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679

parents and located in Platte County, on a farm twelve miles northeast of Columbus. He was one of a family of thirteen children.

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Carl F. Ewert

He attended school in Germany, and a rural school in Platte County, after which he engaged in farming in Platte and Colfax Counties until 1911, when he opened and operated a general merchandise store in Monroe, Nebraska. He remained there until 1913, when he bought the William J. Voss implement business, at Twenty-fifth Avenue and Eleventh Street, which he operated until 1920.

In 1920, his brother, August, became a co-partner, and the firm was operated as Ewert Brothers, until February, 1927. In 1928, the business was incorporated.

On May 7, 1905, at Christ Lutheran Church, in Bismark Township, Carl married Minnie Hake, daughter of John Henry and Elsie Grotluschen Hake, natives of Oldenburg, Germany. Mr. Hake was born December 12, 1848, and Mrs. Hake was born March 22, 1859.

Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Ewert had seven children: George, president of the George Ewert Implement Company, of Columbus, is married to Barbara Triba; Walter, a co-partner in the Pawnee and Ewert Service Stations in Columbus, is married to Henrietta Schroeder; Oscar, a co-partner of the Pawnee Service and Ewert Service Stations, is married to Dorothea Tiaden; Carl, III, who has the Insulation, Roofing and Painting Company, in Columbus and surrounding territories, is married to Willa Mae Jacobs, and lives in Columbus; Esther is the wife of Elmer Honath, of River Forest, Illinois; Margaret is the wife of Paul Ahrens, and lives in Columbus; Eleanor is married to Carroll Berchtold, and lives in Columbus Township. They all attended the Columbus schools and were graduated from the Columbus High School. Walter, Oscar and Carl are veterans of World War II.

Carl F. Ewert was affiliated with the Democratic Party and during his life was prominent in its councils both city and county. He held memberships in the Izaak Walton League and the Columbus Maennerchor Society. He was a member of the Board of Education from 1921 to 1927.

Mr. and Mrs. Ewert belonged to the Immanuel Lutheran Church, in Columbus.

GEORGE H. EWERT

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George H. Ewert

George H. Ewert, son of Carl F. and Minnie Hake Ewert, was born in Colfax County, at Richland, Nebraska, February 28, 1907. His brothers are Walter, Oscar, and Carl, III, of Columbus. George attended school at Monroe and Columbus, where he was graduated from Kramer High School.

On January 12, 1925, he married Barbara Triba, daughter of Andrew and Anna Czapla Triba. Mr. Triba was born in Pilzrio, Poland, September 11, 1866, and came to Platte County in 1876. Mrs. Triba was born in Pilzno, also, on January 31, (sic)

George and Barbara Ewert have two daughters: Ruth was graduated from St. Bonaventure's High School in 1943, and was employed at the George H. Ewert Implement Company, thereafter. On June 25, 1947. she married Leo L. Syslo, who is associated with her father's company. Betty Ewert was graduated from St. Bonaventure's High School in 1944, and the National Business Institute, at Lincoln, in 1945, after which she was employed by her father. She married Kenneth Greiner, of Greiner's Market, at 2419 Eleventh Street. They have one son, Kenneth, Jr., born September 9, 1948.

George H. entered the Ewert Brothers Implement Company in January, 1925. After the death of his father, in 1927, he was associated in the business with his uncle, August Ewert.

In 1943, he established the George H. Ewert Farm Implement, Hardware and Electrical Equipment Business, at 2420 Eleventh Street. He is also owner and manager of the George Ewert Motor and Implement Company, at 2412 Eleventh Street.

Mr. Ewert served as a member of the City Council for two terms. He is a member of the Columbus Fire Department and politically, is a Democrat. The Ewerts are members of St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church, in Columbus.

WALTER EWALD EWERT

Walter E. Ewert, co-partner in the Pawnee Service, and Ewert Service Stations, was born May 18, 1908, in Colfax County, the son of Carl F. and Minnie Hake Ewert. Walter attended the Columbus schools and was graduated from Kramer High School, where he was outstanding in athletics and was on the school football and basketball teams.

