Eva Schübel Gerber: A Pioneer Mother’s Quiet Courage
Eva Schübel Gerber: A Quiet Pioneer of Strength
Eva Schübel Gerber was born in 1848 in Germany. When she was only 18 months old, her father passed away, leaving her mother with six young children to raise alone. Hardship struck again when Eva was 12 — her mother died too, and her older sister Mary stepped in to care for the family.
Despite these trials, Eva’s spirit stayed bright. At 14, she graduated from school, and at 17, she chose to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — a decision that brought her both hope and hardship. Determined to follow her faith, she walked 2½ miles in the snow, broke the ice on a creek, and was baptized. Neighbors were so bitter toward the LDS church that Eva had to leave her home for good. She made the brave decision to emigrate to America in search of a new start.
Her journey to Utah was long and difficult. Eva and her sisters spent 31 days crossing the ocean by ship, then traveled by railroad and steamboat to reach Nebraska. Tragedy struck when her sister Catherine died of mountain fever along the way. With their brother married and settled elsewhere, Eva and her two sisters finished the journey to Utah on foot.
Delays fixing broken wagons forced the three sisters to wait in bitter cold — Eva’s feet froze while they waited for a second rescue team to reach them. When Brigham Young sent out a mule team to meet the stranded immigrants, the first group took the women and children first; Eva and her sisters waited for the second rescue team. They finally arrived in Utah in November, exhausted but determined.
Building a New Life
Soon after arriving in Utah, Eva met John T. Gerber, a fellow German convert and hard-working pioneer. They married quickly in Salt Lake City. Eva became John’s second wife in a plural marriage and moved with him first to Midway, then to Wanship, and finally to Salt Lake and Granger.
Early life together was full of struggle. In Wanship, a grasshopper plague ruined crops in 1868, and a fierce windstorm destroyed their hastily built home. In Salt Lake, while John worked as a cook for the railroad crews at Promontory, Eva knitted socks for the workers. Their dugout home was so humble that they often survived on little more than bread and onions for every meal.
By 1870, they settled on farmland in Granger at 2200 W. and 3875 S. There, John and neighbor Mr. Todd dug the first ditches by hand to bring Jordan River water onto the dry benchland. They raised hay, grain, potatoes, cows, horses, chickens, and pigs. Life was hard but full of effort and hope.
Eva and John had eight children together — her joy was doubled when, after six sons, she finally had two beloved daughters. Eva was known for her tireless work to feed and clothe her family. She made butter and hauled it by ox team to Salt Lake City to sell; President Brigham Young himself was one of her customers. She grew vegetables and traded them for other goods, kept a cow and chickens, knitted and sewed, and taught her children the same work ethic.
Standing Alone
When John was arrested for polygamy in 1887, Eva and her children faced new challenges alone. After his release in 1888, new laws forced John to live with only one wife — his first wife, Anna Mary. Eva and her children moved out and built their own life.
With John’s help, she received 10 acres of land, and her sons — including 10-year-old Franklin — built her a new home at 3838 S. 2200 W. There, Eva raised her family with the same courage and determination she’d shown since girlhood. Her children found jobs, worked the land, and learned the value of hard work from their mother’s example.
After Anna Mary died in 1901, John asked Eva to live with him again, but she refused. She continued to help him by doing his laundry and baking when he needed it, but she never returned to live as his wife. John spent his final years alone and passed away in 1920.
A Legacy of Quiet Strength
Through every hardship, Eva never gave up. She won many awards for her beautiful knitting at the Utah State Fair — even at 83, she rose at dawn to sit by her bedroom window and knit by hand. Neighbors remembered her as a kind, refined, and artistic woman who carried life’s burdens without bitterness.
Her story reminds us that while the road can be steep and the winters bitter, the strength to keep going — and to love and care for children through it all — leaves a legacy stronger than stone.
Eva Schübel Gerber: 1848–1931. A mother, a settler, a survivor — and a quiet pioneer whose hands and heart shaped a piece of Granger’s history.
Eva’s home still stands. It is back on what was once called Gerber lane : behind house 3838 S. 2200 W
She is wrapped in one of her knitted bedspreads.