The Descendants of Ambrosius and Johanna Dorothea (Reiser) Weber. The Weber Saga begins in the eastern part of Prussia, Germany. Ambrosius Weber (1821-1883) was born on February 7, 1821 in Prussia. Johanna Dorothea (Reiser) Weber (1822-1903) was born on September 29, 1822, also in Prussia. Ambrosius sailed first from Hamburg on August 11, 1864, according to the ship manifest Hero and arrived in New York via Liverpool in September 1864. Dorothea and the children sailed a year later from Hamburg on May 13, 1865, according to the ship manifest Teutonia and arrived in New York from Hamburg via Southampton on June 2, 1865. Ambrosius and Dorothea purchased one hundred sixty acres of land near Rhineland, Montgomery County, Missouri, three miles from the city of Hermann on the north side of the Missouri River. In 1869 they decided to sell the farm and move back to St. Louis. Ambrosius and the boys left first, floating downstream from Hermann and landing at the foot of Soulard Street in South St. Louis. The Great Chicago fire of 1871 caused a demand for tradesmen and their son Otto, who knew carpentry, went to Chicago where there was an opportunity for employment. When Ambrosius died in 1883, Dorothea carried on the business. Otto, with his bride Christina, returned to St. Louis to help his mother Dorothea and brother Albert with the business. For almost twenty years, she drove a blind horse to the old Union Market to sell their wares, and she would ride with the drayman on Friday to settle their butcher shop accounts. Dorothea was someone to be reckoned with. In 1895, Grandma Weber (Dorothea) “retired” from the business and sons Albert and Otto took over. Albert left the family business in 1898 and started his own tuck pointing and plastering business. Later, he went into whitewashing, a popular form of decorating at the turn of the century before the advent of a multitude of paint products which we now enjoy. Hence the nickname, “Uncle Albert, the Whitener”. The stores continues...