Mayor Daniel Hibner^{[1, 2, 3]}

1853 - 1935  (82 years)

• Name	Daniel Hibner
  Prefix	Mayor
  Born	9 Mar 1853	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
  Gender	Male
  Business	D. Hibner Furniture Co. Ltd., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	D. Hibner Furniture Co. Limited.
  		D. Hibner Furniture Co. Ltd. 1912 D. Hibner Furniture Co. Ltd., 39 Edward St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario From: Berlin Celebration of Cityhood - Issued by Authority of the City. Berlin Ontario, Issued in Commemoration of its Celebration of Cityhood July 17th 1912.
  		Berlin-HibnerD-PrivatePostCard1901-Front.JPG
  		Kitchener,Hibner-DHibnerFurniture-BusyBerlin1897.jpg D. Hibner & Co Furniture Factory - From: Busy Berlin Jubilee Souvenir 1897, published by Berlin News-Record
  Occupation	1873	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [10]
  	carpenter
  Occupation	1881	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Carpenter
  Residence	1881	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Lutheran
  Elected Office	1887	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	mayor - councillor - Kitchener
  	Years Served: 1887, 1888-89 (Deputy Reeve), 1890®, 1892-93®, 1894-95 (Mayor), 1896-98
  Occupation	1891	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [8]
  	Manufacturer
  Residence	1891	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [8]
  	Mennonite
  Elected Office	1894	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Mayor - Berlin
  Occupation	1894	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [11]
  	manufacturer
  Honoured	1897
  	Hibner Place named in his honour
  		Kitchener,HibnerPlace-busyberlin1897.jpg Hibner Place - A Bit of Chiselhurst - From: Busy Berlin Jubilee Souvenir 1897, published by Berlin News-Record
  Land	152 Shanley St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	furniture factory
  	The former furniture factory was built in 1887 by Daniel Hibner, an early mayor. It was later sold to Arthur Pollock, whose company Dominion Electrohome built hardwood television cabinets there for decades. The property is contaminated with metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene, an industrial degreaser. In 2008, the Ministry of the Environment registered an order on the property title to assess the contamination and develop a cleanup plan.
  Residence	1906	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  		From: Berlin Today 1806-1906
  Residence	1921	14 Edward St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [7]
  Residence	1921	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [7]
  	Zion Evangelical
  Residence	1935	19 Ellen St. E., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Eby ID Number	00101-5619.1
  Died	31 Oct 1935	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6, 9]
  Buried	Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6, 9]
  Person ID	I4434	Generations
  Last Modified	1 Dec 2024

  
  

  Father	Jacob Hibner,   b. CALC 27 Jul 1820, , Germany ,   d. 30 Aug 1893, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 73 years)
  Mother	Margaretha "Maggie" Schneider,   b. 1825, of, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Bef 1881  (Age < 55 years)
  Family ID	F11991	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Elizabeth "Bessie" Sherk,   b. 1 Jan 1855, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 19 Jan 1937  (Age 82 years)
  Married	6 Nov 1894	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [11]
  Last Modified	3 Dec 2024
  Family ID	F1406	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Wilhelmine "Minna" Boetter,   b. CALC 30 Aug 1854, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 3 Oct 1893, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 39 years)
  Married	23 Mar 1873	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [8, 10]
  Children	1. Rosetta Hibner,   b. 14 Jan 1875, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 31 May 1959  (Age 84 years)   2. Melinda Hibner,   b. 1879, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	3 Dec 2024
  Family ID	F32288	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos		Daniel Hibner D. Hibner & Co. furniture manufacturer 1906 Kitchener, Ontario From Berlin Today 1806-1906 Official Souvenir
  		Daniel Hibner From Berlin Today 1806-1906 Official Souvenir

  
  

