Guide to the Reiber-Sachs Family Papers and Photographs , 1863-1999

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Reiber-Sachs Family Papers and Photographs
Creator
Reiber-Sachs Family
Collection Number
MSS 577
Extent
.5 linear feet (1 box)
Date
1863-1999
Abstract
The Reiber family originated in Germany, immigrating to the U.S and settling in the Pittsburgh area at the end of the nineteenth century. The daughter of Gustav and Louisa Reiber, Margaret, then married William Sachs. This collection documents several members of the Reiber and Sachs families, containing personal and professional papers and a number of photographs spanning over fifty years. The papers are primarily composed of certificates and official documents showing membership to churches and schools for multiple family members
Language
The material in this collection is in English and German.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Amy Lazarus.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

Gustav Adolph Reiber was born in Groningen, Germany, on April 15, 1853. Shortly after the Franco-Prussian War, Gustav enlisted in the German military on December 5, 1873, at the age of twenty, entering into the service of the 12th company, 8th Wittenberg Infantry, 126th Regiment. On October 1, 1874, he was promoted but only a year later was discharged from the regular army, entering the reserves in 1875 after two years of active service. His official release from the army came eleven years later in 1886 at approximately thirty-three years of age. His military pass suggests that during his time in active service he was stationed in the occupation army in Strasbourg, France, which was under the control of Germany for a period of time following the war. During his time in the reserves, he married Elizabeth Louisa Schwedler on December 17, 1884. Elizabeth was born in Heilbronn, Germany, on November 26, 1862. The couple immigrated to the United States prior to 1891. Gustav was granted citizenship in 1904, although there is no evidence whether Elizabeth was also granted citizenship. Evidence suggests Gustav held a position as a drug clerk sometime after settling in the Pittsburgh area.

Gustav and Elizabeth Reiber had eight children: William, Adolph, Eugene, Richard Oscar Conrad, Anna, Freda, Theodore and Margaret. They settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now Pittsburgh's Northside), becoming members of St. Peter's German Evangelical Church before moving to Millvale, Pennsylvania. There they switched their religious affiliation to the First Evangelical Church of Millvale, where several of their children were confirmed. According to a family tree included with the collection, Gustav died in 1917, and Elizabeth Louisa Reiber died on December 25, 1949. Richard Oscar Conrad Reiber, son of Gustav and Elizabeth Reiber, was born on August 17, 1893. He married Helen Beck on January 12, 1918. They had two children, Virginia (b.1919) and Richard Daniel (b.1924), both born in Millvale, Pennsylvania where the family was living. They divorced in July of 1927. Richard Oscar Conrad Reiber died in 1965.

Margaret Reiber, daughter of Gustav and Elizabeth Reiber, was born on August 9, 1903, and later wed William Sachs, born November 1, 1902. Prior to their marriage, both Margaret and William attended the same church and high school. The two were confirmed on the same day and graduated with the same class in 1919 from Millvale High School. William had a long career as a professional engineer from 1919-1967 working for the American Bridge Division of the U.S Steel Company in Pittsburgh. Born in Millvale, he had studied business administration at the University of Pittsburgh, also taking night classes for structural engineering for four years at the American Bridge Apprenticeship School. His career at American Bridge began with an apprenticeship at the Shiffler Tower Plant. He was recognized as a professional engineer in 1943 by the Department of Public Instruction State Registration Board for Professional Engineers. He continued on to become chief engineer in 1956, building two notable towers, each weighing over 500 tons, said to be the largest ever built at the time of their construction. Over his career he would design forty different types of towers, numbering 3,500 in use across the United States, Mexico, South America and Canada. He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers until his retirement in 1967 and authored a book titled "Transmission Towers." The couple remained active in the First United Church of Christ in Millvale, Pa. (formerly known as the First Evangelical Church of Millvale, Pa.). The couple did not have any children and Margaret Reiber Sachs died in 1993, followed by her husband William Sachs in 1999.

The other Reiber children and family members are mentioned in a family tree included with the collection, but aside from some baptismal and confirmation records little if anything is known about them, including years of death and birth from some, but not all, of the Reiber children.

Scope and Content Notes

The collection features official documents, news paper clippings, and assorted materials pertaining to various Reiber family members and William Sachs. In addition to the documents included are a sizable number of photographs spanning multiple generations.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Louise Malakoff in 2000.

Acc. # 2000.0054

Preferred Citation

Reiber-Sachs Family Collection 1871-1999, MSS # 577, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Amy Lazarus in February 2011.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Related Materials

A number of volumes were donated with this collection and catalogued in the library. Of note are two family bibles and a copy of "Transmission Towers" by William Sachs.

Separated Materials

Twenty oversized documents have been separated from this collection and arranged and described with the catalog designation of MSO# 577

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • American Bridge Company (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

    Other Subjects

    • German Americans--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    • Immigrants--German--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.

Container List