George Edward Weiler, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of George Edward Weiler
GEORGE EDWARD WEILER. One of the most prosperous home owners and agricultural residents of Porter township is George Edward Weiler, the oldest representative of a sterling German-American family that has been identified with Porter county for nearly half a century. Mr. Weiler at the outset of his career was not favored by fortune or circumstances beyond the ordinary, yet he has won a generous prosperity, and his case is one that proves the splendid opportunities in the American country life for the vigorous and enterprising citizen.
Porter county is the place of his birth, and he was the first child of John L. and Christina (Reicher) Weiler, born on the 21st of April, 1858. Of the thirteen children in the family, six are still living, the other five being as follows: Frank, a farmer in Porter township; Louisa, the wife of Lenzo E. Maxwell, of Porter township; John L., who is married and engaged in farming in Boone township; Christina, the wife of Emanuel Near, a resident of Shelby, Michigan; and Adam, who is married and a farmer of Porter township.
The father Weiler was born in Wuertemberg, Germany, and spent his youth there, getting a practical education and acquiring the trade of wagon maker. He then determined to make his career in America, and as a young man without capital he landed in New York, and for the first two years followed his trade in the east. He then came out to Porter county, where he went in debt for forty acres in Porter township, and while getting a start spent his evenings and the odd times in work at his trade. His land had no improvements, and besides paying for it with the results of his sturdy toil he actually created the improvements and productive resources which later gave it value as a farm. He was a prosperous and fine type of the German-American, and before the close of his active career had accumulated an estate of three hundred and fifty-seven acres, all in Porter township and practically all paid for. Besides accomplishing so much as an individual, he also transmitted to his children the principles of industry and thrift which characterized his own life. He was a supporter of the Republican party and he and his wife were members of the German Methodist faith, later entering the Mennonite church. He is buried in the Shurr cemetery. His wife, who was a native of the same kingdom of Germany as her husband and was born October 9, 1836, is now living, at the advanced age of seventy-six, with her daughter in Shelby, Michigan. She arrived in America when she was a young girl of seventeen.
George E. Weiler was reared on the old homestead in this county, and during his boyhood he attended the district schools but in the main is a self-educated man. He gave his time and labor to his parents until he was twenty-six years old, and then on February 18, 1884, established a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Sarah Allenbrand. Mrs. Weiler, who was born June 11, 1866, the fifth in a family of eleven children, was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Miller) Allenbrand, a prominent family of this county. Mrs. Weiler was reared and educated in this county, attending first the country schools and then for two years in the city high school, and before her marriage taught two terms in the county. An intelligent, broad-minded woman, a capable mother and housewife, she has been an important factor in the combined success of herself and husband.
Three children have come into their home, two sons and a daughter, namely: Bertha B. is the wife of Clarence Frailey, who conducts an automobile agency in Hobart, and they have one child living, named Edwin. Mrs. Frailey obtained her diploma from the common schools in 1900 and was graduated from the Boone Grove high school with the class of 1903. Guy Edward, the older son, a resident of Porter township, graduated from the common schools in 1902 and also attended the Boone Grove high school. He married Miss Hazel Hahn. They are members of the Salem Methodist Episcopal church. Lee E., the youngest of the family, and living at home with his parents, received his education in the public schools and is a practical farmer and especially fond of horses. He married Miss Mabel Hathaway, a graduate of the public schools in Lake county.
When Mr. and Mrs. Weiler began married life it was on part of their present homestead. The eighty acres which then composed the farm had a small dwelling and a stable with straw-thatched roof, and with this raw material they undertook the development of a modern productive farm and a comfortable home for themselves and family. The modern residence in which they now live was erected in 1902, and it is heated with hot-air furnace and has comforts that rival many city homes. A large barn and other outbuildings are also conspicuous features of the estate, and have all been built within recent years. Besides all these improvements they have increased their acreage to one hundred and twenty, and their estate being unburdened with debt they are among the most prosperous citizens of their township. A five-passenger Lambert touring car facilitates the transaction of business and increases their opportunities for recreation, and it carries the family on trips to Chicago, South Bend and other neighboring cities, so that while residents of the country they have free access to the resources of the cities.
Mr. Weiler cast his first vote for James A. Garfield, and has supported each successive Republican candidate. He and his wife contributed toward the erection of the new Salem Methodist church, and in this as in other movements for the betterment of the community they have never failed to extend their aid and perform the part of public-spirited citizens.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 605-609
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook