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Feature #4: Message from the Author
First, I want to say it has been a joy to assemble the
information contained in the website. It was obtained from
various resources, and I have relied upon the research of others
in order to piece together all of the information. The
information is and will always remain incomplete, and some of it
is incorrect, but I welcome your input in order to provide the
most complete and accurate resource of this Gerber line.
In 2002, my wife,
Katherine, and I were blessed with the opportunity to visit
Switzerland and meet with family members. My uncle,
Wayne Gerber, was able to visit family members when he was
stationed in Germany in the 1960's. Through the years, he
has kept in contact with various family members. He was
able to put me in contact with
Fritz and
Greta Gerber as well as
Esther and
Walter Baumgartner. Because Heini Gerber had already
done some genealogy research, I was also put in contact with
Marianne Gerber of Kussnacht. The trip we took enabled us
to gather information we did not have, and we were able to
photograph the landscape and buildings in the homeland of our
ancestors. But most importantly, we were blessed to experience
the wonderful love and kindness of family we had not previously
known. Photographs of this trip can be located below:
During that first visit, we were taken to various Gerber farms.
We would meet unsuspecting owners of these farms. They would
welcome us and show us various items, such as ancient documents,
a stove with Gerber names on it, an inscribed corn processing
machine, etc. What amazed us is the way we, as strangers, were
warmly welcomed by everyone. Later in 2006, my brother
Tom, and I were in Europe for a business trip. I took the
opportunity to introduce Tom to some of the Gerber family, and
we were also able to make connections with other Gerbers
currently staying at Giebel. A short photo album of this
trip is also on the website. It can be found by clicking
on the link below:
For family still located in Switzerland, I would like to briefly
discuss the immigration of my great grandfather,
Ernst Gerber. Ernst initially came to Kansas in the
United States in 1897, apparently with a person named Christian
Fankhauser. Christian was likely his relative as Ernst's
mother was
Anna Fankhauser. They settled in an area near Sabetha,
Kansas, which is a very flat area of the United States, but with
good farmland. For some reason Ernst decided to return to
Switzerland. His father, Christian, had since remarried
after the death of his first wife. Ernst apparently did
not like his stepmother and again decided to emigrate in 1903 to
the United States. This time, he brought his brother,
Friedrich
(Fred). Both settled again in Kansas.
Ernst married another Swiss descendent by the name of
Clara Moser. They had five boys. The youngest
boy,
Andrew, died in a logging accident in Oregon state.
Paul joined the military and was a scuba diver in World War II.
One of his duties was to pump air into the sunken ships at Pearl
Harbor to attempt to bring the ships to the surface of the
water. His family settled in California.
Theodore (Ted) and
Edward moved to the Iowa/Minnesota area.
Gilbert purchased Ernst's farm and remained in Kansas.
Clarence eventually moved from Kansas to Colorado.
Currently, the Gerber family in the Unites States has grown
tremendously, with family members living in Iowa, South Dakota,
Minnesota, Ohio, Colorado, Indiana, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Nebraska,
Arkansas, Kansas, California, Texas. There are likely more
States and countries where family members live, but I have lost
track of many of them. I do know there are many family
members from other immigrants, who have settled in other areas.
The database currently holds information on more than
5100 individuals. You should know that many of these individuals
are not from the Gerber branch, but are from different branches
in my family tree. I have included these individuals so
that others in my family can view this information.
The question often arises as to where I gathered the information
for this website. There's no simple answer to that
question. Much of it has come from talking with family.
Some has come from old documents, letters, and photographs that
in the possession of family members. Sometimes, the
documents are located in national or state archives.
Online message boards are sometimes helpful. Most of the
time, you have to rely upon the work of others. This would
be a good place to recognize those who have been particularly
helpful in assembling this information:
Shirlee DeHaan - Shirlee has forwarded countless
photographs, dates, and other bits of information over the past
few years on the DeHaan/Schlotfeldt/Scherff/Moser/Kellenberger
families.
Fay Schlotfeldt - Fay is known as the Schlotfeldt
family genealogist. He work is very extensive, and he is
willing to share with anyone who is curious. Check out his
website
here.
Tony
Gerber - Although Tony and I are 7th cousins once
removed, I have included his family information in the website.
He has done an excellent job of collecting information on his
branch of the Gerber tree. More interesting to me is the
history of Langnau that he shows on his webpage, which can be
seen
here.
Fritz Gerber and
Marianne Gerber - Both Fritz and Marianne have
hosted me, my wife, and my brother on trips taken to
Switzerland. They have gone out of their way to assist us
in becoming familiar with Swiss history, culture, and our family
roots. Words cannot describe how they have gone out of
their way to assist us, but more importantly, to feel welcomed.
Emmy Banwart
- Emily has collected an enormous
amount of information on the Moser family. She has done a
great job of preparing histories of individuals, instead of just
dates and locations.
She also has sent me a treasure trove of photographs from the
Jacob Moser family.
I hope you enjoy the research I have compiled. I also hope
that you will make contact with me. We would love to know
who you are. If you have data that you know needs to be
changed or updated, please let me know. In any case, I
hope our paths connect someday.
May God's blessings be on you!
Yours truly,
Tim Gerber
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