HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG4236.AM: Lorenz Family
Papers: 1860s-2002, mostly 1941-1963
Gretna, Sarpy County, Nebraska: Farmers
Size: 4.0 cu.ft.; 4 boxes
BACKGROUND NOTE
William M. Lorenz, son of Johannes and Elsebe Lorenz, was born on a farm near Gretna, Nebraska on September 1, 1893. He attended the District 31 School at Gretna. On February 6, 1918, Lorenz married Bertha Stange of Yutan. The couple farmed for most of their lives in the Yutan and Gretna area. They retired from farming and moved to Gretna in 1963. William Lorenz died at the age of 81 on February 20, 1975. Bertha Lorenz died in Phoenix, Arizona on October 3, 1981. The couple had one daughter, Lorrain, born on February 26, 1920, and two sons, Merlynn, born on May 18, 1925 and Leslie, born on April 28, 1928. Merlynn and Leslie farmed with their father until his retirement in 1963 when the farm was sold. Leslie Lorenz died on September 5, 1995 at the age of 67.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of four boxes and three oversized folders of manuscript materials arranged in two series: 1) Account Books, 1941-1962; and 2) Unprocessed materials.
Series 1 consists of twenty-six volumes of account books kept by William and Bertha Lorenz and their son, Leslie Lorenz. They show income generated and expenses incurred in the running of their farm near Gretna, Nebraska. Arranged chronologically, entries show money taken in for dairy products, crops, and livestock sold. Costs for labor, supplies, maintenance, taxes, insurance, rent, and other expenses are also listed by date. Bertha Stange Lorenz kept all the account books for her husband and shared in the decision making on the farm.
Series 2 consists of 3.25 boxes of unprocessed family papers. Some of the materials include business records, correspondence, biographical information, genealogy charts, and several oversized folders containing certificates, farm auction posters, and Saunders County Historical Society women’s work posters. Some of these materials have been inventoried while others remain unidentified. See the following inventory for more information.
Note: RG4236.AU contains an accompanying oral history audio cassette.
INVENTORY
Series 1 – Account Books, 1941-1962
Box 1
Folder
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- 1941-1942, (William Lorenz), Yutan Farm
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- 1943, (William Lorenz), Gretna Farm
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- 1944, (William Lorenz)
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- 1948, (William Lorenz)
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- 1949, (William Lorenz)
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- 1950, (William Lorenz)
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- 1951, (William Lorenz)
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- 1952, (William Lorenz)
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- 1953, (William Lorenz)
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- 1953, (Leslie Lorenz) & Income Tax Information
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- 1954, (William Lorenz)
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- 1955, (William Lorenz)
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- 1955, (Leslie Lorenz)
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- 1956, (William Lorenz)
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- 1956, (Leslie Lorenz)
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- 1957, (William Lorenz)
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- 1957, (William & Leslie Lorenz)
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- 1958, (Leslie Lorenz) (Half shares with William)
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- 1959, (Leslie Lorenz) & Income Tax Information
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- 1960, (William Lorenz)
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- 1960, (Leslie Lorenz) & Income Tax Information
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- 1961, (William Lorenz)
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- 1961, (Leslie Lorenz) & Income Tax Information
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- 1961, (William & Leslie Lorenz)
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- 1962, (William Lorenz)
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- 1962, (Leslie Lorenz)
UNPROCESSED MATERIAL
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- Biographical Information
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- Obituaries
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- William & Bertha Stange Lorenz, farm, conservation, etc., 1945-1951
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- Elsabe Lorenz, greeting cards
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- Elsabe & Harry Lorenz, receipts, etc., 1888-1930s
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- Letters from Chris Lorenz and Nellie Grube Lorenz
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- Letters from Serena Plambeck Lorenz, 1952
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- Letters from John Lorenz and Kathryn Morrisey Mowinkle Lorenz, 1948-1950
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- Letter from Ray Lorenz, 1945
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- Letters from Robert Vierreger, 1945-1946
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- Misc. correspondence, 1953-2002 and transcripts from Roland Olderog’s diary, 1942-1945
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- Leslie Lorenz, estate info., employment info., etc.
Box 2
Folder
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- Merlynn Lorenz, military service
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- Merlynn Lorenz, correspondence, 1944
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- Merlynn Lorenz, correspondence, 1945, Mar. 21 – Aug. 28
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- Merlynn Lorenz, correspondence, 1945, Sept. 7 – Dec. 31
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- Merlynn Lorenz, correspondence, 1946, Jan. 4 –
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- Merlynn Lorenz, miscellany
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- Miscellany
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- Miscellany
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- Miscellany
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- Les Lorenz
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- Unidentified
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- Unidentified
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- Unidentified
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- Unidentified
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- Unidentified
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- Unidentified
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- Unidentified
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- Unidentified
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- Johannes Lorenz, 1860s-1890s
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- Bertha Stange Lorenz, recipe book
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- Bertha Stange Lorenz, recipe book
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- Bertha Stange Lorenz, recipe book
Box 3 Misc. unidentified/unprocessed material
Box 4 Misc. unidentified/unprocessed material
OB003
Folder
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- Farm Auction Posters, 1963
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- Auction posters and Saunders County Historical Society women’s work posters
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- Certificates
Subject headings
Agricultural laborers — Nebraska
Agriculture — Nebraska
Farm life — Nebraska — Sarpy County
Gretna (Nebraska) — History
Lorenz family
Lorenz, Bertha Maria (Stange), 1898-1981
Lorenz, Johannes,
Lorenz, Leslie, 1928-1995
Lorenz, Merlynn D., 1925-2002
Lorenz, William M., 1893-1975
AIP/ksa 01-1990
TMM/kfk 07-30-1998
Revised TMM 01-16-2008