THE EBERT FURNITURE FACTORY 1854-1959

 The John Adam Ebert Furniture Factory

1854-1959

In 1852, two brothers from the small German town of Oberstetten traveled by sail to the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. Johann Georg Ebert and his younger brother, Johann Adam, had been trained as cabinetmakers and hoped to ply their trade in America.

Ante-bellum Philadelphia was a robust, complex city of over 120,000 citizens ranking it second in the nation in population. As a port city, trade and commerce brought wealth and prosperity as well as a large influx of immigrants. By 1860, the population was at a half a million citizens. During this period, according to the Philadelphia directories, there were large number furniture and cabinetmakers in Philadelphia. In this setting, the Ebert brothers founded their cabinet making business in 1854.

The Ebert brothers started small. Under the name, The American Furniture Company, the "factory" was located in several different places close to the main city. In 1857 formed a working alliance with a woman named Almira Schliefer. The John A. Ebert Furniture Factory was born. In the agreement between the two parties, each party had to contribute $800.00 to the business.

The business settled near Edward Street just south of Girard Avenue in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. John Adam married Verena Bosshard from Zurich, Switzerland in 1858 while John Georg married Mary who haled from Schleswig Holstein. In the 1860 census, John Adam was listed as a cabinetmaker and George was listed as a Varnisher.

We have little information on the business during and after the Civil War. In 1873, John George died of Tuberculosis. The Ebert Furniture Company did have a special display at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Celebration.

In 1880, a fired devastated the Factory and with a financial lost of over $60,000.00. That would be well over one million dollars in today’s currency.

With the help of his sons, John G and Frederick, John Adam rebuilt the factory and it was located on Moore Street in Philadelphia. The Factory continued to produce bedroom suites as well as cabinets and dining sets. His youngest son, Herman, joined the business as an apprentice in 1894.

In March 1895, John Adam Ebert succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 65. His sons continued to run the business although the 1900 factory catalogue lists the company as "V. Ebert". I point this out because Verena was his wife, so I find it interesting that John Adam Ebert had such a strong association with women in his business.

The Factory stayed in Philadelphia until 1917 when it was decided to move to the small town of Red Lion, Pennsylvania. Red Lion is just south of York and about 35 miles northwest of Baltimore. Red Lion already had a number of furniture factories in the area as well as a booming cigar making industry. I am sure that the incentive to move there was great as it allowed the business to build a "state of the art" factory that could accommodate a growing business.

The new factory building was completed in late 1917 and the business was again growing. Through the 1920s and 1930s, the factory produced bedroom suites, secretaries, dining room sets and cabinets designed in accordance with the tastes of the American consumer. The Factory actually only dealt with wholesale dealers and not directly with the public.

During this time, Frederick and John G. died and Herman became the President of the Ebert Furniture Factory. When World War 2 came to the American shores, the business converted to a war footing and began producing wooden gunstocks for the military as well as other war material. As expected, furniture production fell by the way side.

After the war, with the help of a booming economy, the Factory began producing new furniture designs. There were furniture display rooms in New York, Philadelphia and High Point, North Carolina. In 1954, the Factory celebrated its one hundredth anniversary. However, Herman was growing old and looking forward to retirement. By 1958, the Business was receiving offers from potential buyers. In late 1958, Herman accepted an offer to sell his family interest to Bethlehem Furniture. In a letter written in December 1958, Herman thanked everyone for making the Ebert Furniture Factory a one hundred and five-year success. With that letter, the Ebert Furniture Company came to an end.