The Hyphen Family Lineage

Note: Researching George C. Weible and family

In an excerpt from the text Christian Metzger: Founder of an American Family 1682-1942 (p186), the entry for George reads:

His namesake, George C. Weible, Jr., son of the Hon. Henry Weible, wrote (1/8-1932)
that his uncle George C. Weible resided, first, at Van Wert, Ohio, then, 1865-1867 he
lived at Dover, Bureau Co., Ill. in the Weible Colony there. Later he moved to Whiting,
Jackson Co., Kansas. Thence to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he died, 1903.

The entry also names his wife (Mary Gilliland), but does not give vital dates, birthplace, or parentage for her, nor does it give any information about his children.

There is a marriage record for George C. Weible and Mary Jane Gilliland in Van Wert Cty, Ohio in 1854, and the next record I can find that would seem to apply is the 1870 US Census record which places the couple (he born in Ohio, she born in Maryland) in Grasshopper Twp, Atchison Cty, Kansas with seven children (all listed as born in Ohio). The same family is listed in the 1875 Kansas State Census, with the only difference from the previous federal census being that the youngest child was reported as born in Illinois. By the time of the 1880 US Census, the family has moved to Whiting, Jackson Cty, Kansas, with five of their seven children present in this count.

George's wife, Mary Jane, appears to have died in late 1890, and is buried in Wheatland Cemetery in Horton, Atchison Cty, Kansas. George was later counted in the 1900 US Census as a widower living in Cleveland, Pawnee Cty, Oklahoma, not far from the household of one of his sons, Edward. I have not managed to find George in the 1910 US Census, nor have I found a death record. He appears to be buried in Woodland Cemtery in Cleveland, Pawnee Cty, Oklahoma with vital dates clearly inscribed on the gravestone (as pictured in the listing for "G.C. Weible" on the FindaGrave.com website), including a death date of 23 Mar 1912. This would strongly suggest that the excerpted text is in error as to his residence and his date of death.

Tracing George's children has been somewhat challenging due to an absence of birth, death, and marriage records, along with relocations across a short handful of states. Of the seven, I can only account for four of them into adulthood.

- Lucy Florence, the oldest child, married one of their neighbors, New York-born Morris Michael, in early 1884. Morris had been previously married with an adopted son (as counted in the 1880 US Census), and while the fates of his wife and child are not known, it is presumed that at least his wife had died prior to his marriage to Lucy. Lucy is believed to have had three children, but only one appears to have survived - youngest son Willis Everette Michael, born twelve days before Lucy died, presumably from complications of the birth. Morris and Willis were counted in the 1900 US Census in Cleveland, Pawnee Cty, Oklahoma, just a few houses away from George Weible, Willis' grandfather.

- Catherine, the second oldest, married Pennsylvania-born Charles Boyington between 1875 and 1880. The two of them had at least seven children and moved to Oklahoma prior to 1900. Both Catherine and her husband died in 1926.

- Mary, the third oldest, is last accounted for at the age of sixteen in the 1875 Kansas State Census, living with her parents and siblings. Whether she married or died prior to 1880 is unknown.

- Robert, the fourth child and oldest surviving son, is last accounted for at the age of nineteen in the 1880 US Census. His fate after 1880 is unknown, as I have not found any confirmed records for him after that point.

- Edward Everet, the fifth child, married Mary Catherine Brown in late 1890, and the two of them lived in Kansas, moved briefly to Oklahoma, and then back to Kansas for many years prior to retiring to Idaho. Edward and Mary had at least six children.

- Henrietta (or Harriet), the sixth child, is unaccounted for after the 1880 US Census. Like her older sister Mary, whether she married after that point or died young is unknown.

- Laura Alice, the seventh and youngest child, married in 1889 to William Snider. She was the only one of the children to be born in Illinois, and appears to have moved back there sometime after her first marriage. She appears to have married at least twice more, misreported her age on most census records, and appears to have had no children.

I have not managed to find a listing for George and his family in the 1860 US Census, nor have I found birth records for any of his children, but the family appears to have remained in Ohio (likely in Van Wert Cty) until sometime after 1864 (the birth of Henrietta in Ohio). From that point, the family seems to have relocated to Illinois (likely to Dover Twp, Bureau Cty, where a number of other Weible families had moved from Ohio) by 1867 (the birth of Laura). By 1870, the family had moved to Atchison Cty, Kansas, and would remain in northeastern Kansas until at least the time of Mary Jane's death in 1890.

I have seen several instances where George's full name is presumed to be George Christian Weible, and since this is the full name of his nephew (who was named for his uncle George), this seems likely, but I have not found specific documented records to confirm this.