Erwin F. Dygert was an importer of horses into the United States. He brought the last Belgian horses

Belgian (horse)

The Belgian Draft horse or Belgian, also known as Belgian Heavy Horse, Brabançon, or Brabant, is a draft horse breed from the Brabant region of modern Belgium, where it is called the or Flemish: . It is one of the strongest of the heavy breeds...

 out of Europe before the beginning of the second world war.
He was also involved in harness racing

Harness racing

Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...

, first at Aurora

Aurora, Illinois

Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, then at Hawthorne Race Course

Hawthorne Race Course

Hawthorne Race Course is a race track for horse racing in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago.The oldest continually-run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America...

. He is the namesake for the Erwin F. Dygert Memorial Trot, run at Hawthorne.
His first wife died and he later remarried Beulah Dygert (Farmer) of Danville

Danville, Illinois

Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is the principal city of the'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 32,467. It is the county seat of...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. She continued to work at the Hawthorne Race Course until her late eighties.

Erwin Dygert was of the family that owns the farm on Elk St. in Springville, New York

Springville, New York

Springville is a village in the southeast part of the town of Concord in Erie County, New York, United States. Springville is the principal community in the town and a major business location in south Erie County. The population was 4,252 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara...

 that was home to the first Erie County Fair

Erie County Fair

The Erie County Fair is a fair held in Hamburg in Erie County, New York every August. It is the second largest fair in New York topped only by Great New York State Fair which is larger, and the third largest county fair in the United States, often drawing over one million in attendance.The first...

.

Erwin Dygert married and had 3 children: Mary (Dill), Erwin William "Bill", Marjorie (Wallace), and Gloria (Morrison).