NEGenWeb Project
Resource Center
On-Line Library

Staniec. Peter and Agnes Niedzwiecke have three children: Dorothy, born January 21, 1932; Frances, born September 17, 1933; and Irene, born January 2, 1935.

Mr. Niedzwiecke served one year in the United States Army during the First World War, both in the United States and with the A.E.F. in France. He served in the R.R.H. Service from July 22, 1918, to July 15, 1919.

He is a member of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church of Duncan, and politically aligns himself with the Democratic Party.

EDWARD MARTIN NIELSEN

Edward Martin Nielsen, prominent Columbus business man, and owner of the Nielsen Chevrolet Company, was born on October 27, 1899, in Omaha, Nebraska. He came to Columbus February 25, 1925. Prior to that time he had lived in Omaha and at Deering, Nebraska. He attended the Omaha schools and was graduated from High School there. In Omaha he was the foreman of the Ford Motor Company. He had two brothers and one sister, I. B. Nielsen, Walter H. Nielsen, and Mrs. Paul Andersen.

Upon his arrival in Columbus, he established an automobile business, which eventually developed into the dealership for the Chevrolet and Buick automobiles. Edward Nielsen established his automobile business at the northwest corner of Thirteenth Street and Twenty-third Avenue in 1928. Since that time, he has expanded his business to include automobile agencies at North Platte, Kearney, Scottsbluff, and Gering, Nebraska.

On February 23, 1928, Edward M. Nielsen was married to Effie Helen Cox, the daughter of Harry and Luella Cox, in Omaha. They have one daughter, Roberta Jean, born January 30, 1932, and one son, Edward Martin Jr., born November 27, 1937. Both Roberta and Edward Jr. attended the Columbus public schools. Roberta Jean was graduated from Kramer High School in 1949, and attended Lindenwood College at St. Charles, Missouri.

In addition to his activities in the automobile field, Edward M. Nielsen has been interested in farming, stockraising, and ranching. He is the owner of several Platte County farms. For several years he served as a director of the Platte County Agricultural Society and has been active in the promotion and management of the Platte County Agricultural Park. Since the establishment of horse races he has been a member of the Racing Committee. His hobbies are hunting, fishing and horses.

He is a member of the Wayside Country Club, the B.P.O.E. (Elks), the A. F. & A. M., the Lions International, and the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Nielsen are members of the Federated Church of Columbus.

EDWARD J. NIEWOHNER

Edward J. Niewohner, son of John and Minnie Kuhn Niewohner, was born December 19, 1859, at Burlington, Iowa, and died February 25, 1947, in Columbus, Nebraska.

Edward Niewohner started his business career as a jeweler, watchmaker, and optometrist, at Logan, Iowa. When he was sixteen, his father took him to Bielefeld, Germany, where he was an apprentice to a German jeweler and watchmaker for four years. In those days, an apprentice had to learn to build a watch, as integral parts could not be bought from manufacturers as they can today. In 1885, he sold his jewelry business in Logan, Iowa, and purchased a store in Port Byron, Illinois, a small town on the east bank of the Mississippi River. This town did not give him sufficient outlet for his well-developed profession, so four years later, in 1890, he moved west and finally settled in Columbus.

He purchased the established business of John Heitkemper, located on Eleventh Street, which was then the main street of Columbus. Sensing the gradual move to the north side of town, he built a store which during the 1940's was occupied by the United Cleaners, at 1261 Twenty-sixth Avenue. As his business grew, Mr. Niewohner purchased the lot on the southeast corner of Thirteenth Street and Twenty-sixth Avenue, and erected the building now known as the Niewohner Block, at 1273 Twenty-sixth Avenue. He paid two thousand dollars for that small lot, the highest price paid for a business lot in Columbus at that time. In 1948, the Miessler Book Store was established in that location. While in the jewelry business Mr. Niewohner was the best known jeweler in the state of Nebraska, and was the first president of the Nebraska Jewelers' Association.

On October 25, 1881, he was married to Frances Hiernich, at Logan, Iowa. Mrs. Niewohner died November 9, 1934, in Columbus. Edward J. and Frances Hiernich Niewohner had one daughter, Blanche Gertrude, Mrs. Herman Kersenbrock.

During the time Mr. Niewohner served as City Treasurer the North Opera House was built, at the northwest corner of Thirteenth Street and Twenty-fourth Avenue. This building was bought and rebuilt by Harold Kramer and Otto Walter, and is now occupied by Montgomery Ward and Company.

Edward J. Niewohner was a member of the City Council, a charter member of the Columbus Lodge of Elks, and for many years, a trustee of that organization. He also held memberships in the Izaak Walton League, the Woodmen of America, the Highlanders and the Masonic Lodge.