• Notes

  Daniel Hibner, Mayor 1894-5. Mr. Daniel Hibner was mayor of Berlin in 1894-5 and reeve for three years. The chief item of business transacted during his terms as mayor was the breaking of the deadlock on the Park Board, they standing at sixes and sevens, as to whether to purchase the land which now comprises Victoria Park or not. His action in favor of purchasing is a tribute to his wisdom and foresight. After eighteen years he is proud to see what a beautiful park it has become. He is at present chairman of the Parks Commission and Mr. Hibner takes a deal of interest in the city's welfare. He also sat in the county council for thirteen years. Official souvenir of the celebration of cityhood, July 17th 1912, Berlin, Ontario, The German Printing and Publishing Co _____________________________________ HUGE BLAZE HIBNER'S FURNITURE FACTORY DESTROYED LOSS: $60,000. - INSURANCE; $23,000. The thoughtless deed of a youth; lack of presence of mind among those on hand; delay in the efforts to extinguish the blaze as a result of insufficient water pressure, and various other factors, resulted on Thursday in transforming Hibner's large furniture factory, located on Edward Street between the Grand Trunk railway and Breithaupt Street, into a gigantic ruin with blackened and partly collapsed walls. It was one of the loveliest and largest factories in town and now is a smoking ruin, containing worthless machinery. Within the factory, there was enough work for the next 3 months with the orders already received and consequently, they were working until 9.00 p.m. in the evening. On Thursday evening, shortly before 8.00 p.m., a youth by the name of Haas, a resident of Bridgeport, was cleaning his hands with gasoline in one of the paint-rooms on the 3rd floor and had the gas can with the easily combustible material standing in front of him; a gas-lamp was close to his head and he therefore, shoved the supply-pipe aside. The gasoline on his hands caught fire; in his efforts to shake it off, part of the burning material fell into the can and in a flash, the entire contents were aflame. Instead of smothering the fire (for which purpose, a barrel of sand stood near-by), several workers attempted to throw the can out of the window, which only caused the burning gas to be thrown about in all directions. The confused workers fled for their lives, and within scarcely 2 minutes, powerful flames already were shooting out of 3 windows in the 3rd floor on the side of the building towards the town. The steam whistle of the factory sounded the alarm immediately and the same from pillar-box 46 near the railroad station which rang the town-bell. The bright light of the flames showed the way to hundreds of citizens, to the biggest and most destructive spectacle Berlin has ever seen. In the burning building, rush and confusion reigned; the workers hurriedly packed their tools; a few machines as well as Mr. Hibner's desk, were carried outside. The iron safe had to be left for the fiery ordeal because of the thick smoke, which it survived very well, as ascertained on Saturday. For the salvation of the factory, there were still the best prospects. In the confusion, neither the water-pails on hand, nor a hose attached to the water-line had been used to extinguish the fire; the burning room was shut off by brick walls on both sides and the lead roof prevented a speedy break-through of the flames. When the fire department arrived, two hoses were immediately hooked up to the hydrants at the corner of Edward and Breithaupt Streets. The fire-fighters entered the building with one of them, while others attempted to reach the fire from outside. However, that's as far as they got. The hydrant was plugged up and almost 10 minutes were lost before the dirt inside was washed out. In the meantime, the mischievous flames broke out of a 4th and 5th window. When the spraying finally began, the pressure failed and another costly 10 minutes passed, in which only the 2nd story windows were washed, because the fire couldn't be reached. The fire fighters were forced to abandon the interior of the factory because of the suffocating smoke and after the long ladders had been put up, water was sprayed into the 3rd story from outside. However, the delays had done their work. The flames had spread into the main wing of the factory on Edward Street through a door; a huge window in the roof provided an exit, and before anyone knew it, the whole place, a store-room mostly of finished furniture became a hearth of blazing flames, consuming everything in its path, and remaining long in the memories of the spectators, in its horrifying beauty. Soon, the floor had burned through and in a short time, the insatiable flames did their mischief with the machines and other implements. There was a light west wind; however, the draught towards the source of the fire was so strong that the spectators on all sides felt an ice-cold draught on their backs. A beautiful but dangerous rain of sparks showered down over them and the neighbouring buildings. The flames illuminated not only the whole town, but also the whole area for miles around, while the glow of the fire was reflected on the sky and was visible for 20 miles around. Once the blaze had reached such massive proportions the attempts at extinction had to be concentrated on saving the new steam-kettle and the new steam machine on Breithaupt Street, as well as the large addition along the railroad track and the lumber-yard with its building materials. The addition was separated from the rest of the factory by a fire-wall. Only in the 3rd floor was there a communicating door, and through this, the flames made their way, so that in spite of the efforts of the fire department, these 2 upper floors were completely burnt out. Shortly before 10 o'clock, half of the south wall collapsed with a thunderous roar, and after 2 and a half hours of raging flames, the building was so completely burnt out that there was no longer any danger of the fire spreading. On Friday, however, a strong red glow was discovered in the basement and the fire department was called again to extinguish it. Damages are, except for the steam-kettle and the steam machine and the already mentioned articles and a few finished pieces of furniture that were saved, extensive and will amount to $60,000. The insurance is quoted as about $23,000. The fire is almost as hard a blow for the factory workers as for Mr. Hibner; for them, it is their livelihood that has been taken away and right at the threshold of winter. Who is responsible for the cause of the fire and its great extent? In the factory there had already been fires twice caused by the carelessness of apprentices, but they had been nipped in the bud. The supervision of apprentices, consequently, seems not to have been as precise as necessary. That seems to be the case also in other factories, as since had been learned. With reference to the extent of the fire, many criticisms were expressed of city council, the fire department and the water-works department at and since, the fire. Blame is easily attributed and it is easier to find 10 know-it-alls than one who actually does good. The firemen showed themselves to be courageous and eager, and with better water-pressure, they would have been able to confine the fire to its source or at least, save the large addition. Under the circumstances, even the best fire department would have had to be satisfied with "washing the windows" in the lower storeys. However, one must admit that a few mistakes were made in the extinguishing. Instead of installing 2 hoses by the factory and one by Rumpel's factory, (the water pressure in the hydrants at both places was very minimal because of the 4-inch water-mains), it would have been better to hook up a hose at the hydrants on Breithaupt and Gzowski Streets, because there, the pressure was better. With a longer ladder, the fire could have been successfully controlled from the roof. However, such a one is lacking among the fire department equipment. In addition, Box 46 did not function properly when the alarm was given, so that it was necessary to telephone before the correct sign could be given on the town bell. These are all trifling matters compared to the causes to which the insufficient water-pressure is attributed, despite the fact that at the time of the fire, the pumps were operating at full capacity. First of all, the water commission is responsible. It asserted, when the contract with the city was drawn up, that 4-inch pipes in the side-streets would not affect the water-pressure, so that city council gave its approval. Then, the hydrant by the factory is a dead-end, i.e. it is not connected in both directions with the main pipe. This fact had often been discussed in city council, but nothing was done, and now, we see the result. However, now it's too late; the consequences remain. This bitter experience will hopefully bear good fruit in other situations, and lead to better foresight and greater care in general. The initially harboured concern, that Mr. Hibner would perhaps decide against a new building, has fortunately not come to fruition. On Monday, a beginning was made in the cleaning up; the factory workers offered their help in the new construction salary-free, and other tradesmen are willing to work for low wages. The Grand Trunk Railway administration has promised Mr. Hibner a reduction of 1/3 in freight costs for the shipping of building materials for the new construction. City council decided in a special sitting on Monday evening to grant Mr. Hibner assistance in the amount of $5000. and the land-owners will approve the appropriate by-law with no problems. It is hoped that the new building will be ready by New Year's. Translated by: Patricia J. Kauk February, 2001. BERLINER JOURNAL NOVEMBER 19, 1896 PAGE 4 COLUMN 3

