Born in 1826 in rural Ohio, Kountze was one of the seven children of Christian and Margaret Kountze (originally Kuntze). Christian had immigrated to the U.S. from Saxony, a German province. After marrying Margaret Zerbe of Pennsylvania, the couple relocated in Osnaburg, in Stark County, Ohio. There he opened a grocery store and trained his sons in business. Augustus left his parents' home in 1854, moving to Muscatine, Iowa, and then westward to Omaha in 1855, where he began trading in real estate.
In Omaha Kountze developed a massive banking, real estate and railroad portfolio. His diverse holdings included the Omaha Horse Railway Company; he was the Treasurer of the Nebraska Territory and the state of Nebraska from 1861 through 1869.[4] In 1858, he wrote to his Lutheran pastor in Canton, Ohio, and requested that Nebraska be named a mission field of the church. Because of that action the first Lutheran worship service in Nebraska was held on December 5, 1858.[5]
In 1856, Augustus and Herman established Kountze Brothers Bank, later changing the name to First National Bank of Omaha. Fellow Omaha pioneer Edward Creighton became president of the bank, remaining in that position until his death in 1874. Kountze was responsible for the construction of the First National Bank Building in Omaha. In 1866, Augustus's brother Charles founded the Colorado National Bank, which named Augustus as a senior member; likewise in 1868 brother Luther opened the Kountze Brothers Bank in New York City, and also named Augustus a senior member.
Periodically Augustus' diverse interests would supplement one another. For instance, in 1880 he announced his desire to complete the Sabine and East Texas Railroad from Beaumont, Texas, through Sabine Pass, Texas, to Rockland, Texas. This enabled Kountze to market the 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) of virgin timber on land which he owned in nearby counties.[10]
In 1872, Kountze moved to New York City permanently to assist with the expanding operations of the brothers' banking operations there.[6] He was a director of the New York Security and Trust Company as well.[1] A wedding of a niece at his home in New York City was regarded as a major social event in 1892.[11]
Philanthropy
In 1885, Kountze funded the construction of the Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church in Omaha, which was named in honor of Christian Kountze, his father. Today the church is located at 26th & Farnam Streets in Downtown Omaha.[12] He also funded a church in Ohio in honor of his parents, as well as much of St. James Lutheran Church in New York City.[13]