THOMAS AND MARGARET CANNON NOONAN

Thomas Noonan was born in Ireland. He emigrated from there to New York City where he met his future wife, Margaret Cannon, who was born in Londonderry City, Ireland, on April 20, 1848. Orphaned at an early age, she came to America with an aunt, with whom she made her home. They landed in Castle Garden, New York, in 1859. The family home was established in Providence, New York, but Miss Cannon spent several years completing her education in a convent school conducted by the Presentation Nuns. She also spent a year in New Bedford, Massachusetts, working in. the print mills.

Having seen Queen Victoria of England, before coming to America, she was also destined to see as famous a personage in American history, for a visit to Washington, D.C. resulted in her presence in Ford's Theatre, on the memorable night when Booth shot President Lincoln.

After her return from New Bedford, she met Thomas Noonan, and they were married in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on August 6, 1869. They sailed to Buenos Aires, South America, spending seventy-five days on the voyage. Referring to this trip often in her married years, Mrs. Noonan said, "No bride ever had such a delightful wedding trip."

Mr. Noonan conducted a sheep and cattle ranch on the plains for twelve years. During their stay, Mrs. Noonan learned to read and speak the Spanish language.

Six children were born to them in the Southern republic, and the desire to bring them back to an English-speaking world caused the debate as to whether they should return to Ireland or to the States. A chance copy of an Omaha newspaper containing the advertisement of a settlement project of their people by Bishop O'Connor of Omaha, in Greeley County, Nebraska, cast the straw in this direction. With their family, Mr. and Mrs. Noonan booked passage for New York, on a steamer, taking twenty-two days for the voyage, a week of which was spent in port in Rio de Janeiro. They landed in America on St. Patrick's Day, in 1881.

They came directly to Omaha, after communicating with the Bishop, and expected to meet his secretary. Bishop O'Connor himself came to meet them, to tell them that his plans for placing them in Greeley County were not quite ready. Just as he was debating what to do, he saw James North, of Columbus, in the depot and asked him if he could locate the family. Mr. North had several desirable places to offer, and the deal was made for the farm which is located two-and-one-half miles north of what is Monroe, and three-and-one-half miles west. On April 21, 1881, Mr. and Mrs. Noonan took possession of the property and moved into the little sod house with their family. This has been replaced for many years with a comfortable frame dwelling.

Mr. and Mrs. Noonan, with willing hands, there began the task of making the home a real haven. The remaining three of their nine children were born there. The Noonan children are: Mrs. Ernst Van Allen, Mrs. Daniel Melcher, Daniel, James, Tessie, Joseph, address unknown; John, Moro, Oregon; Mrs. P. G. Terzes, Los Angeles; and Thomas, Detroit.

Thomas Noonan died February 24, 1903.

THOMAS J. AND JANE A. TOWNLEY NORTH

Thomas Jefferson North was born April 5, 1813, near Ludlowville, Tompkins County, New York. Jane Almira Townley was born February 7, 1820, in Tompkins County. She was left an orphan at the age of seven, and was raised by an uncle, Nelson Townley, near Ludlowville, New York.

Thomas J. North was married to Jane A. Townley in January, 1837, in New York. The Townleys came from England. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas North had seven children: James E.; Major Frank J.; Luther H.; Elizabeth, Mrs. Sylvanus E. Cushing; and Alphonse, Mrs. Charles E. Morse. Two children died in infancy.

Mr. North, an engineer, came to Omaha in 1855, and worked with a surveying party sectionizing land west of Omaha for settlement. Mrs. North and the children came west later, in 1856.

Thomas North, while engaged in surveying, was frozen to death after a severe snow storm on March 12, 1857, within a short distance of the North home.

Mrs. North came to Columbus in 1859, with her children, and lived there until her death, January 16, 1908. She had resided in Columbus for nearly fifty years, and was known there by the pioneers as "Grandma" North.

Mrs. North was a member of the Grace Episcopal Church, in Columbus.

JAMES E. NORTH

James E. North, the son of Thomas Jefferson and Jane Townley North, was born in Richland County, Ohio, on September 11, 1838, and died July 15, 1913, in Columbus, Nebraska. His father, a surveyor, was born April 5, 1813, near Ludlowville, in Tompkins County, New York, and died March 12, 1857, in Nebraska. His mother was born February 7, 1820, in Tompkins County, and died in Columbus on January 16, 1908, James E. North was the first of the North family to come west. His family was living in Ohio, in 1855, when James, at the age of seventeen, came to Des Moines, Iowa. From Des Moines, he went to Omaha, where h e worked with a surveying party. The rest of the family followed in the spring of 1856, and settled in Florence, Nebraska, in 1857. Mr. North was engaged as a

clerk in a store there, and dealt in real estate. He remained there for two years.

