Bios: William Weimer: from Westmoreland County, PA

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History of Henry County Illinois, Henry L. Kiner, Volume II, Chicago:
The Pioneer Publishing Company, 1910


ALBERT WILLIAM WEIMER

Albert William Weimer is one of the prosperous and progressive
agriculturists of Henry County and in the management of his business
affairs displays keen discernment, unfaltering enterprise and sound
judgment.  He now makes his home in Geneseo, from which point he
superintends his extensive interests.  He was born in this county,
August 11, 1865, and is a son of William and Susanna (Heller) Weimer,
both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania.  He is associated with his
father in his business enterprise and further mention of the family is
made in connection with the sketch of William Weimer on another page of
this work.

The subject of this review has spent his entire life in the county of
his nativity, his youthful days being passed on the home farm and when
he had mastered the branches of learning taught in the district schools
he continued his education in the Geneseo High School and in the
Northwestern Normal, also attending the Davenport Business College.  He
thus received training which well qualified him for onerous duties which
have devolved upon him in the management of his property interests.  He
resided upon his fatheršs farm until recent years and became a partner
with his father in the operation of the old home place in Geneseo
Township, where they were owners of seven hundred acres.  They also
owned large bodies of land in Thomas County, Kansas, having altogether
eleven thousand acres.  In 1898 Mr. Weimer removed from the farm to
Geneseo, where for seven years he was engaged in the grain business but
for the past three years has concentrated his energies upon his
investments in agricultural and manufacturing interests.  He is now
engaged in the manufacture of building stone, does contract work and has
erected many substantial buildings in different cities, including the
handsome armory in Geneseo.  He is likewise a director and the vice
president of the Geneseo Savings Bank and his name is an honored one on
all commercial papers.  In the fall of 1909 Mr. Weimer and his father
erected an auditorium and garage, being seventy-five feet front on First
Street and one hundred and thirty feet in depth.  The structure is two
stories in height; of rubble vitrified brick; is modern in all its
appointments and a handsome addition to the business section of Geneseo.

On the 11th of January, 1887, Mr. Weimer was united in marriage to Miss
Ella Tilfer, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Miller) Tilfer.  Mrs.
Weimer was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1869.  Her parents
were also natives of the Keystone state and they had two children, Ella
B. and Belle.  After the death of his first wife the father married
again and there were two sons and three daughters of that union.  Mr.
Tilfer passed away in Nebraska, in which state his sons also died.  Unto
Mr. And Mrs. Weimer have been born eight children, five sons and three
daughters:  Harry W., Lillie D., Harley A., Archie H., Vernie Howard,
Frank H., Eva E. and Iva B.  Mrs. Weimer is a member of the Unitarian
Church.

Mr. Weimer belongs to the Odd Fellow Society, holding membership in
Geneseo Lodge and Indian Encampment, while both he and his wife are
connected with the Rebekahs, Mrs. Weimer having filled all of the chairs
in the order while at the present time she is a past grand.  Mr. Weimer
also holds membership relations with the Yeomen, the Mystic Workers and
the Modern Woodmen and Mrs. Weimer with the Royal Neighbors and the
Ladies Circle.  They are people of many social qualities, whose
friendship is cherished by all who know them.  Politically Mr. Weimer is
a stalwart Republican and for one term served as alderman from the
second ward.  He is a zealous advocate of the cause of education and
while living on the arm served as a school director.  He is an alert and
enterprising business man, rejoicing in the opportunities for activity
and in the improvement of chances which have come to him he has found
the success which places him in prominent positions among the leading
business men of this part of the state.

WILLIAM S. WEIMER

William s. Weimer, who devotes his time and energies to general
agricultural pursuits, is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and
twenty acres on Section 11, Geneseo Township.  His birth occurred on the
9th of August 1869, his parents being Samuel and Catherine (Neiswender)
Weimer, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively.  The
father was a farmer by occupation and remained a respected and worthy
resident of Henry County until called to his final rest in February,
1899.  In politics he was a democrat.  His wife has also passed away,
her demise occurring on the 7th of April, 1896.  They became the parents
of seven children, six of whom still survive, as follows:  Ella, who is
the wife of Byron Beers and resides in Atkinson Township; Matilda, who
gave her hand in marriage to William Neiswender, of Geneseo; William S.,
of this review; Isabelle, who is the wife of Alden McHenry and makes her
home in Phenix Township; Pearl, who is the wife of Arthur Townley, of
Hanna Township; and Delia, who wedded William Hannon and resides in
South English, Iowa.

