Details
Collection: 00032 - North Dakota Oral History Project Photograph Collection
Folder: RI-17
Item: 00007
Title: Emil Movius, John Movius and Bill Moss of Movius Land and Loan Company Lidgerwood (N.D.)
Date: 1909
Creator: Movius, Gilbert H
Inscription/Marks: [on caption in photograph] Movius Land and Loan Company Lidgerwood, North Dakota 1909 [facsimile file] (In Sprunk's handwriting) Written n pencil on reverse: Left: Emil Movius, Center: John Movius Right: Bill Moss 1909.
Summary: Full length, full face standing studio portrait of (left to right) Emil A. Movius, John Hurst Movius and Bill Moss of the Movius Land and Loan Company in Lidgerwood (N.D.). They are dressed in three piece suits standing in front of plain cloth backdrop and behind bamboo pole with tied sheafs of grain and fruit products. At their feet is a caption card with "Movius Land & Loan Company. Lidgerwood, North Dakota." Movius, Emil A.,--1858-1916; Movius, John Hurst--1860-1941; Moss, William “Bill”--1870-1948 [Biography- North Dakota History and People Vol2p324-325] Emil A. Movius. That North Dakota offers excellent opportunities to the young man of ambition and energy but without capital has been proven by the record of Emil A. Movius, who was one of the leading capitalists of Lidgerwood and Richland County. He was president of the First National Bank of Lidgerwood and of the Movius Land and Loan Company, which is capitalized for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. A native of Germany, he was born on the 5th of May, 1858, and was a son of John W. and Henriette (Bratz) Movius, also natives of that country, the former born in Burow. On emigrating to the United States the father settled at Glenwood, Minnesota, where he purchased land and also took up a homestead. He was a physician and practiced his profession successfully in Minnesota for a number of years. He passed away at New Ulm, that state. A more extended genealogy of the Movius family appears in the sketch of John H. Movius on another page of this volume. Emil A. Movius accompanied his parents to this country in 1867 and completed his education, which had been begun in Germany, in the schools of Ortonville, Minnesota, and Big Stone City, South Dakota. During his boyhood he gained valuable knowledge of farming through assisting with the work of the home place and after completing his education he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. Subsequently he engaged in the implement business at Big Stone City for three years but in 1887 came to North Dakota and took up his residence in Lidgerwood, where he continued to reside throughout the remainder of his life. For a considerable period he was engaged in the implement, furniture, livery and real estate business in connection with his brother, John H. Movius but later established a general mercantile business, to the conduct of which he devoted his time until he was burned out. He then concentrated his energies upon his real estate and banking interests, in which business he operated on a large scale. A number of years previously, or in 1888, he organized the Movius State Bank and in 1901 he established the First National Bank, which has larger deposits than any other bank in Richland County. In 1913, the institution erected a beautiful building, which it occupies, and its business is steadily growing. It is capitalized for fifty thousand dollars, has a surplus and undivided profits of over twenty-five thousand dollars and its deposits total over five hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars. In addition to its regular banking business the First National writes fire, hail and tornado insurance and does considerable business in those lines. Mr. Movius was also president of the German State Bank of Mott, North Dakota, and the Farmers State Bank of Great Bend, North Dakota. Although he gave careful attention to the management of the banks of which he was president, he devoted much of his time to the direction of the affairs of the Movius Land and Loan Company, of which he was the president and which is capitalized for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The concern buys and sells land and makes loans on land and is one of the largest companies of the kind in North Dakota. It has a surplus of fifty thousand dollars and pays excellent dividends to its stockholders, all of whom are members of the Movius family. Mr. Movius was married in 1881 to Miss Addie Waring, who was born in Virginia but reared in Missouri, and they became the parents of two children: John W., who is connected with the First National Bank of Lidgerwood; and George W., who is a graduate of Shattuck School at Faribault, Minnesota, and is now attending the State University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. The Republican Party had in Mr. Movius a stanch adherent and he did much to secure its victory at the polls in his county. Recognition of his ability to think in terms of the