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David Weiler Family Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25388

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains material about David Weiler and his family. An item-level list provided by the donor is found in folder 1. Genealogical materials include two pages of a handwritten family tree for Weiler's maternal side, the Wassermann family of Sulzburg; a privately-printed 1906 book, containing a genealogical narrative of the Wassermann family of Harburg (Schwaben) and Sulzburg; and a 1935 letter to David Weiler from J. Spanier, about the Weiskopf family of Fischach. David and Bina Weiler materials include David's World War One military passport, travel and citizenship documents and correspondence about emigration to Palestine, and a letter about a 1962 alumni meeting of Wirceburgia, a student fraternity. Herbert and Agnes Wolf documents include a marriage certificate and ketubah. Herbert Wolf's identification cards, and copy of his birth certificate, are also found in the collection. Photographs include the Weiler family in Nahariyah; David Weiler's World One service, including an aerial reconnaissance shot; portraits of David Weiler, alone and together with his wife Bina; and a group photo of the Wirceburgia meeting in 1962. The collection also contains a few publications, such as newspaper articles, brochures, and magazines. They are mostly Zionist, from Palestine in the 1930s. There is also one article about David Weiler from a local New Paltz, NY paper.

The collection also contains translations of Hebrew poems into German by Paul Engelmann, who was best known as an architect. These include a handwritten booklet of poems entitled "Rachel," of unclear authorship; and poems by Chaim Nachman Bialik, including a clipping of "An Achad Haam" and a mixed typescript and manuscript translation of the poem "Der Matmid" (Hamatmid; The Talmud Student).

Dates

  • Creation: 1906-1962

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in English and German, with some Hebrew.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

Biographical Note

David Weiler was born in 1884 in Noerdlingen, Germany. He was a lawyer and an accomplished musician, both as a composer and as a pianist and accordion player. After serving in the German Army as a zeppelin pilot during World War I, he became a lawyer in Munich. He and his wife Jakobine (Bina), née Wassermann, had a daughter, Agnes Matilde, in 1918. In 1936 the family emigrated to Palestine, where they ran a chicken farm in Nahariyah. In 1938, Agnes Weiler married Herbert Wolf (b. 1913). In 1948, the whole family immigrated to the United States and became farmers in New Paltz, NY.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box) and 1 oversize folder (OS 148)

Abstract

This collection contains material about David Weiler and his family, including vital documents and photographs. It also contains translations by Paul Engelmann of Hebrew poems into German.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Related Material

Two memoirs by David Weiler's daughter, Agnes Weiler Wolf, are held by LBI and have been digitized: Notes from an extinct species, 1855-1936 (ME 910) and Shalom, Chaverim, 1936-1988 (ME 1108).

Separated Material

A Hebrew language textbook and a ‘Torah for children’ (Hebrew) were removed to the LBI Library.

Processing Information

Materials were reordered. Yellow sticky notes with numbers relating to the item-level list were removed; documents can be easily identified by their description. Photographs were rehoused in envelopes, and the sticky note numbers are recorded on the envelopes.

Title
Guide to the David Weiler Family Collection undated, 1906-1962 AR 25388
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Kevin Schlottmann
Date
© 2012
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation

Revision Statements

  • May 22, 2014 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
  • March 10, 2017:: Biographical Note edited to correct birth year.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States