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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Nebraska Staats-Zeitung (Nebraska City Und Lincoln, Neb.) 1867-1912

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About Nebraska Staats-Zeitung (Nebraska City Und Lincoln, Neb.) 1867-1912

Launched on April 4, 1861, the Nebraska Deutsche Zeitung was the first German-language newspaper in Nebraska, serving to attract European immigrants, and support Unionism and Republicanism during the Civil War. Upon Nebraska becoming a state in 1867, the newspaper dropped the word "Deutsche" and added the word "Staats" to become the Nebraska Staats-Zeitung. The paper was published weekly on Fridays. The Staats-Zeitung was politically aligned with the Republican party until 1890, when it broke with the party, coming out in favor of tariffs supported by the Democratic party and prohibition against alcohol.

According to the May 3, 1908, Omaha Daily Bee, the Staats-Zeitung was started by 20 German Americans living in Nebraska City, subscribing for 100 shares of stock at $5 each. Frederick Renner, an immigrant from Spires, Germany was named secretary, editor, and business manager. Renner was also a practicing physician and army captain in the Otoe County Mounted Reserves. Renner was described as a "pioneer Republican and sturdy abolitionist" and "an earnest and scholarly editor." The Staats-Zeitung, under Renner's leadership, was credited with "bringing scores of thrifty Germans to southeastern Nebraska and Otoe County." He was a Nebraska City councilperson, elected to the territorial legislature in 1864, and was a member of the Nebraska constitutional convention. Renner continued to be associated with the paper in some form until moving to Omaha in 1892.

In November 1868, John A. Henzel became part owner of the paper, with Renner still serving as editor. In 1871, W.A. Brown and Sons of the Daily Nebraska Press assumed control of the publication. Renner then relocated part of the newspaper office to Lincoln but returned to Nebraska City full time in 1873. Subsequently, Jacob Beutler and Charles Young acquired the paper. After being appointed by Nebraska Senator Charles Van Wyck to the government printing office in Washington, D.C., Young sold his share to Adam Schaefer and Paul Schminke. Schminke, an immigrant from Hesse-Cassel, Germany was an adviser to Van Wyck, Nebraska City's postmaster, mayor, and a state senator, where he famously argued against woman's suffrage with Senator Leonard Colby. With his brother Christian, Beutler continued running the paper until his death in 1906. An immigrant from Sembach, Germany, Jacob Beutler had learned the newspaper trade at the Daily Nebraska Press.

In 1912, when Val J. Peter, publisher of the Tagliche Omaha Tribune, began buying up German language papers across the county to build his newspaper empire, one of his first purchases was the subscriber list for the Staats-Zeitung. However, the title kept publishing under the editorship of L. H. Rohmeyer, publisher of Auburn, Nebraska's Westlicher Beobachter. In a 1914 editorial, Rohmeyer wrote, "As German American citizens, we declare our fealty and loyalty to our adopted country under any conditions that may arise in the future growing out of this conflict." Despite Rohmeyer's stance, like many German-language papers during World War I, the Staats-Zeitung ceased publication for good in 1915.

Provided By: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Nebraska Staats-Zeitung (Nebraska City Und Lincoln, Neb.) 1867-1912

Dates of Publication

  • 1867-1912

Created / Published

  • Nebraska City und Lincoln, Neb. : F. Renner, -1912.

Headings

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1867.
  • -  -Jahrg. 44, no. 26 (31. Jan. 1912).
  • -  Published in Nebraska City, Neb., <1892>-1912.
  • -  In German.
  • -  Description based on: Jahrg. 8, Nr. 21 (21. Aug. 1874).
  • -  Omaha Tribüne (Omaha, Neb. : 1909)

Medium

  • v.

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn87067031

OCLC Number

  • 15151836

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Nebraska Staats-Zeitung Nebraska City Und Lincoln, Neb. -1912. (Lincoln, NE), Jan. 1 1867. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87067031/.

APA citation style:

(1867, January 1) Nebraska Staats-Zeitung Nebraska City Und Lincoln, Neb. -1912. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87067031/.

MLA citation style:

Nebraska Staats-Zeitung Nebraska City Und Lincoln, Neb. -1912. (Lincoln, NE) 1 Jan. 1867. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn87067031/.