general welfare and of his sound judgment led to his election to the state legislature. He not only served acceptably in the House of Representatives but was also for four terms a member of the state senate, and whether in the lower or upper house he proved an able and discriminating lawmaker, supporting those measures calculated to promote the welfare of the state and opposing those which were ill advised. He was a loyal and consistent Mason and was identified with the blue lodge, the Royal Arch chapter, the Scottish Rite and the Mystic Shrine. His religious faith was indicated by the fact that he was a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, in which he took an active part. Although he was perhaps most intimately connected with the business and financial life of his community, he was at all times willing to support movements seeking its civic and moral advancement, and he was recognized as a broad-minded man of many interests and of unusual public spirit. His death, which occurred July 6, 1916, removed from Lidgerwood one of its foremost and honored citizens, who commanded the love and respect of all who knew him. [Biography-North Dakota History and People Vol2 p327-328] John Hurst Movius, of Lidgerwood, president and manager of the Movius Land and Loan Company, devotes the greater part of his time to looking after the land business of the concern, which is one of the largest of its kind in the state, and he also has a number of other important interests in Richland County. A native of Germany, he was born on the 24th of June, 1860, a son of John W. and Henriette (Bratz) Movius, who were born in that country on the 23rd of July 1821 and the 30th of November, 1822, respectively. The genealogy of the family is traced back to Rambau von der Movius, who is said to have owned a castle at Wartislaf, near Stettin, in Pommerania, in 1463. The grandfather of our subject, Johann Friedrich Movius, was born January 28, 1789, and became head forester for a nobleman at Golnow, Germany. He married Charlotte Zahl and lived to an advanced age, passing away on the 21st of February, 1873. The maternal grandparents were August and Wilhelmina (Erdmann) Bratz, born respectively on the 24th of July, 1798, and on the 27th of April, 1796. The grandfather died on the 10th of October, 1863, and the grandmother passed away at Odessa, Minnesota on the 30th of April, 1876. John W. Movius was educated for the medical profession in Germany and after removing to this country practiced in Glenwood, Sleepy Eye and New Ulm, Minnesota, gaining an enviable reputation as a physician. At that time he was quite well off but lost heavily by an investment in a mill and also from the grasshopper plague. He was well informed on all questions of general interest and was a public speaker of more than usual ability, making his points clearly and forcefully. He was appointed one of the first supervisors of Bigstone County, Minnesota, and was recognized as a leader in local republican circles. He was a man of strong character and one of his salient traits was his loyalty and devotion to his friends. The motive force of his life was his Christian faith and for years he was a devout member of the Lutheran church, later becoming identified with the Evangelical Association. He was married on the 23rd of October 1840 and passed away on the 21st of October, 1877 at New Ulm, Minnesota. His widow survived for almost thirty years, dying in Lidgerwood, North Dakota, on the 22nd of August 1907. To their union was born eleven children, five of whom are still living. A sketch of William R. Movius appears elsewhere in this work. Ernest F. Movius is a retired minister of the Evangelical Association, residing in Lidgerwood. He was educated in Germany and was accounted one of the ablest ministers of his denomination in the Dakotas. He had charge of churches in both North and South Dakota and also served as presiding elder in both states. A sketch of Emil A. Movius, deceased appears elsewhere in this work. Anna Movius married Emil Selin, who is engaged in the machine and automobile business in Odessa, Minnesota, and who has large farm holdings. John Hurst Movius is the next in order of birth. Mary O. Movius is now president of the First National Bank of Lidgerwood. John Hurst Movius received his education in the public schools of New Ulm, Minnesota and in a private school conducted by Professor Campbell. After finishing his education he engaged in the machine business in Bigstone City, South Dakota, with his brother Emil A. Movius, remaining in that connection from 1883 until 1887. In the latter year they arrived in Lidgerwood and established a machine business there. Subsequently they began dealing in furniture, became owners of livery and sales stables and also established a general store. They also turned their attention to banking and subsequently organized the Movius Land and Loan Company. They started in business in debt but the firm is now