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Frederick William Winter, M.D.
1852 — 1939
Biographical Materials
Dr. F. W. Winter
Dr. F. W. Winter, who is engaged in practice in Adams, Gage county, Nebraska, is one of the best known physicians of the county, and has gained the utmost confidence of the people in his skill and reliability. He has shown himself conscientious and sympathetic in his work, and whether as a man or in a professional relation he is held in high esteem and is popular with all.
Dr. Winter was born in Wapello, Iowa, in 1852, a member of one of the pioneer families of the state. His father, William Winter, was a native of Germany, and after his emigration to this country he enlisted in the army and served in the Mexican war. 1 For his services he received a land warrant, and with this came to Iowa and took up land. He died at the age of fifty-six in Davenport, Iowa. His wife was Mina Filgenbaum [sic], who was born, reared and educated in Germany. 2
Dr. Winter graduated from the high school in Muscatine, Iowa, and was a student in the Iowa Wesleyan College. He also taught school at Garner, Hancock county. He graduated from the medical department of Iowa College at Iowa City, Iowa, in the class of 1880. 3
Dr. Winter was married in 1885 to Miss Lyda P. Bennett, who was born in New York state, a daughter of James Bennett, who died in Adams, Nebraska. 4 Dr. and Mrs. Winter have five children: Ralph Bennett, May Irene, W. Waldo, Lewis Emerson, Elzie A. Dr. Winter is a strong Republican. He is a member of the State Medical Society, and of the Nebraska Valley Medical Society, and was secretary of the former for three years. He affiliates with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Pythias, and Mrs. Winter is a member of the Eastern Star. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he holds the office of steward and takes an active part in church work.
Source: A Biographical and Genealogical History of Southeastern Nebraska, 2 volumes (Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company, 1904); volume 2, pages 1,039-1,040.
Class of 1876 5
234. Frederick William Winter, A.B. - Born September 28, Wapello. Prepared, Muscatine High School. Entered Iowa Wesleyan 1871. A.M. 1879. Philomathean. Phi Delta Theta. M.D. 1880, Iowa State University Medical School; valedictorian. Did post-graduate work, medical colleges, Chicago and Kansas City. Principal of High School Garner, Iowa, 1876-78. Member Wyman, Neb., School Board, 1890-96. Secretary Neb. State Home Medical Society, 1886-88. Physician.
Married, Lida Bennett November 26, 1885, Wyman, Neb.,
Children Ralph B., born May 31, 1887.
Residence, Wymore, Nebr.
Source: Alumnal Association of Iowa Wesleyan College, Historical Sketch and Alumni Record of Iowa Wesleyan College, (Mount Pleasant, Iowa: Alumnal Association of Iowa Wesleyan College, 1917); page 199.
Frederick W. Winter, M.D., a representative physician at Wymore, was born September 28, 1852, and is the son of William and Wilhelmina (Fiegenbaum) Winter. William Winter was born at Lippe-Detmold, Germany, July 31, 1825, and came to the United States in 1842. His wife was born in Germany, July 27, 1833, and died March 19, 1917. After coming to America both families settled in Warren county, Missouri, where William Winter and Wilhelmina Fiegenbaum met for the first time; shortly after their marriage they moved to Iowa. 6
William Winter was a soldier in the war with Mexico and was given government land in Iowa in consideration of his services. 7 In 1857 he was ordained a minister of the German Methodist church, his first charge being at Rock Island, Illinois, and his last charge was at Davenport, Iowa, where he died February 21, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Winter became the parents of nine children, of whom Dr. Frederick W. is the eldest. Adolph Fiegenbaum, father of Mrs. William Winter, was born in Germany, December 17, 1792, and came to the United States in 1833, settling in Missouri. Later he removed to Garner, Iowa, and there his death occurred January 7, 1877. His wife, Christina Wilhelmina, was born in Germany, in 1796, and died in Iowa, January 17, 1871. 8
Dr. Frederick W. Winter was educated at Muscatine, Iowa, where he was graduated in the high school as a member of the class of 1866. He was at one time superintendent of schools at Garner, Iowa, a position he retained two years. He studied medicine in Iowa State Medical College and was graduated with the class of 1880. The same year he moved to Kansas and began the practice of medicine at Junction City, where he remained one year. 9 In 1882 Dr. Winter came to Wymore, Nebraska, and here he has practiced his profession continuously from that year the present time.
