Dr. Johannes (John) Geber: A Midway Fort Family

Dr. johannes (john) gerber: a midway fort family

Heber Valley Heritage Foundation Midway Fort Research Dr. John Gerber

Researched by Larry Moulton

The Dr. John Gerber cabin was located near the northwest corner of the Midway fort, sandwiched between the Lucien Jacobs and George Dabling cabins.

Johannes Gerber

Johannes Gerber KWJF-1YH was born on 8 September 1796 in Reutigen, Bern, Switzerland. He married Maria Magdalane Haug on 23 September 1822, in Islington, London, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. He immigrated to New York County, New York, United States in 1834 and lived in Provo, Utah, Utah, United States in 1860 and Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States in 1870. He died on 22 November 1870, in Midway, Wasatch, Utah, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Mound City Cemetery, Midway, Wasatch, Utah, United States.

Excerpts from the Memories section of Family Search

“Early in life, he developed a love for the spiritual and prepared for the ministry. At the age of 23, he was admitted to the local Lutheran school, having previously studied at the University of Bern. Because all who aspired to missionary labor were required to study medicine and surgery, he became a medical doctor. He was sent as a minister of the Word of God to Sierra Leon, West Africa.

He loved the outdoors. In Africa, he often went hunting. Once, he was leisurely walking through a heavily timbered zone when he heard, “Run, Massa, Run!” Glancing around, he found he was being pursued by a mammoth boa constrictor. By running from side to side and backtracking, he managed to gain sufficient distance to turn and shoot the reptile.

Another time, he was out hunting and came upon a herd of monkeys and foolishly shot one. The rest turned and showed fight! He never again took chances in shooting monkeys.”

“After ten years in Africa, Dr. Gerber finally succumbed to yellow fever and barely pulled through. He was then sent to serve the Lutheran Church in Ohio.

Sometime before 1952, he heard about the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restored Gospel. The truths touched his heart, and he was baptized on 8 August 1852. He lost his position as a minister and was deprived of a way of earning a living. With the help of the Perpetual Immigration Fund, they were able to trek to Utah. They moved about considerably in the first years in Utah, then settled in Midway, where he resumed his practice of medicine.”

John and his third wife, Johanna Eleanora Sessing, immigrated to America in 1834 with their five-year-old daughter Maria Susanna. He was a minister and homeopathic doctor in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Alabama, and Tennessee. Eleanora died in 1842 [buried in Old St. Johns United Church of Christ Cemetery (est. 1838), 11333 St. John’s Rd., Mehlville, St. Louis, MO]. John married Anna Maria (Mary) Ackeret in 1843 [buried in Maesar Fairview Cemetery, Vernal, Uintah, UT]. The Gerbers joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1852. Forced from their St. Louis home and his medical practice, they joined the Orson Pratt/Ezra T. Benson pioneer company in June 1854. Half of the company died of cholera during the journey. They arrived in Salt Lake on October 3, 1854. John’s 85-year-old father died upon their arrival [Johannes Gerber (1769–1854), buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake, UT]. Having witnessed the land of Zion, he [father] uttered the words, “I am satisfied and ready to go.” The Gerbers lived in Cedar City, Washington County, and Provo before becoming one of the first Swiss families to settle Mound City (Midway) in 1861. John practiced medicine throughout the Heber Valley, usually in exchange for groceries. In 1867, the family moved to Salt Lake City where John practiced medicine and was a physician to Brigham Young. They returned to Midway, where he died on November 22, 1870, of pneumonia at the age of 74. The Deseret News reported: “Before his death, [John] gave one of the strongest testimonies of the truth of the Latter-day work that man can express with words.” Mary continued as a midwife for 30 years in the Heber Valley, frequently answering the call, “Mother Gerber, come quick!”

First Wife-Maria Magdalane Haug

When Maria Magdalane Haug was born on 9 February 1797, in Tübingen, Württemberg, Germany, her father, Johann Christoph Haug, was 27 and her mother, Maria Magdalena Pfeiffer, was 27. She married Johannes Gerber on 23 September 1822, in Islington, London, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. She died on 23 May 1825, in Sierra Leone, at the age of 28, and was buried in Banana Islands, Western Area, Sierra Leone.

Daughter-Susana Gerber

Birth: 21 September 1824 Bathurst, Sierra Leona, Africa

Death: 11 January 1825 Bathurst, Sierra Leone