Max Monvoison and the Town of Max
By Anna L. Benge
We cannot mention the early history of Max with recalling the name of Max Monvoisin, who was an early pioneer and one of the real founders of Max. Be that as it man, here are a collection of stories which tell of his life.
Max Monvoisin was born in Paris, France. By trade he was a taxidermist and in the fur business. He came to New York City and was engaged in the same business. In New York City he met and married an American girl. They had one daughter named Addie. Shortly after Addie’s birth, Mrs. Monvoisin died. Max and his daughter moved to Omaha before 1870. He continued in his trade as a tanner and had a fur store in the residential district in Omaha. Mr. Monvoisin had come west to Nebraska to be closer to the source of raw furs in the pioneer country.
Hiram Ostrom and his family came to Omaha from New York state and located in Omaha. Another family, Hoxie Groesbeck, also came from New York. The three families – Monvoisin, Ostroms, and Groesbeck – lived int eh same neighborhood in Omaha. The Ostrom children and Addie Monvoisin played together much of the time. During this time the three men, Max, Hiram and Hoxie, became acquainted and good friends.
In March 1880 Max Monvoisin and daughter Addie, Hiram Ostrom and wife Kate, their daughter ZViola and son Albert, Hoxie Groesbeck and mother Lavina Ostrom, decided to come to Dundy County and take up homesteads. They shipped their immigrant cars to Indianola. At this time it was the end of the Burlington Railroad. They freighted their possession on to the present site of Max. It is interesting to note here that they selected adjacent quarters of land in 29-2-36 on April 3, 1880. They are credited with being the first settlers in Dundy County that took homesteads for the purpose of agriculture or farming.
Mr. Monvoisin had been in Dundy County before he came in 1880 to take up a claim. He was here buffalo hunting. He returned to Omaha with such interesting stories of the west that Hiram Ostrom and Hoxie Groesbeck got the western fever and wanted to see this new country, free for the taking.
Up until 1879 Indian Creek was an excellent place for a hunter to go for there was an abundance of buffalo, elk, antelope, and blacktail deer. Buffalo were found here as late as 1881, as were herds of antelope. In the early days before the settlers came, all a hunter needed to do on Indian Creek was to camp in a convenient spot and wait for the buffalo to come to water, which they did every day. He wanted. Mr. Monvoisin tells of killing six buffalo in one day’s hunt.
The three families were apparently happy with the country and change in life style. Mr. Monvoisin especially, for here were raw furs, skins, and buffalo heads in abundance. He set up his tannery business and was turning out the best in furs and buffalo head mountings.
During the 1880s the bones of cattle, buffalo and other animals were to be found all over the prairie. Mr. Monvoisin collected horns, especially buffalo horns, and polished them and made them into hatracks and other beautiful articles. He shipped a quantity of them to France. They were a novelty over there and sold at a fancy price. Buffalo horns were the source of the principle and most profitable part of the Monvoisin taxidermy business. He also stuffed birds and animals. At one time he sent a collection of wild animals he had trapped and stuffed in Dundy County to the State Fair in Lincoln.
This very interesting story is told in connection with his ………… three Indians watching him. He thought that if he kept on with his work the Indians might not bother him. So he kept very busy. The Indians watched for a while, then went on their way. In telling this incident to his friends he said he had never spent so much time in setting his traps.
Mr. Monvoisin’s house did not look like most sod houses. It looked more like it was made of large bricks made of sun-dried earth. He called it adobe. In his home he had a collection of furs, skins, birds, snakes and mounted specimens. To visitors he often showed some things as large as hen eggs but not the same shape. They were nearly round and rather flattened and gray in color. He explained that he had taken them from the buffaloes’ stomachs and were formed in this shape of a stonelike substance from undigested hair that buffaloes had swallowed in a lifetime.
Max Monvoisin moved to the Max settlement from his homestead and became the first Postmaster in Max and held that position for more than twenty years. In seeking a name for this settlement the name Maxwell was submitted to the government. There was another town in Nebraska named Maxwell and so this was shortened to Max, since the postmaster’s first name was Max. When the post office was first granted the top of a trunk was used. Each person’s mail was placed in a separate pile for distribution. The town of Max was named in his honor.
Mr. Monvoisin had a hardware store in connection with the post office. It was here he brought his display of animals from his residence. He often had a live rattlesnake in a cage or a young coyote tied up outside. This was sort of a Museum to the children in later years.