William S. Weimer obtained his education in the Jackson School and
remained with his father until two years after his marriage, assisting
in the cultivation of the home farm and thus becoming thoroughly
familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and planting the
crops.  In February, 1899, he took up his abode on the farm where his
wife had been born and reared, the place consisting of one hundred and
twenty acres on Section 11, Geneseo Township.  Here he has since carried
on his agricultural interests with gratifying success, the fields
annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor which
he bestows upon them.

On the 1st of February, 1893, Mr. Weimer was united in marriage to Miss
Celia Burgeson, who was born in Geneseo Township on the 30th of June,
1874, her parents being Jonas and Anna Marie (Swanson) Burgeson, natives
of Sweden.  The father, whose birth occurred October 5, 1821, came to
Henry County, Illinois, in August, 1856, and here followed farming until
called to his final rest on the 23d of November, 1888.  During the
period of the Civil War he loyally defended the interests of the Union
as a member of a regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry.  His political
allegiance was given to the Republican Party, while fraternally he was
identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  Both he and his
wife were devoted and consistent members of the Swedish Lutheran Church,
and their remains were interred in the Geneseo Township Cemetery.  Mrs.
Burgeson, who survived her husband for two decades, was born on the 27th
of December, 1831, and passed away April 7, 1908.  During the last six
years of her life she was confined to her bed as the result of a
paralytic stroke and her cheerfulness and patience during this trying
period proved a source of inspiration to those who ministered to her
wants.  She was the mother of ten children, eight of whom reached years
of maturity, namely:  Hannah, whose birth occurred December 25, 1858,
and who now resides in Montana with her brother Jacob; Burg, who was
born on the 2d of September, 1860, and who makes his home with our
subject; Abraham, whose natal day was March 6, 1862, and who passed away
December 31, 1895; Isaac, who was born November 6, 1864, and lives in
Washington; Jacob, born December 22, 1866, who makes his home in
Montana; Bertha, who first opened her eyes to the light of day on the
25th of April, 1869, and who gave her hand in marriage to Edward
Johnson, of Chicago; Samuel who died in infancy; and Mrs. Weimer.  All
of the above-named were natives of Geneseo Township.  Unto Mr. And Mrs.
Weimer were born five children, as follows:  John, who died in infancy;
Laura Anna, whose birth occurred January 3, 1901, Ruth Orvilla, whose
natal day was September 13, 1903, Dorothy M., who was born July 15,
1903; and Spencer Andrew, born September 27, 1909.  They also have an
adopted son, Richard, whose birth occurred in Geneseo Township on the
26th of January, 1895, and whom they have reared from the age of
fourteen months.  The lad was a son of Abraham and Pauline (Lidque)
Burgeson, his father being a brother of Mrs. Weimer.

Mr. Weimer is a Republican in politics and is now serving as a school
director, the cause of education ever finding in him a stanch champion.
Fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen and the Knights of the
Globe.  Both he and his wife belong to the Grace Evangelical Church and
exemplify its teachings in their daily lives.  They have a host of warm
friends throughout the county in which they have always resided and are
widely recognized as people of genuine personal worth.  Mr. Weimer well
merits the proud American title of the self-made man, for the success
which he now enjoys is directly attributable to his own enterprise and
energy.

WILLIAM WEIMER (there is picture of him)

Pleasantly situated in Geneseo, living in one of the attractive homes of
the city, is William Weimer, a retired farmer whose life history is a
notable example of what may be accomplished through determination and
energy.  Though he started out in life empty-handed, when sixteen years
of age and comparatively without educational advantages, he has become
one of the extensive landowners of this part of the state, placing his
money in that safest of all investments‹real estate.  He was born in
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1837, his parents being
Jonathan and Susan (Berger) Weimer, who were natives of Pennsylvania.
Their family numbered eleven children, three sons and eight daughters,
but only two are now living, Israel Weimer, of Geneseo, being the
younger brother of our subject.  The father made farming his life work,
and believing that the great prairie district of the Mississippi Valley
offered better opportunities than could be secured in the east, he came
to Illinois in the fall of 1853, settling in Henry County.  Here he died
a few years later at the age of seventy-eight.  His wife survived him
for twelve years and passed away when about seventy-seven years of age.
In the east they were members of the Dunkardšs Society.

