Brumley Family Branches

This blog post is dedicated to my cousin Tim Weik a member of the Stephenson County, Illinois Historical Society

Tracing German Immigrants: The Weik Family Journey

Gertrude Huber and Jacob Weik are my great-great-grandparents, they were immigrants from Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Gertrude Huber and Jacob Weik were married on the third day of May 1837, in Mannheim, Baden, Morbihan, Bretagne, France.

In the 1850’s almost one million Germans immigrated to America. In 1854 there were 215,000 Germans that arrived in this country. Between 1845-1855 Germans fled to America to settle in the Midwest. They wanted to escape economic hardships and political unrest caused by riots and rebellion.

Jacob and Gertrude arrived in America in 1854. They brought their family with them. Their children are Edward Albert (1837-1913), Franz Wilhelm (1838-1908), Otto (1840-1913), Eva Katharina (1843-1916), Louis (1846-1923), Verena Susanna Weik (1847-?), Richard Weik (1849-1905 and John Edward (my great-grandfather 1853-1927).

Jacob and his family left Karlsruhe, Germany when all the unrest was taking place in Baden, Germany. In summer of 1849, Prince William entered Karlsruhe. At the end of the month the members of the provisional government, who had taken refuge at Freiburg, dispersed. The insurgent leaders who were caught, notably the ex-officers, suffered military execution. The army was dispersed among Prussian garrison towns, and Prussian troops occupied Baden for a time. In the next month’s more than 80,000 people left Baden for America. Many of these migrants would later join in the American Civil War as abolitionists and union soldiers.

It is easy to see why Jacob and Gertrude left their home country. They wanted to seek a better life for themselves and for their children. Edward Albert enlisted as a First Lieutenant with Company C Illinois 46th Infantry in 1861. Frank Weik enlisted with the 11th Illinois Cavalry in 1865. Otto Weik was drafted into the Civil War sometime in 1863. Louis Weik served as a Private in Company C 46th Infantry in 1864. His oldest sons fought for this country as Union soldiers. They survived and lived successful lives as citizens of the United States of America and Freeport, Stephenson, Illinois. They were immigrants from another country but wanted to call America home.

We hear many people talk about immigrants coming into this country today. I always think about Jacob, Gertrude, and their children. They too, were leaving their home country to seek a better life. If they had not come to this country so long ago, I would not be writing a blog post. I would not be enjoying the freedoms I do today.

I am aware not everyone knows family genealogy; they do not even care to know about such things. Still, the way I see it, we all are immigrants from somewhere else. Either by us, or relatives of long ago who made the decision to come to America. I am a person from immigrants.

Jacob Weik died January 11, 1876, in Freeport, Stephenson, Illinois at the age of sixty-two years old. He is buried in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Freeport. Gertrude Huber died on November 21, 1878, and is also buried in St. Joseph Cemetery. She was sixty-five years old at the time of her death.

In the local German newspaper called the Deutscher Anzeiger I discovered Jacob’s obituary and translated it from German to English.

Jacob Weik

On the 11th of March at 5:00 pm in the 3rd block of the St. James Parish in Boehning, St. James County was born Jakob Weik a farmer in Harlem Township, Stephenson County. He was sixty-eight years old and was born in Netsch, Schweringen District, Grand Duchy of Baden in Germany. When twenty-five, he married Gertrude, nee Huber, who is now a grieving widow. She bore him ten children. Six sons and two daughters are still alive. In 1854, he left his old homeland with his wife. They settled in the above-mentioned Township. He remained an industrious and skilled farmer until about two years ago. Then he moved to Freeport. As early as last Autumn, he often complained of feeling unwell. For about four weeks, he had not managed to leave his bed. Only death could release him from his painful suffering. On Thursday the thirteenth, his body was buried according to the rites of the Catholic Church. His family and a large number of friends will keep an honorable memory of him.

Public Thanks

To all acquaintances and friends of our late husband and father, we express our heartfelt gratitude. Thank you for accompanying his body to the grave today and for showing honor to the deceased. We kindly ask that you preserve a friendly memory of him.

Gertrude Weik, nee Huber, widow

Edward Weik

Franz Weik

Otto Weik

Katharina Weik, associate of the Strohacker (married to)

Louis Weik

Suzanna Weik, deceased

Richard Weik

John Weik (my great-great grandfather)

Freeport, on January 13, 1876

Tim Weik is my second cousin once removed. We meant for the first time several years ago in Freeport, Illinois. Many years before that meeting, my mother, Nancy Gertrude Brumley Weik, started corresponding with his aunt. Her name was Doris Arline Weik (1927-2015). There were a few letters exchanged. Still, there was never a clear sign that she was related to my father, Merle Otto Weik.

Time went on and my mother passed in 2004 with no real connection to Doris Arline Weik. All of my mother’s genealogy files went to me since we were working together on the Weik family genealogy. I looked at the paperwork of our joint research of the Weik family in Freeport, Illinois and kept the correspondence.

One day I received communication from Tim. He had been going through his aunt’s things after her passing. Tim came across the correspondence that took place so many years before with Doris. And as they say the “rest was history”!

I wanted to meet Tim and to see my great-grandparents grave and surrounding areas of Freeport. He is also a member of the Stephenson County, Illinois Historical Society. I was given the royal treatment by being escorted by Tim. I had the pleasure of touring the Historical Society house and seeing Freeport for the first time. He even pointed out what was probably their farm area in the county.

In 2024, Tim took on the task of restoring Jacob and Gertrude’s tombstones. They were embedded deep in the ground and barely visible. As the pictures below show Jacob’s tombstone was reset but Gertrude’s was not because it was in pieces. So, they did a monument plate over her tombstone.

This was no small project to take on. I’m sure that the cemetery granted permissions to do this work. I am so grateful to Tim Weik and his family members for recognizing the importance of our relatives in this way. Immigrants from Germany that wanted to come to America. They aimed to raise a family and farm the land. They also aspired to become citizens of the United States. I can only imagine Tim’s feelings as he was doing this project.

Again, I thank Tim Weik for this completed project of our relatives – Jacob and Gertrude Weik.

Thank you for reading this blog post. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2025!