History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 92

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 1011

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Lyons; Sylvia, the wife of E. B. Senter of Omaha ; Thomas H., who has lived in Grand Island for the past thirteen years ; and Arcelia, who lives with her mother in Burt County Gideon Fritts was one of the founders of the Presbyterian church in Burt County and the first organized meeting was held in his house.

He gave liberally for church purposes and was one of the largest donors to the church which yet stands on East Main street, Lyons. In his political convictions he was a Democrat. Before coming to Nebraska as a permanent resident, he had been a soldier in the Civil War and as long as he lived was a rigid sup- porter of temperance, law and order.

Mr. Fritts had common school advantages and then went to work as an apprentice in the electrical business in South Omaha continuing in that line for several years, afterward be- coming manager of the South Omaha Electric Light and Power Company. Following this an interval of two years passed when he was otherwise engaged but he returned to the elec- trical business and for five years had charge of a plant at Wayne, Nebraska. In June, 1906, he came to Grand Island and became manager and vice-president of the Central Power Company, in which he is financially interested. His time is largely taken up with the duties of this position as he has charge of all the company property in seventeen towns in Nebraska, which are supplied electrical power by this concern.

Mr. Fritts married in March, 1891, Miss Josephine Higley, who was born at Decatur, Nebraska, a daughter of Lewis D. Higley, who settled in the early eighties, in Burt County. Mr. and Mrs. Fritts have two children : Vic- tor, connected with the Western Electric Com- pany, Chicago, and Bernadine, the wife of Robert F. Pfeiffer, who is manager of the Central Power Company's plant at Kearney, Nebraska. Mr. Fritts is an earnest and public- spirited citizen but is not unduly active in poli- tics. He is an independent voter. He is identified with Lodge No. 604 Elks in Grand Island.

JOHN KNICKREHM, a substantial and respected citizen of Grand Island, came here with his family about thirty-two years ago. Through industry he rapidly advanced his for- tunes, and for the last twenty-one years he has been at the head of a business of his own.

John Knickrehm was born in Holstein, Germany, one of a family of six children born to his parents, John and Anna Knickrehm, who passed their lives in the old country. The

boy was reared on a farm but desiring greater opportunities came to the United States, the only member of his family to emigrate from the native land, soon after reaching America located at Grand Island, in 1887. At first he accepted any work that he could secure to ob- tain money, shoveling many a load of coal. Later he worked in a lumber yard and then found employment in a grocery store, in which he was engaged continuously until 1898. In that year he embarked in the grocery business for himself, starting in the building he has occupied to the present time, on the north side of the city, where he has built up a substan- tial patronage.

Mr. Knickrehm married, in Germany, in 1884, Miss Christiana Dohrn. They have two sons, John and Carl, both of whom are with their father in the store. Mr. Knickrehm and family belong to the Lutheran church. He has always taken a good citizen's interest in the welfare of Grand Island and twice has served as a member of the city council, dur- ing both terms earnestly supporting useful civic measures. He is independent in his political views.

CHARLES T. McELROY, a representa- tive business man of Grand Island, and a prominent, useful and loyal.citizen, was born at Middlesex, Vermont, April 30, 1873, but became a resident of Nebraska when only two years of age, being the only child of Frederick A. and Jenette (Thornton) Mc- Elroy, both of whom are deceased. They were natives of Vermont and from there re- moved to Omaha, in 1875, and from there to Richland, living in the latter place during the grasshopper visitatiton. In 1876 the family came to Grand Island. While living in Richland, the father of Mr. McElroy was a railroad section foreman. After coming to this city he was made a car inspector, being in the employ of the Union Pacific Company for thirty-two years. The paternal grand- father of Mr. McElroy was William McElroy, whose ancestors came from Scotland. The maternal grandfather, Charles Thornton, who was born at Moretown, Washington County, Vermont, was a direct descendant of Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the immortal Declaration of Independence.

To the excellent public schools of Grand Island, Charles T. McElroy is indebted for his sound educational training. After his school days were over he accepted a position as clerk in a dry goods house and thus became self supporting. Later he became associated Digitized by Google

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with the Yellow Front shoe store, where he served as a clerk for twenty-one years, then acquired an interest in the business. This interest he sold in 1911 to enter a different line, becoming a member of the firm of Win- gert & McElroy, in the culvert and sheet metal business. When this concern was organized as a stock company, in 1914, the present name of the Grand Island Culvert & Metal Works was adopted. This has become one of Grand Island's important business enterprises, being amply financed and ably managed.

