Johann Eberhard Faber was born on December 6, 1822, in the village of Stein, near the city of Nuremberg, in Bavaria.

He moved to the United States in 1848 and opened a stationery store at 133 William Street in New York in 1849.

In 1861, he opened the first lead pencil factory along the East River, between 41st and 43rd streets, Midtown Manhattan.

On July 1, 1854, Eberhard Faber married Jenny Haag, who was born on November 23, 1836, in Munich.

They had six children:[1] The Faber family maintained a large home in Port Richmond, Staten Island in the 1870s.