I call some the Frohna Weber’s, some the Altenburg Weber’s, some The Ridge Weber’s, and even some the Boat Weber’s (who came in the original immigration in 1839). I did not expect to find some Uniontown Weber’s, but the Weber couple you will read about today is one that ended up living in the Uniontown area and were members of Grace Lutheran Church in that town. Let’s start with the Weber groom.

Friedrich Benjamin Weber was born on January 13, 1879, the son of Herman and Paulina (Braeutigam) Weber. His mother sometimes used the surname, Schroeder, because she was raised in a Schroeder household. Benjamin was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at the baptism record for him below.

Benjamin is found as a youngster in the 1880 census

Benjamin’s family included some possibly scandalous events. First, one event was not scandalous. His father died when Benjamin was just one year old. You could say that Benjamin was the 10th and final child born to his parents. However, in 1885, our German Family Tree says there was an illegitimate stillborn child that had Paulina as its mother. No name is given for a father. Then, in 1886, Paulina married again. Her second husband was George Gentil, and Paulina and he had a daughter named Ida. Then in 1887, Paulina died, leaving Benjamin as an orphan. Our GFT says Paulina died of an accident, but I understand that there are some court records (which I have not actually seen) that indicate that George Gentil was accused of murdering his wife, but he was acquitted.

When the 1900 census was taken, we find Benjamin Weber living in the Union Township with Joseph and Emma Bock and their only daughter, Pauline. Benjamin was 21 years old and was called adopted. This explains how Benjamin first became a Uniontown Weber.

Next, we will take a look at Benjamin’s bride. She, too had what I would call an unusual family history, at least by the standards of typical Perry County families. Her name was Frieda Herring, who was born on April 7, 1886, making today her 136th birthday. Frieda was the daughter of William and Louise (Bingenheimer) Herring. William had some early history in Altenburg prior to his marriage. In the 1870 census, he was living in the household of my great grandfather, Gottwerth Schmidt. William and Louise were married at Grace, Uniontown, and then Frieda was their first child. Our German Family Tree does not indicate a baptism record for her in any local churches. However, a later child in this family is found in the Friedenberg Remembrances book in which it says that child was baptized there. Perhaps Frieda was baptized there also. It appears that sometime after Frieda was born, the Herring family became members of Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. That is where Frieda was confirmed in 1900 on the day after her 14th birthday. It is not often that I see a family with missing baptism records from local churches that later have all their confirmation records present. The 1900 census is the only one in which we find Frieda as a single woman. Frieda’s mother died earlier in 1900, so she does not appear in this entry.

Benjamin Weber married Frieda Herring on April 7, 1907, which was also Frieda’s 21st birthday. That makes today this couple’s 115th wedding anniversary. These two were married at Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown. We can view this pair’s church record here.

The marriage license for this couple is shown below.

A photo was taken on the occasion of this wedding.

Our German Family Tree includes 6 children born to Benjamin and Frieda, all of which lived to adulthood, and all of which were baptized at Grace, Uniontown. We find the Weber household in the 1910 census with 2 children. Also included is Emma Bock, who is called Benjamin’s stepmother. I don’t think that term is accurate.

I figure it was about this time that a photo was taken of this Weber family. There were only 3 children in the picture.

Next, we find the Weber’s in the 1920 census, which was enumerated right before the birth of their last child that year. Once again, Emma Bock is included. This time, she is described as a foster mother.

The last census in which we find Benjamin was the one taken in 1930. Benjamin was a farmer all his life. A few of his sons were helping him on his farm.

Benjamin Weber died in 1931 at the age of 52. Stomach cancer is given as his cause of death on his death certificate.

Frieda is found in a few more census entries. In the 1940 census, we see Frieda as the head of the household and two sons in their 20’s laboring on the farm.

In the 1950 census, Frieda was living with her son, Rudolph, and his family. Frieda’s occupation is given as gardening. That’s not an occupation I’ve seen in a census before. I’ve seen a few that say “gardener”, but not gardening.

Frieda Weber died in 1964 at the age of 77. We can also view her death certificate.

Both Benjamin and Frieda Weber are buried in the Grace Lutheran Cemetery. That church has 3 locations for its graves…older ones called the upper and middle cemeteries…and the most recent one located right behind their church building. Benjamin was buried in the upper cemetery, while Frieda is found in the most recent one.

I really don’t know what to call the clan of Weber’s from which Benjamin came. He had siblings and their descendants with church records in Frohna, Altenburg, Pocahontas, and even Jacob, Illinois. They are found all over the place. In the case of Grace, Uniontown, there are only 5 grave sites in their cemeteries that include the name, Weber, and all of them originated from Benjamin and Frieda’s family.