On September 13, 1923, in Logan, Iowa, he married Henrietta M. Schroeder, daughter of Louis, Jr. and Mary A. Weber Schroeder. Mr. Schroeder, a house mover and contractor, was born October 10, 1882, in


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Columbus, and died May 15, 1942. Mrs. Schroeder was born May 28, 1886, at Humphrey, Nebraska.

Walter and Henrietta Schroeder Ewert are the parents of two daughters: Shirley Mae, born November 10, 1935; and Barbara Jean, born September 1, 1937. Both girls attended St. Bonaventure's School.

During World War II, Walter Ewert served with the United States Navy, at Farragut, Idaho, He is a member of the American Legion.

After completing school, Walter worked in the Ewert Brothers Implement Company. He and his brother, Oscar, formed a partnership in the Pawnee Service Station, at 2402 Eleventh Street, in 1933, and later expanded their business to include the Ewert Service, at Thirteenth Street and Thirty-third Avenue.

OSCAR AUGUST EWERT

Oscar August Ewert, co-partner of the Pawnee Service and the Ewert Service Stations, in Columbus, was born January 18, 1911, in Platte County, Nebraska, the son of Carl F. and Minnie Hake Ewert.

Oscar attended the Columbus city schools, the Immanuel Lutheran Parochial School, and was graduated from Kramer High School. He is a co-partner with his brother, Walter, in the Pawnee Service Station, at 2402 Eleventh Street, and the Ewert Service Station, at Thirteenth Street and Thirty-third Avenue, in Columbus.

On June 3, 1937, Oscar August Ewert married Dorothea Ida Tiaden, daughter of George, Sr. and Ida Lemp Tiaden. Mr. Tiaden, a farmer, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, October 4, 1877, and Mrs. Tiaden was born in Columbus, September 10, 1888.

Oscar and Dorothea Tiaden Ewert have one daughter, Donna Jean, born July 24, 1943.

The Oscar Ewerts are members of the Evangelical Reformed Church at Gruetli, and Mr. Ewert belongs to the brotherhood of that church. He holds membership in the Eagles Lodge, Izaak Walton League, and the American Legion. Politically, he is a Democrat.

ERNEST EWERT

Ernest Ewert was born March 11, 1895, on a farm in Bismark Township. He is the son of Carl and Caroline Boettcher Ewert.

Ernest Ewert attended the parochial school at Christ Lutheran Church in Bismark Township. lie was a farmer in Platte County for twenty years. He now works for Ewert Brothers.

During World War I, Mr. Ewert served in the United States Armed Forces one and one-half years in the United States, and with the A.E.F. in France. He participated in the Marne Defensive, the Marne Offensive, St. Mihiel Offensive, and in the Meuse Argonne Defense Sector. He was wounded in action October 1, 1918, and was awarded the Purple Heart.

On April 20, 1921, he was married at Seward, Nebraska, to Miss Clara Hackbart, daughter of Henry and Lena Hackbart. Mr. Hackbart was born in Pomerania, Germany, August 31, 1851, and died January 23, 1913. Mrs. Hackbart was born at Berwald, Germany, September 10, 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Ewert had one daughter, Ruth Ewert, who is married to Robert Trofholz.

Mr. Ewert was a former member of the County Supervisors of Platte County, and is a charter member of the Platte County Agriculture Association.

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Ewert are members of the Immanuel Lutheran Church. Mrs. Ewert is a member of the Ladies Aid of that Church.

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August Ewert

AUGUST EWERT

August Ewert, son of Carl and Caroline Boettcher Ewert, was born March 24, 1891, in Bismark Township, Platte County, and attended the rural schools there.

In the fall of 1913, his brother, Carl F., bought the W. J. Voss Implement Company, at the northeast corner of Twenty-fifth Avenue and Eleventh Street, and established the C. F. Ewert Implement Business. August was employed by his brother from 1914-1920, at which time the two brothers formed a partnership and the firm name was changed to Ewert Brothers.

