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Collection Number: 04696

Collection Title: Weil Family Papers, 1860s-1983

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 22.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 6,000 items)
Abstract Weil family members included Herman Weil (1842-1914), who emigrated from Stuttgart, Germany, in 1858, and brothers Henry (d. 1878) and Solomon (1860-1914). In 1865, the brothers formed H. Weil & Bros., which operated a store in Goldsboro, N.C. Joe Rosenthal (d. 1927), Henry's brother-in-law, joined the firm in 1892, and, in 1910, Henry's son Leslie (d. 1943) and Sol's son Lionel (1877-1948) entered the family businesses, which included the store, a brick yard, and an ice plant. In 1930, agriculturalist G. Frank Seymour was added to the firm, and, in 1932, Weil Fertilizer Works was started to market plant hormones and other compounds that Frank and Lionel developed. In 1941, Leslie's sons Abram and Henry and Lionel's son Lionel S. became partners. In 1942, the partners established the Weil Employees' Trust Fund, a profit sharing plan. When the Weil Deparment Store burned in 1948, brother Herman Weil (1882-1961) was instrumental in rebuilding the facility. Members of the Weil family were active in the University of North Carolina System, Goldsboro community affairs, and in Jewish life in North Carolina and the nation. Papers document the activities, circa 1865-1982, of businesses owned by the Weil family, including H. Weil & Bros.; Weil's Inc., the department store; fertilizer, building, real estate, lumber, transportation, oil, farming, banking, and other enterprises; the Weil Employees' Trust Fund; and the Wayne Foundation. Also included are family papers, circa 1893-1968, most relating to Leslie and Hilda Einstein Weil, who married in 1900; Leslie's mother Mina (d. 1941); and their children Abram, Hilda, Henry, Margaret, and Marian. Many letters in the 1890s detail Leslie's experiences as a student at UNC to Hilda in New York City, Chicago, and other locations. Some letters relate to UNC affairs, particularly in the 1930s during the first consolidation of the University and, in 1941, when Leslie, on the Board of Trustees, received an honorary degree. Also included are some materials relating to Jewish activities; a few household account and commonplace books; genealogical materials; and pictures of Weil family members and their businesses. There are only a few items that relate to Leslie's sister Gertrude Weil (1879-1971), women's suffrage and social welfare activist.
Creator Weil (Family : Goldsboro, N.C.)
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
Materials roughly sorted, but usable.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Weil Family Papers #4696, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Louis and Allen Weil, Goldsboro, N.C., in May 1994 (Acc 94069). Addition received from Elizabeth M. Fisher in September 2022 (20220930.4).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Lu Ann Jones, July 1994; Roslyn Holdzkom, October 1995

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, August 2010; Davia Webb and Laura Smith, October 2023

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Weil family members included Herman Weil (1842-1914), who emigrated from Stuttgart, Germany, in 1858, and brothers Henry (d. 1878) and Solomon (1860-1914). In 1865, the brothers formed H. Weil & Bros., which operated a store in Goldsboro, N.C. Joe Rosenthal (d. 1927), Henry's brother-in-law, joined the firm in 1892, and, in 1910, Henry's son Leslie (d. 1943) and Sol's son Lionel (1877-1948) entered the family businesses, which included the store, a brick yard, and an ice plant. In 1930, agriculturalist G. Frank Seymour was added to the firm, and, in 1932, Weil Fertilizer Works was started to market plant hormones and other compounds that Frank and Lionel developed. In 1941, Leslie's sons Abram and Henry and Lionel's son Lionel S. became partners. In 1942, the partners established the Weil Employees' Trust Fund, a profit sharing plan. When the Weil Deparment Store burned in 1948, brother Herman Weil (1882-1961) was instrumental in rebuilding the facility. Members of the Weil family were active in the University of North Carolina System, Goldsboro community affairs, and in Jewish life in North Carolina and the nation.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Papers document the activities, circa 1865-1982, of businesses owned by the Weil family, including H. Weil & Bros.; Weil's Inc., the department store; fertilizer, building, real estate, lumber, transportation, oil, farming, banking, and other enterprises; the Weil Employees' Trust Fund; and the Wayne Foundation. Also included are family papers, circa 1893-1968, most relating to Leslie and Hilda Einstein Weil, who married in 1900; Leslie's mother Mina (d. 1941); and their children Abram, Hilda, Henry, Margaret, and Marian. Many letters in the 1890s detail Leslie's experiences as a student at UNC to Hilda in New York City, Chicago, and other locations. Some letters relate to UNC affairs, particularly in the 1930s during the first consolidation of the University and, in 1941, when Leslie, on the Board of Trustees, received an honorary degree. Also included are some materials relating to Jewish activities; a few household account and commonplace books; genealogical materials; and pictures of Weil family members and their businesses. There are only a few items that relate to Leslie's sister Gertrude Weil (1879-1971), women's suffrage and social welfare activist.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Family Materials, 1864-1970s and undated.