among the most important factors in the business life of that part of the state. In 1902 they suffered a fire loss of thirty thousand dollars on their store and after allowing for this loss their year’s profit totaled forty-two thousand dollars. The land company is capitalized for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and does an enormous business, buying and selling land outright and loaning money on land as security. Our subject concentrates his energies largely upon this phase of his business interests and is recognized as an authority on lands and farm loans. He is also vice president of the First National Bank of Veblen, South Dakota. On New Year’s Day, 1895, Mr. John Hurst Movius was united in marriage to Miss Margaret W. Wagner, a daughter of Charles Wagner, and to this union have been born five children. Eva Movius graduated from the high school and later took a preparatory course at Poughkeepsie, New York. She is now studying in a school of expression and music at Los Angeles, California. Carl E. Movius has completed the regular course in the Galahad School for Boys at Hudson, Wisconsin, and is now a student at Princeton College in Princeton, New Jersey. H. Grechen Movius was the youngest student graduated from the Lidgerwood High School, completing the course there when not yet fourteen years of age. She subsequently took further preparatory work at Poughkeepsie, New York, and then entered Vassar College. Although she was one of the youngest students to enter that famous school she has made an excellent record, especially in mathematics. Virginia and Gilbert Hurst Movius are both attending high school at Lidgerwood. Mr. John Hurst Movius is a republican in politics and has been president of the local school board and trustee of the State Science School at Wahpeton. He holds membership in the Evangelical Association and his wife is a communicant of the Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed through the chairs: with the Rebekahs, in which he has served as noble grand; and with the Masonic Blue Lodge, of which he has been master; the Royal Arch Chapter; the consistory; and the Shrine. Although he has given the strictest attention to his business affairs and has become one of the wealthy men of his country, he has never forgotten that there are other interests in life than the material ones and has given freely of his time and energy to the promotion of the educational, civic and moral advancement of his community.
Red ID: PH_I_124057 Image ID: 170888 Image Notes: 00032-RI-17-00007
Collection: 00032 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: North Dakota Oral History Project Photograph Collection
Date: 1880-1977
Summary: Consists of copies of photographs belonging to people interviewed for the North Dakota Oral History Project. The Project was undertaken by Larry Sprunk, with the cooperation of the North Dakota American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, the North Dakota Farmers Union, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The primary objective of the North Dakota Oral History Project was to conduct oral tape recorded interviews with North Dakotans who lived through the state's history and who could speak of this history from a first-hand basis. Interviewees were photographed at the time of their interviews. In addition, the project borrowed over 6,000 historical photographs which were copied and added to the State Historical Society's collection. Many interviewees also donated family histories, documents, letters, ledgers, books, and artifacts.
Enter a subject or term in one or both of the “Search” boxes.
- “Item Detail” searches the Title, Creator and Summary fields of all item-level records.
- “Collection Number” searches the Collection Number field only and requires an exact match.
The “DETAILS” button provides additional information about an item, as well as the following options:
- “Collection Summary” details the contents of the entire collection in which the selected item is located.
- You can print the image and its corresponding details by selecting “Print".
- “Digitized Images from the Collection” returns a list of all digitized items within that collection (available from the “Collection Summary” screen).
Click on image to expand/zoom the image view.
“Photobook home” takes you back to the main Photobook page where you can start a new search.
“Featured Collections” showcases new and/or popular collections and the digitized images within those collections.
Information on how to order copies is located here.
The collections preserved in the North Dakota State Archives include over a million images. Only a small percentage of these images have been digitized. This photo gallery provides a preview of the images that have been digitized.
For more information on the non-digitized images, please refer to the finding aids found on our website at history.nd.gov, or ask a member of our reference staff for assistance.