The Weis Family - Part 2

CAPESIUS, DONDLINGER, ETRINGER, GOSCHE, JACOBS, MATHIEU, REISTROFFER, RITTER, SCHILTZ, SCHIRMER, SCHWAGER, THOMA, WAGNER, WALTER, WEIMERSKIRCH, WEINSCHENK, WEIS

Posted By: Lorraine Weis Houghton (email)
Date: 4/14/2010 at 18:34:59

The Weis Family of Jackson County, Iowa

Part 2

Compiled by Lorraine Weis Houghton

Reasons for Immigration from Berbourg, Luxembourg *
Francois Weis Family Books – Jane M. Miller *
Names of Children *
Gonner Papers *
Theodorus Weis Family Book – Jane M. Miller *
Occupations *

Reasons for Immigration from Berbourg, Luxembourg

Life was very tough for people in Luxembourg in the 1850’s. There was not enough land to accommodate all of the people. The very small farms would eventually go to the eldest son and any younger sons would have to use their craft, such as that of a stone mason, etc. to make a living. The economy was so poor that it was almost impossible for all of the family members to stay in Luxembourg.

If a man married a woman, who had no brothers, he could farm her families’ land and he would take her last name, so the land would stay in her families’ name. It appears that many young girls, who did not marry, moved from the farm to the city and worked for other people in their homes or became a seamstress. Other young ladies joined a religious order, as religion was an important part of the life of the family.

It is good to remember that these new immigrants suffered many hardships in coming to America. They emigrated from Luxembourg where everything was familiar and made a life for themselves and their family in a totally new environment in Jackson County, Iowa. It is hard to imagine the sacrifice of all of those family members left behind in Luxembourg, knowing that they would probably never see some of their children or siblings again.

Francois Weis Family Books – Jane M. Miller

Additional Weis family information, including later generations, with pictures and much family information can be found in volumes I and II of "The Weis Family", which contain 819 pages, compiled by Jane M. Miller. Jane is in the process of printing more of these two books as well as the Jacobs book. Jane M. Miller can be contacted by email at irishrose@hotmail.com.

Names of Children

It was not uncommon for more than one child in the family to have the same name, as they were usually named after their godparent of the same sex. They normally became known by a nickname or by their middle name. Also, if a child died, many times the birth of the next child of the same sex, would carry that name.

Gonner Papers

Nicholas Gonner is chiefly known as the author of an authoritative study of the emigration of Luxembourgers into the New World entitled Die Luxemburger in der neuen Welt: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Luxemburger (Luxembourgers in the New World: Contributions to the History of the Luxembourgers). This work was written for and published by the Luxembourger Gazette, published in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1889 and was meant to be not only a chronicle of Luxembourger success in the New World, but also to be read in Europe as a testament to the success in "the land of opportunity," as the United States imagined itself. (: Luxembourger Americans - History, Modern era, The first in america, Significant immigration waves and settlement patterns http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Luxembourger-Americans.html#ixzz0gqYKNGeh)

Michael Weis, of the Peter Weis (1837) line, noted that in the Gonner Papers there was a Michael Weis listed, as the first Luxembourger to come to Jackson County. This early immigrant, Michael Weis (1827) came with his father, Theodorus (Theodore) who was born January 1, 1797. The Michael Weis family came to Jackson County in 1853.

Theodorus Weis Family Book – Jane M. Miller

Jane M. Miller is now compiling a third volume of The Weis Family covering the family of Theodore Weis, who is the father of Michael Weis, who was mentioned in the Gonner Papers. In doing this research we have discovered that John and Peter were definitely not alone in this area. Many of their first cousins from Luxembourg were also in Jackson County, Iowa. Jane M. Miller can be contacted by email at irishrose@hotmail.com.

Occupations

In researching the Weis family, it can be noted that in addition to being farmers, the Weis men were very skilled in the craft of stone masonry. In checking the marriage records of the earlier generations, in addition to being stone masons, several worked with clothing, with occupations such as that of a linen weaver or tailor. Even though John Weis seems to be listed most as contracting to build limestone buildings throughout Jackson County, it is well known that many other Weis family members also assisted in erecting those buildings.