Catherine Christ and Paul P Seger - Photos

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Photo courtesy of Paul Seger, Atkinson NE

Paul P Seger Family by Margaret Langer

PAUL SEGER FAMILY
Written by Margaret Seger Langer

Donatus Seger, Baden, Germany and Margaret (Sontag) Seger from Luxemburg immigrated to America and lived for some years at Chicago, Illinois.

Paul Seger was the third son of Donatus and Margaret Seger. He was born on May 21, 1869 at Chicago. Other members of the family were Leopold, Donatus, John, Max and one sister, Jennie (Mrs. John Bauman).

When Paul was 9 year old he moved with his family to Omaha. Two years later the family came west in a covered wagon drawn by an ox team. They had one cow which the boys took turns prodding along behind the wagon.

They were looking for a place called Atkinson where land was available for homesteading. On April 1, 1880 they arrived at a cluster of three buildings standing on the prairie. They stopped in front of one of the buildings and Paul went in to ask the way to Atkinson. “You are in Atkinson right now, sonny”, said the storekeeper, who was Frank Bitney, on whose land the original town of Atkinson was established. At that time the nearest railroad point was at Neligh and supplies had to be hauled from there.

It was important to be near water so the family homesteaded on a place along the Elkhorn River, about five miles west and a mile north of the settlement. The place is now owned by Edward Kramer.

Paul grew up on this place and as more settlers moved in, he helped on other farm as a hired hand.

Whenever new settlers arrived, the ones who were already established were eager to become acquainted with the new comers and to find out where they came from. It is an interesting fact to note that a covered wagon camped one night along the river near the Seger home. Mr. Seger and the boys went over to get acquainted. It happened to be the John Christ family from Darlington, Wisconsin, whose daughter Katherine, later became Mrs. Paul Seger.

The Christ family homesteaded about ten miles north of Atkinson. John and Margaret (Becker) Christ had only one child, Katherine. They moved later to a hay claim about ten miles northwest of Atkinson where Mr. Christ passed away in 1896.

Both families being members of staunch Catholic faith they were among the founders and supporters of St. Joseph's Parish in Atkinson.

Paul Seger and Katherine Christ were married at St. Joseph's Church on May 24, 1897 by Rev. E. A. Klemenz, and lived on the Christ hay claim for several years.

Paul then purchased a farmstead about five miles northwest of Atkinson. The house was moved from its original place to the new farm. Mrs. Christ lived with the Paul Seger family until her death in 1918.

Grandmother (Margaret Seger) passed away in 1894, and Grandfather (Donatus Seger) made his home with his son, Donatus, and wife Josephine. He passed away in October 1909.

In 1909, Paul Seger and Donatus Seger purchased a farm implement business in Atkinson, owned by J. J. Stilson. In 1910 they established the first Ford car agency west of Norfork. The business, known as Seger Brothers, was located on the south side of the street but later they erected the building on the north side which is now the Miller Theatre building, where they operated for some 25 years. Paul retired from business in 1941.

The family lived in a house just northeast of the Chicago, Northwestern depot till 1917 when they built the large house one block north of St. Joseph's Church. This was the family home until after the death of Mrs. Seger when it was sold.

Mr. and Mrs. Seger, like the rest of the sturdy pioneers of this community, believed that you could accomplish most anything by honesty and hard work. And that is the standard by which they lived. They observed their 59th wedding anniversary in 1956.

Paul Seger passed away on July 14, 1956 at the age of 87 years. He was preceded in death by all the members of his family. Katherine Seger passed away on June 23, 1962 at the age of 91 years.

Eight children were born in to this family:
Margaret (Mr. and Mrs Joseph Langer, Denver, Colo.)
Daughter Joanne (Mr. and Mrs. Gayle Hector, Denver, Colo.)
Children: Jeff, Gayla and Brad
Son Donald (Mr. and Mrs. (Annabel Doran) Donald Langer,
Arvada, Colo.)
Children: Jeanette, Cheryl and Joseph

Mary (Mr. and Mrs. Ray White, Atkinson)
Daughter Gayle (Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tushla,
Correctionville, IA)
Children: Tim and Tom

Gertrude (Mr. and Mrs. Judd Bond, Atknison)

Joseph (Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Seger, Atkinson)
Daughter Joan (Mr. and Mrs. James Harm, Seattle, Wash)
Children: Jim, David, Paul and Dean

Leo (Mr. and Mrs. (Pat Bigelow) Leo Seger, Atkinson), Leo passed away in July 1962, Pat passed away in April 1964
Daughter Patricia (Mr. and Mrs. Ed Callahan, Omaha, Nebr)
Children: Patrick, Michael, Catherine, Mary,
Colleen and Danny
Son Paul (Mr. and Mrs. (Karen Kaup) Paul Seger, Atkinson)
Children: Sharon, Patty, Leo, Michelle, Sandra, Peggy,
Tammy and Matthew
Daughter Margaret (Mr. and Mrs. Gary Burkholder,
Omaha, Nebr)
Children: Jennifer and Paul
Daughter Mary (Mr. and Mrs. Orlan Braun, Atkinson)
Children: Lori and Brian

Catherine (Mr. and Mrs Harry Bose, Sheldon, Iowa)
Son Richard (Dr. and Mrs. (Marlyn Schaecker) Richard Bose,
Estherville, Iowa)
Children: Ricky, Terry, Kathy, Lisa, Michell
Daughter Karen (Mr. and Mrs. Mike Schaaf, Algona, Iowa)
Children: Lori, Ricky, Julie and Brian

Agnes (Mrs. Gus Leininger, Atkinson) Mr. Leininger passed away in August 1964
Son Charles
Daughter DeeAnn

Edward, passed away in Nov 1948, Atkinson

Frederick Seger, a nephew (son of Max Seger), joined this family at the age of three weeks, after the death of his mother. Fred has always been a treasured member of this family and remained with Mr. and Mrs. Seger until their deaths. He now resides at Atkinson.



Home of Paul Seger and Catherine Christ Seger

Paul P. Seger & Catherine Christ Seger
at Atkinson Nebraska

Paul Seger & Catherine Christ Seger
Fiftieth Anniversary
Photos courtesy of Paul Seger, Atkinson NE

Paul P Seger and Catherine Christ - Census Reports

1900-Federal Census, Nebraska, Holt Co, Stuart Twp
* Seger, Paul,head, white, male, born May 1869, age 31, married 3 yr, born IL, Farmer
* Seger, Catherine, wife, white, female, born Dec 1870, age 29, married 3 yr, 1 child, 1 living, born WI
* Seger, Margaret, dau, white, female, born Apr 1898, age 2, born NE
* Christ, Margaret, Mo-in-law, white, female, born Mar 1846, age 54, born Germany, immig 1855, 45 yr in US

1910-Federal Census, Nebraska, Holt Co, Atkinson Twp
* Seger, Paul, head, male, white, age 40, married once-13 yr, born IL, occup- ??
* Seger, Catherine, wife, female, white, age 39, married once-13 yr, 6 child-6 living, born WI
* Christ, Margaret, mo-in-law, female, white, age 64, born Germany
* Seger, Margaret C, dau, female, white, age 12, born NE
* Seger, Mary J, dau, female, white, age 9, born NE
* Seger, Gertrude M, dau, female, white, age 6, born NE
* Seger, Joseph J, son, male, white, age 5, born NE
* Seger, Leo F, son, male, white, age 3, born NE
* Seger, Catherine, dau, female, white, age 1, born NE

1920-Federal Census, Nebraska, Holt Co, Atkinson Twp, Atkinson town
Dwelling 193 Family 203
* Seger, Paul P, head, owns home, male, white, age 51, married, born Ill, father born Ill, mother born Ill, auto business-Ford garage
* Seger, Catherine, wife, female, white, age 49, married, born WI, father born Germany, mother born Germany
* Seger, Margaret K, dau, female, white, age21, single, born NE, teacher
* Seger, Mary J, dau, female, white, age 18, born NE
* Seger, Gertrude M, dau, female, white, age 16, born NE
* Seger, Joseph J, son, male, white, age 14, born NE
* Seger, Leo F, son, male, white, age 12, born NE
* Seger, Katherine U, dau, female, white, age 10, born NE
* Seger, Agnes E, dau, female, white, age 8, born NE
* Seger, Edward P, son , male, white, age 5 1/2, born NE
* Seger, Fredrick ?, son, male, white, age 11/12, born NE (Note: son of Max)

1930-Federal Census, Nebraska, Holt Co, Atkinson Twp, Atkinson City
* Seger, Paul, head, own home-value 7000, male, white, age 60, born IL, proprietor-garage
* Seger, Katherine, wife, female, white, age 59, born WI
* Seger, Joseph, son, male, white, age 24, born NE, laborer-garage
* Seger, Agnes, dau, female, white, age 18, born NE
* Seger, Edward, son, male, white, age 15, born NE
* Seger, Freddy, son, male, white, age 11, born NE (Note: son of Max)

The Segers at Upper Elkhorn

From: Before Today, A History of Holt County Nebraska,
Centennial Edition
Settlement on the Upper Elkhorn
Page 232
. . . Another Illinois family that came to Atkinson in 1880 was that of Paul Seger. His parents, Donatus and Margaret Seger, had left Germany for Chicago before Paul was born. In 1878 the nine-year-old boy, with his parents, four brothers, and a sister, moved to Omaha, and from there to Atkinson in a covered wagon. They had one cow which the boys took turns prodding along behind the wagon.