Mr. McElroy married, in July, 1901, Miss Bertha T. Guiou, a daughter of. William Alfred Guiou, who came to Grand Island in 1891 and engaged in the lumber business. Mr. and Mrs. McElroy have four children : Tom, Frances, Robert and Elizabeth, all of whom live at home. The family belongs to the Episcopal church and both Mr. and Mrs. McElroy have been very active, particularly in all that pertains to the church music, Mr. McElroy being a member of the first vested choir.

Mr. McElroy is a member of the Spanish- American War, and has heartily and con- scientiously entered into the various patriotic movements that the World War brought to the watchful attention of loyal Americans. He has military rank as a first lieutenant in the Home Guards, has served on the Liberty Loan committees, and is a member of the State Council of Defense. His political views make him a zealous Republican and for a number of years he has been actively inter- ested in local political questions and has been committeeman of his ward. He is a member of the fraternal order of Elks, while in Ma- sonry he has been advanced to high position, being a Knight Templar and a Shriner, past high priest and past eminent commander.

HENRY W. LOCKE, one of the younger business men of Grand Island, devotes himself closely to his rapidly growing photographic business, which he has maintained since 1915. He has shown himself enterprising, industrious and reliable, and has many personal as well as business friends `in this city.

Henry W. Locke was born in Prussia, August 1, 1890, a son of William and Anna (Pfautsch) Locke, natives of Prussia, the latter of whom died in 1902. Mr. Locke has a younger brother, Otto Locke, who served in the German army during the World War. The father of Mr. Locke carries on an extensive plumbing business in Prussia, giving employ-

ment to twenty-five men. He is a member of the Lutheran church.

After his period of school attendance was over in the elementary and high schools, Henry W. Locke entered the college from which he subsequently was graduated, after which he served four years in the navy and was then in the merchant marine service. This led to his attending a school of navigation and the securing of his license as an officer in the mer- chant marine. In 1911 he came to the United States landing at New York, in which city he remained for a time before coming to Ne- braska. In 1915 he opened his photographic studio in Grand Island, and the artistic excel- lence of his work has made a favorable impres- sion, bringing merited prosperity.

In 1915 Mr. Locke married Miss Marie Loh- mann, who was born at Grand Island, Ne- braska, a daughter of Fred Lohmann, who is associated with Herman Hehnke in the hard- ware business in this city. Mr. and Mrs. Locke have two children : Frederick and Her- bert. The family attends the Lutheran church. Mr. Locke is a Knight Templar, a member of the Elks, a Thirty-second degree Mason, and a Shriner. He gives his political support to the Democratic party.

MATTHEUS RAUERT .- An unusually interesting story might be made, if details were known, of the life of Mattheus Rauert, who is one of the wealthy retired citizens of Grand Island, for it would tell of the steps by which a poor boy, early left fatherless in a strange land, made his way from the hum- blest circumstances to real affluence. Mr. Rauert is known and respected all over Hall County, where he has spent the greater part of his life.

Mattheus Rauert, like his parents, was born in Holstein, then a part of Denmark, Novem- ber 2, 1853. Their names were Jack and Anna (Madiensen) Rauert, and four others of their children are living: Nicholas, who lives at Grand Island; James, who also lives retired at Grand Island; Jack, a citizen of Idaho; and George, who resides in Praire Creek township, Hall County. In Denmark the father followed the business of fitting straw roofs on houses, but when he came to the United States with his family, in 1866. and immediately to Hall County, it was with the intention of becoming a farmer. He was taken ill, however, and died that year, leaving his family without any resources except what mother and children could provide for them- selves. It was a hard situation to face, but

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the mother was a woman of resourcefulness and great strength of character, and she had trained her children to be thrifty as well as industrious.

Mattheus Rauert had limited educational advantages in his native land and later some schooling in Hall County but settlers were few in the early years and opportunities for and kind of social life were meager. The boy played with Indian children and grew to understand their language and ways. Mattheus was engaged in the retail meat bus- iness at Grand Island for four years but realized the opportunities offered by agri- cultural pursuits and bought a farm. He has always been a good business man and from the first was successful in his agricultural opera- tions, which was ably demonstrated by the fact that before he retired he had become the owner of 720 acres of finely improved land, together with his handsome residence in Grand Island, in which he now lives.