On October 26, 1885, Dr. Winter was united in marriage to Miss Lida P. Bennett, daughter of James Bennett, Jr. To this union were born five children, as follows, Ralph B., of Adams, this county; Mary Irene, a teacher of schools at Casper, Wyoming; Wilhelm Waldo, Elsie Amelia, at home; and Louis E., now in the United States army.
James Bennett, Jr., father of Mrs. Winter, was born in New York state, November 26, 1840. He came to Wymore in 1882 and in 1884 was followed by his family. He was brick mason and brick manufacturer, and he followed this business after coming to Nebraska. He assisted in erecting some of the first brick buildings in the city of Wymore. Mr. Bennett married Miss Eliza Hollenbeck, who was born November 12, 1839. They were the parents of four children, two of whom are living, - Lydia, wife of Dr. Winter, 10 of this review, and Frances B. Horham, a widow, living in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mr. Bennett died in May, 1897.
Dr. Winter is a Republican and he was for six years a member of the Wymore school board. He is a member of the Methodist church, is a Mason and belongs to several fraternal insurance societies. He is also a member of the Nebraska State Homeopathic Medical Society and the American Institute of Homeopathy. Dr. Winter has always enjoyed a large practice and is held in very high esteem in the community in which he lives.
Source: Hugh Jackson Dobbs, History of Gage County, Nebraska: A Narrative of the Past, with Special Emphasis upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, (Lincoln, Nebraska: Western Publishing and Engraving Company, 1918); pages 900-901.
Notes
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During what is known in American history as the Mexican War (1846-1847), William Winter served as a private in Captain G. deKorponay's Company B, Third Regiment, Missouri Mounted Volunteers. He was mustered into service on 21 May 1847 at St. Louis, Missouri and was honorably discharged on 13 October 1848 at Independence, Missouri.
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The author of this sketch was remarkably ill-informed about Dr. F. W. Winter's mother, in contrast to the father.
Maria Wilhelmine Fiegenbaum was born at Lengerich, in the Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia in 1833. In 1834, she and her family immigrated to the USA. They disembarked at New Orleans and travelled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. It would appear that the family settled first in St. Charles County, not far from Femme Osage. Later they moved to a farm in the area of Hopewell, Warren County. It was in these two locales that she grew up, received her education and married Dr. Winter's father. You can read her autobiography.
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Currently, the best summary I have of Frederick Winter's education was published in 1917 in the Historical Sketch and Alumni Record of Iowa Wesleyan College. A transcription of that information is included on this web page.
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The author could not even bother to acknowledge Lydia's mother.
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Frederick entered Iowa Wesleyan University (known as Iowa Wesleyan College since 1912) in 1871 after finishing high school at Muscatine, Iowa. He graduated with an A.B. degree in 1876. He was member of the Philomathean Literary Society and the Iowa Alpha Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
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Frederick Wilhelm Winter's parents, Wilhelm Winter and Maria Wilhelmine Fiegenbaum, were married in 1850 in Warren County, Missouri, and moved sometime in that year to Wapello Township, Louisa County, Iowa. The 1850 U. S. census shows that portions of both the Fiegenbaum and Winter families had also settled in same area.
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For details of Williams' military service, see note 1, above. Following the war, the U.S. government awarded many veterans patents to federal land in Iowa.
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Adolph and Christine (Peterjohann) Fiegenbaum and their five children emigrated from the Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia in 1834 and settled in eastern Missouri. A sixth child was born in 1837 and was baptized in the evangelical church at Femme Osage, St. Charles County. In 1840, Adolph received a federal land patent for 40 acres of land east of the village of Femme Osage. In 1844, he was granted a second federal land patent for 81.47 acres land in neighboring Warren County. As mentioned in a previous note, by the time of the 1850 U.S. federal census, Adolph and Christine and their two youngest sons, single and still living at home, had moved to Wapello Township, Louisa County, Iowa.
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Frederick W. Winter's educational history is outlined above.
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Note that even within this single short account, the wife's name is spelled Lida and Lydia. It has appeared in some sources as Lyda. A authoritative spelling has not been found yet.