After Carl's death, in 1927, Ewert Brothers Company was incorporated, and August became its president. He continued as president until 1941, when he became sole owner. In 1943, he moved the business to newer and larger quarters. His son, Adrian, became associated with him in the business at 2817 Thirteenth Street, in 1948.

On December 17, 1917, August Ewert married Mathilda Hake, daughter of John Henry and Elise Grotluschen Hake, natives of Oldenburg, Germany, who settled in the German community northeast of Columbus. August and Mathilda Ewert had three children: Henrietta is married to Erwin L. Krumland, and they have one son, John August; in 1949 Arlo was graduated from Washington University, in St. Louis; in March, 1948, Adrian married Gloria Proskovec, the daughter of Doctor and Mrs. L. A, Proskovec, and they live in Columbus where Adrian is associated with his father in business. Mathilda Hake Ewert died Jan-



Biography
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uary 22, 1927. On January 25, 1948, August Ewert married Mary Widheim, daughter of Frank and Anna Korth Widheim, of Humphrey. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Ewert served as Deputy County Clerk of Platte County for fifteen years, 1933-1948.

August Ewert has been prominent in civic affairs in Columbus. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a past director of the Loup River Public Power District, where he served for six years. He holds membership in the Izaak Walton League. He is a Lutheran, and politically is affiliated with the Democratic Party.

NELLIE EMELIE FAHEY

Nellie Emelie Fahey, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Fahey, was born in Sterling, Illinois. Her father, a farmer, was born in Limerick, Ireland, on March 17, 1841, and came to Platte County in December, 1875, from Sterling, Illinois. Mr. Fahey died in July, 1906, at Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Mrs. Fahey was born December 23. 1845, at Queenstown, Ireland, and died November 22, 1918, at Seattle, Washington.

Nellie Fahey had five brothers and four sisters: Edward Francis married Sarah Glassey. They had ten children and are living in Puyallup, Washington. David John Fahey was married to Mary Agnes Hayes. They have six children and live in Seattle, Washington. James Raphael Fahey married Ida Elenor Myrle Emdee. James died in Seattle in August, 1946. William George, and Raymond Ambrose; Louisa Genevieve married Edward Francis Morrissey and they had four children. Edward F. died in 1910, in Higgins, Texas, and Louisa G. died in 1936, in Oklahoma City. Mary Frances married Mallary H. Inglish, and they had one child. Mallary H. died in 1939, in Bremerton, Washington, and Mary now lives near Bremerton. Sarah Lillian married William David Bowling, and they had three children. William D. died in 1945, in Bremerton, Washington, and Lillian lives near Bremerton. Kathleen Phoebe married William CaIdwell Warren. Kathleen died in 1918, in Seattle, and William lives in Colorado Springs.

Nellie Fahey attended the District 60 School in Platte County, the Fremont Normal, and the Lincoln State University.

After her graduation, she began teaching in Platte County. She taught first at District a, the Noonan School, then at District 38, the Cornlea School. From there, she became instructor at District 75, the James School, and then District 72, Logemann's School.

In 1938, Miss Fahey taught citizenship to nineteen different nationalities near Bremerton, Washington. She has also taught in business college.

In 1890, in Platte Center, while a high school pupil, Miss Fahey won a fifteen dollar prize in the "Fifteen Dollar Scholar's Premium" contest for writing a story of Platte County. In 1905, she won first prize for the best essay written on Oklahoma, in a contest sponsored by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad Company, and was awarded one hundred dollars in transportation.

Miss Fahey is a member of the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, in Washington, and is a member of the Washington Educational Association. She has retired from teaching and lives near Bremerton, Washington.

JOHN FAIRBAIRN

John Fairbairn, son of Alfred and Elizabeth James Fairbairn, natives of England, was born in London, England, July 7, 1898, and died February 2, 1941, in Columbus, Nebraska. He had one brother and four sisters.