December 3, 1878, Mattheus Rauert was united in marriage to Miss Elsie Sieck, who was born in Germany, October 6, 1853, whose parents were natives' of Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Rauert four children have been born: Charles, who, with his brothers, August and Richard L., carry on farming on the old home place, and Minnie, who is the wife of Fred Moller. Mr. Rauert has wit- nessed the great changes that have come in farm life, machinery taking the place of the horse and ox teams of the early days.

CHARLES J. PALMER, who is an enter- prising and prosperous business man of Grand Island, and an active and reputable citizen, was born in this city, July 10, 1882. He is the son of Hiram J. Palmer, a sketch of whom will be found in this work.

Charles J. Palmer attended the public schools of Grand Island and later had further educational advantages in the Baptist College. He has always been industrious, starting into business in boyhood and pursuing different lines as opportunity offered in his home sur- roundings. He then went to Oklahoma, where he remained for a number of years. During that period he was interested in rais- ing thoroughbred Poland China hogs. In 1905 he returned to Grand Island to become manager of an independent telephone com- pany. He established the Palmer Delivery Company and since February, 1916, he has done a heavy ice business, probably having the largest trade in this necessary commodity in Grand Island.

Mr. Palmer married, July 15, 1904, Miss Olga F. Stolley, who is a daughter of Wil- . liam Stolley, a very early settler in Hall County. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have three children : Lillian, Grace, and Richard Hiram, both daughters being in school. Mr. Palmer has always subscribed to the principles of the Republican party. He is a member of sev- eral fraternal organizations, belonging to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 604, Grand Island, and the Loyal Order of Moose.

CHARLES I. McALLISTER, active in business circles at Grand Island, belongs to an old and prominent pioneer family. He was born in Grand Island, July 23, 1882, a son of Robert Henry and Mary (Frasier) McAl- lister, and a grandson of William McAllister, who was one of the earliest settlers in Merrick County. It is a part of local history that William McAllister was instrumental in es- tablishing old Fort Sour Kraut, which was a haven to which the pioneers hurried when there was danger from the Indians. Late in life he removed to Grand Island and died there.

Robert Henry McAllister, father of Charles I., was born in Iowa, being a young child when his parents brought him to Nebraska. He was reared on his father's pioneer farm in Merrick County, from which he came to Hall County and isettled in Grand Island where he engaged in building and contracting, erecting many of the first structures in this city. Later he was in the well digging and pump business. In 1883 he established the hardware business which has been carried on by the family up to the present time. He was not only an enterprising business man but was also active in civic affairs, and was a member of the city council for nine years. In politics he was a Republican; in religion an Episcopalian, and fraternally he belonged to the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the A. O. U. W. His death occurred in Grand Island in July, 1917. He married in this city Mary Frasier, who was born in Indiana. They had four children: Robert, in the hard- ware business in Grand Island; Charles I., in the hardware business here; Wray, the wife of J. F. Egan, a traveling salesman for Swift & Company, and Mable, the wife of Walter Knicely, who is in the real estate business at Hastings, Nebraska.

Charles I. McAllister obtained his educa- tional training in the Grand Island schools. Afterward he entered his father's hardware

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store, being trained there along commercial . lines, continuing until he enlisted for service in the World War, to receive his military training at Camp Pike, Arkansas. He was honorably discharged December 14, 1918. With his mother and brother Robert, he owns the hardware business established by his father. In politics he is a Republican, and fraternally belongs to the local lodge of Elks.

ROBERT N. McALLISTER, part pro- prietor of the leading hardware store at Grand Island, and president of the Hardware As- sociation of the State of Nebraska, is one of Grand Island's active and influential bus- iness men. He has been identified with this line of endeavor since early boyhood and his election to the office of head of the representa- tive body in the state, indicates the esteem in which he is held by his associates.

Robert N. McAllister was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, July 9, 1881, a son of Robert H. and Mary (Frasier) McAllister. His father was born in Iowa and his mother in Indiana. Robert H. McAllister was brought to Nebraska in childhood by his father, William McAllister, who was among the first pioneers in Merrick County, secur- ing a homestead there when many Indians yet remained in that section. Robert H. Mc- Allister became a man of prominence and capital in Grand Island, where he resided for many years, passing away in July, 1917. Of his four children, Robert N. was the first born.

