Youngers, Peter

Peter Youngers


  • Born on December 25, 1852 in Pike county, Pennsylvania to Peter Sr. and Barbara Youngers

  • Died August 15, 1921 in Wisconsin (Buried in Geneva)

  • Married Marilla Nicholson on November 23, 1879.

  • Parents of three children: Pearl, Myrtle Maud and Nell

  • When he was seven, his parents moved to New York City where he became a newsboy, selling the New York Times.

  • In 1871, he came to Nebraska in a covered wagon.

  • He and his parents settled on adjoining homesteads in Liberty township in 1871.

  • He planted an orchard of apples, cherries, peaches, and grapes.

  • He began working as a day laborer in the building of the Burlington railroad to Kearney Junction.

  • He planted an orchard of apples, cherries, peaches, and grapes.

  • He began working as a day laborer in the building of the Burlington railroad to Kearney Junction.

  • In 1872, E. F. Stephens established a nursery in Crete and secured a contract from the Burlington to plant trees along the north side of cuts in the railroad as a windbreak for the snow. Mr. Youngers worked for Stephens and had charge of planting all of the trees.

  • He encouraged farmers to plant osage orange trees as windbreaks.

  • He took a homestead and started a nursery in Exeter in 1878.

  • He established a pioneer nursery in Geneva a few years later.

  • A. J. Brown was a partner and the name of the firm was Youngers & Co.

  • They employed from 40 to 120 men.

  • They grew apple tree seedlings in great numbers, importing apple seeds from France

  • The company was known nationally.

  • In 1898 Mr. Youngers was elected a member of the state board of agriculture and served on the board of managers from 1899 to 1906 when he was elected president and served two terms. He was a member of the board of managers until 1915. He had been treasurer of the state horticultural society from 1888 to 1921.

  • He was a member of the executive committee of the Fillmore County Council of Defense during the war.

  • He had a rugged physique and a striking personality and was valued as a stable and substantial citizen by all who knew him.

  • Later in life, A. J. Brown and Youngers turned their earnings into Fillmore County real estate.

  • Mr. Youngers became a large stockholder in Citizens Bank and was elected president.

  • In 1929, he was honored as an outstanding nurseryman and a portrait of him was unveiled in the “Hall of Agricultural Achievement” at UNL.

--Taken from Nellie Youngers (Mrs. Lionel Henkle) Westbrook, Connecticut