Tilghman and Ida (Holland) Weisbach

My grandfather, Charles George Weisbach (1921-2008).

Cute, huh? Now you see where I get it!

In honor of my grandfather's 93rd birthday, I will write about his parents, my maternal great-grandparents, Tilghman and Ida (Holland) Weisbach. 

My grandfather's family was kind of like the Brady Bunch -- a large blended family -- although they didn't necessarily all live under one roof in peace and harmony. At the end of the day, my great-grandparents had thirteen children between them: six of them, having died at birth or in early infancy. My grandfather was the youngest of these children.

My paternal grandfather, Tilghman Charles Weisbach, was born 27 April 1875, possibly in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania (this is what his death certificate says). He was the eldest child of Charles F. and Mary (Osmun) Weisbach.

During Tilghman's childhood, the family lived in Allentown; the family had moved around many times, with different addresses found in the south central part of the city. By the time he was nineteen years old, Tilghman was working as a wire cutter.

My great-grandfather, Tilghman Weisbach, on the far right. He was involved with the Allentown, Pennsylvania, fire department, and also served as President of the Allentown Fire Police in the 1910s.

During his life, Tilghman was employed as a moulder, and later as a ribbon weaver and silk weaver. He was also involved with the fire department in Allentown, particularly with Engine Company No. 2. In 1903, Tilghman was nominated to serve as assistant secretary for Engine Company No. 2. In May 1913, Tilghman was re-elected as president of the Allentown Fire Police. He also held the title in 1918.

In or around 1896, he married his first wife, Emma Lilly Trumbauer. Emma, or Lillie as she was known (probably to differentiate from her mother), was born 13 May 1876, the daughter of Franklin John and Emma Matilda (George) Trumbauer. They made their home in Allentown. In 1905, at the time of the death of their son, Willard, they were living at 1149 Lawrence Street, Allentown. The family was still living there in 1907, according to the Allentown City Directory from that year.

Tilghman and Lillie appeared to have been separated by 1910; the census from that year stated that Lillie and Tilghman were living at separate residences: Tilghman was a boarder at the home of Violet Daughtery, 18 South Eighth Street, Allentown, and Lillie was living with her father at 726 Chew Street, Allentown. However, it appears that Tilghman and Lillie had reconciled, as two more children were born to them (that year, and in 1912). It is possible that Tilghman and Lillie were separated again. The death certificate for a stillborn daughter, born to Ellen M. Wheeler on 24 April 1915, in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, listed Tilghman Weisbach as the father. 

The Allentown City Directory listed 910 Maple Street, Allentown, as Tilghman's address. He was listed as being a silk weaver.

Lillie died on 24 December 1916. According to her death certificate, she died of "septicemia," with the contributing factor being the absence of the uterus. (On Tilghman's marriage license to Ida Holland, he admitted that he had been married before, but the marriage ended with the death of his wife, and gave the date of Lillie's death; so, Tilghman and Lillie were still legally married.)

Tilghman and Lillie had, at least, seven children: 

1. Arthur Stanley, born 8 November 1898; he died in July 1982. He married Lillian Reichenbach on 16 December 1925, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Lillian died before 1930.
   
2. Lillian Mary, born in 1900, in Allentown, Pennsylvania; she died in March 1993, in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. She married John A. Merkle. They had three children: Roland G., Muriel J. (1919-2014, Mrs. Robert Howard), and Gladys M. (?-2009, Mrs. Charles Ferry).
   
3. Warren Tillman, born in 1903; he died before 1910.
   
4. Willard, born 9 November 1905; he died of pneumonia on 26 March 1906, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was buried in the Union-West End Cemetery, Allentown.
   
5. A child, who was born and died before 1910. [The United States Federal Census (1910) listed that Lillie had five children, two of which were alive, in 1910.]
6. Carlton John, born 27 April 1910, in Allentown, Pennsylvania; he died 2 January 2001, in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. He married Jean C. Kehl, in October 1951. They had three children: Carton Jr., Gail L. (Mrs. Barna), and Lynn M. Carlton was a self-employed barber for over 63 years before he retired in July 2000.
   
7. Frederick Charles, born 8 October 1912; he died in 1978.

Tilghman and Ellen Wheeler had one child:

1. A daughter, born 24 April 1915, at 211 Second Street, Catasauqua, Pennsylvania; was stillborn. She was buried in the Mickley's Cemetery, in Whitehall, Pennsylvania.