Miss Addie Monvoisin had Miss Viola Ostrom were the only two young ladies for miles around. In reading about the dedication of the Scott Hotel in Benkelman they had a dance in the hotel. The young ladies present were Addie Monvoisin, Viola Ostrom, Mary Scott and some girls from Atwood, Kansas and Culbertson. The young men were Jeff Gallagher, Jim Ray, Hoxie Groesbeck, Peg Richards, Jake Haigler, Frank pay, John Doren, Frank Badger, and J.W. Kimsey.
Later, Addie Monvoisin was married to J.J. Gallagher (Jeff). They had three daughters – Josephine, Mabel and Marie. A tiny son did not survive infancy.
Charlie Hickman and Viola Ostrom were married and the first white girl born in Max was Kate, whom we knew as Katye Logan. She became a teacher and later Dundy County School Superintendent.
Mr. Monvoisin and Mr. Ostrom were the leading figures in the organization of the Max School District. The first school meeting of District 27 was called in the Monvoisin home on March 23, 1887 at 7 p.m. for the purpose of establishing a school.
Mr. Monvoisin had many of the farming tools and equipment that were needed in this new land, whereas the homesteaders did not. They were welcome to use the Monvoisin tools as long as they returned them in good usable shape so that other homesteaders could use them, too. He was generous to all the settlers and they all owed him for many favors he extended to them.
Mr. Monvoisin made the one trip to his homeland, France. He attended the Paris Exhibition and displayed a mounted buffalo head. He won first prize of $500 on it. On his return trip he brought bracelets of perfumed wood for each child in the neighborhood.
In an article I wrote on the first Dundy County Fair held in Benkelman, I told about the horse race he had entered. But some prankster put a sandbur under the harness of his horse. His horse kicked and ……. out, caught the bridle rein and climbed out of the buggy and removed the burr.
Of the three men: Hiram Ostrom was killed when his team became frightened by a passing freight train while he was working in a field near Max. Mr. Groesbeck went to Oklahoma, where he later died. Max Monvoisin died in Benkelman in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Jeff Gallagher. He was ill only a shore time.
If his life story could have been written in full, no doubt it might have surpassed the story of “Old Jules” by Mari Sandoz.
We cannot mention the early history of Max with recalling the name of Max Monvoisin, who was an early pioneer and one of the real founders of Max. Be that as it man, here are a collection of stories which tell of his life.
Max Monvoisin was born in Paris, France. By trade he was a taxidermist and in the fur business. He came to New York City and was engaged in the same business. In New York City he met and married an American girl. They had one daughter named Addie. Shortly after Addie’s birth, Mrs. Monvoisin died. Max and his daughter moved to Omaha before 1870. He continued in his trade as a tanner and had a fur store in the residential district in Omaha. Mr. Monvoisin had come west to Nebraska to be closer to the source of raw furs in the pioneer country.
Hiram Ostrom and his family came to Omaha from New York state and located in Omaha. Another family, Hoxie Groesbeck, also came from New York. The three families – Monvoisin, Ostroms, and Groesbeck – lived int eh same neighborhood in Omaha. The Ostrom children and Addie Monvoisin played together much of the time. During this time the three men, Max, Hiram and Hoxie, became acquainted and good friends.
In March 1880 Max Monvoisin and daughter Addie, Hiram Ostrom and wife Kate, their daughter ZViola and son Albert, Hoxie Groesbeck and mother Lavina Ostrom, decided to come to Dundy County and take up homesteads. They shipped their immigrant cars to Indianola. At this time it was the end of the Burlington Railroad. They freighted their possession on to the present site of Max. It is interesting to note here that they selected adjacent quarters of land in 29-2-36 on April 3, 1880. They are credited with being the first settlers in Dundy County that took homesteads for the purpose of agriculture or farming.
Mr. Monvoisin had been in Dundy County before he came in 1880 to take up a claim. He was here buffalo hunting. He returned to Omaha with such interesting stories of the west that Hiram Ostrom and Hoxie Groesbeck got the western fever and wanted to see this new country, free for the taking.
Up until 1879 Indian Creek was an excellent place for a hunter to go for there was an abundance of buffalo, elk, antelope, and blacktail deer. Buffalo were found here as late as 1881, as were herds of antelope. In the early days before the settlers came, all a hunter needed to do on Indian Creek was to camp in a convenient spot and wait for the buffalo to come to water, which they did every day. He wanted. Mr. Monvoisin tells of killing six buffalo in one day’s hunt.