Mr. McAllister obtained his education in the public schools and began to assist his father in the hardware store in boyhood, his father encouraging him in thrifty habits by paying a slight wage. Robert invested his savings in a building and loan association. In 1904 he became his father's partner and since the latter's death, the business has become the joint property of Robert N. and Charles I. McAllister and their mother. It is one of the largest hardware houses in Hall County.

On May 17, 1916, Mr. McAllister married Miss Rhoda D. Campbell, who was born in Pennsylvania. Mrs. McAllister belongs to the noble sisterhood of trained nurses and recently. during the influenza epidemic, ren- dered invaluable professional service in Grand Island. As a captain of Company M, Fifth Nebraska National Guards, Mr. McAllister served on the Mexican border from July 14, 1916, to February, 1917. He is a Royal Arch Mason, an Odd Fellow and has represented his lodge at the Grand Lodge, and an Elk.

He is a Republican in politics and has always taken an active interest in home affairs, at one time accepting the position of chief of the fire department. He has represented the hard- ware state body in conventions in four states, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa and Colorado.

HARRY A. CAREY, a progressive and substantial business man of Grand Island and an expert in watch and jewelry repairing, came to this city in 1903 and since that time has been identified with this trade, having become the senior partner in the well known firm of Carey & Nietfield. They have a large, well stocked jewelry store, an efficient repair department and their judgment is relied on when jewelry values are under consideration.

Harry A. Carey was born at Walnut, Pot- tawattamie County, Iowa, in 1882. His par- ents are W. A. and Rose (Woods) Carey, who reside at Walnut, his father being a retired farmer. Of their three children, Harry A. is the oldest, the others being: Pearl, the wife of Victor Kreitz, of Des Moines, Iowa; and Gladys, the wife of Otto Hennings, a farmer in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

Mr. Carey had public school advantages. being graduated from the Walnut High School in 1899. He was permitted to choose his own vocation and as he had a natural leaning toward mechanics, he decided to learn watch- making and for that purpose entered a watch factory at Peoria, Illinois. From there he came to Grand Island in 1903 and for the nine succeeding years worked for the well known jeweler, Max Egge. In 1912 Mr. Carey formed a business partnership with W. D. Nietfield, an association which has been continued along expanding lines ever since. under the firm style of Carey & Nietfield.

Mr. Carey married in 1903, Miss Edith Broughton, who was born at Walnut. Iowa. They have two daughters, Martha Janette and Mary Jane. In politics Mr. Carey is a Republican and is always prepared to defend his convictions but has never been active in public matters. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and also is a member of the Elks.

JOHN SASS, who worthily bears an old Hall County name, has spent almost his entire life here, although he was born in Wyoming. May 10, 1871. He was the second child in a family of nine, his parents being Detlef and Eliza (Kuhl) Sass, natives of Germany. The mother of Mr. Sass still survives, re- siding today on the old family homestead amily home Digitized by

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in Hall County. The father, a sturdy pio- neer, came to Nebraska in early manhood, being one of the first nine men to settle in Hall County. He was married here and then removed to Wyoming, where the following five years were spent. On his return to Hall County he took up a homestead two miles southwest of Grand Island. He remained on that place for a number of years, devoting himself to its improvement. His death oc- curred in Oregon. During life he voted with the Democratic party, and with his wife be- longed to the Lutheran church.

John , Sass attended the Grand Island schools, and having an inclination toward com. mercial life, attended a business college for two terms. For a number of years, however, he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, living on the farm. In the meanwhile he was wide awake to business opportunity and later accepted the management of the Third City Bottling Works which he has conducted with marked success to the present time. He has also had much to do with the rapid growth of the automobile industry in Hall County, and for some time has been very successful in handling, as agent, the Chevrolet cars. This encouraging prosperity has led to a recent business undertaking by which he has become district agent for twenty counties for the incomparable Allis-Chalmers Tractor, with the expectation of vigorously carrying on his activities in the near future.