William Weimer spent the first sixteen years of his life in the Keystone
state, where he was reared to the work of the farm.  Owing to the
limited financial resources of his parents he was deprived of
educational privileges, as it was necessary that he assist in the work
of the fields.  As a youth he was industrious and thoughtful, and these
qualities have characterized his entire life.  With his parents he came
to Illinois and lived at home until he had attained his majority, when
he started out upon an independent business career working by the month
as a farm hand for four years.  He decided, however, that his labors
should more directly benefit himself, and for a year thereafter he
engaged in the cultivation of a rented farm.  He bought seed wheat and a
team of horses and sowed forty acres of wheat, also thirty acres to
oats, but it was a wet season, and he lost his crop and became in debt.
He then had to work two years by the month to discharge his financial
obligations, but he did not allow this experience to discourage him,
knowing that determination and energy will in time overcome all
difficulties and obstacles.

Soon afterward Mr. Weimer was married and started out in business life
anew.  He was fortunate in his choice of a wife, for she proved a most
faithful companion and helpmate to him on lifešs journey.  After a time
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Geneseo Township,
which was wild and unimproved.  He built a house thereon and began the
development of his fields, making his home on that farm from 1861 until
1890.  He added to that until he owned seven hundred acres, a part of
which he has since sold, but from time to time he has invested in land
in Kansas in partnership with his son until they have between eleven
thousand and twelve thousand acres in the Sunflower state, and also nine
sections of land in Colorado.  He has achieved this by carefully
watching expenses and by utilizing every advantage.  He has watched for
opportunities for good investments and has wisely placed his money so
that he derives therefrom a substantial income at the present time.

On the 6th of October, 1862, Mr. Weimer was married to Miss Susan
Keller, a daughter of David and Catharine (Arnett) Keller.  They became
parents of eight children:  Emma C., the eldest, married Winfield
Cressner and resides on the old Weimer homestead, and they have five
children:  Earl, Edith, Elvin, Esther, and Huen.  W. Albert, of Geneseo,
married Ella Tilford, and they have five children:  Harry, Harley,
Frank, Eva and Iva.  Minnie is the wife of John De Linn, and they had
four children, of whom three are now living:  William, Glen and Don.
Edith is the wife of William Hippler, of Geneseo, and they have three
children:  Mabel, Irene and Claude.  Frank died when sixteen years old.
Bertie is the wife of Edward Coe, who is living in Los Angeles,
California, and they have two sons:  Reuben and Rowland.  The youngest
child of the family died in infancy.  The mother, Mrs. Susan Weimer,
died August 12, 1880, when about thirty-six years of age.  Mr. Weimer
afterward wedded Miss Pauline Stenzel, a daughter of John and Augusta
(Hollaz) Stenzel, and they have two children:  Jesse and Nellie.

In 1890 Mr. Weimer removed to Geneseo and built a beautiful home on
North State Street, where he still resides.  He has also erected another
fine residence in the city.  Politically he is a Democrat and has served
as school director and road commissioner.  He has never been a
politician in the sense of office seeking, however, but has been
preeminently a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence.
He is numbered among the old settlers of the county and has lived to
witness notable changes since he arrived here about fifty-five years
ago.  Within this period practically all of the land has been brought
under cultivation, the wild prairies being transformed into rich fields,
while here and there flourishing towns have been built, and all the
advantages known to the older east have been introduced.  The present
home of Mr. Weimer is in great contrast to that in which he began his
domestic life.  He was for a time in extreme poverty owing to the
failure of crops, which threw him in debt and left him to start out
anew.  Brooking no obstacle that could be overcome by persistent and
earnest effort, he has worked his way steadily upward, and the splendid
record which he has made is one well worthy of emulation, for he is now
numbered with the men of affluence in Henry County, and is one of the
most extensive landowners of this part of the state.