About 3.0 linear feet.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1. Correspondence and Related Materials, 1864-1970s and undated.

About 1.5 linear feet.

Arrangement: roughly chronological.

Letters in the 1860s and 1870s are chiefly among Weil family brothers, particularly Herman and Sol, some mentioning the health of H. Weil & Bros., Wholesale and Retail Merchants. Also included are a few letters of Hilda Einstein Weil's family. There are no items relating to Herman's service in the Confederate Army.

In the 1890s, most letters are from Leslie Weil at the University of North Carolina to his future wife Hilda Einstein in New York City, Chicago, and other locations. These letters present a fairly detailed description of student life at the school, including fraternity, academic, and sporting activities. Letters in the late 1890s, show that Leslie was either in Goldsboro with H. Weil & Bros. or traveling in Europe. Some letters include references to Jewish activities.

Leslie and Hilda married in 1900. In the 1900s-1910s, many letters are from Leslie on merchandise buying trips to New York and other cities to Hilda in Goldsboro. Other letters relate to travels of Leslie's mother Mina Weil or to routine family matters. There is little mention of World War I. In the 1920s and 1930s, there are letters of Leslie and Hilda's children: Henry at camp and Abram at UNC in the early 1920s; Margaret at school in the late 1920s; Marian living in Boston in the late 1930s; Hilda married to Robert L. Wallerstein and living in Richmond, Va. Also in the 1930s, here are a few letters relating to consolidation of the University of North Carolina.

In the 1940s, some materials relate to Leslie's receiving an honorary degree from UNC in 1941 and to Mina's death in the same year. There is little mention of World War II. In the 1950s-1970s, many items relate to Abram, then involved in the family businesses, and to Goldsboro community activities. Undated materials are generally routine family items.

Folder 1

1864-1889

Folder 2-5

Folder 2

Folder 3

Folder 4

Folder 5

1890s

Folder 6-7

Folder 6

Folder 7

1900s

Folder 8-9

Folder 8

Folder 9

1910s

Folder 10-13

Folder 10

Folder 11

Folder 12

Folder 13

1920s

Folder 14-17

Folder 14

Folder 15

Folder 16

Folder 17

1930s

Folder 18-21

Folder 18

Folder 19

Folder 20

Folder 21

1940s

Folder 22

1950s

Folder 23

1960s

Folder 24

1970s

Folder 25-27

Folder 25

Folder 26

Folder 27

Undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2. Other Family Materials, 1860s-1970s and undated.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2A. Other Family Materials, 1890-1904 (Addition of September 2022)

Acquisitions Information: Acc. 20220930.4.

Folder 261

Herman Weil book list

A book received by Herman Weil when he was 8 years old where he recorded books he read. Inside the front cover, he wrote a UNC address: H Weil, #34 Carr Building, Univ. of N.C.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.3. Family Pictures

About 135 items.

Photographs and a few tintypes of family members and other people and a few scenes. Most images are unidentified; they are chiefly from the late 19th or early 20th century. Some images were removed from a deteriorated photograph album.

Image Folder PF-4696/1

Women: individuals

About 35 photographs.

Image Folder PF-4696/2

Women: groups

About 10 photographs.

Image Folder PF-4696/3

Men: individuals

About 35 photographs.

Image Folder PF-4696/4

Men: groups

Two photographs.

Image Folder PF-4696/5

Children: individuals

About 25 photographs.

Image Folder PF-4696/6

Children: groups

About 10 photographs.

Image Folder PF-4696/7

Mixed groups

About 10 photographs.

Image Folder PF-4696/8

Scenes

Four photographs, including one of a wooded area in Goldsboro, 1928, and a postcard of Elizabethton, Tenn.

Special Format Image SF-P-4696/1

Tintypes

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Business Materials, 1860s-1980s.

19.5 linear feet.

Arrangement: Roughly sorted by company/activity.

Note that all Weil family business enterprises are interconnected. It is, therefore, likely that materials relating to particular ventures may be found in several series (e.g., in the H. Weil & Bros. files or in the miscellaneous files in subseries 2.8). All materials are roughly sorted by the principal company/activity to which they pertain.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. H. Weil & Bros.

