Our Family Background

The Freiburg name has two separate branches in Quincy, Illinois, grandchildren of two Freiburg brothers, John Joseph and Joseph Anthony, from Allendorf, Germany.
 

A.  Three grandsons of John Joseph Freiburg, Henry, Joseph and Fred Freiburg,  arrived between 1856-66. 

1. The first brother to arrive, Henry Anton Freiburg, arrived in 1856.  He was a cobbler who built this skill into a shoe store and then a manufacturing plant on 16th & Spring Sts. His story is told in "Henry & Josephine" attached here.
2. Henry's brothers, Joseph and Fred, immigrated ten years later in 1866.  They were furniture-cabinet makers and then went into making caskets and developed the Freiburg Funeral home.  Their story is told in their attachment here.  

B.  Several cousins of theirs, grandchildren of Joseph Anthony, arrived in the 1850s.  (Source: Joseph Erner at http://www.kinfolks.info/allendorf/freiburg/f2122120.htm)

1. A. Maria was the first member of the Freiburg family to come to the U.S., traveling with her first cousin Peter Rusche in 1854. She was a dressmaker and worked out of her residence in the 500 block of Maine St in 1855.   She married Gerhard Erner who had arrived from Allendorf in 1852.  Gerhard opened a shoe shop at 504 Hampshire St; and in 1857, he was living at 200 Hampshire St and his shop was at 102½ Hampshire St. When Henry Freiburg came to Quincy in 1856, he roomed with Gerhard & Mary and worked in his shoe store over the next five years. Later, Gerhard moved his shoe store to larger quarters at Sixth and Hampshire Sts. and retired from active management of the store in 1879, selling it to Caspar.They had seven children. 
2. H. Joseph immigrated in 1865 and married Elizabeth Buening in 1871. He began as a cabinetmaker, and later in life owned a grocery store on 11th & Vine Sts.  He was on the Quincy Board of Supervisors for 25 years.   They had two sons.
3. Maria Catherine immigrated in 1863. She married John Broemmel in 1867 in Quincy.  He was a saw filer.  They had 9 children.
4. Caspar also arrived in 1865 and married Katherine Kiefer first and when she died early, then married Mary Mueller.  He also began work with Gerhard Erner.  In 1885, he and a partner each bought one-half interest in the store.  It became known as Metzger & Freiburg. When his partner [possibly George J. Metzger] died in 1888, he took on a new partner and the firm became known as Freiburg & Schultheis, located at 637 Hampshire St.  They had 6 children, including Max who founded the Freiburg Insurance company. 
5. The youngest of the family and the last sibling to arrive in Quincy, John Henry, immigrated in 1881.  He married Johanna Tofall in 1884 and worked for Freiburg & Schultheis. They had 7 children.