John Kehrer (German. American, born 1831, died after 1900)
John Kehrer was born in Wurtemburg, Germany the son of a grape farmer. A trained stone mason, he came to the United States in 1849, settling initially in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). An 1858 tour of “the west” prompted his removal from Wheeling to Martins Ferry in Belmont County, Ohio, where he followed his father’s footsteps and began raising grapes. His cultivation of grapes proved successful, and he quickly began the production of wine, which proved equally successful.
By 1890, Kehrer’s vineyard was producing four to five thousand gallons of wine per year, and earning him a prominent position in his community. He married Matilda Cook of Wheeling in 1851 and the couple had six children, one of whom was still living with them in 1900, according to the Census.
Information courtesy of Garth’s, May 2008.