This genealogy is told from the perspective of Joe Henry and Daniel Dennis Huber. Above, the first picture is of their great grandparents, Peter Huber and Theresa Resienger. The second is of their grandparents, Joseph E. Huber and Emma Rothmeyer. The third is their parents, Kathleen Agnes Smith and Joseph Peter Huber.

Immigrating in 1864, Peter and Theresia first settled in Iowa. With the exception of their eldest, Frank, the rest of their fourteen children were born in America – amazingly, none of the 15 were twins.

Peter was the son of Michael Huber and Anna Leingartner of Pirking, Germany. Pirking is north of Passau. Franz, Peter’s older brother, was the first to immigrate. He settled in the Dakota Territory. In 1869, Peter and Theresia would join him. From  1879 – 1896, the brothers would be joined by four of  their siblings, Max, Theresa, John and Anna.

None of  Theresia Resienger’s siblings immigrated. It appears that none of her extended family immigrated either. As far as we can tell, she never returned to Germany – so after she immigrated at 22, she never saw her parents or siblings again.

We know much more about the Hubers than we do the Rothmeyers, Resiengers or Leingartners. This applies to their lives in Germany and America.  

Dubbed by one newspaper as “the jolly farmer of Jamesville”, Peter was a prominent citizen and businessman and was often in the Dakota papers. Doane Robinson, who conceived the idea of Mt. Rushmore, wrote an admiring account of Peter in The History of South Dakota. Doane also wrote of Peter’s sons, Frank and Joseph.

Arriving in the territory 20 years before statehood, Peter played a role in discussions about the drafting of the state constitution. Keep in mind, for the majority of the time he lived in Yankton, South Dakota was not a state. For this reason,  sometimes you will see “south” Dakota because it refers to a section of the Dakota Territory, not the state of South Dakota.

As the territorial capital of the Dakotas, Yankton was the center of its political activity. Peter would play many civic roles – including being a  justice of the peace from 1875-1877. When President McKinley visited the new state in 1898, Peter was designated as a member of the Yankton welcoming committee. 

Among the largest landowners in south Dakota, Peter and Theresia were wealthy. Their home was the site of the 1888 wedding of their niece, Anna Huber to Louis Nipp.  Approximately 300 people attended the wedding. On his 1886 return from Germany, Peter reserved a special rail car to bring his relatives to Yankton. As you’ll read later, we can’t figure out who those relatives were. If you do, let us know!

Peter and Theresia also saw their share of tragedy. From 1894 – 1904, they lost three grown daughters as well as a granddaughter. Just when it seemed it couldn’t get worse, Peter died in 1905.

Aside from Peter and Theresia’s family, we also cover some of the extended Huber family which is full of characters and interesting stories – from a thief involved in running with the mob during prohibition to the founder of a successful brewery.

Inspired by a 2019 visit to the Huber Homestead in Pirking, Germany, the descendants of Peter Huber created this site.  The Huber family still farm and live on the original homestead.

More than 150 years have passed since the Hubers crossed the Atlantic. Please join us in reconstructing the family history by sharing your stories and photos. This site is just an attempt to get it right, so any omission is not a sin of commission.  If you see anything wrong, just email julie@hubersd.com and we will fix it.