On April 1 they came to a small cluster of buildings on the prairie. They stopped and Paul went into one to ask the way to Atkinson. “You are in Atkinson right now, sonny,” the storekeeper, Frank Bitney, told him. To people who had lived in Chicago or even Omaha, so few buildings did not look like a town.

The Segers homesteaded on the Elkhorn, five miles west and a mile north of the settlement. There Paul grew up, working at home or as a hired hand for the neighbors. Covered wagons were coming to and through the region every day, and camping wherever night took them. The Segers made a practice of visiting those who camped near them, interested in finding out who they were, where they came from and where they were going. One evening the campers they called on were the John Christs, from Darlington, Wisconsin.

John and Margaret Christ had one little daughter, Katherine, and Paul Seger had no inkling, that evening, that he had seen his future wife in the settler’s camp. The Christs homesteaded about ten miles north of Atkinson. Both families being Catholic, they were among the founders and supporters of St. Joseph’s Parish, and Paul and Katherine were married in St. Joseph’s church in 1897. They made their home on the Christ hay claim, west of the homestead, and became parents of eight children.

Paul and his brother Donatus in 1909 bought J.J. Stilson’s farm implement business in Atkinson, and the following year established the first Ford car agency west of Norfolk. Seger Brothers operated this business for twenty-five years or more. Paul and Katherine observed their fifty-ninth wedding anniversary in 1956 and Paul died shortly afterward at the age of eighty-seven, the last of his father’s family.

Page 444
Back in the day when the Seger Brothers started their Ford Car dealership in Atkinson, writes Mark Hendrick, I was about 6 years old. One day in the spring of 1912 Paul Seger drove into our yard in a new Ford Car, or Tin Lizzy, as many called them. After a littler persuasion Paul got granddad to get in and go for a ride. When Paul left, the Joseph and O N Hendricks Ranch has a new 1912 Ford.

Paul P Seger Obituary

Death Takes Paul Seger, 87;

Town Had Only 3 Building When He Came Here in 1880

Paul Seger, who came to this community several months before the town of Atkinson was officially founded in 1880, died Saturday, July 14, at his home in this city.

He was 87 years of age. He and wife observed their 59th wedding anniversary the 24th of May, this year.

When Mr. Seger was 11, the family made its westward trec by ox team and covered wagon, looking for a place, called "Atkinson," where land was available for homesteading.

On April 1, 1880, they saw a cluster of three buildings on the prairie. Paul's father stopped the wagon in front of one of them and told Paul to hop out and ask for directions.

Inside, he inquired of the first man he saw, "How far is it to Atkinson?"

"You're in Atkinson right now, sonny," replied the storekeeper, who was the late Frank Bitney on whose land the Original Town of Atkinson was established.

Mr. Seger lived on a farm near here until 1909, when he and his brother, the late N. D. Seger, formed the business partnership in Atkinson known as Seger Brothers. The firm, in 1910, was the first Ford automobile dealership west of Norfolk. They erected what is now the Miller Theatre building, in which they operated for some 25 years. Mr. Seger retired from business in 1941.

Funeral services were held at 10 o'clock Tuesday morning, July 17, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. The rites were conducted by the Rev. Richard J. Parr, pastor. Atkinson business places were closed during the funeral hour.

Burial was in St. Joseph's Cemetey. The pallbearers were Aloys Wewel, John Laible, Dan O'Connell, John Kramer Jr., Francis D. Lee and William Troshynski.

Paul Seger, son of Donatus and Margaret Seger, was born May 21,1869, at Chicago, III.

When he was nine years old, he moved with his family to Omaha. Two years later, the family came west in a covered wagon drawn by ox team, arriving at Atkinson on April 1, 1880. Mr. Seger's father homesteaded along the Elkhorn river five miles west and a mile north of here. The place is now owned by Edward Kramer.

