As one of the oldest communities in Nebraska, it’s easy to understand why Florence has a lot of historical characters. One of the most important was Prussian rebel who became a pioneer baker who helped form the early character of the town. This is a biography of Jacob Weber, Sr. of Florence, Nebraska, businessman, politician and community leader.

Jacob Weber, Sr. (1833-1923) was born in a small city called Worms in Bavaria in the early 1830s. As a 16-year-old in 1848, Weber joined the Rhenish Revolution in western Germany. However, his age was discovered by an officer and he was kicked out of the 9-day war. Deciding to immigrate to America, he arrived in Ohio , in 1853, and learned how to bake from an uncle who was already there. Marrying Amalia Rootler (1832-1910) in 1856, the couple moved to Florence in 1857. Over the years, they had six kids, including four sons and two daughters:

• Charles Emil Weber (1856-1936)
• Walter R. Weber (-1935)
• Jacob Jr. Weber (1865-1931)
• William Weber (1858-1928)
• Emeline Douglas Smith (1863-1933)
• Mary A.C. Griffin (1868-1943)

In a resolution a week after he died, the Florence Improvement Club stated Weber “always borne an enviable reputation for rugged honesty and integrity in his business and social relations with others…” This is important for understanding how he stayed successful for more than 65 years of living in the waveringly prosperous city of Florence.

Arriving in the Nebraska Territory around 1860, Weber immediately opened a bakery in downtown Florence when he got there. However, there was apparently a financial panic that wiped out his business, and he became a sawmiller afterward. After meeting a fellow German named George Haag (1831-1908), the pair were lifelong friends. Heading out with a team of ox for the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush in 1861, he and George made it to western Nebraska before turning around to Florence to become a farmer. Jacob’s father was a farmer in Germany, and Weber carried on the tradition for only a few years.

After returning, George Haag and Jacob Hunter worked for Alexander Hunter, who owned a sawmill in Florence. According to Ryan Roenfeld’s 2021 book Secret Omaha: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, Jacob and his wife “operated a water-powered sawmill” starting in 1861, and this was probably originally Hunter’s business. Located on Mill Creek north of town, another source says that in 1868 Weber built a new sawmill with a business partner who was probably Hunter.

In 1874 they added a grist mill, and by 1880, the mill was focused on flour production. According to Roenfeld, in 1888 they added a steam-powered engine. An anti-technologist, the newspaper said Weber called his mill’s steam engine a “lazy man’s clap trap,” but resigned to using it. By 1880, Jacob’s son Jacob Jr. had joined him in the business, and the Florence Mills became one of the leading flour mills in Douglas County.

Along with his wife working at the mill, Jacob’s four sons also worked there and became expert millers through their father’s teaching. Three of the sons—Charles, Walter and William—went to Wayne, Nebraska, to start Wayne Rolling Mills in the 1880s, a large operation that was successful for several decades. Jacob Jr. stayed in Florence and ran his father’s mill, taking over after Jacob Sr. died.

Weber never used a telephone or phonograph and didn’t ride in new-fangled automobiles. There were reportedly only two photos ever taken of him, as he didn’t trust cameras, either.

Along with serving as mayor, other offices Weber held in Florence included serving on the Florence school board as the treasurer for nine terms, and being active in Douglas County politics for several years.

In 1906, Jacob and his wife Amalia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Florence City Hall. The Omaha Bee made note of a celebration for the couple where their six kids joined them, along with 12 grandchildren. A year later, the Omaha Bee published a whole front page spread featuring the life of Jacob Weber, Sr.

Towards the ends of their lives, Weber and George Haag were “closer than ever.” Haag never married and lived as a bachelor for his entire life. By the time they were 74 and 76 years old, they lived together, smoked pipes and drank beer from steins after spending their days working together. Haag ran the milling apparatus and Weber sewed the bags of flour that were produced. Haag died in 1908 and was buried at Forest Lawn.

Adding a 53-foot tall grain elevator in 1913, Weber kept running the mill until he died in 1923 at age 90. He had lived in Florence for 66 years.

When he died, Weber’s funeral was held at the family home. He was buried in Forest Lawn.

Today, Weber Street on the border of the Florence neighborhood and the Florence Field neighborhood commemorates the life of this early Florence pioneer.

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MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE
Basics: History | Banks | Newspapers | Churches | Mayors
Public Places: Florence Main Street | Florence High School | The Mormon Tree | Mormon Bridge | Florence Boulevard | River Drive | J.J. Pershing Drive and Monument | Potter’s Field
Businesses: Florence Mill | Zestos | Florence Home | Florence Bank | Florence Mill | Florence Ferry | Florence Water Works | Florence Depot
Houses: Parker Mansion | Brandeis Country Home | Lantry-Thompson Mansion | Mitchell House | Hunt Mansion
Other Historic Places: Cutler’s Park | Winter Quarters | Vennelyst Park | Florence Building
People: James M. Parker | James Comey Mitchell | Florence Kilborn | Jacob Weber Sr.
Neighborhoods: Winter Quarters | Florence Field | Wyman Heights | High Point
Mormon History Locations: Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge | Site of the Mormon Tree | Cutler’s Park | Brigham Young House | Mormon Mill
Other: Directory of Florence Historic Places

Elsewhere Online

• “Jacob Weber Sr.” on Findagrave.com

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