The exact death date was not given . A search in the Blair Cemetery’s online database yielded the exact death date.

4 newspaper articles

# 1 - - Published in The Pilot, December 26, 1895

COUNTY CLERK RATHMANN DEAD

PASSES QUIETLY AWAY AFTER A SHORT ILLNESS

The serious, and what proved to be fatal illness of County Clerk Rathmann, was announced in The Pilot last week. After the first attack, which came on suddenly while he was at work in his office last Thursday morning, Mr. Rathmann was taken to his home on West Washington street, where for a time he seemed to be improving. Sunday afternoon, however, a relapse took place, and Dr. Peabody of Omaha was sent for, who came up and stayed with Mr. Rathmann all night. His condition was at that time thought to be very critical and at about two o’clock Monday afternoon, he died. The direct cause of his death was apoplexy and Dr. Peabody reported that the sick man had ruptured a blood vessel in the brain.

The funeral services will be held at two o’clock this afternoon in Germania Hall and the address will be delivered by Jacob Hauck of Omaha.

Mr. Rathmann was about to complete his fourth term of office as County Clerk for this county and during his career, both public and private, has made many warm friends who will deeply regret to learn of his death and who will earnestly sympathize with the bereaved family.

Hon. Christian Rathmann, Clerk of Washington county, Nebraska, was born in Nortorfin, Holstein, Germany, December 17, 1832. He is the son of Hans D. and Catharine (Rohwer) Rathmann, both natives of the same place. They were the parents of nine sons, three of whom are living - - George D., a farmer of Washington county; John of Grand Island; and Christian, the subject of this sketch.

Christian emigrated to America in 1853, landing in New York city, and was the first to establish the family name in this country. He spent his youthful days in his native country, receiving a liberal education. After coming to America, he spent one year in New York city, then went to Burlington, Vermont. We next find him engaged in a woolen factory at Winoosky Falls, Cheshire county, New Hampshire. He received word of his father’s death in 1856, and returned to his native land, remaining until March 1857, and then came to Nebraska, locating at Fort Calhoun, where he purchased a claim of a Mr. Sawyer. He developed and lived upon this claim sixteen years.

In early life he was a staunch Republican, casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. In 1872 he voted for Horace Greeley, since which time he has been an Independent. In 1867 he was elected to the State legislature, that being the first session held at Lincoln. In 1872 he was a candidate for Secretary of State on the Liberal ticket.

He left the farm and for one year was engaged in the milling business on the Elkhorn river near Arlington; was cashier and book-keeper in the bank of A. Castetter in Blair four years. On account of ill health, he left the bank and went to buying live stock. In the fall of 1887 he was elected County Clerk, and re-elected in 1889, 1891, and 1893, which office he has filled with credit to himself and to the citizens of Washington county.

Mr. Rathmann was united in marriage to 1874 to Miss Sophia Horstmann, a native of Itzehoe, Holstein, Germany, born July 23, 1853. She accompanied her parents to the United States in 1853 when a mere child. By this union seven children were born - - John Ulrich, September 28, 1875; Frank Christian, August 12, 1877; Darwin Arthur, December 21, 1879, who died September 8, 1894; Catherine Elizabeth, December 9, 1881; Anna Margaretha, January 13, 1886; Anton Frederick, October 31, 1887; and Chris. Joe, May 2, 1894.

At the time Mr. Rathmann came to Nebraska it was yet wild and new, and even a prophet could not tell what a great commonwealth Nebraska would come to be within a quarter of a century. Year by year she has made rapid strides, and now takes front rank among the stars within the galaxy of states. When he came to the territory, Omaha was but a small village, with not more than one thousand inhabitants, and Washington County’s inhabitants were very few, located only along the timbered creeks and next to the Missouri and Elkhorn rivers. The open prairie was left vacant until after the homestead law was passed, when it was partly taken up by homesteaders and the balance later by the Union Pacific and Sioux City & Pacific Railroad Companies as vacant land donated to them by the United States government.

# 2 - - from Blair Courier, December 26, 1895

COUNTY CLERK RATHMANN DEAD

Christian Rathmann, county clerk of Washington county, died at his residence in Blair at 2:30 p.m., Monday, December 23, 1895, after an illness of a few days.

Mr. Rathmann was taken ill last Thursday morning with an attack of apoplexy which terminated in paralysis, causing death. He was 63 years and 6 days old at the time of death and had been in the United States since 1850. In that year he came from Nortrof, Province of Schleswig- Holstein, Germany, and located in New Hampshire. In 1857 he came to Nebraska and made his home near Ft. Calhoun for some time, later operated a mill at or near the present village of Arlington. Resided for a short time in Omaha but soon returned to Ft. Calhoun where he remained until 1888 when he moved to Blair, having been elected county clerk in the preceding November. He was elected to that office four succeeding terms.

In 1874 Mr. Rathmann was married and the wife survives him. There are also six children – four boys and two girls – now living, who mourn his loss.

Mr. Rathmann had been provident and kept $5,000 insurance paid up so that his family will be provided for in this world’s goods.

The funeral was conducted by the Germania society of this place, of which he was an honored member, and interment made in the Blair cemetery this (Thursday) afternoon.

# 3 - - from The Pilot, December 26, 1895

The sudden and unexpected death of County Clerk Rathmann was one of those semi-tragic affairs that spreads a cloud of doom and earnest regret over the whole community. He was 63 years and 6 days old and a resident of this county for 38 years last past. Always prominent in social and political affairs his circle of friends was limited only by his acquaintances and he died as he had lived without a personal enemy anywhere. Probably no other man in this county could drop away and leave so large a number of sincere mourners. Chris Rathmann was a good citizen and an honest man and what nobler epitaph can be written of any of us when we shall be called to the beyond.

# 4 - - from The Pilot, January 2, 1896

CHRIS RATHMANN

It certainly was with pain to us as well as others, that we learned of the death of our County Clerk.

When we came to Ft. Calhoun in 1871, Christian and his brother John, now of Grand Island and their widowed mother lived on the old Moore’s Creek farm.

In those days wood and fencing was an item of value, the farmers on these prairies had not begun to burn coal or shell their corn and they were just beginning to plant trees. Farm after farm was fenced with oak posts worth 35 or 40 cents each and willow poles costing about two cents, each standing in the timber.

A great many farmers would have been without fences and sometimes without fuel had it not been for the kindness of Chris and John Rathmann. And so too with seed grains and seed potatoes, they gave these in very large quantities and were always liberal with poor struggling neighbors.

We chanced to be riding with him one day over his field when we saw the grasshopper cut down forty acres of corn in one hour until not a hill could be seen and a splendid field of oats in head totally ruined.

But something was raised that year and Chris Rathmann, the next spring, not only gave freely but also devoted much valuable time to gathering grain and seeds to fill two cars for those sections where nothing was raised that season.

Chris Rathmann was ruined by some sharpers and lost some friends by seeking office. But never in politics or out did we ever hear a man say that Chris Rathmann was ever dishonest. The great majority respected him for his real worth and his practical good fellowship. W.H. Woods, December 24, 1895