About 3.0 linear feet.

Partnership agreements, financial statements, audit reports, and other materials. Note that it is likely that papers relating to other family ventures are filed with these papers, since H. Weil & Bros. was the umbrella company over many Weil family businesses.

Folder 44-77

Folder 44

Folder 45

Folder 46

Folder 47

Folder 48

Folder 49

Folder 50

Folder 51

Folder 52

Folder 53

Folder 54

Folder 55

Folder 56

Folder 57

Folder 58

Folder 59

Folder 60

Folder 61

Folder 62

Folder 63

Folder 64

Folder 65

Folder 66

Folder 67

Folder 68

Folder 69

Folder 70

Folder 71

Folder 72

Folder 73

Folder 74

Folder 75

Folder 76

Folder 77

Papers of H. Weil & Bros.

Oversize Volume SV-4696/1

Volume 1: Original ledger, 1865

Oversize Volume SV-4696/2

Volume 2: Trial balance book, 1924-1933

Oversize Volume SV-4696/3

Volume 3: Ledger, 1924-1926

Oversize Volume SV-4696/4

Volume 4: Ledger, 1929-1932

Oversize Volume SV-4696/5

Volume 5: Ledger, 1930-1933

Oversize Volume SV-4696/6

Volume 6: Ledger, 1934-1937

Oversize Volume SV-4696/7

Volume 7: Trial balance, 1934

Oversize Volume SV-4696/8

Volume 8: Monthly journal, 1936-1940

Oversize Volume SV-4696/9

Volume 9: Lionel Weil drawing account, etc., 1936-1942

Oversize Volume SV-4696/10

Volume 10: Monthly journal, 1947-1959

Oversize Volume SV-4696/11

Volume 11: Cash journal, 1964-1978

Oversize Volume SV-4696/12

Volume 12: Gross profit book, 1967-1980

Oversize Volume SV-4696/13

Volume 13: Journal vouchers, 1968-1981

Oversize Volume SV-4696/14

Volume 14: Cash journal, 1983-1984

See also SV-4696/16.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Weil's, Inc.

About 3.0 linear feet.

Financial statements, pictures, promotional materials, and other items relating to Weil's, a departmental store in Goldsboro. Promotional materials include a 10-episode radio script entitled "Romance of Goldsboro"; complimentary publications for customers; store window displays; letters and publicity surrounding the 1948 fire that destroyed the store and its 1949 reopening; and store centennial celebration materials, including invitations and letters of congratulations.

Folder 78-101

Folder 78

Folder 79

Folder 80

Folder 81

Folder 82

Folder 83

Folder 84

Folder 85

Folder 86

Folder 87

Folder 88

Folder 89

Folder 90

Folder 91

Folder 92

Folder 93

Folder 94

Folder 95

Folder 96

Folder 97

Folder 98

Folder 99

Folder 100

Folder 101

Papers of Weil's, Inc.

Oversize Volume SV-4696/15

Volume 15: Ledger, 1935-1936

Oversize Volume SV-4696/16

Volume 16: Trial balance book, 1924-1933 (also contains W. Weil & Bros. information)

Oversize Volume SV-4696/17

Volume 17: Monthly journal, 1949-1960

Oversize Volume SV-4696/18

Volume 18: Ledger, 1962-1983

Oversize Volume SV-4696/19

Volume 19: Merchandise purchase journal, 1983-1985

Image Folder PF-4696/9-12

PF-4696/9

PF-4696/10

PF-4696/11

PF-4696/12

About 100 photographs, chiefly of store scenes

Audiodisc D-4696/1

"Weil's in Goldsboro," LP recording of announcements, 1952

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. H. Weil & Bros. Farms.

About 3.0 linear feet.

Legal documents for land transactions since the 1890s; real estate mortgages, many for farm property obtained by foreclosure during the 1930s; memoranda regarding running the farm enterprises of the Weil family; correspondence regarding crop allotments; and invoices documenting expenses, 1980s. (See also farm property in Subseries 2.5.)

Folder 103-128

Folder 103

Folder 104

Folder 105

Folder 106

Folder 107

Folder 108

Folder 109

Folder 110

Folder 111

Folder 112

Folder 113

Folder 114

Folder 115

Folder 116

Folder 117

Folder 118

Folder 119

Folder 120

Folder 121

Folder 122

Folder 123

Folder 124

Folder 125

Folder 126

Folder 127

Folder 128

Papers of H. Weil & Bros. Farms

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.4. Weil's Fertilizer Works/Dixie Chemical.

About 3.0 linear feet.

