A genealogical brick wall… torn down in a few days

As I promised in my previous post, I’m excited to share what I uncovered during my trip to Salt Lake City last month. I was thrilled to finally break down this “genealogical brick wall” after so many years. Let’s start at the beginning…

My great-grandfather, George Weil, was born in 1889 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Conrad and Louisa (nee Metz) Weil. He had several siblings close to his age. His mother, Louisa, died when he was 9 years old. At this point, he and three of his siblings were sent to an orphan’s home where they were educated and grew up. When he was an adult, George and his sister Marie searched for their parents, trying to find out what happened to their father and discover more about their German heritage. Through the years, his son and grandson searched occasionally for information about Conrad and Louisa, and recently I also took up the search.

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Wedding Wednesday: Anniversaries past and present

My grandparents Ed and Millie on their wedding day 70 years ago.

Our wedding day, one year (and a few days) ago.

My grandparents were married 70 years ago today. Before they passed away, they had celebrated 64 anniversaries. This is the first wedding anniversary that they’ll be celebrating together in heaven. My husband and I just celebrated our first anniversary. We hope to share just as many years together!

“We were 50 years old…”

LoraasMarie_KaiserMildred_50yrs5-31-1950 — Marie (nee Lawrence) Loraas and Mildred (nee Lawrence) Kaiser on their 50th birthdays on May 31, 1950.

This photograph is from the day that my great-grandmother Mildred and her twin sister, Marie, turned 50 years old. Mildred wrote on the back, “We were 50 years old…” with the date. Family tales explain that Mildred was born just before midnight on May 30, and Marie was born shortly after midnight on May 31. Both of their birth certificates list May 31, and apparently both of them always celebrated their birthdays together on May 31. Even when they grew older, they still looked very much alike! It’s sometimes hard to tell them apart in photographs.

Celebrating graduations

It’s that time of year again… graduation! Whether it’s high school, college or beyond, graduations are always a time for students to be proud of what they’ve accomplished and look forward to what lies ahead.

This is a photo on my grandparent’s graduation day. The met at college, were both part of campus Greek life, and sang in the choir. They were engaged in March 1957, graduated that spring, and got married within a month after graduation! Two of their children also attending the same university, where one of them also met his future wife!

Weil_Charles_Trudy_graduation — My grandparents at college graduation in 1957.

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Mothers are special

This Mother’s Day I’ve been thinking of all the mothers, grandmothers, aunts and mother figures in my family. Mothers play a unique part in every family. Here’s a quick tribute and thank you to the mothers in my family!

Mothers will always think of you as her little baby…