Graber Family Ancestral Home

In the seventies and eighties my dad, Lester F. Graber, helped my late Great-uncle Ora A. Graber compile a history of the Graber Immigrants from 1650 to 1984.  I don’t know how he got hold of them, but my Great-uncle Ora obtained some photos of the Graber Family home in Montbeliard, France.
“The Grabers settled in the area of Couthenans. These Grabers were quite poor and one John Graber tried to make a living hauling charcoal for a manufacturing plant at Audincourt. The wife was a weaver by trade. The young John also took up this trade hauling charcoal after his father died, and one man by the name of Bardot saw how this young man was so faithful in his fathers footsteps, took compassion on him and asked him to rent his farm to him. This young John said he’s too poor he could not accept his offer but Mr. Bardot finally persuaded him and he took over his farm and was very prosperous and this farm has stayed in the Graber descendants yet to this day, known as the Couthenans home. The picture elsewhere shows how this home has been preserved to this day. The land to till was outside of the city. This John Graber was married to Fan Rich and John was a brother to our ancestor listed herein, Peter Graber, born 1741, died 1805 and married to Mary Rich, who (Peter Graber) was also the first owner of the Mont-Prevoir farm….quite a distance south of the original Couthenans farm and home.

“Peter Graber lived at Audincourt and his occupation there was cheese making….this Peter Graber family stayed in Audincourt until 1793, until many of his children were married and all were born at Audincourt and not Mont-Prevoir.  He moved further south to near the area of Dampiouex or Pose in 1793, and built himself a home up on a high hill or cliff, with a long lane leading in to his buildings which he called the Mont-Prevoir farm. Peter lived on this farm only twelve years until he died.   He was walking out in the meadow when all at once he felt sick, so that he sat down on a stump, but soon life had fled.”    – The Graber Immigrants, O.A. Graber