Mr. Sass married in June, 1916, Miss Minnie Schirkofsky, who was born in Ger- many, a daughter of William Schirkofsky, who now lives in Grand Island. Mr. and Mrs. Sass have no children. He is prominent in the councils of the Democratic party in Hall County and in 1915 was elected super- visor and was re-elected in 1917, an office he still efficiently fills. He belongs to the Sons of Herman, to the Liederkranz and the Low Dutch Society.

KRANK O. KUNZE. - In Frank Kunze, proprietor of a fine harware business in Grand Island, is found a self-made man, one who has built up his fortunes through his own un- assited efforts, which, as many men will tes- tify, is not an easy thing to accomplish. It requires courage, industry and often the closest economy to get even an appreciable start in life, and those who do succeed should be given much credit when compared with those who have advanced under easier cir- cumstances. Mr. Kunze has always been a busy man and has been connected with several

lines but since 1914 has devoted himself ex- clusively to the hardware trade.

Frank Kunze was born in Saxony, Ger- many, May 29th, 1874. His parents were Julius and Caroline (Esche) Kunze, also natives of Germany, who spent their lives in their native land. They reared seven children of whom Frank and Reinhardt were the only ones to come to the United States. The latter is a substantial farmer in Hall County. The brothers were ambitious, attended school and worked on their father's farm in Germany. In 1894 Frank Kunze came alone to the United States immediately locating in Grand Island. For the first two years following he worked at such odd jobs as he could find and afterward was employed for three years on a farm. Subsequently he was engaged by Fred Roth as a barkeeper remaining with him four years before he embarked in the saloon business for himself, remaining in the retail liquor business in this city for the next nine years. In 1911 Mr. Kunze purchased the hardware store of Rudolph Pistorius and im- mediately began to add to his stock, open up new lines of trade, a policy he has con- tinued and now has the satisfaction of know- ing that in five years he has increased the volume of his business fully 200 per cent.

Mr. Kunze married, in 1904, Miss Louisa Engel, who was born in South Dakota, a daughter of August Engel, who came to Hall County in the early days, driving an ox team. He worked at the carpenter trade in Grand Island for some years and then went to South Dakota prospecting for gold and while there Mrs. Kunze was born. Later he returned to Grand Island and now lives with Mr. and Mrs. Kunze, who have two children : Clayton, who is eight years old, and Hazel, aged six years.

Mr. Kunze is a sound Requblican but has never been willing to accept a public office other than in a fratenral organization, serv- ing eight years as secretary of the Sons of Herman, and at different times has held the office of president of the Liederkranz Society. He is a member and liberal supporter of the Lutheran church.

LOUIS E. UPPERMAN, an enterprising business man and dependable citizen of Grand Island, has been a resident of Hall County for many years, ably assisting in the develop- ment of prominent enterprises here, one of these being the implement business in which he was associated with George A. Leiser.

Louis E. Upperman was born in Miami

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County, Ohio, August 26, 1856, the son of Conrad and Caroline (Baumgarden) Upper- man, both of whom were born in Germany. The mother was brought to the United States by her parents in childhood, while the father came later in young manhood. After reaching America he conducted hotels at Piqua and St. Mary's, Ohio. Mr. Upperman's mother died when he was eighteen months old, in consequence he was reared by his maternal grandfather, Frederick Baumgarden. His one sister, Emma, is the wife of John Mader, a farmer in Hall County. The parents were members of the Lutheran church.

Mr. Upperman attended the district schools when he was a boy but had no unusual zd- ucational advantages. He grew up on his grandfather's farm but was ambitious and started out for himself working by the month on farms until 1880, when he came to Hall County, purchasing school land. During the seven years he lived on this farm he endured the usual hardships of that early day and perhaps it was the realization of the necessity of good water for stock that turned his at- tention to the well and pump business. At the end of seven years in the country Mr. Upperman removed to Grand Island, engaged in the pump business which prospered and gradually began the handling of farm imple- ments, subsequently entering into partnership with George A. Leiser. The firm name was Upperman & Leiser; the business had ex- panded until they had one of the largest houses in their line in the country. They erected a commodious and convenient building, with dimensions of sixty-six by one hundred and ten feet, two stories high with full basement using the entire structure. Having acquired a comfortable competency by industry and a . successful business career, Mr. Upperman retired from active participation in business in 1919.

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History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 92

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co. Number of Pages: 1011

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 1011