He was married to Catherine Christ at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Atkinson May 24, 1897. They lived on a farm five miles northwest of Atkinson until 1909, when he and his brother, the late N. D. Seger, purchased a farm implement business in Atkinson which was owned by the late J. J. Stilson. 1910, they established the first Ford agency west of Norfolk. Mr. Seger retired from business in 1941.

He is survived by his wife, Catherine; five daughters, Mrs. Joe (Margaret) Langer of Denver, Colo., Mrs. Ray (Mary) White of Martin, S.D., Mrs. Judd (Gertrude) Bond of Omaha, Mrs. Harry (Catherine) Bose of Le Mars, Ia., and Mrs. R. J. (Agnes) Leininger of Ft. Pierre, S.D.; three sons, Joe, Leo and Frederick, all of Atkinson; 12 grandchildren and one great grandson.

He was preceded in death by one son, Edward, on November 19, 1948.

Relatives and friends who came from a distance to attend the funeral included: Mr. and Mrs. Joe Langer, Denver, Colo., Mr. and Mrs. Ray White, Martin, S.D., Mr. and Mrs. Judd Bond, Omaha, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bose and Karen, Le Mars, IA., Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Leininger, Kay and Chuck, Ft. Pierre, S.D., Dr. and Mrs. R. P. Bose, Council Bluffs, IA.; Mr. and Mrs. Ed Callahan, Gayle White and John Seger, all of Omaha.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Norris, Shenandoah, IA., Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Seger and Chuck, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Seger, all of Newport; Mr. and Mrs. Elite Irish and Marilyn, Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Seger, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Krueger, Mrs. Emma Kunz, Miss Margaret Kunz, Mr. and Mrs. Dana Bigelow, Mr. and Mrs. Arby Krueger, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Kunz, Mrs. Karl Weichman, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Wedige, John Seger, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bose, and Mr. and Mrs. Herb Lane, all of Stuart.

Mrs. John Simmons and Miss Kate Kunz, Valentine; Mrs. Julia White, Amelia; Mr. and Mrs. Tom Leininger and family, Waco: Mr. and Mrs. Milan Sharp, Norden; Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Wedige, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Wedige, Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Wedige, Mrs. Gus Seger and Mrs. Minnie Beckwith, all of Emmet.



Grave marker at St Josephs Cemetery, Atkinson Nebraska

Catherine Christ Seger Obituary

CATHERINE CHRIST
Obituary from Atkinson Graphic
Death Takes Pioneer Atkinsonite
Mrs. Catherine Seger who was one of the very early pioneer settlers in this community, died at 6:15 Saturday morning, June 23, at her home in Atkinson.

Mrs. Seger was the widow of the late Paul Seger who also was one of this community's earliest settlers. She was 91 years of age and had lived here 81 years. Although she had been in failing health for some time, she had not been bedfast.

Rosary services were held at Seger Funeral Home on Sunday and Monday evenings, and the funeral service was held Tuesday at 9 a.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Atkinson, with the Rev. R. J. Parr officiating.

Burial was in St. Joseph's Cemetery. The pallbearers were John Laible, Jr., William Troshynski, Edward Jansen, A.P. Wewel, John I. Henning and Lawrence Kramer.

Mrs. Seger was born December 15, 1870, at Darlington, Wisconsin. She was the daughter of John Christ and Margaret Becker Christ. The family came to this community in 1881 and settled on a homestead seven miles north of Atkinson.

She was married to Paul Seger on May 24, 1897, at St. Joseph's Church in Atkinson.

They lived on a farm five miles northwest of Atkinson until 1909, when they moved to town and Mr. Seger joined his brother, the late N. D. Seger, in a business partnership which in the following year became the first Ford Automobile dealership west of Norfolk. Mr. Seger retired from business in 1941 and died on July 14, 1956.

For many, many years, Mrs. Seger was a prominent figure in the various activities sponsored by the ladies of St. Joseph's Church.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one son, Edward in 1948.

She is survived by three sons, Joseph, Leo F. and Frederick, all of Atkinson; five daughters, Mrs. Joe (Margaret) Langer of Denver, Colorado, Mrs. Ray (Mary) White of Omaha, Mrs. Judd (Gertrude) Bond of Omaha, Mrs. Harry (Catherine) Bose of Shelton, Iowa and Mrs. Gus (Agnes) Leininger of Fort Pierre, South Dakota. There also are 12 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

All members of the family were there to attend the funeral.



Grave marker at St Josephs Cemetery, Atkinson Nebraska