Reeve Lewis Lorenzo Kribs^{[1, 2, 3]}

1829 - 1908  (78 years)

• Name	Lewis Lorenzo Kribs
  Prefix	Reeve
  Born	1 Dec 1829	Eramosa Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada   [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
  Gender	Male
  Business	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Kribs Saw Mill
  		Hespeler-LewisKribsSawmill-0001-HespelerHeritageCentre.jpg Lewis Kribs founded this saw mill in 1860 at the top of Forbes Park using the water power from a head pond created by damming Spring Creek. The big house was Dr. McIntyre's at the corner of Forbes & Kribs St, across from the W.G. Johnson Centre. - Hespeler Heritage Centre
  Historic Building	Abt 1850	4860 Townline Rd, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	3 story stone mill first begun as a sawmill in 1850 by Peter Holm, later Lewis Kribs became owner and ran as a flour and grist mill.
  Residence	1852	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [10]
  Occupation	1861	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [7]
  	Carpenter
  Residence	1861	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [7]
  	Christian
  Occupation	1871	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [9]
  	Farmer
  Residence	1871	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [9]
  	Methodist
  Elected Office	1880	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Reeve of Hespeler
  Elected Office	1883	, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Warden for the County of Waterloo
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105757927
  Interesting	contractor, business, bridge, public service, story, builder, politics
  Name	Louis Kribs
  Name	Ludwig Kribs
  Occupation	1891	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [8]
  	Farmer
  Residence	1891	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [8]
  	Presbyterian
  Retired	1901	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  Eby ID Number	00087-5106.1
  Died	11 Mar 1908	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5, 6]
  	Cause: senility & indigestion (about 1 week)
  Buried	New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6]
  Person ID	I9922	Generations
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2025

  
  

  Father	Aaron Kribs,   b. CALC 1 Nov 1803, of, Sand Beach, , Michigan ,   d. 16 Apr 1893, Sand Beach, Huron, Michigan  (Age ~ 89 years)
  Mother	Anna Steves,   b. 10 Dec 1802,   d. 22 Dec 1865, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 63 years)
  Family ID	F21602	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Pannabaker,   b. 26 Jan 1832, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 21 Sep 1906, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 74 years)
  Married	11 May 1852	Trinity Anglican Church, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [10]
  Children	1. Sarah Ann Kribs,   b. 7 Apr 1853, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 22 Dec 1924, Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 71 years)   2. Henry Aaron Kribs,   b. 23 Apr 1855, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 28 Jul 1904, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 49 years)   3. Louis Pannabaker Kribs,   b. 27 Feb 1857, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 24 Mar 1898, Ottawa, Carleton Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 41 years)   4. Mayor William Abraham Kribs,   b. 27 Feb 1859, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 27 Oct 1943  (Age 84 years)   5. George Alexander Kribs,   b. 17 Feb 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   6. Elizabeth R. "Lizzie" Kribs,   b. 13 Aug 1863, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 13 Aug 1910, Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 47 years)   7. Margaret M. "Maggie" Kribs,   b. 7 Jul 1865, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 29 Jul 1939, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 74 years)   8. Clara Jane "Jennie" Kribs,   b. 15 Jun 1867, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 27 Mar 1916, Victoria, British Columbia  (Age 48 years)   9. Ella "Ellie" Kribs,   b. 31 Oct 1867, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   10. Kribs,   b. 31 Oct 1869, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   11. Mary V. "Molly" Kribs,   b. 4 Oct 1871, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 27 Aug 1938  (Age 66 years)   12. Florence Almira Kribs,   b. CALC 17 Oct 1873, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 7 Feb 1878, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 4 years)
  Last Modified	4 Mar 2025
  Family ID	F2872	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Lewis Kribs in 1901 image from 1901 Hespeler Souvenir

  
  