  
  

• Sources

  [S10] Book - Vol II A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 236. [S87] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Woodland CC#4510 Internet Link . In Loving Memory Of/ Elizabeth Sherk/ Beloved Wife Of/ Daniel Hibner/ January 1. 1855-January 19. 1937/ "There Is No Death" [S87] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Woodland CC#4510 Internet Link . CarolIna Boetter/ Nee Leiso/ Died Jan. 13th 1890/ Aged 73 Years 1 Mo./ & 7 Days/ Wilhelmina Boetter/ Beloved Wife Of/ D. Hibner/ Died Oct. 3rd 1893/ Aged 39 Years 1 Mo. & 3 Days [StaIned glass wIndow]/ Luxfer Studios/ Toronto 1924 [S158] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1881, Div 1 Page 53. [S7] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berliner Journal (1859-1917), 16 Jan 1890. Jan13, 1890 The widow Carolina Better died in Berlin at age of 73 years, 1 month & 7 days. The burial is to take place today, Thursday, at 2 p. m., from the house of her son-in law, D. Hibner, Lancaster St. [S87] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Woodland CC#4510 Internet Link . In Loving Memory Of/ Daniel Hibner/ March 9, 1853-October 31, 1935/ " He Giveth His Beloved Sleep" [S2264] Census - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - 1921, Sub Dist. 24 Page 4. [S1592] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1891, Sec. 5 Page 25. [S3231] Find A Grave, Cemetery, W., America, N., Municipality, W., & Cemetery, W. (1853). Daniel Hibner (1853-1935) - Find A Grave Memorial. Retrieved 13 May 2020, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137692159/daniel-hibner. [S721] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, marriage certificate 13035 (1873), Hibner-Better. David Hibner, 20, Carpenter, res. Waterloo Twp, b. res. Waterloo Twp, son of Jacob and Margaret married Wilhelmina Better, 18, res. Waterloo Twp, b/ Waterloo Twp, daughter of Henry and Caroline, witnessed by: George and Emma Latsch both of Waterloo Twp, 23 March 1873 in Waterloo Twp [S721] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, marriage certificate 12358 (1894), Hibner-Sherk. Daniel Hibner, 41, Manufacturer, res. Berlin b. Canada, Widower, son of Jacob and Margaret married Bessie Sherk, 39, res. Berlin, b. Canada, daughter of Abraham and Lucy Sherk, Witn: Sam. Sherk and Talmay Foreman of Berlin, 6 November 1894 In Berlin

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 9 Mar 1853 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Business - D. Hibner Furniture Co. Limited. - - D. Hibner Furniture Co. Ltd., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - carpenter - 1873 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 23 Mar 1873 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Carpenter - 1881 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Lutheran - 1881 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Elected Office - mayor - councillor - Kitchener - 1887 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Manufacturer - 1891 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Mennonite - 1891 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Elected Office - Mayor - Berlin - 1894 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - manufacturer - 1894 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 6 Nov 1894 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Land - furniture factory - - 152 Shanley St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1906 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1921 - 14 Edward St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Zion Evangelical - 1921 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1935 - 19 Ellen St. E., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 31 Oct 1935 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth