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Herman was the eldest son of Peter and Katharina (?) Kerber, born November 3, 1845 in a village, town or city by the Baltic Sea in Westpruessen.
I recently discovered, through the help of Ancestry.com, the Passenger List from Hamburg
a city-state within the German Empire and the home of the
Hamburg-America Line, the world's largest
transatlantic shipping company at the turn of the century. According
to the information recorded, Herman and his family along with his mother
Katharina were living in Berlin prior to April 1884. They boarded the ship
Rugia
in order to follow younger brothers, Fritz and Heinrich to America.
According to the Hamburg record for:
According to the website, Norway Heritage, the full list for the passages of the Rugia (1) are not complete which is why the 1884 trip is not listed. The route seems to have been from Hamburg the ship traveled to Le Havre, which means "the harbor or port", France and arrival at the port of New York.
There is a very good article about the daily life of the steerage immigrant:
http://www.norwayheritage.com/by_sail.htm however the trip was easier
by the time of the steamship.
This passenger list was recorded in New York showing that the family was intact
upon arrival.
They would have gone through
Castle Garden,
which began as a military battery in 1809 and in 1855 began being used to
process immigrants until Ellis Island was finished in 1892. Now that I
know that they came in steerage, I am wondering if Auguste and Helene became ill
and were quarantined or died after arrival. It would explain why I have
found no more record of their being with Herman, Hugo or Katharina.
A steam engine
resembling the one in this picture, carried them on along a route
running from New York through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana into Chicago,
turning Southward down through Illinois to St. Louis, MO then straight across
into St. Joseph. The family would have stayed for a time in
St. Joseph to
make sure Katharina was settled with Henry and Adelheida. One family
member told me that Herman worked for a time as a furniture maker. He
probably had to work long enough to save funds to move on West.
I have a mystery which some future family historian or a direct descendant my be able to solve: St. Paul Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in St. Joseph, Missouri was founded by German immigrants and the Kerber family were some of the earliest members. An entry in their historical record shows that "Herman and Amalie Kerber were members #26 who joined the membership September 28, 1884. No mention of Auguste, Helene or Hugo. I know that Hugo grew up and worked for his father in California and that he died there. Could Auguste and Helene have died after coming to this country by catching something among the passengers. Could Amalie be another of Auguste's names? I have found one of our ancestors with 4 first and middle names. That would have been only 6 months from leaving Hamburg.
At any rate, St. Joseph in 1885 was the second largest city in Missouri
second only to St. Louis in size and prosperity; just entering its "golden age".
It also supported a large community of German-born immigrants, now citizens for
several decades.
St. Joseph is also county seat of Buchanan County with a beautiful building
just 12 years old when they arrived.
I've tried to figure out why Herman decided to move on to California and settle in
San Diego.
I believe gold wasn't the draw it had been 40 years previous. However, the
West called to Herman who took his family with him. Auguste or Amalie
(which ever), his wife leaves my records after this. Herman next
shows up April 1, 1889 on this INDEX OF DECLARATION OF INTENSION for
naturalization
Here is a copy of his Naturalization Certificate dated October 4, 1890
issued by the Superior Court, San Diego County, CA.
He owned a saloon (the interior is shown on this picture postcard) that
advertised the longest oak bar,
west of the
Mississippi. There was a notation that came with this picture:
Kerber's Bar, 910 Fourth St, San Diego, CA. I used Google Earth program
and found a current picture at that address at street level; amazing!
. This
is a copy of a San Diego City Directory
- not sure of the publication year - which shows: Kerber, Herman G., wines
and liquors, 244 5th, rms., Brown Blk and right below: Kerber, Hugo
H. bartender, H. G. Kerber h. 204 16th That's the first
time I've seen Herman's middle initial. I looked through all of the male
Kerber names from our tree but have not come up with any beginning with G.
It's possible that since Herman was her eldest son, Katharina could have named
him after her father or possibly the G could be Peter's father's name, but I
would have no solid information yet.
This Voter's Registration Index (1908 - 1912) from the 9th Ward, 2nd Precinct
of San Diego shows Herman Kerber, retired living at 1137 Logan Avenue
and a registered Republican.
This 1910 Federal Census Record shows Herman that he was 65, was naturalized
and immigrated in the year 1884 among other information. It shows that he
had married a lady, aged 50 who was also immigrated from Germany in 1885, six
years at the date of the record which means 1904. There was a nephew named
William Schultz age 18 whose parents were from Germany. I think it's safe
to say that Hulda's maiden name was Schultz.
I received this death certificate
from San Diego, CA. The informant was someone named Moore. I think Hulda
only spoke German and probably could not write in English. It says that he
had lived at 4632 Edgeware St., Kensington Park for 32 years and in California
for 32 years which would make his arrival in 1886. It does not reveal his
middle name so he must not have liked it. The only document showing the G is on
the city directory. It reveals that he was a retired, white, male, who was
born November 3, 1845. The recorder or possibly Hulda knew little about
Herman's history since his father's name or mother's name was unknown to them
and that he was born in "Germany". I can only make out the word chronic in
the description of cause of death. He had been cared for from May 1st to
May 30st when he passed out of this life. He was 72 years, 6 months and 27
days on that date.
Herman & Hulda rest in
Greenwood Memorial Park
in San Diego, San Diego CO, CA along with is spouse, Hulda.
Obviously Hulda's name was misspelled on the main grey granite headstone.
It is engraved on their headstone, "Gone But Not Forgotten". This webpage
and the internet makes that phrase a reality.