“The Church Would Look Foolish Without Them”: Martin Ibert, Brooklyn, New York

MARTIN IBERT.
A man of commanding presence in the Williamsburg and Bushwick sections of Brooklyn, Mr. Ibert has resided in that section of the city for over fifty-three years. He was born in the village of Niederhausen, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, June 15, 1831. His parents were Martin and Mary Anna (Foerstel) Ibert, also natives of Niederhausen. His father was a cabinetmaker by trade and pursued that occupation in addition to farming. He won the respect and confidence of men and died at the age of fifty-six, esteemed by all who knew him. His faithful wife, surviving him many years, passed away at the age of eighty-four years. Both were consistent Christian people of the Roman Catholic faith. By their marriage they had nine children, three of whom came to America, namely: Mary Anna, now the wife of Joseph Maurer, of Springfield, Illinois; Valentine, who resides in the town of Franklin, Louisiana; and Anthony, who settled in the Bushwick district of Brooklyn, where he died October 2, 1880.

Martin Ibert acquired his education in the schools of his native village and remained in the fatherland until his sixteenth year, when he came with his brother Anthony to America. With adventurous spirits and determined purpose, recognizing the importance of the step they were undertaking, these brothers severed the ties that bound them to the fatherland and sailed from France on the good ship “Elen,” which, after a voyage of twenty-seven days, reached New York harbor on the 15th of April, 1847.

Soon after their arrival they located in the eastern district of Brooklyn, where Martin Ibert secured a clerkship in the grocery store operated by Henry Zimmer, who carried on business at the corner of Manhattan and Montrose avenues. For six months he remained with Mr. Zimmer, and was then employed by John A. Saul at the corner of Scholes and Leonard streets, with whom he remained until 1851, when he began business on his own account, at the corner of Leonard street and Montrose avenue.

The new enterprise met with more than an ordinary degree of success, and Martin Ibert continued to conduct this store until 1895, when he retired from active business cares. During the long fifteen years of his commercial experience he was the proprietor of a flour store in the Sixteenth Ward, and in 1889 he became interested in the brewing business, in connection with his nephew, operations being carried on under the name of the Frank Ibert Brewing Company.

In the Most Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, on the 6th of August, 1851, the Rev. Father Raffeiner pronounced the words which united the destinies of Martin Ibert and Catherine Beck, a daughter of Peter and Margaret (Faerber) Beck. Their union was blessed with eight children who reached mature years, namely: Anthony, who married Mary Enders; Martin, who died June 17, 1888; Peter, who married Catherine Zimmer; Frank, who is in partnership with his brother Theodore, on Graham avenue, in the wholesale grocery trade; and Joseph, Louise, Elizabeth and Ida, who are at home. The mother died September 1, 1896, and her loss was deeply mourned by her family and many friends.

Mr. Ibert and his children are communicants of the Most Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. His business career has been one characterized by unfaltering determination and by marked diligence. Steadily he has worked his way upward, undaunted by the obstacles in his path, which have served but as an impetus to renewed effort. He is now practically living retired, being in possession of a handsome competence.

Peter Ross, A History of Long Island: From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time (Two Volumes) (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1902), Volume II, p. 390.

NOTE
Beginning in the 1840’s, Brooklyn became home to a sizeable German community, a large portion of which was Catholic. Many of these Germans had come across the river from an overcrowded Manhattan. From there they would into other Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Bushwick and East New York. Most Holy Trinity Church, the first Catholic Church in Brooklyn for Germans, was founded in 1841. It was recently merged with St. Mary’s Church on Maujer Street.