The Vincent Kerber Family

Vincent Kerber came from Germany to the United States in 1849. For a number of years he worked as a building contractor in Sandusky. Later he worked with his sons in the ice business, as well as a flour and feed business. Pictured below is V. Kerber & Sons feed and flour store, located at 619 Water Street around 1890. Some of the brands they carried were Pillbury’s Best and Gold Dust Flour. Vincent’s sons Edward and John Kerber continued in the ice business for several years.

Vincent Kerber and Constantina (Eckert) Kerber had a large family of four sons and two daughters. Mrs. Kerber died in Germany in 1889. After Constantina died, he married again, during a trip to his homeland in Baden, Germany. Vincent Kerber died in September 1898.

Peeke’s A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio contains biographies of John and Edward Kerber. Vincent Kerber’s obituary is found in the September 18, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Daily Register. The article says that he was “one of the best known and most highly respected of Sandusky’s residents.” It continues “his works, in and about the city, bear silent testimony of his skill and the thoroughness with which he did whatever he undertook.”

At St. Mary’s Cemetery, an angel adorns the monument in memory of Louise Kerber and Pauline Kerber Heiberger, the two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Kerber.