In 1880, my grandfather was age seven and
was living at 362 K Street S.W. Washington D.C.
with his father John Ferber(Age 37).
He shared the house with his three brothers,
Christian(Age 14), John(Age 12), and George(Age 5),
and a sister named Annie(Age 4). His name, in the 1880
census records is spelled, John "Lewis" Ferber. Although
for some reason, later in life, he picked up the spelling
John "Louis" Ferber.

Unfortunately, there isn't an "official" birth certificate,
because the District of Columbia, didn't begin issuing them
before 1874. There was a book of recording births in the city
at the time, but his birth was never recorded. The only way
that you can find out about his birth is through census records.

His father, John Ferber is listed in the1880 D.C. City
Directory, as a Grocer (provisions) with a store located
at 1000 4 1/2 Street S.W. The 1880 Census lists his father's
birthplace as Darmstadt, Germany in the state of Hesse.
His mother's maiden name was, Ana Barbara Engel. She was
born in, Ernsthansen Germany, in 1876 on a birth
certificate that documents the birth of twins.

My grandfather started working for the Washington Post
newspaper, on May 15th, 1890. He was 17 years old
at the time. The Washington Post was then located at
10th and D Streets N.W. in Washington, D.C.
In a newspaper article about his retirement, when he was
asked how he got his start,he was quoted as saying that he...

"ran an elevator a little while there, and used
to push the papers to the station in a handcart
for the mail delivery. But it wasn't long before
I got to the composing room. I'm just a
newspaperman at heart, I guess because
I never wanted to go anywhere else."

He worked for the Washington Post as an accomplished
make-up specialist, which involves the arrangement of type
and illustrations, etc... in a newspaper, and was also a member of
the Columbia Typographical Union Number 101.

He married Ida Caroline Gordon, daughter of Walter and Margaret
A. Gordon. The ceremony took place on October 29th, 1894 in
Baltimore, Maryland . The "original" marriage certificate is
located in the family bible with Aunt Hilda Ferber.

In the 1896 D.C. City Directory he was listed as a printer.
His address at the time was 504 7th Street SE, Washington D.C.
The 1900 Census Records list his address as 314 11th Street SE
He and his wife Ida were both twenty-six.

They had three sons at the time, named...
Charles L. (age 5), Walter H. (age 3), Raymond (11 months).

My grandfather had a total of seven sons:



Charles Louis Ferber BORN:06-02-1895 DIED:
Walter Henry Ferber BORN:12-22-1896 DIED:07-12-1962
Raymond Francis Ferber BORN:06-08-1899 DIED:12-31-1901
George Edward Ferber BORN:10-14-1901 DIED:05-11-1963
Alton Lorenzo Ferber BORN:11-07-1904 DIED:10-19-1950
Elmer Leonard Ferber BORN:08-16-1909 DIED:08-27-1965
Jack Woodrow Ferber BORN:04-17-1913 DIED:03-05-1985

He commanded great respect from his seven sons.
They would all be in touch with him either by a visit
or a telephone call at least once a week. In the fall of
each year, all the brothers made a point to gather at
his house on Neal Street, Northeast in Washington D.C.
One thing I remember is that they would all go over and
shred fresh cabbage for sauerkraut. The shredded
cabbage was then put in a barrel, covered with rock salt,
the lid was put on, and it was then left to sit.

Over a six-week period, 'Grandpap' would skim off
the brine foam. Then all the boys would gather again
and can it in jars. Sometimes there would be a party and
we would eat raw sauerkraut on hot-dogs. My grandfather
also brewed his own beer. I remember he would always keep
a beer crock in the basement. He also was known to like
to smoke good cigars. I still remember the smell of
the cigar smoke in his house when we would visit.

He died at his house at South Dakota Avenue NE
D.C.. I believe it was of congestive heart failure.
All the boys gathered together to put him to rest
beside my grandmother Ida Caroline Ferber.
His second wife Pearl called me over to the house
and she gave me Grandpap's gold watch that the
Washington Post had given him when he retired.



You can learn about my
Great-grandfather...

OR
View a descendant list of
Hans Hermann Ferber