Eduard Graf (entrepreneur)

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Eduard Graf (born January 21, 1845 in Rebstein ; † September 11, 1918 there ; authorized to live there) was a Swiss entrepreneur and politician . He was the founder of the brewery Sonnenbräu in Rebstein.

Life

Eduard Graf was born as the son of Jakob Graf and Anna Magdalena (née Rohner) in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley . His place of birth is “am Brunnen” in Rebstein, on today's Bahnhofstrasse. He had eleven siblings, only four of whom reached adulthood. His father, "a Weinsteiner", was a farmer and a member of the Rebstein town council . Eduard Graf attended the local primary school.

In 1867, when his older brother resigned from office, Count became the clerk of the local council at the age of 22. He held this office for 15 years. In 1882 Rebstein's municipal manager Johan Jakob Kehl resigned, whereupon Eduard Graf was elected as his successor. During this time Rebstein developed from a farming village to a community with manufacturing companies, especially with St. Gallen embroidery . Graf held the office of Gmeindammann until 1905. In addition, he was active as a church council , school council and later as president of the school council. During one term of office he was a member of the Grand Council of the Canton of St. Gallen as a representative of the Liberal Party of the Upper Rhine Valley . He mainly dealt with agricultural issues and worked as an appraiser of community property .

In 1870 Eduard Graf married Emilie Rohner, who was three years younger than him, "from the linden tree" in Rebstein. They had three children together, only one of whom survived the father. His wife died in 1881 at the age of 33, whereupon he married Annette Friedauer from Au two years later . Annette was barely 20 when she married, but she turned out to be a good housewife, mother and prudent businesswoman.

At the turn of the 20th century, municipal offices became a sideline. Graf then worked as a farmer and had a job in an embroidery company.

Graf first took over the bakery and inn zur Traube, but then soon the Gasthaus zur Sonne on the Alte Landstrasse. In 1891, due to his acquaintance with Colonel Rohner in Buchs, he got the opportunity to purchase the equipment of a disused brewery. So he founded the brewery Sonnenbräu , which got its name from the inn. In the beginning, only dark beer was brewed with the sparse inventory . In the years after 1900, Eduard Graf was able to expand the business with the help of a Munich architect. After the ice initially had to be brought in by train from Klöntal and Davos , he later acquired a modern ice machine .

In 1873, Graf was co-founder and president of the Rebstein savings and loan fund. In 1912 Graf withdrew from the active brewery business and left the management of the company to his two sons from his second marriage, Walter and Arnold, and his wife. Graf was still active and was involved in village clubs such as the Rebstein singer and rifle club. He was respected beyond the borders of the village when he died on September 11, 1918 at the age of 74 from the consequences of the Spanish flu .

literature

  • Werner Kuster, Werner A. Graf: Rheintaler heads. Historical-biographical portraits from five centuries . Ed .: Association for the History of the Rhine Valley. Rheintaler Druckerei und Verlag AG, Berneck 2004, ISBN 3-03300265-X , Eduard Graf (1845-1918), Rebstein, p. 186 f .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The light blonde. Sonnenäu AG, accessed on November 18, 2019 .
  2. ↑ History of the Suntan. Sonnenäu AG, accessed on November 12, 2019 .
  3. Jump up ↑ sonnenäu - history - 1891.Sunäu AG, accessed on November 12, 2019 .
  4. ↑ About Suntan. Sunnäu Fan Club, accessed November 12, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Count, Eduard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss entrepreneurs and politicians
DATE OF BIRTH January 21, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Rebstein
DATE OF DEATH September 11, 1918
Place of death Rebstein