John spent his boyhood in London, where he attended St. Andrew's School until the age of fourteen, when he entered the London office of Armour & Company, as an office boy. On July 16, 1916, he enlisted in the Seventh City of London Infantry Regiment and was sent to the French battlefield with his unit early in 1917. He received a knee wound in action, during the battle of Ypres, September 20, 1917, and received his discharge from the English army, June 18, 1918.

Following this, he re-entered the employ of Armour and Company, was made superintendent of the firm's cargo and shipping department. He remained there until October, 1925, when he immigrated to the United States, with his wife and son, Ronald, coming directly to Columbus.

His first position was manager of the Swan Theatre, at Villisca, Iowa, owned by William Swan, of Columbus, an uncle of Mrs. Fairbairn. After fourteen months in Villisca, he returned to Columbus in 1927, to take charge of sales for the Frigidaire Corporation, in a branch office opened here by the firm. In 1928, when Dussell and Son took the Columbus agency for Frigidaire he entered the Dussell employ, where he remained until February, 1940. He was employed for a short time in 1940, at the Viergutz Lumber and Coal Company.

On July 27, 1919, John Fairbairn married Rose Swan, of London, England, at St. Andrew's Church. They had one son, Ronald, who attended the Columbus Schools and was graduated from Kramer High School in 1941. He attended Wentworth Military Academy and Kearney State Normal. He served with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1945, He married Betty Davis, of St. Peter, Minnesota, and they live in St. Peter, where Ronald is in partnership in an electrical appliance and plumbing business.

The Fairbairns are Episcopalians. Mrs. Fairbairn lives in Columbus, where she is an active worked for Grace Episcopal Church.

GEORGE FAIRCHILD

George Fairchild was born September 21, 1854, in Danbury, Connecticut, and died October 7, 1914, at Wilbur, Nebraska. In 1871, when he was seventeen, he came to Platte County from Columbus, Ohio. He was an efficient accountant, and spent most of his years in that work. His first work in Columbus, Nebraska, was with the Arnold Jewelry Store, where he learned the


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jewelry trade. He was then employed by the Union Pacific Railroad for several years before he became accountant with the firm of Speice and North. Later, he was associated with W. A, Way, in the coal business. He was the first local manager of the Bell Telephone Company in Columbus, and while engaged in that capacity, was appointed to the responsible position of Assistant State Auditor. His last work was state examiner of county treasurer's books.

On May 6, 1885, George Fairchild married Elenora Bremer, daughter of Charles and Mary Becher Bremer. Mr. Bremer was one of thirteen founders of Columbus, and Mrs. Bremer was the daughter of Gustavus G. Becher, Sr., and sister of Mrs. C. A. Speice, Mrs. Phillip Metz, and Gustavus G. Becher, Jr., the founder of the Becher, Hockenberger, and Chambers firm in Columbus. Elenora Bremer was born in Omaha, February 16, 1864.

George and Elenora Bremer Fairchild had one daughter, Mary. Mrs. Frank Justus, who with Mr. Justus lives in the old Fairchild home, at 2221 Tenth Street.

George Fairchild considered public office a public trust. He was well known in Columbus, where he belonged to several fraternal organizations. He was the first chief of the Columbus Fire Department, and politically, was a Republican. He was a member of the Grace Episcopal Church.

JOHN FREDERICK FEYE

John Frederick Feye, son of J. Herman and Louisa Leiszner Feye, natives of Oldcnburg, Germany, was born in Ahlhorn Oldenburg. Germany, July 22, 1873. His father owned and operated a small farm there.

John attended school in his native village and worked on his father's farm until 1890, when he immigrated to the United States, and came to Platte County, Nebraska.

Upon his arrival, he was employed on a farm and later learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for nine years.

On July 26, 1900, John F. Feye married Alma Wurdeman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wurdeman, pioneer settlers in Sherman Township. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Feye established their home on some of the Wurdeman land, in Sherman Township.