• Notes

  Died In Hespeler, on Wednesday, March 11th, 1908, at 11.30 o'clock a.m., Lewis L. Kribs, In his 79th year. Funeral Will take place from his late residence, Cooper St., Hespeler, where services will be held, on Friday, March 13th, at 2 o'clock p.m., leaving residence at 2.30, to the Hespeler Cemetery for interment. Friends and acquaintances will please accept this intimation. Hespeler, March 11th, '08 Funeral Card of Lewis L. Kribs _______________________- Lewis Kribs was born in Eramosa Township on December 1, 1829, the son of Aaron Kribs. A carpenter by trade, Mr. Kribs soon developed a solid reputation as a skilled builder of public buildings and bridges. It was reported that all the major buildings in Hespeler were the product of his master mind as a contractor. Knox's Presbyterian Church in Galt was built under his supervision and he assisted in the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway bridge in Hespeler in 1860. In about 1864 Mr. Kribs went into the sawmill business, operating it for about eighteen years before passing it to his son William A. Kribs in about 1882 and turning his talents to flour milling. Lewis Kribs operated the Holm flour mills, located two miles north of Hespeler, for seventeen years. Here he introduced the roller system of milling, enlarged the building and added steam power where before there had been only water power. He retired from business in 1899 leaving the operation of the mill to his son William A. Kribs. Also active in local politics Mr. Kribs acted as Hespeler's first town clerk from 1859 to 1866 and served as the the village tax collector from 1859 to 1865. He served as reeve of Hespeler from 1881 to 1884, as reeve of Waterloo Township and as warden of Waterloo County. Mr Kribs died on March 11, 1908 and is buried in New Hope Cemetery. Kribs St. perpetuates the memory of both Mr. Kribs and his son William A. Kribs. Cambridge Mosaic, Jim Quantrell, 1998, City of Cambridge _____________________________________________ LEWIS KRIBS, Reeve of the Village of Hespeler, is a native of Eramosa Township, Wellington County, where he was born in 1829. His father, Aaron Kribs, was also a native of Canada, though of German extraction. Mr. Kribs, on arriving at his majority, acquired the trade of a carpenter, and for a considerable period engaged extensively in contracting and building. He at present conducts saw, shingle, and planing mills in Hespeler, and owns as well two fine farms in the vicinity, aggregating 450 acres. His experience as a municipal legislator has been quite extended, embracing a period of membership in the Waterloo Township Council, during a portion of which he occupied the Reeve's Chair, and, since his removal to Hespeler, a term in the Reeveship of that village. Mr. Kribs is a Conservative in politics, an active and influential man in political campaigns, and holds a high position in the local councils of that party. Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo, H. Parsell & Co., Toronto, Ont. 1881 ______________________________ Kribs, Lewis, contractor and builder. Born in Eramosa Tp., Wellington County, 1829. Settled here, 1846 Is present Reeve of village. Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo, H. Parsel & Co., Toronto - 1881 (Village of New Hespeler entries) ___________________ Lewis Kribs from 1853 worked here by the day as a Carpenter and from 1859 he and Ephraim Panabaker, working together, took contracts for building houses, etc. In 1863 he purchased the Oberholtzer saw mill and moved it to Forbes Street and older people will remember the huge piles of logs that accumulated during the sleighing season on the hill above the mill. Being then in a position to do his own sawing and mill work, Mr. Kribs was able to handle much larger jobs and in due course came to be known as one of the leading general contractors in this area. On some of his large jobs he sublet some of the work, Carpentry often to Archie Brydon, Masonry to Christian Pabst. Let me now digress; Jacob Hespeler was Reeve for 4 years; John Chapman for five; Lewis Kribs for five; A. W. Brodie for one; George D. Forbes for thirteen, and William McVittie for three and one-half years. Prior to their election to the high office of Chief Magistrate none of these Gentle-men had had any previous Municipal experience here as Councillor. This indicates the confidence held by the citizens at these different periods, in the business ability, the Probity, the Integrity of these good men. The high regard in which they were held by their fellow citizens. And I add that during one of his terms of office as our Reeve, Mr. Kribs was also Warden of the County of Waterloo. Le Rue De Commerce, Other Times Other Customs Other Days Other Ways, Winfield Brewster 1954

  
  

• 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..., 152. [S7] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berliner Journal (1859-1917), 28 Feb 1878. Died 7 Feb 1878 The youngest child of Louis Kribs in Hespeler, a girl, died at the age of 4 years and 2 months [S1338] News - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - Galt Reporter (1846-1973), Obituary of Florence Almira Kribs - Feb 15 1878 pg 3. [S143] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1901, Hespeler (Village) D-2 Page 14. [S713] Vit - ON - Death Registration, death certificate 29557 (1908), Lewis Kribs, accessed 24 Jan 2010. Lewis Kribs, d. 11 Mar 1908 Hespeler, aged 78y, 4 mos., b. Erasmosa Tp., cause: senility & indigestion (about 1 week) [S890] Funeral Card - - Waterloo Historical Society - photocopies, "Funeral Card of Lewis L. Kribs," 11 Mar 1908. [S1837] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1861, Div. 1 Page 8. [S2208] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1891, Section 1 Page 16. [S2767] aaaWaterloo Township 1871 South, Sect. 2 Page 40. [S574] Church Records - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - Trinity Anglican. Lewis Kribs of Waterloo Tp, married Elizabeth Pannabeker of, Waterloo Tp., 11 May 1852

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1 Dec 1829 - Eramosa Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada Business - Kribs Saw Mill - - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Historic Building - Abt 1850 - 4860 Townline Rd, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1852 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 11 May 1852 - Trinity Anglican Church, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Carpenter - 1861 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Christian - 1861 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Farmer - 1871 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Methodist - 1871 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Elected Office - Reeve of Hespeler - 1880 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Elected Office - Warden for the County of Waterloo - 1883 - , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Farmer - 1891 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Presbyterian - 1891 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Retired - 1901 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - Cause: senility & indigestion (about 1 week) - 11 Mar 1908 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth