William Koenig, ?-1863 [RG0790.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG0790.AM:  William Koenig, ?-1863

Papers:  1854-1864
Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska:  Businessman
Size:  0.3 cu.ft.; 1 box

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

William Koenig immigrated to the United States from Berlin, Germany, in 1854. The following year he established his home in St. Louis and after working at various jobs, he invested in a grocery business with a fellow immigrant from Germany, H.R. Pundt. In 1855 Pundt moved west and selected Omaha, Nebraska, as a suitable location for a new business. Koenig arrived in Omaha in 1856 and with Pundt established a grocery business between 10^th and 11^th streets on Farnam Avenue. On August 20, 1861, Koenig married Eleanor Beecher in St. Louis. Their son, William H. Koenig, was to become a successful businessman and a leading citizen of Omaha at the time of his death in 1916. William Koenig, Sr. was actively engaged in his business in Omaha until his death on October 19, 1863.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of manuscript material arranged in three series: 1) Correspondence, 1854-1863; 2) Financial File, 1860-1864; and 3) Genealogy.

The material relates to the life of Koenig from his arrival in the United States in 1854 until his death in Omaha. Correspondence includes Koenig’s comparisons of his experiences and life on the frontier with his former life in Germany, along with descriptions of the profits he enjoyed in his grocery business; the conditions in Omaha in the 1850s; and the impact on Nebraska of the gold discovery in the Rocky Mountains in 1858. The correspondence is written in German and a typed transcript of Koenig’s letters is included in the collection. This transcript also contains two letters, probably from Henry Koenig, relating to his experiences as a Second Lieutenant of Company B, first Regiment of the Nebraska Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War.

INVENTORY

Series 1 – Correspondence, 1854-1863
Box 1
Folder

1. Correspondence, 1854-1863
2. Correspondence, 1854-1863

Series 2 – Financial file, 1860-1864

3. Deeds, indentures, mortgages, etc.

Series 3 – Genealogy

4. Genealogical charts of various families, none relating to Koenig

Subject headings:

Businesses — Omaha, Nebraska
Douglas County (Nebraska) — History
Germans — Nebraska
Gold mines and mining — Colorado
Grocery stores — Nebraska
Merchants — Nebraska
Pundt and Koenig Grocery
U.S. — History — Civil War — Personal reminiscences

Revised TMM       12-26-2006