Weil's Fertilizer Works merged to form Dixie Chemical Corporation in 1968. There are also some records relating to Strickland Farm Chemical Center, Inc. Materials include applications for patents for Weil's Fertilizer, records of Lionel Weil's fertilizer development and testing, promotional materials, and photographs of test plots.

Folder 129-163

Folder 129

Folder 130

Folder 131

Folder 132

Folder 133

Folder 134

Folder 135

Folder 136

Folder 137

Folder 138

Folder 139

Folder 140

Folder 141

Folder 142

Folder 143

Folder 144

Folder 145

Folder 146

Folder 147

Folder 148

Folder 149

Folder 150

Folder 151

Folder 152

Folder 153

Folder 154

Folder 155

Folder 156

Folder 157

Folder 158

Folder 159

Folder 160

Folder 161

Folder 162

Folder 163

Papers of Weil's Fertilizer Works/Dixie Chemical

Oversize Volume SV-4696/20

Volume 20: Ledger, 1948-1961 (note that ledger, 1966-1968 is filed in folder 162)

Oversize Volume SV-4696/21

Volume 21: Ledger, 1961-1965

Image Folder PF-4696/13

About 15 photographs of crops and employees

Film F-4696/1-8

F-4696/1

F-4696/2

F-4696/3

F-4696/4

F-4696/5

F-4696/6

F-4696/7

F-4696/8

16-mm films, apparently of crops and related subjects

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.5. Real Estate/Lumber.

About 3.0 linear feet.

Documents dealing with town lots, rental property, farm property, and real estate deals. Included are records relating to Dev Corporation and the Goldsboro Land Improvement Company. There are also materials relating to lumber bought and sold and to woodland management. Note that many deeds/mortgages are bundled as received.

Folder 164-210

Folder 164

Folder 165

Folder 166

Folder 167

Folder 168

Folder 169

Folder 170

Folder 171

Folder 172

Folder 173

Folder 174

Folder 175

Folder 176

Folder 177

Folder 178

Folder 179

Folder 180

Folder 181

Folder 182

Folder 183

Folder 184

Folder 185

Folder 186

Folder 187

Folder 188

Folder 189

Folder 190

Folder 191

Folder 192

Folder 193

Folder 194

Folder 195

Folder 196

Folder 197

Folder 198

Folder 199

Folder 200

Folder 201

Folder 202

Folder 203

Folder 204

Folder 205

Folder 206

Folder 207

Folder 208

Folder 209

Folder 210

Real estate/lumber

Oversize Volume SV-4696/22

Volume 22: Rent ledger, 1930-1935

Oversize Volume SV-4696/23

Volume 23: City rental ledger, 1935-1938

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.6. Weil Employees' Trust Fund.

About 2.0 linear feet.

Incorporation papers, 1942-1968; employee publications explaining profit-sharing plan; financial statements, 1968-1979; bank statements; investment statements; and other materials.

Folder 211-245

Folder 211

Folder 212

Folder 213

Folder 214

Folder 215

Folder 216

Folder 217

Folder 218

Folder 219

Folder 220

Folder 221

Folder 222

Folder 223

Folder 224

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Folder 228

Folder 229

Folder 230

Folder 231

Folder 232

Folder 233

Folder 234

Folder 235

Folder 236

Folder 237

Folder 238

Folder 239

Folder 240

Folder 241

Folder 242

Folder 243

Folder 244

Folder 245

Papers of Weil Employees' Trust Fund

Image Folder P-4696/Folder 14

Photographs of citizenship award ceremonies, 1947-1954

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.7. Wayne Foundation/Henry Weil Memorial Fund.

About 1.0 linear feet.

A few journals and investment statements, 1920s-1960s, relating to the Weil family foundation and to the family trust fund, which appear to have made small gifts to children's homes, hospitals, Jewish organizations, and various colleges and clubs.

Folder 246-250

Folder 246

Folder 247

Folder 248

Folder 249

Folder 250

Papers of Wayne Foundation/Henry Weil Memorial Fund

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.8. Other Businesses.

About 1.5 linear feet.

Financial and other records of various companies.

Folder 251

Amaid, Inc. (building contractors)

Folder 252

Goldsboro Warehouse Company

Folder 253

Jet Corporation

Folder 254

Regency of Dunn Corporation (motel)

Folder 255

Wayne Grain Company

Folder 256-257

Folder 256

Folder 257

Weil Building Corporation

Folder 258

Weil-Creech Oil Company

Folder 259-260

Folder 259

Folder 260

Miscellaneous, including payroll summaries for various companies

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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