In 1858, he settled near Columbus, and was first engaged in running a ferry across the Loup River, carrying overland emigration. He continued this for one year, then went to Colorado, where he was engaged in mining for a year. After this he returned to Columbus.

He followed freighting from Omaha to Kearney, until the Union Pacific Railroad was completed to that point. He then engaged in trading with the Indians on the Pawnee Reservation for three years, after which he again returned to Columbus.

In Columbus, in 1869, he became associated with Mr. Speice in the real estate, loan and collection business. The firm was known as Speice and North. He remained in this business until he became Internal Revenue Collector in the 1890's.

In January, 1859, James E. North was married to Nellie Arnold. Theirs was the second marriage in Platte County. Nellie Arnold North was born in Steuben County, New York. Mr. and Mrs. North had five children: Edward W., Lorena Rose, Mrs. Carroll D. Evans, Sr., Frank J., Mary A., and Nellie A.

Mr. North was the third sheriff of Platte County. He was County Surveyor for eight years, and was a member of the State Senate during the winter of 1876-1877. He was Mayor of Columbus and was a member of the City Council for many years. He was a member of the Blue Lodge, 8, of the A. F. & A. M., also the Orient Chapter, 18, R.A.M.

J. E. North was a brother to Frank J. and Luther North.

MAJOR FRANK J. NORTH

Frank J. North, the son of Thomas Jefferson and Jane Townley North, was born March 10, 1840, in Tompkins County, New York, while his mother was visiting at her old home, and died March 1, 1885. His father was born April 5, 1813, near Ludlowville, and died on March 12, 1857, when he was frozen to death in a snow storm. His mother was born February 7, 1820, in Tompkins County, New York, and died in Columbus on January 16, 1908.

The North family lived in Richland County, Ohio, when Frank was a youngster, and in the summer of 1856, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where his father, who was appointed superintendent of a timber contract for eastern parties, had preceded them. The following spring, he was employed as a surveyor near the Papillion River. It was while working on this job that he perished during the storm.

At this time, Frank J. took charge of the work until its completion. In the summer of 1857, with his mother and family, he moved to Florence, a few miles above Omaha, where they lived during the fall and winter of 1857-1858. In the summer of 1858, Frank North came to Columbus and the rest of the North family except James, returned to Ohio, where they lived for about a year before returning to Nebraska.

Frank J. North brought teams with him to Columbus, and began breaking prairie as a business. He continued in this work for some months, during which time he also did some farming. The following fall, he joined a trapping party and went with them one hundred and twenty-five miles west of Columbus, where they established a camp and remained during the winter of 1858-1859.

The following spring, he returned to Columbus and engaged in farming on his claim three miles west of town during the summer of 1859, after which he began freighting from Omaha to Cottonwood Springs. In the spring of 1860, he went to Denver, where he remained a short time, and then returned to Columbus, where he continued his freighting business.

He then went to the Pawnee Reservation with a team to work for the agent at that station. He was soon made a clerk and remained there until 1864.

In August of that year, he began the organization of a company of Pawnee Scouts. He went out with them under General Samuel Curtis, and served as a first lieutenant. General Curtis was favorably impressed and on October 15, 1864, he commissioned Frank J. North a captain.

Captain North took a new company of Pawnee scouts to Julesberg, and there joined General Connor and went out on the Powder River campaign. The company did a great deal of scouting, and during the season, they killed over two hundred Indian enemies.

During the following winter, Captain North took command of Camp Genoa, twenty-two miles west of Columbus, where he remained until the spring of 1866, when all volunteers were mustered out of service. He then returned to Columbus, and in the fall of 1866, he was appointed trader for the Pawnee agency, where he remained until the spring of 1867.

In March, 1867, he was again called into service, this time as a major. His battalion did service along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad until 1871, when they were mustered out.

In the summer of 187r, Major North was given the position of post guide and interpreter for Camp Munson. In 1872, he was transferred to Fort D. A. Russell, in Wyoming Territory, where he served until December, 1875. He was then transferred to the Sidney Barracks, and remained there until August , 1876, when he received dispatches to report to General Sheridan, at Chicago, Illinois. There he received instructions to go to the Pawnee Agency, where he enlisted one hundred Pawnee Indians for service in the department of

the Platte. They served until the first of May, 1877, when they were disbanded and returned to the Indian Territory.

