James, a native of West Virginia, holds a medical degree from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. During World War I, he served overseas as an officer in the Medical Corps. One of the most distinguished surgeons in central Nebraska, Doctor James holds memberships in the county, state and national medical and surgical groups. Both Doctor and Mrs. James are active in the cultural life of the community. Among their interests are music and art.

Doctor Julian E. Meyer, of Columbus, born in Alabama, was graduated from Birmingham High School and received the degree of Bachelor of Science from the University of Alabama in his nineteenth year. From this he went on to get his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1917. He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.

In World War I Doctor Meyer was a member of the Medical Corps and served overseas with the Jefferson Medical Hospital Unit. Following his overseas service he had a residency in Philadelphia and then located in Columbus in 1920.

He was married in 1921 to Tarris Threefoot at Meridian, Mississippi. A member of the American College of Physicians and a specialist in internal medicine, Doctor Meyer has been a prominent leader in the social and civic life of Columbus and Platte County.

In July, 1934, Doctor Reynolds J. O'Donnell opened medical offices in the Telegram Building in Columbus. Moving to the Scott Building in December, 1940, he had his offices there in the medical suite with Doctor D. T. Martyn, Jr. and Doctor E. E. Koebbe. Doctor O'Donnell was a native of Pennsylvania and a graduate both of Creighton University and the Creighton College of Medicine in Omaha.

In 1933 Doctor O'Donnell was married to Kathleen Curry, a member of a pioneer Columbus family and the daughter of John and Nell Fleming Curry. From April, 1942, to January, 1946, he served in the Medical Corps of the United States Army Air Force where he was commissioned a major. In January, 1946, he established a medical practice at Santa Monica, California, where he has been outstanding in professional and civic work. He is a member of the Bay Area, and Los Angeles County Medical Societies. Doctor O'Donnell is also well known there for his active interest in post-graduate medical work, and is a member of the American Medical Association and the International College of Surgeons.

In 1934, Doctor R. C. Anderson, son of Anders C. and Ida Friedrich Anderson, established a practice in Columbus. His offices were in the Farmers' State Bank Building and later in the Scott Building, with Doctor D. T. Martyn, Jr.

Doctor Anderson was a graduate of the University of Nebraska School of Medicine. In 1938 he was married to Margaret Pearse of Columbus. As a member of the National Guard he was called into service in 1940. After being discharged from the Army, with the rank of colonel, he opened his medical offices on Twenty-sixth Avenue. He is a member of the American Medical Association and the International College of Surgeons.

For a short period in 1946 Doctor Paul Berney, a native of Columbus, was associated with Doctor Anderson. Doctor Berney later returned to his early home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a graduate of the Creighton University School of Medicine and took special graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was married in Columbus to Georgia Smith, the daughter of Adam and Fanny Costello Smith and the granddaughter of Adam Smith, who died in the infamous Indian massacre of 1864. Doctor Berney's paternal grandfather was George Berney, who came to Platte County in March, 1857.

Another physician who practiced in Columbus from 1930-1934, before he entered government service, was Doctor A. H. Callaghan.

Doctor P. H. McGowan opened his medical offices in Columbus in 1934. He was graduated from the Creighton Medical College in 1920, and from 1921 to 1934, practiced at Schuyler, Nebraska, where he was married to Marguerite Costello, the daughter of John Costello, a Colfax County pioneer. Since coming to Columbus, Doctor McGowan has had offices in the Central National Bank Building, on Twenty-sixth Avenue, and in the Scott Building, where he moved in 1946.

Doctor Harry Elston, a native of Columbus, practiced in Humphrey in the early 1930's.

Doctor Arthur W. Abts came to Humphrey, Nebraska, in 1933, where he was married to Frances Reinhart. Doctor and Mrs. Abts are well known in the professional, civic, and social circles of that region. Since 1946 Doctor Herpolsheimer, of Seward, was associated with Doctor Abts.

Doctor Everett G. Brillhart came to Columbus in January, 1946, where he became associated with Doctors Maurice C. James and Julian E. Meyer. A native of Colfax County, he was graduated from the University of Nebraska where he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1931. In September, 1931, Doctor Brillhart was married to Bernice Fugate at Tulsa, Oklahoma, and between 1933 and 1941 he practiced at Shelby, Nebraska. In January, 1946, he moved his family to Columbus, after serving with the United States Army Medical Corps as a major from 1941 to 1945.

In 1946 Doctor Herbert Kuper opened medical offices in the Schweser Building in Columbus. Prior to moving to Columbus, he had practiced at Leigh, Nebraska. In 1948 Doctor Kuper moved to his new medical offices, which he built at 2507-11 Fifteenth Street.

Doctor J. G. Johnson established a medical office in the Central National Bank Building in 1946. Before coming to Columbus he served with the United States Army in the Medical Corps. Doctor Johnson's wife is a descendant of two Platte County pioneer families. Her paternal grandfather was Thomas Jaworski, and her maternal grandfather was John Krzycki.

Through the skill of these early capable practitioners, the fine traditions of the medical profession have been handed down from one generation to the next for almost one hundred years. To these men the citizens of Platte County today, and their forebears, owe their health, their lives, and their years of well-being.

© 2005 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller