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.

Ida Caroline (Holland) Zanazzi Weisbach (1887-
1929), my great-grandmother.

Tilghman married his second wife, Ida Caroline (Holland) Zanazzi, my great-grandmother, on 16 February 1918, in Allentown. 

Like Tilghman, Ida was married previously and had children, although this marriage ended in divorce.


Ida was born 11 January 1887, in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Jeremiah and Ellamanda (Kurtz) Holland. Also, similar to Tilghman, her parents had separated. In fact, as a child, Ida lived with her aunt and uncle, Elmira (Kurtz) and George Houser, in Catasauqua. 

She married her first husband, Leo P. Zanazzi, an Italian man from Milan, on 19 June 1905.  

The marriage was short lived. In 1908, Ida was out of town, visiting her oldest sister, Elizabeth, in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe), Pennsylvania. It is said that Ida's mother, Ella, was at the home and had made Leo his lunch for the day. He left for work and never returned; he had abandoned his then 21-year-old wife and young daughter. A year or so later, Ida bumped into Leo and the two had agreed to reconcile. They agreed to meet at a furniture store to purchase furniture for a new apartment; Leo failed to show. It was this that sparked Ida to sue Leo for child support, which he then paid: $2.00 a month. Despite the fact that they had been separated for so long, they were not legally divorced until 1917, most likely because Ida wanted to marry Tilghman Weisbach. 

In the meantime, in 1911, Ida had a daughter, Claire, out of wedlock. It is said that the father of this child was named Nelson Prutzman, and that he and Ida had been involved in a common-law marriage. It appears, though, that Nelson did not stick around, as Claire used Holland, and then Weisbach as her surname and considered Tilghman to be her father. 

Ida and Leo had two daughters: 

1. Alma Irene, born 31 December 1905; she died 22 October 2001. She was first married to Walter Schmidt, and they had two children, Adelle (Mrs. Richard Keck) and Lewis "Skip." She later married Howard Sell.
2. Glodis, born 8 January 1908; she died at birth, and was buried in the Schoenersville Cemetery, Schoenersville, Pennsylvania.

Ida also had one daughter:

1. Claire Holland Weisbach, born 11 August 1915; she died 13 September 2002. She married Ralph Krasley, and they had four children: , and Sally (Mrs. Michael Dobil). 

My grandfather, Charles Weisbach, on his high
school graduation. Standing behind him is his father,
Tilghman. They were pictured at the home of my
grandfather's sister, Alma, in Allentown. This is
from 1937.

Following their marriage, Tilghman and Ida lived at several addresses in Catasauqua, and later in Allentown. While Ida's two daughters lived with them, Tilghman's children from his first marriage did not. Arthur and Lillian were both, by that time, adults and living outside of the home; Carlton and Frederick were at the Bethany Home, in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania. 

In September 1918, when Tilghman was drafted during World War I, they lived on 12th Street in Catasauqua. (Tilghman was employed as a ribbon weaver at the Allentown Silk Company). In 1919 and 1920, they lived on Race Street, Catasauqua -- at No. 408 and No. 524, respectively. In late 1921, they lived on Front Street, Catasauqua; where my grandfather was born. By 1924, they moved to Allentown, and in that year, they lived at 123 North 7th Street. The next year, they lived at 216 North Church Street, Allentown, an address that appeared to stick for a while. 

My grandfather related to me how his mother became sick -- with what now sounds like sinus cancer -- and entered the hospital (Allentown General Hospital, to be exact). She died there on 16 January 1929, just five days after turning 42 years old. She was buried in the Schoenersville Cemetery.

Tilghman and Ida had two sons:

1. a son, born 8 July 1918, in Allentown; he died at birth, due to prematurity.
2. Charles George, born 26 November 1921, in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania; he died 11 April 2008, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He married Edna Marlyn Harris (19 February 1928 - 7 March 2014) on 1 November 1947. They had four children: Linda Jo (1949-1992), Gail Marie (1952, stillborn), Bonnie Sue (1953- , Mrs. James Bergh), and Glenn Charles (1957- ).

Tilghman Weisbach, standing outside the home of his stepdaughter,
Alma (then Mrs. Walter Schmidt), in Allentown.

As his mother had died when he was young, Grandpa never did talk about his family that much. I knew it probably made him sad, so I did not press him with questions about his parents. (Grandpa had been the informant on his father's death certificate. When asked his father's parents names, he answered "Unknown.") However, during my last visit with him before he died, he recalled two things: how her death sparked his father's distrust of doctors, and how his father loved chicken and waffles. Following the death of his mother, Charles was raised by his older half-sister, Alma.

Tilghman remained living in Allentown for the rest of his life. He lived at 436 Chew Street, Allentown, and was a silk weaver, according to the United States Federal Census (1930). In the 1940s, he lived at 625 Turner Street, Allentown, and was a shuttle worker. He died, aged 77 years, of coronary occlusion on 23 October 1953, at his home, 625 Turner Street, Allentown. He was buried next to Ida.


Some information from this blog entry was taken from a previous entry, "Weisbach/Weissbach," which was published on 22 December 2013. This blog entry includes photos and also more information about Tilghman and Ida's lives.