14 Facts About Herman Kountze

Herman Kountze was a powerful and influential pioneer banker in Omaha, Nebraska, during the late 19th century.

Immediately after his death Herman Kountze was regarded as one of Omaha's "old settlers".

Herman Kountze was born August 21,1833, in Osnaburg, Ohio, one of twelve children born to Christian and Margaret Kountze.

In 1864, Herman Kountze married Elizabeth Davis, the daughter of Thomas Davis, a founding pioneer of Omaha.

In 1867, Herman Kountze joined his brother in organizing the First National Bank of Omaha, with fellow Omaha businessman Edward Creighton serving as the first president.

Herman Kountze was the bank's first cashier, and became the second president of the bank after Creighton died in 1873.

Herman Kountze joined his brother Augustus as senior partner, and by 1872 Augustus moved permanently from Omaha to New York to manage affairs directly.

In 1872, while misunderstanding the ideal location he was selling, Herman Kountze sold the land required to develop Neligh, Nebraska, which eventually became the county seat of Antelope County.

In 1883 Kountze was a plaintiff and defendant in a lawsuit and counter-suit with the Omaha Hotel Company owned by John J Reddick.

In 1895 Herman Kountze helped found the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben to promote Omaha business interests.

Herman Kountze donated land to Brownell Hall to relocate from the former town of Saratoga to South Tenth and Worthington Streets in the late 19th century.

Herman Kountze was the treasurer for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898.

Herman Kountze was a partner in the South Omaha Land Syndicate, the South Omaha Land Company, and the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha of South Omaha.

Herman Kountze died in 1906 and was interred in Omaha's Forest Lawn Cemetery, of which he was a founding trustee and in which there is a roadway named for him.