My great-grandfather, George Weil, grew up in an orphans’ home in Pennsylvania. This unique time in his life always intrigued me, because we never knew much about his time there. In the past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot more about his story.
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.
Continue reading “A genealogical brick wall… torn down in a few days”
Soon I’ll be traveling to Salt Lake City for a much-needed getaway! My husband and I are combining work and leisure for this vacation. During the day, he will be attending a Biology workshop and I’ll be free to spend my time at the Family History Library! I’m preparing for the research trip by following some advice given by Amy Johnson Crow. Her advice includes: have a plan, have a backup plan, check the catalog before you go, and more. (Update: Diana and Nicole at The Family Locket also give some great advice about visiting the Family History Library! I can’t believe that I missed it before.)
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!
The Family History Librarian 