Shortly after that, Major North went to Omaha, where he formed a co-partnership with William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, under the firm name of Cody and North, and they embarked in the stock raising business. In 1882, they owned four thousand head of cattle.

On December 25, 1865, in Columbus, Major Frank J. North was married to Mary Louise Smith. Mrs. North was born in Hartford County, Connecticut, on June 3, 1845. She was a niece of Samuel Church Smith.

Major and Mrs. North had one daughter, Stella G., who was the wife of Edwin Hull Chambers, of Columbus. Mrs. North died on February 9. 1883, and Major North died two years later.

LUTHER H. NORTH

Luther H. North, the son of Thomas J. and Jane Almira Townley North, was born March 6, 1846, on a farm three miles south of Plymouth, Richland County, Ohio. His mother was born February 7, 1820, in Tompkins County, New York, and died January 16, 1908, in Columbus. His father was born April 5, 1813, in Tompkins County, and died in Nebraska, on March 12, 1857. Luther H. had six brothers and sisters: James E.; Frank J.; Elizabeth, Mrs. Sylvanus E. Cushing; Alphonse, Mrs. Charles E. Morse; and two children died in infancy.

At the age of thirteen, in April, 1859, Luther North carried the United States mail for a year between Columbus and Monroe, Nebraska, a distance of twelve miles, making the trip three times a week.

In the fall of 1862, he enlisted in the Second Nebraska Cavalry, which went up the Missouri River in &863 to join General Alfred Sully, participating in the battle of White Stone Hills, in Dakota, which was his first Indian fight. In 1864, he was scout for a cavalry troop stationed at Columbus. In 1865, he did some freighting, some farming and a great deal of hunting.

In 1867, at the age of twenty-one, he became captain of a company in the battalion of scouts organized by his brother, and in 1868, was employed on the Pawnee Reservation. He was active in the service again in 1869, and served for many years.

In 1877, Luther and his brother Frank became partners of William F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill," in the cattle business. They sold their interests in 1882.

The next three years, from 1883-1886, Luther North was engaged in farming and cattle raising. In 1886, he was appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, and he lived three years in the Black Hills country.

After the Civil War, Luther North was married to the widow of a brother of H. P. Coolidge, who was killed in the Civil War.

He then resigned and was storekeeper gauger in Omaha until 1917. In 1917, he moved to Columbus, where he lived in semi-retirement.

He died April 18, 1935.

ARNOLD NYFFELER

Arnold Nyffeler, former Platte County farmer and landholder, was born on November 17, 1865, in Aarwagen, in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland, and died on March 4, 1936, in Columbus. He had two brothers, John and Otto, and three sisters, Mrs. Sophie Ott, Mrs. Mary Arndt, and Mrs. Elsie Luescher, all of Switzerland.

Mr. Nyffeler came to this country in 1883. He first worked as a farm-hand for the late Nick Blaser, Sr., in the Gruetli neighborhood. Moving in turn to a farm southeast of Duncan, where he lived a year, then to a farm south of Duncan, he came finally to the farm five miles southwest of Columbus, where he lived until his retirement in 1923. In 1907, he returned to Switzerland for a three months' visit with his brothers and sisters. On December 27, 1886, he was married to Elise Emst. Following his retirement, he lived in Columbus until his death.

In addition to farming, Mr. Nyffeler accumulated considerable landholdings during his lifetime. So successful was he that when he decided to give up active farming, he was able to present a farm to each of his five sons, John, William, Ernst, Paul, and Julius.

Before coming to Columbus in 1923, the Nyffelers attended the German Reformed Church, in Duncan. Mr. Nyffeler held the office of elder in that church for about twenty years. In Columbus, he attended the Evangelical Protestant Church. In addition to his church activities, Mr. Nyffeler was active in the Sons of Herman and the Swiss Maennerchor Society. He was director of the Society for several years, and still held that position at the time of his death.

WILLIAM NYFFELER

William Nyffeler, son of Arnold and Elise Ernst Nyffeler, was born in Columbus, Nebraska, October 26, 1891. His father, born November 17, 1865, in Switzerland, immigrated from there to Platte County, in 1883. He died in Columbus, March 4, 1936. Mrs. Nyffeler, born in Switzerland, March 1, 1863, died in Columbus in January, 1937.

William has four brothers: John, the eldest, is married to Grace Born; Ernest is married to Henrietta Weiss; Paul is married to Caroline Fahnreich; and Julius is married to Lillian Hegi. They are all engaged in farming. William attended the District rural school.

On December 30, 1925, he was married to Helen Weiss, daughter of William and Anna Hwischus Weiss, natives of Germany. William and Helen Weiss Nyffeler

had two daughters: Ruth, born January 31, 1927, lives in Denver, Colorado; and Verona, born November 15, 1929, attended Midland College, in Fremont, Nebraska.

