John Eberhard Faber (sometimes Johann Eberhard Faber; December 6, 1822 – March 2, 1879) was a German-born American manufacturer of pencils in New York.
Biography
Johann Eberhard Faber was born on December 6, 1822 in the village of
Stein
Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to:
Places In Austria
* Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Aust ...
, near the city of
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, in Bavaria. His father, George Leonard Faber, was a descendant of the famous Faber family, one of ancient lineage in Bavaria engaged in the profession of manufacturing lead pencils.
He did his primary schooling at a
Volksschule
The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend.
In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary ('' ...
and then enrolled to study law at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
. But he left his studies mid-way to pursue a career in commerce in America.
He moved to the United States in 1848 and opened a stationery store at 133 William Street in New York in 1849. He moved the store to 718-720 Broadway in 1877.
In 1852, he started to export red cedar logs to the Faber pencil factories in Stein, having realized that the red cedar available in America was ideal for lead pencils.
In 1861, he opened the first lead pencil factory along the East River, between 41st and 43rd streets,
Midtown Manhattan. The factory was established under the name of
Eberhard Faber. In 1872, a fire destroyed the factory in Manhattan, and the new
Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory
The Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory is a former pencil factory complex in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City. Designated as a historic district by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (NYCLPC) in 2007, it is composed of nine build ...
was built on a site on Kent and West streets in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The new factory was designed for expansion and by the time Faber died his factory was the largest of its kind in United States and the Faber name was known all over the world.
Faber died on March 2, 1879 in New York City.
[ Faber is interred at ]Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York.
Marriage and family
On July 1, 1854, Eberhard Faber married Jenny Haag, who was born on November 23, 1836, in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. She was the daughter of Ludwig and Johanna (Mangstel) Haag, members of old Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n families. They had six children:[
# Bertha, born April 11, 1856.
# Sophia, born August 14, 1857.
# John Eberhard, born March 14, 1859.]Port Richmond, Staten Island
Port Richmond is a neighborhood situated on the North Shore of Staten Island, a borough of New York City. Port Richmond is bounded by Kill van Kull on the north, Jewett Avenue on the east, Forest Avenue on the south, and the Bayonne Bridge on t ...
in the 1870s.[
]
References
External links
Green-Wood Cemetery Burial Search
1822 births
1879 deaths
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
American manufacturing businesspeople
History of New York City
Pencils
19th-century American businesspeople
{{1820s-US-business-bio-stub