Sophia (Witte) Swan (1874 - 1933)

Born 8 Mar 1874 in Mitchell, Kansas, United States

Ancestors

Wife of William Swan — married 27 Nov 1905 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa

Died 8 Nov 1933 at age 59 in Fremont, Dodge, Nebraska, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Patti Richey [send private message]

Biography

Sophia was the child of Frederick P. and Wilhelmina Tapper of Tupper Hennings. She was born on March 8, 1874 in Kansas and also known as Sophie. Sophia was a twin to Caroline, who died a little over five months after birth and is buried at the Lutheran Cemetery in Osborn County, Kansas.

All of the biographies of the children of Frederick and Wilhelmina Witte note their birth location as Mitchell, Kansas, however, as shown on their father's profile page (Frederick Witte), their homestead was in Osborne County, Kansas and they later were found living in Tipton, Mitchell County, Kansas after they sold their homestead. The first children born were Sophia and twin sister Caroline, who is buried in Osborne County. Their property was at the county line separating Osborne and Mitchell and their post office was in Mitchell, primarily it would seem, due to the closer location of this post office to their property. Without birth records, it's hard to prove the location of any of the Witte children's birth locations. Probability is high for the last two children to be born in Mitchell County (Elizabeth and Frederick Louis) however, because by the time they were born, the family had sold their Osborne County homestead and moved to Mitchell County where they lived for a few years before moving again to Nebraska.

The 1875 Kansas State Census for Osborne, Kansas shows Frederick (33), "Mena" (Wilhelmina 22), and Sophia (1). It lists Frederick's profession as farmer, the value of his personal property as $62. It also shows the Frederick and Wilhelmina had lived in Iowa before heading to Kansas. Prior to that both were from Hanover, Germany. ^[1]

Top Row: William Witte, Henry Witte, Mary Witte Hendrickson, Sophie Witte Swan & Wilhelmine Witte Kirchmann. Bottom Row: Fred Witte, Frederick Witte (sitting), Elizabeth (Lizzie) Witte Rohde, Wilhelmine Tupper Witte (sitting)

Sophia married William Swan (born in England on August 10, 1866) on 27 Nov 1905 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa. ^[2] The source for their marriage shows his parents as Stephen Swan and Catharine Swan. It also incorrectly shows Sophie's parents to be Fred Wittle and Willamina Caper!^[3]

William came to the U.S. as a stole-away on a ship. He was caught and sent back to England. He later worked his way back on a cattle boat. He worked in a circus for a while and by the time he was in Wahoo, Nebraska he was starved!

After he married Sophia, they started a theater in Valisca, Iowa. They sold that theater and bought another in Burwell, Nebraska. Again they sold that theater and bought one in Burwell, "Swan Theater" where they also had a nice home.

Sophia only had a 4th grade education but still did all the paper work and business (which was worth a great sum of money).

1910 Census Broken Bow, Custer, Nebraska shows William is an employer in the Moving Picture business. Sophie is a ticket seller in the business. They board in a house owned by Walter J Harris. William shows his immigration year as 1884.^[4]

The 1920 Census for Columbus, Platte, Nebraska shows William is a Theater Manager. It lists William's date of immigration as 1887.^[5]

The 1930 Census for Columbus, Platte, Nebraska shows William is a clerk in a pool hall. It shows the value of his home is $5200. It shows William's year of immigration as 1880.^[6]

Sophia died on November 8, 1933 at the age of 59 in Fremont, Nebraska. William died on March 3, 1939 and is buried in Columbus Nebraska. Sophia's body was moved from Yutan to her final resting place in Columbus. Find A Grave: Memorial #19654058.^[7]

Sophia's sister Mary took care of her during her last days. There were no children from this marriage. ^[8]

Frederick and Willamina Witte with daughters Sophia Witte Swan and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Witte Rohde

The story goes that William had a niece who, with her husband and child, came from England and it was this family that inherited all of the estate when William and Sophie died.

WILLIAM SWAN The Daily Telegram of March 3, 1939, said: "William Swan," for whom the Swan Theatre in Columbus was named, "had a very colorful life and was a successful man in his career as a lifelong and typical showman."

