His obituary and his son Henry's obituary [seen further below] indicate he arrived in Danbury about 1912. His anguish must have been great when his wife and mother died within a day but in separate states. At that time his oldest child was 17 and his youngest a mere babe in arms. [See news story below.] When Charles died on January 15, 1959 at age 80 in Danbury, he had never remarried. According to his death certificate, he died of Sub endo-cardial infarction caused by Arteriosclerotic heart disease and was buried on Jan. 19, 1959 in Wooster Cemetery in Danbury.^d.7

On September 4, 1898, he married CATHERINE GRUNER who was born about 1880 in Germany and died in 1915 in Danbury shortly after they moved to CT.^a.1 The story of her death in the Danbury Times shown at left indicates she was 38 years old placing her birthdate in 1877. It did not mention her first name.>

The 1900 census, however, shows a birthdate of Sept. 1878, that she and her mother were born in New York, and that her father was born in Germany.^j.2

The Certificate of death on file at Danbury city hall showed that a Katy Gebbert[sic] whose husband was Charles Gebbert[sic], died on Dec. 17, 1915 in the hospital from Lobar pneumonia after being sick for four days. This source says she was born September 3, 1877 in Germany. At her death, she was 38 years, 3 months and 14 days old. According to this death certificate, her maiden name was Grune and her mother's data was unknown to the person who gave the information for the death certificate although it did say her father was born in Germany.^b.2

At the time of the June 1900 census, she had been married two years and had two children surviving from two births.^j.2

Her son Henry’s obituary shown later on this page indicates her name as ‘Katie’ but her great granddaughter, Beverly^a.1, and the 1900 census^j.2 give her name as Catherine. Her husband's death certificate^d.7 shows her name spelled as Catherine Grunner but it was spelled Gruner on the marriage license of their daughter, Marion Gebert Hager.^a.1 Because she died before 1949, information about her death was not shown on the CT death index.^b.2,c.1

Catherine bore a son in 1914, and another son in 1915 just 7 months before her death. The death records in Danbury city hall showed a Charles Gebert, son of Charles and Kate Gruner of 160 James St. was delivered by a midwife on April 30, 1915 and died the next day, May 1, 1915. The cause of death was listed as very weak. Both parents were listed as born in Germany.^b.2 The headstone shown above was found by my cousin, Thomas J. Furlong III in Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, CT. The stone indicates Katie was born in 1877 and died in 1915 which is consistent with the other information. The cemetery office had no record of her interment. Tom found it when he was searching for her daughter Elsie's grave which turned out to be the same plot and gravestone!

HENRY C. GEBERTwas born in Brooklyn on September 10, 1898 and died a widower at age 85 on September 5, 1984 of heart disease.^a.1,d.8 He had been living at 11 Chapel Pl. in Danbury._c.1

He signed up for the WWI Civilian Draft Registration in Cameron, Pennsylvania and was a furshop worker at Gebert Fur Co. owned by his uncle.^k.1 All records show his name as Henry C. except the 1900 NY census^j.2 which indicates J. Henry. The 1920 CT census^j.6 shows him still living with his parents and occupation was listed as mill, fur. In 1940 he was listed as a furworker at the Gebert Fur Co. and living with his wife and children at 14 Mountainville Ave.^g.2

His obituary, shown at right indicated he had a son, John M., and two daughters, Peggy Beckett and Gladys Gebert. Click here to read his death certificate.

He married CATHERINE J.^d.8 or Catherine Melody^f.2 who died on November 18, 1965 at the age of 63 in Danbury.^d.8

KATHRYN M. ‘KATIE’ GEBERTwas born in Brooklyn on May 16, 1900, probably at 203 North 7th St.^j.2 The 1900 census spells her name as Catherine, Beverly Olsen^a.1 used the name ‘Katie’, and the CT death index^c.1 used Kathryn M. Conlin. Her father's obituary in 1959^f.3 indicates a daughter named Catherine Tyler. Katie was divorced from Maurice Conlin.^c.1 In 1984, her brother Henry’s obituary indicates a sister, Katie Conlin of Middletown.^f.2 When she died on March 18, 1993, she was living at 198 Main Street in Danbury.^c.1 A retired machine operator, Katie had worked in Tweedy Silk Mill and at Ridson Mfg. Company of Danbury. Katy had one daughter, Marion DeNike. Her tombstone in Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, CT, clears up the marriage names question by listing her as Katie Tyler Conlin born May 16, 1900, died March 18, 1993. From the picture taken by Thomas J Furlong III at right, the date of death does not exactly match the rest of the words indicating that she probably arranged for her stone long before her death as other Danbury Geberts have done.

Charles and his wife appear to have taken a ten-year break in childbearing. The 1900 census stated they had two children and the 1910 census stated that of two births, two children survived.

MARION GEBERT was born November 15, 1910 in Brooklyn, NY and was living with her father at 11 Elm Street in Danbury when she married VINCENT PAUL HAGER in 1933 at Danbury.^a.1 Both the 1933 and the 1935 directories identified her as Mary M. When her brother George died in 1972, she was living at 15 Elgin Avenue in Bethel, Connecticut. She died on Valentines' Day, 1988 from Alzheimer's disease in Waterbury, Connecticut.^a.1 Both her husband and son George worked at F H Lee Hat Co. in Danbury, aka "Hat City".^a.1 Since her obituary at right does not mention her son, George, he probably predeceased her.

GEORGE FRANCIS HAGER^a.1

BEVERLY HAGER OWENS is married to Arthur Owens and has two small daughters, Karen aged 2 and Amanda aged six months as of February 2000.^a.1 Arthur may be a chess affectionado as he goes to chess tournaments!

KARL VINCENT HAGER is still kicking in Connecticut but sorely missing his late wife.^a.1

ELSIE GEBERT^a was born about 1912 in Danbury, CT ^G.221 What happened to her was a mystery for a long time because she apparently died before 1984 [she was not mentioned in her father's obituary]^j.3 and she wasn't listed in the CT State Death Index nor the Social Security Death Index, which did not cover deaths before 1949. Her headstone was eventually found by Tom Furlong at Wooster Cemetery [See Katie Gruner Gebert above for picture of stone]. Apparently she had become Elsie Palumbo by the time she was buried in her mother's grave in 1938.

GEORGE JOHN GEBERT, born in May 7, 1914^d.10 in Danbury CT, was Charles and Catherine’s youngest surviving child. The 1940 Danbury directory^o.12 indicated he worked as a lab at 16 Library Pl. in Danbury. By 1972, he was working as a machine operator at 10 Chapel Place.^d.10 He never married and died at the age of 58 under mysterious circumstances in Danbury in December of 1972. A newspaper article dated December 27, 1972, said "Danbury -- Medical Examiner Frank Goldys has filed an "interim" medical report stating drowning was the "apparent" cause of death of a man ... unreadable ... weeks. The full medical report on the cause of death will not be filed until the state report is complete. [Beverly states that the report was never filed at all.The victim, George Gebert, 58, of 10 ...unreadable."