John and Alma Wurdeman Feye had three sons: Otto Frederick, Walter Hellmuth, and Arthur William. They attended the Boheet School, and Otto and Walter finished there. Otto married Hildagard E. Dasenbrock, and Walter married Florence W. Lueschen. Both live in Sherman Township.

Mr. and Mrs. John F. Feye and their son, Arthur, moved to Columbus in the early 1920's, and established their home at 821 Twenty-third Avenue. Mr. Feye died January 12, 1939.

ARTHUR WILLIAM FEYE

Arthur William Feye, son of John Frederick and Alma Wurdeman Feye, was born in Sherman Township, April 2, 1915. His father was born in Oldenburg, Germany, July 22, 1873, and came to Platte County from there in 1890. His mother was born in Sherman Township, October 12, 1878. His maternal grandfather, John H. Wurdeman, came to Platte County in 1869, and was one of the first settlers in Sherman Township.

Arthur William has two brothers: Otto is married to Hildagard E. Dasenbrock, and Walter is married to Florence W. Lueschen. Both brothers are engaged in farming, in Sherman Township.

Arthur attended the Bohect School District 46, Columbus Junior High School, and was graduated from Kramer High School, in Columbus. On April 14, 1940, he married Marie Helen Hassebrook, daughter of Anton and Minnie Gehring Hassebrook, of Platte Center. Mr. and Mrs. Feye have two daughters: Ardia Marie, born in Columbus, October 22, 1942; and Janice, born in Columbus, November 2, 1943.

During World War II, Arthur Feye was with the Army Corps of Engineers. He entered the service August 6, 1943, and was discharged November 18, 1945. He served in the United States and in the European Theatre of Operations. He is a member of the American Legion and also the National Guard.

After returning from service, he was employed as a produce buyer for Swift and Company. He is now in Civil Service and is at the Columbus Post Office.

The Feyes are members of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbus, and Mr. Feye is a member of the Builder's Club and the brotherhood of that church.

FRANK GEORGE FISCHER

Frank George Fischer, son of Mathias and Kathrine Best Fischer, was born in Humphrey, Nebraska, August 23. 1885. His father, a native of Luxemburg, Germany, immigrated to this country in the fall of 1878, and settled in Platte County, near Humphrey. Mrs. Fischer was from Cincinnati, Ohio. Mathias and his wife had seven children: Barbara Fischer Venteicher, Michael. Celia Fischer Hittner, Anthony, Lena Fischer Kruse, Rose, and Frank.

After receiving his early education and farm training, Frank Fischer married Mary Martha Miller, daughter of Michael and Mary Ann McDonald Miller.

Frank and Mary Miller Fischer have seven children: Francis, born, December 24, 1913; Mary Ann, born August 19, 1915; Dolores, born May 13, 1920; Leo, born February 22, 1922; and Frank, Jr., born September 7, 1927. Two other children, Paul and Betty, are now deceased.

Mr. Fischer has always been engaged in farming. He is a member of St. Francis Catholic Church of Humphrey, and a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters.

ERNST F. FISCHER

Ernst F. Fischer was born in Germany, August 12, 1868, and came to Nebraska in 1888. He settled in Wisner, and moved from there to Platte County, in 1903. Both of his parents remained in Germany and died


Biography
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Ernst F. Fischer

there. Ernst has one brother and one sister, both of whom came to this country.

On October 23, 1892, in Norfolk, Nebraska, Ernst Fischer married Martha Nitz, daughter of Carle and Mathilda Nitz, who were natives of Germany, and after coming to the United States, settled in Norfolk. The Ernst Fischers have three children: Frank, born in Norfolk, September 7, 1893; Mrs. Anna Croft, born March 18, 1896; Mrs. Esther Tessendorf, born in Platte Center, August 29, 1910.