The three families were apparently happy with the country and change in life style. Mr. Monvoisin especially, for here were raw furs, skins, and buffalo heads in abundance. He set up his tannery business and was turning out the best in furs and buffalo head mountings.
During the 1880s the bones of cattle, buffalo and other animals were to be found all over the prairie. Mr. Monvoisin collected horns, especially buffalo horns, and polished them and made them into hatracks and other beautiful articles. He shipped a quantity of them to France. They were a novelty over there and sold at a fancy price. Buffalo horns were the source of the principle and most profitable part of the Monvoisin taxidermy business. He also stuffed birds and animals. At one time he sent a collection of wild animals he had trapped and stuffed in Dundy County to the State Fair in Lincoln.
This very interesting story is told in connection with his ………… three Indians watching him. He thought that if he kept on with his work the Indians might not bother him. So he kept very busy. The Indians watched for a while, then went on their way. In telling this incident to his friends he said he had never spent so much time in setting his traps.
Mr. Monvoisin’s house did not look like most sod houses. It looked more like it was made of large bricks made of sun-dried earth. He called it adobe. In his home he had a collection of furs, skins, birds, snakes and mounted specimens. To visitors he often showed some things as large as hen eggs but not the same shape. They were nearly round and rather flattened and gray in color. He explained that he had taken them from the buffaloes’ stomachs and were formed in this shape of a stonelike substance from undigested hair that buffaloes had swallowed in a lifetime.
Max Monvoisin moved to the Max settlement from his homestead and became the first Postmaster in Max and held that position for more than twenty years. In seeking a name for this settlement the name Maxwell was submitted to the government. There was another town in Nebraska named Maxwell and so this was shortened to Max, since the postmaster’s first name was Max. When the post office was first granted the top of a trunk was used. Each person’s mail was placed in a separate pile for distribution. The town of Max was named in his honor.
Mr. Monvoisin had a hardware store in connection with the post office. It was here he brought his display of animals from his residence. He often had a live rattlesnake in a cage or a young coyote tied up outside. This was sort of a Museum to the children in later years.
Miss Addie Monvoisin had Miss Viola Ostrom were the only two young ladies for miles around. In reading about the dedication of the Scott Hotel in Benkelman they had a dance in the hotel. The young ladies present were Addie Monvoisin, Viola Ostrom, Mary Scott and some girls from Atwood, Kansas and Culbertson. The young men were Jeff Gallagher, Jim Ray, Hoxie Groesbeck, Peg Richards, Jake Haigler, Frank pay, John Doren, Frank Badger, and J.W. Kimsey.
Later, Addie Monvoisin was married to J.J. Gallagher (Jeff). They had three daughters – Josephine, Mabel and Marie. A tiny son did not survive infancy.
Charlie Hickman and Viola Ostrom were married and the first white girl born in Max was Kate, whom we knew as Katye Logan. She became a teacher and later Dundy County School Superintendent.
Mr. Monvoisin and Mr. Ostrom were the leading figures in the organization of the Max School District. The first school meeting of District 27 was called in the Monvoisin home on March 23, 1887 at 7 p.m. for the purpose of establishing a school.
Mr. Monvoisin had many of the farming tools and equipment that were needed in this new land, whereas the homesteaders did not. They were welcome to use the Monvoisin tools as long as they returned them in good usable shape so that other homesteaders could use them, too. He was generous to all the settlers and they all owed him for many favors he extended to them.
Mr. Monvoisin made the one trip to his homeland, France. He attended the Paris Exhibition and displayed a mounted buffalo head. He won first prize of $500 on it. On his return trip he brought bracelets of perfumed wood for each child in the neighborhood.
In an article I wrote on the first Dundy County Fair held in Benkelman, I told about the horse race he had entered. But some prankster put a sandbur under the harness of his horse. His horse kicked and ……. out, caught the bridle rein and climbed out of the buggy and removed the burr.
Of the three men: Hiram Ostrom was killed when his team became frightened by a passing freight train while he was working in a field near Max. Mr. Groesbeck went to Oklahoma, where he later died. Max Monvoisin died in Benkelman in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Jeff Gallagher. He was ill only a shore time.
If his life story could have been written in full, no doubt it might have surpassed the story of “Old Jules” by Mari Sandoz.