He was born August 10, 1866, in London, England. His mother died when he was a small boy. After her death he took to roaming around and running away from home. When he was fourteen, he stowed away on a freighter bound for New Orleans. Discovered before the freighter docked, he was sent back to England. This time he remained in England until he was eighteen years old, and then stowed away again on a freighter headed for Baltimore. Successful in this try, but nearly starved, he escaped the ship and the immigration officers, and got into the country unnoticed. He worked his way from Baltimore to New Orleans, where he made a connection with a circus outfit, and in a short time, became the advance bill poster man for the circus. He traveled all over the United States and Canada with Barnum and Bailey and the Ringling Brothers circuses.

In his travels William Swan reached Broken Bow, Nebraska, and there met Sophia Witte, to whom he was married. About that time the moving picture business was becoming popular, so they decided to settle down in Broken Bow, Nebraska, where they started a motion picture theatre. They worked the business up, and when it was a thriving enterprise, sold it out and moved to a new location. This was repeated many times and took them to various points in Iowa and Nebraska. In 1912, they came to Columbus where they purchased the old Lyric Theatre.

In about 1916, Mr. Swan built the Swan Theatre^[9], which building he retained ownership of and leased. At one time he also owned the North Opera House Theatre, which was later sold to Otto Walter and Harold Kramer, who rebuilt it for the Montgomery Ward's Stores.

Probably the keynote to Mr. Swan's success was his first hand knowledge of the show business gained from so many years with the circus, plus his careful supervision. Mrs. Swan always worked faithfully and untiringly at his side.

William Swan had little, if any, "book learning," and made a success of his life the hard way through experience. He never learned to read and write, except to sign his name. Uneducated as he was in the ordinary sense of the term, he negotiated all of his business deals himself, and was always successful. He had his own way of figuring things out.

In 1924, he retired and that year he and Mrs. Swan went to London, England. This was his first visit to his native home. While there he influenced his niece, Mrs. John Fairbairn, and Mr. Fairbairn to come to this country. They came to Columbus in 1925. Mrs. Swan died November 8, 1933, and Mr. Swan made his home with the Fairbairns until his death, March 3, 1939. John Fairbairn is deceased and his widow, Mrs. Rose Fairbairn lives in Columbus.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ 1875 Census: "Kansas State Census, 1875"
   citing Census, Osborne, Kansas, United States, , Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka; FHL microfilm .
   FamilySearch Record: QL6X-C6F5 (accessed 8 August 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CS3B-FSDJ-R Image number 00502
   Sophia Witte (1) in Osborne, Kansas, United States.
2. ↑ "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XJ6C-P55 : 27 September 2017), Wm. Swan and Sophie Wittle, 27 Nov 1905, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States; citing reference p 54 rn 15586, county courthouses, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,476,865.
3. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27C-T2JH : 11 December 2017), William Swan in household of Stephen Swan, West Ham, Essex, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 6, Piece/Folio 1711/2, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,511.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML49-HQL : accessed 9 August 2022), Sophia Swan in household of Walter J Harris, Broken Bow, Custer, Nebraska, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 72, sheet 3A, family 51, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 841; FHL microfilm 1,374,854.
5. ↑ 1920 Census: "United States Census, 1920"
   citing Affiliate Publication Number: T625; Affiliate Film Number: 999; Line: 60; FHL microfilm: 1820999; Record number: 35173;
   FamilySearch Record: MCKT-MHB (accessed 8 August 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9RXN-WL Image number 00754
   Sophia Swan (48), wife, in household of William Swan (49) in Columbus, Platte, Nebraska, United States.
6. ↑ 1930 Census: "United States Census, 1930"
   citing enumeration district (ED) ED 10, sheet 16B, line 56, family 395, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1290; FHL microfilm 2,341,025.
   FamilySearch Record: XQ2H-GCP (accessed 8 August 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9RHT-3F5 Image number 00726
   Sophia Swan (56), wife, in household of William Swan (63) in Columbus, Platte, Nebraska, United States. Born in Kansas.
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19654058/sophia-c-swan: accessed 03 January 2023), memorial page for Sophia C. Witte Swan (8 Mar 1874–8 Nov 1933), Find a Grave Memorial ID 19654058, citing Columbus Cemetery, Columbus, Platte County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Don (contributor 46558676).
8. ↑ Family history told to Patti Richey via correspondence with various family in Nebraska.
9. ↑ Formerly Swan Theater Building https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbus,_Nebraska_2707_13th_St.JPG
10. ↑ http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Platte/pages/bios/hpcn0172.htm