Karl Ernest Koberstine was born September 11, 1883, in the city of Sterling, Sterling Township, Whiteside County, Illinois. Karl Koberstine parents were John George and Anna M. (Young) Koberstine. After high school in Sterling, Whiteside County, Illinois, Karl went to business college. Karl Koberstine's first job was in DeKalb, Illinois, where he lived in a large rooming house on U.S. Route 30. After living in DeKalb a year he moved to Chicago and lived with his older brother, Bernie, at 4313 West Congress Street. He had a job as a bookkeeper at a creamery at 61 W. Kinzie, Chicago, Illinois. Karl Koberstine was in the household of his brother Henry Bernard Koberstine in the 1910 Census of Chicago, 4313 W. Congress Street, Ward 34, Cook County, Illinois. Karl Ernest Koberstine met Florence Mae Mills while on a boat trip to Michigan with his brother Bernie. On June 25, 1910, Karl married Florence Mae Mills at the home of her parents. Marriage was performed by Rev. Joshua B. Martin of 2323 Fulton Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Karl and Florence (Mills) Koberstine had two children. At first they lived in a house at 3342 W. Ohio Street in Chicago. In about 1914 they moved to house at 2441 Sunnyside (near Western Avenue) in Chicago. In 1915 Karl E. Koberstine was listed in the Chicago City Directory as living at 2441 Sunnyside Avenue (Mildred Kober Bolen remembers that they lived on the south side of the street so 2441 seems correct). In 1916 Karl Koberstine bought the Cairo Creamery in Cairo, Illinois. The family, with 4 year old daughter Mildred, moved to Cairo, Illinois. The creamery produced ice cream, butter, and milk. Karl Ernest Koberstine registered for the World War I draft on September 12, 1918, at Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois. He lived at 226 9th Street, in Cairo, (GPS 37.001276,-89.167126) and the Creamery was at 229 9th Street. His wife was Florence May Koberstine. The Creamery did not do well and was sold in 1919. The family moved back to Chicago.

Karl Kober and his wife Florence Kober were in the 1940 Census, Illinois, Cook, Oak Park, 829 S. East Avenue. Enumeration District (ED) 16-380, Block 428. Below is the internet address to get to all 44 pages of ED 16-380. Their household is on page 29 of those 44 pages. Also in the household was a border name Bertha Stange.

http://1940census.archives.gov/search/?search.census_year=1940&search.enumeration_district=16-380&search.page=1&search.result_type=image&search.state=IL#filename=m-t0627-00785-00798.tif&name=16-380&type=image&state=IL&index=1&pages=44&bm_all_text=Unbookmark&bm_pages%5B%5D=1&bm_pages%5B%5D=29

See the 1940 Census image.

They lived at 829 South East Avenue, in Oak Park, Illinois, until 1942 when they sold the house to their daughter Mildred and her husband, Harley Bolen. ( ) I know grandma Koberstine died 27 December 1943 and thinking about it, I was five in Sept 1943 when I started school at Longfellow School in Oak Park. (Lois Stange)

Karl and Florence moved to Havana, Mason County, Illinois, where Karl published a weekly shopper printed in his house.
See IL Mason Havana file


In 1946 they return to the Chicago area and lived with their daughter Mildred and her family for a short time; less than a year. Later they moved to Cicero, Illinois, where they lived behind a store at 4847 West Cermak Road, Cicero, Cook County, Illinois. Karl was a bookkeeper for the store owner Mr. Miller. They inherited a Graham car, 1947, from Karl's sister Clara who died in California. Karl was called "Poppy" by his grandkids. He smoked cigars and had an ash tray that looked like an old fashion bath tub, with claw legs. He was bald and looked a lot like his brother Bernie except maybe thinner. He slept in a night shirt.


Karl Kober died August 2, 1947 in Cicero, Cook County, Illinois. He died of chonic myocarditis. He was buried out of the Haggard Funeral home, 124 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, on August 5, 1947. He was buried at the Glen Oak Cemetery in Hillside, Cook County, Illinois.

Obituary of Karl E. Kober, Chicago Tribune, August 4, 1947, page 24.

"KOBER-- Karl E. Kober, Aug 2 beloved husband of Florence, father of Mrs. Mildred Bolen, brother of Bernard, John and the late Mrs. Clara Krause. Service Tuesday, August 5, at 1 p.m. at chapel 124-126 Madison street, Oak Park at Lombard avenue. Interment Glen Oak."