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Frederick (Fritz) Wilhelm Kerber was one of the three sons of Peter and Katharina of
Westpruessen in Europe who came to the United States. New information
from one of our Kerber Kousins, Davie Dobrick, is that Fritz accompanied
Adelheida and baby Minnie aboard the
HOHENSTAUFEN. The
ship left the port of Bremen
which on July 20 of 1881 was a
Hansiatic
city. Her information is that the ship harbored
at Southampton, England and arrived in New York August 3, 1881. In the
future Davie has written that she will be sending more of her research to share
with us.
The records of St. Paul Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in St. Joseph, Missouri show that "Frederick Kerber was member #16 joining the membership in either June or July of 1883"
He met and married Johanna Reents August 22, 1886 at St. Paul.
(See the "Going to America" page) Margarete Gensler wrote "I was quite
young but remember Fritz Kerber got married and we were invited to my
Grandmother's home where she had the couple to dinner".
Johanna provided a first-hand account of her family leaving their lives in the
country we now call Germany which is very interesting.
to read please click here
to read their story.
William Henry Herman Kerber was born 1887; their only child. William became a Lutheran Church - MO Synod pastor.
By 1889, Fritz and Johanna were living at 1214 South 18th Street located in the area of St. Joseph known as the South End. This area of the city had grown up around the large stockyards and packing houses populated by the workers and businesses catering to the workers there. It was connected to St. Joseph by a trolley line. The City Directory shows Frederich working for the H. Krug Packing Company.
Frederich became an American citizen March 15th, 1890.
However, you see that either this was an old certificate or not filled out
properly because it says, "in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred
and Sixty___________
At some point, he attended the barber school then began working at a shop located at 1422 South 10th around 1894. The family had moved to 1012 Sacramento St. Referring back to the account by Johanna's sister.
Then by 1898 the six-member household moved to
Hiawatha, Kansas
in Brown County, from St. Joseph, MO
where Frederick bought a
dairy and fruit farm located one-half mile east of Hiawatha near the
Mt. Hope
Cemetery. in 1910 Johanna underwent surgery for cancer but died in
September. Fritz sold the farm and moved to Long Lake, South Dakota where
William was serving as pastor to the Lutheran church.
Friedrich had moved back to St. Joseph by 1921. The City Directory shows
him working again as a barber at a shop at 2409 Messanie Street and living at
1705 Mitchell Avenue.
After that, he is lost to the mists of time. He and Johanna are probably lying in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Hiawatha but I've never checked this.
As for William Henry Herman Kerber; I only know that he had one boy and one girl who lived in the state of Washington. I hope that one of his descendents will connect with us here at Kerber Kousins.