Mr. Fischer has been engaged in the lumber business for over sixty years. He worked for the Edwards and Bradford Lumber Company as manager, for twenty-five years, and then established the Ernst Fischer Lumber Company in Platte Center, which he has operated since. Politically, Mr. Fischer supports the Democratic Party. He is a member of the Grace Lutheran Church, of Platte Center.

 

E. D. FITZPATRICK

Edward D. Fitzpatrick, a pioneer merchant and one time Mayor of Columbus, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, November 5, 1842. His parents were natives of Ireland. He received his education in the Cleveland schools, and served in the Northern Army during the Civil War. On August 10, 1861, he enlisted in Company E of the Forty-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the battle of Shifoh, where he was wounded. He was discharged from the army because of these wounds.

On December 13, 1865, in Cleveland, Ohio, he married Mary Ann Andrews, a native of Bolton, Lancashire, England. She was born December 15, 1845, and immigrated to this country with her parents, going to Cleveland, when a young girl.

After their marriage, they remained in Cleveland until 1870, when they came west to Nebraska, and located in Lost Creek Township, Platte County, seven miles northwest of Columbus, where Mr. Fitzpatrick had taken a soldier's homestead. He was one of the earliest settlers in the Township. After two years, he went to California, but returned to Columbus again in 1873, where he was engaged for a time in various occupations related to building, such as plastering and brick-laying.

In 1876, he opened a store where he sold books, stationery, musical instruments, and notions. Later, he had the White Front Drygoods Store, at 2513 Thirteenth Street, which is now occupied by Scotts Store.

Edward D. and Mary Ann Fitzpatrick had seven children: Jennie, Sarah, Edward, and Grace are deceased; Mary, Venerable Sister M. Edwarda, a Franciscan Sister of Charity, at the Good Samaritan Hospital, in Keamey, Nebraska, was connected with St. Mary's Hospital in Columbus for several years; Agnes is Mrs. John J. Murphy, of Denver, Colorado; Grace, was Mrs. Leo Sedler, of Omaha; Edward was married to Esther Johnson, a former Columbus girl, who is deceased; Jerome lived in Ohio, after leaving Columbus.

The Fitzpatrick family home was on Eighteenth Street and Twenty-seventh Avenue, in Columbus. A. W. Frischolz now lives in the house, which has been moved back from the corner.

Mr. Fitzpatrick died in the early 1900's, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick, Sarah, Grace and Jerome made their home here until after Mrs. Fitzpatrick's death in May, 1911.

E. D. Fitzpatrick was Mayor of Columbus, in 1898-1899.

FELIX FIX

Felix Fix, son of Thomas and Katherine Roth Fix, was born October 10, 1895, in the village of Kuresakova, sixty kilometers north of Odessa, Russia. His grandparents and great-grandparents were natives of Germany. His paternal grandfather was seven years old when he and his parents emigrated from Germany into Russia, and settled with other Germans south of Odessa, near the Dniester River, in the village of Klein Liebendahl.

In this village, about 1880, Thomas Fix married Katherine Roth. They had ten children: Joseph, Bernard, Julia, George, Mary, Felix, Maggie, Barbara, who died in Russia, when two weeks old; Emma and Conrad.

At the age of twenty, Bernard came to America, to join relatives here, and the next year, in 1907, following a bumper crop in 1906, Thomas and Katherine Fix disposed of their farm, farm implements, horses and other possessions in Russia, and with eight of their children, immigrated to the United States. Thirty days after leaving Russia, they arrived at Bowdle, South Dakota, where they bought land and established their home.

During their life in the new country, Mr. and Mrs. Fix, like all pioneers, suffered many hardships. Three of their children, Joseph, Bernard and Maggie, died in October, 1918, during the terrible epidemic of influenza. Julia died in 1921, and George died following an operation. Mary and Emma live in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Mary married J. C. Hauck, and Emma married Emanuel Blumhardt. Conrad married Hildegarth Schlepp. They live in Bowdle, South Dakota.

Felix Fix was eleven years old when he came to South Dakota from Russia. He attended the public schools in the winter and worked on the farm in. the summer,


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