Choose a link below:History of my Weil Family
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*** ATTENTION *** The information on this page concerns the descendents of my great-grandfather, Nasanel (Sam) Weil. It is not intended to be a history of the venerable Weil or Wohl families, of which my branch is probably just a small part. It is a family history published on the web primarily for the interest of my more immediate family, and the information is the best that I could find. I have only traced this branch to the mid 19th century. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at the address at the bottom of this page. Thank you. |
My branch of the Weil family originated near Dzikow, a small town in the area of the Austro-Hungarian empire known as Galicia. The town - also known as Tarnobrzeg - is located in present day Poland (50º 35' N, 21º 40' E). Meyer may have been a poultry broker. He had at least one son, Sanna Wahl around 1863. According to records from the town, the Wahl surname was fairly widespread.
Sanna married Yetta Abramowitz around 1883, and they had several children: Meyer (Matty), who was named after Sanna's father, and Rose, who was probably named after one of Yetta's parents.
In 1890, the family made the decision to come to New York. It was decided that Sanna would come first, and then Yetta with the children. Sanna traveled from Dzikow to Hamburg, Germany, where he took the steamship "Weimar" to Glasgow, Scotland. About two weeks later, Sanna embarked from Glasgow for New York on the "State of Georgia."
Yetta came about one year later in the summer of 1891. The family settled in New York City. Sam and Yetta had six more children who survived to adulthood: Harry, Bella, Sadie, Max, Abe (Albert), and Jack. The surname was changed to WEIL between 1910 and 1920. Sam made a living as a coat presser until he became too disabled to work any longer. Matty was involved as an actor in the early broadway stage. Harry was a successful businessman. Sadie worked in the publishing industry. Al was a championship roller skater, railroad detective, and antiques collector. Jack was a postal clerk.
Yetta Weil passed away in 1944, and Sam in 1954. They are buried in Queens, NY, alongside Max, Sadie, and Abe.
More than 110 years after Sanna Wahl arrived in New York, the Weil family has become quite widespread. Sam and Yetta's descendants live in New York, Ohio, Texas, California, Florida, Montana, Massachusetts, Arizona, Australia and New Zealand!
In my family, the name WEIL was originally WAHL. Sam Weil arrived in 1890 under the name "Zanne WAHL," and the name was WAHL in both the 1900 and 1910 Federal Censuses. However, by the 1920 Federal Census, the name had been changed to WEIL. Family legend has it that it was the idea of the eldest brother, Matty, to change the name. Matty, an actor, thought that WEIL looked better on a marquee - perhaps because "WAHL" sounded too Jewish.
Many people from Tarnobrzeg and Dzikow immigrated to the US. I've compiled a list of some of them based on the Ellis Island Database, and the One-Step Ellis Island Search Page. Click here to see the list.
Although he was known as Samuel Weil on US legal documents, Samuel's Hebrew name was "Natanel," the equivalent of "Nathaniel." However, the Yiddish pronunciation of this name is "Nasanel," which was shortened to "Sanel" or "Sana" as a nickname. This is why his name on the manifest of the "State of Georgia" in May 1890 is Zanne. In New York, Sanel became Samuel.
Many people who share the WAHL surname believe that they are descended from Saul Katznellenbogen-Wahl, who was King of Poland for One Day. I don't know if there is any credible link between this rabbinic dynasty and my family, but it is fun to imagine being related to such an established rabbinical family. Click here to read more about this legend.
What are the details of Yetta Weil's journey to New York? According to the citizenship papers of Sam and Matty Weil, Yetta immigrated in the summer of 1891 with Matty and most likely Rose. However, the dates are discrepant between the documents. Matty Weil's papers say that they embarked from Hamburg, but a search through the Hamburg Emigration Database, there is no record of the Wahl family. Matty Weil's daughter seemed to remember that Liverpool was the port of embarkation. Perhaps, like Sam Wahl, the family traveled to Britain from Hamburg, and then on to NYC from Liverpool. The next step is to get the proper microfilm an search for their record. Mystery Solved! Click here to see her immigration information!
What happened to the descendents of Meyer Abramowitz, Yetta Weil's brother? Yetta Weil had a brother (Meyer Abramowitz) and a sister (Rose Abrams nee Abramowitz) in New York. However, they were much younger (~20 years) than her, and may have been half siblings. I've found and contacted the descendents of Rose, but have not been able to find out what happened to Meyer's family.
The descendents of Sam Weil have always known that they were members of the Kohen or priestly 'tribe.' It says so on the Ketubot (marriage licence) of all of the men, and also on the cemetery markers of Sam Weil and all of his children. However, I have been told that the Wahl families in this area of Galicia were not Kohens, but instead Israelites. Did the Wahl family take it's surname from a female ancestor? I have been told that this was not uncommon in 19th century Poland. People would have religious marriages, but not civil marriages. That would explain how our Wahl family could be Kohens - the 'tribe' designation is taken from the father of the child. Other Wahl families descended from the area have had mixed family stories.
Yetta and Sam had another son in New York who did not survive to adulthood. Family legend has it that he died tragically when he ran into the street and was hit by a horse and wagon carrying beer. What was the name of this child, when was he born, and when did he pass away? Mystery Solved! His name was Moishe Wahl! Click here for more information!
Below is a list of many of the surnames associated with the Weil family. I've included the surnames of the descendents of Samuel Weil, the oldest direct ancestor of mine who lived in the United States.
First Generation: |
Wahl, Weil, Abramowitz |
Second Generation: |
Skurowitz, Forshner |
Third Generation: |
Schwartz, Paget, Josephberg, Goldstein, Cooper, Selig |
Fourth Generation |
Leader, Rositto, Zwerling, Schussler, Shiotani, Schwartz, Tejara, Zeltzer |
Fifth Generation |
Neumann, Ezer, Landrum, Loar, Ducar, Guttman |
Other names |
Densa |
To find out about the Weil family, I used a variety of sources - both on-line and real world.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) - New York Branch held the citizenship papers for Sam and Matty Weil.
ShtetLinks: Tarnobrzeg - Dzikow is a site filled with information about the village in Poland where the Weil family is from. Records on this site include the surname "WAHL" in several places. This site is hosted by JewishGen.org - an invaluable resource for Jewish Genealogy. Please support them.
Ancestry.com is a pay service that provides actually census images. They also have an index of Galician/Polish/Austrian immigrants from 1890 - including an entry for "Zanne Wahl"
The Hamburg "Link to Your Roots" Page is a for profit database of emigrants who embarked from Hamburg, Germany. There is an entry for Zanne Wahl.
I discovered some long-lost family members with the help of an index of California Vital Records and a Commercial People Finder.