HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG4440.AM: A. Ferdinand Verges, 1833-1900
Diary: 1871-1880
Norfolk, Madison County, Nebraska: Farmer; physician
Size: Two items
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Born in Germany on August 21, 1833, A. Ferdinand Verges came to the United States around 1852. He lived in Chicago and practiced medicine before moving to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1868. In 1869 he took a trip to the Elkhorn Valley area and purchased land in Pierce County, about ten miles north of Norfolk, Nebraska. Dr. Verges broke sod and worked the land, as well as serving as the only country doctor in the area. He made his residence on the homestead until 1881 when he moved to Norfolk, Nebraska. In the Nebraska State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1882-1883, he is listed as a Homeopathic Physician.
Dr. Verges acquired large property interests in Norfolk and the surrounding area. Having come from an area of Germany known for raising sugar beets, he visited the Grand Island sugar beet factory and determined that a similar facility could be built at Norfolk. He contributed nearly $5000 towards the building of the sugar beet refinery at Norfolk. He also contributed to the street car lines, electric light plant and other public improvements around Norfolk.
Dr. Verges married Augusta Marquardt, and the couple had three children, Minnie, Anna and Charles. Augusta died in 1887 and Dr. Verges remarried. He and his second wife, Mary (Marie) Blattermann, had a daughter, Mary. Verges’ second wife died in 1891. Dr. Ferdinand Verges died in Norfolk on April 1, 1900. He is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery at Norfolk, Nebraska, beside his wives.
Note: For a more detailed description of Verges’ farming and business life, see The Norfolk Daily News, March 3, 1900, p. 2. Dr. Verges’ obituary appears in The Norfolk Daily News, April 2, 1900, p. 3, col. 3.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of two items, the farm diary of A. Ferdinand Verges, 1871-1880, in German, and a typed translation by H.L. Weingart. The diary relates to Verges’ farming experiences near Norfolk and in Pierce County, Nebraska. The entries are mostly brief and relate to day-to-day affairs and activities dating from 1871 to 1880.
INVENTORY
Item
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- Diary of A. Ferdinand Verges, 1871-1880 (in German)
Subject headings:
Agricultural laborers — Nebraska
Farm life — Nebraska
Germans in Nebraska
Madison County (Nebraska) — History
Norfolk (Nebraska) — History
Pierce County (Nebraska) — History
Verges, A. Ferdinand, 1833-1900
JEP/pjm 09-14-1977
Revised TMM 04-19-2019