Mr. Nyffeler was engaged in farming for several years in Columbus Township. He is a past president of the Evangelical Protestant Church. Politically, he is affiliated with the Democratic Party, and is a member of the Swiss Maennerchor, the Sons of Herman, Eagles Lodge, the Farmers Union, and the American Legion.

During the First World War, he served fourteen months with the United States Army, at Camp Funston, and abroad, in the St. Mihiel sector, in France. He was wounded in battle there and spent two months in the Army hospital.

ERNEST ARNOLD NYFFELER

Ernest Arnold Nyffeler, well-known Butler Township farmer, was born in Columbus, November 4, 1893, the son of Arnold and Elise Ernst Nyffeler. The elder Mr. Nyffeler was born in Aarwangen, Switzerland, November 17, 1865, and immigrated to this country in the spring of 1883. He lived and farmed in this country until his death, March 4, 1936. Mrs. Nyffeler was also born in Aarwangen, March 1, 1863. She died in Columbus, January, 1937.

Ernest has four brothers: John, William, Paul, and Julius. He attended school in District .

On February 28, 1920, he was married to Henrietta Weiss, of Omaha, the daughter of August and Helena Barsuhn Weiss, both natives of Germany. Ernest and Henrietta Weiss Nyffeler have three children. Nadine Verda, born March 6, 1921, attended Kramer High School, Kearney State Normal, and Iowa State College, at Ames, Iowa. Before her marriage to Harold Hersey, she was a junior engineer at the Curtis Wright Plant, in Columbus, Ohio. Richard and Roland, twins, were born October 31, 1922. Both are married and engaged in farming. Richard was stationed in the European Theatre of Operations and served with the Fifth and Second Armored Divisions, during World War II. He was wounded during the Ardennes Defensive, in December, 1944.

Ernest Nyffeler has served as Township Assessor. He is a member of the Swiss Society, the Eagles Lodge, and the Sons of Herman. He is also an active member of the Farmers Union.

Politically, he is affiliated with the Democratic Party. He is a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church, in Columbus, belongs to the brotherhood of that church, and has held various offices in the church. Mr. Nyffeler has always shown great interest in farm, community, and church affairs. He is now retired and lives in Columbus.

MELVIN EMIL NYGREN

Melvin Emil Nygren, Walker Township farmer, came to Platte County from Boone County, in December, 1918. He was born in Boone County on April 30, 1896, the son of John and Christine Johnson Nygren. Both of his parents were born in Sweden.

Mr. Nygren has six sisters and one brother: Esther is married to Ralph Pusard; Alice is Mrs. Victor Johnson, Mable is married to Joe Monson; Millie is the wife of Floyd Lauerson, the president of Luther College; Inez is now Mrs. Emil Johnson; Irene Nygren is a housekeeper; Ernest is married to Hilda Olson, and like his brother, is a farmer.

Melvin Nygren attended the rural schools in Boone County and then learned the business of farming. On December 11, 1918, he was married to Vedie Gibson, the daughter of Swan and Tilda Norman Gibson.

Melvin and Vedie Nygren have three children: Alden, born October 22, 1920, is a farmer; Carrol, born September 11, 1931; and Laurel Mae, born May 24, 1934.

Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Emil Nygren are members of the Salem Lutheran Church. Mr. Nygren is a member of the Church Board, the Township Board, and the School Board.

ORVILLE WARNER OBERG

Orville Warner Oberg came to Platte County from Schuyler, January 1, 1946. His father, George A. Oberg, was born November 1, 1891. George Oberg came to Columbus in 1930 and established the Oberg Hatchery. Previous to 1930 he started a hatchery in Schuyler. Orville had one brother and two sisters: Lester, Dorothy, and Hazel. Dorothy and Hazel are teachers. Orville and Lester are both in the hatchery business, having succeeded their father in that work.

Orville attended the public schools in Schuyler, and Midland College at Fremont. He also took short courses at Notre Dame and Northwestern, and has traveled over most of the United States.

On October 7, 1945, he was married at Hastings, Nebraska, to Luta Meddles, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Meddles. Mr. Meddles is a United States Government employee.

In World War II, Orville Oberg served three and one-half years in the Navy. He participated in seven invasions, in Africa, Italy and France, and was awarded the European-American Victory Medal.

Mr. and Mrs. Orville Oberg are members of the Methodist Church. Mr. Oberg is a member of the Masonic Lodge, the American Legion, and the Chamber of Commerce. His hobbies are sports, especially golf.

© 2005 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller