Gerhard Bernard2 Erner (son of Johannes Anton1 Erner), born 27 March and baptized 28 March 1826 at Allendorf, Kreis Arnsberg, Westfalen, Germany(1); died 21 April 1908 at Quincy, Adams, Illinois, USA (old age)(Death Certificate #14167)[but his gravestone says 26 April(5)]; married 20 May 1858 at Quincy (from obituary) to Anna Mary Freiburg who was born 13 May and baptized 14 May 1835 at Allendorf(1) and died 20 November 1897 aged 62 years, 06 months, 07 days (St. Boniface Death Register 2, page 233) at Quincy [her gravestone].
[She was the first member of her branch of the Freiburg family to come to the U.S., traveling with her first cousin Peter Rüsche on the ship Maryland which sailed from Bremen and arrived in Baltimore on 24 May 1854; she went to Quincy, Adams, Illinois soon after. She was a dressmaker; she was working out of her residence in the 500 block of Maine Street in 1855 (Quincy City Directory).]
He apprenticed in Allendorf as a shoemaker. He came to the U.S. on the ship Uhland, which sailed from Bremen and arrived at New Orleans on 18 June 1852. He gave his destination as Missouri, but he ended up in Quincy before the year was out.
He opened a shoe shop at 504 Hampshire Street. In 1857, he was living at 200 Hampshire Street and his shop was at 102½ Hampshire Street. When Mary’s cousin Henry Freiburg came to Quincy in 1856, he boarded with Gerhard and worked in Gerhard’s shoe store off and on for five or six years. Later, Gerhard moved his shoe store to larger quarters at Sixth and Hampshire Streets. In 1865 Mary’s brother Casper Freiburg came to Quincy and went to work for Gerhard. In the 1866 Quincy City Directory, the firm was shown as Erner & Kloeckner (with partner Frans Kloeckner), at 166 Maine Street. Gerhard retired from active management of the store in 1879. In 1885, Casper Freiburg bought a partnership in the store, and continued to build the business until it was the largest shoe store in Quincy.
They lived at 621 Oak Street. They were members of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Quincy. After Mary died, his daughter Katherine Winking and her family came to live with him at 621 Oak Street. They took care of him until he died, and he left the house to them.
Biography from page 104, Geschichte der Deutschen Quincy’s, Volume VIII, Chapter 3, by Heinrich Bornmann, originally published in Deutsch-Amerikanische Geschichtsblaetter, 1901-11.
1860 Census: Bernard Erner, page 278, visit 2015/2156, Quincy (5th Ward), Adams, Illinois.
1870 Census: Barnard Erner, page 420, visit 640/686, Quincy (1st Ward), Adams, Illinois.
1880 Census: Gerard B. Erner, page 381, visit 092/106, Quincy (1st Ward), Adams, Illinois.
1900 Census: Gerhard Bernhardt (with son-in-law Gerhard H. Winking), page 317, visit 108/118, Quincy (1st Ward), Adams, Illinois.
They are buried at St. Boniface Cemetery at Quincy (Block 1, lot 92).
Children, born at Quincy:
Bernard James3 Erner, born August 1859; died 23 January 1941 aged 81 years at Quincy (Death Certificate #000051); married 05 May 1885 at Quincy (License #3814) to Anna Mary Griese (daughter of Stephen and Anna Griese) who was born 08 September 1859 in Illinois and died 29 March 1949 aged 89 years at Quincy (Death Certificate #008699). He owned a shoe store. They lived at 820 Vine Street. 1900 Census: Bernard J. Erner, page 203, visit 260/288, Quincy (5th Ward), Adams, Illinois. 1910 Census: Bernard J. Erner, page 216, visit 120/145, Quincy (5th Ward), Adams, Illinois. 1920 census: James Erner, page 044, visit 247/273, Quincy (5th Ward), Adams, Illinois. 1930 Census: J. Bernard Erner, page 244, visit 051/075, Quincy (E.D. 48), Adams, Illinois. Children, born at Quincy: Ida Erner, born 12 October 1887, died 22 May 1898 aged 10 years, 07 months, 10 days at Quincy (Book 2, page 234); Bertha M. Erner, born June 1889, died 06 February 1971 at Quincy, unmarried.
Maria3 Erner, born about May 1861; died 20 November 1867 aged 6½ years at Quincy (Book 2, page 103).
John A.3 Erner, born about August 1864; died 1908 at Columbus, Franklin, Ohio; married 1897-98 probably at Columbus to May A. Annawalt who was born about May 1854 in Pennsylvania. He was a machinist. He moved to Toledo, Ohio in 1890 and went to work as a laborer at the Toledo Electric Company. In 1892, he became an electrician and got a job at Bissell & Dodge Company. By 1895 he was vice president of the company, now called Bissell, Dodge & Erner. In 1898 he moved to Columbus, Ohio and formed his own company, J. A. Erner & Company Electrical Supplies, Construction & Machinery, located at 354 North High Street. After he married May, they lived at 338 West Sixth Street in Columbus. In 1899 he split the company into two different firms, Erner Construction Company and the Erner & Hopkins Electrical Supplies & Machinery Company. They lived at 28 Hubbard Avenue. In 1901 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio and established the Erner Electric Company, first in the Central Trust Building, later at 42 Public Square. He sold his Columbus company and it became known as the Brown-Ryan Electric Company. In Cleveland, they lived at 72 Collins Place; later at 41 Northfield Avenue in 1905; at 13520 Superior Avenue Northeast in 1907. 1900 Census: John A. Erner, page 232, visit 199/210, Columbus (16th Ward), Franklin, Ohio. 1910 Census: Mae A. Erner, page 126, visit 065/069, Columbus (2nd Ward), Franklin, Ohio. They had no children.
+ Katherine Frances3 Erner, born 06 December 1866; married Gerhard Henry Winking.
Francis Joseph3 Erner, born December 1868; died 31 August 1869 aged 08 months at Quincy (St. Boniface Death Register 2, page 116).
+ Jasper3 Erner [baptized as Casper], born 07 October 1870; married Mary Theresa Edtl; moved to Tacoma, Pierce, Washington.
Maria3 Erner, born 10 December 1873; died the same day aged 04 hours at Quincy (St. Boniface Death Register 2, page 140).
Gerhard Erner, m. Mary Freiburg. Last revision: 29 Mar 2007
Allendorf to America: Erner and Related Families in America.
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