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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.
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 |
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.
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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.
Back to TopPapers 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.
Back to TopArrangement: 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.
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 103Folder 104Folder 105Folder 106Folder 107Folder 108Folder 109Folder 110Folder 111Folder 112Folder 113Folder 114Folder 115Folder 116Folder 117Folder 118Folder 119Folder 120Folder 121Folder 122Folder 123Folder 124Folder 125Folder 126Folder 127Folder 128 |
Papers of H. Weil & Bros. Farms #04696, Subseries: "2.3. H. Weil & Bros. Farms." Folder 103-128 |
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.
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 164Folder 165Folder 166Folder 167Folder 168Folder 169Folder 170Folder 171Folder 172Folder 173Folder 174Folder 175Folder 176Folder 177Folder 178Folder 179Folder 180Folder 181Folder 182Folder 183Folder 184Folder 185Folder 186Folder 187Folder 188Folder 189Folder 190Folder 191Folder 192Folder 193Folder 194Folder 195Folder 196Folder 197Folder 198Folder 199Folder 200Folder 201Folder 202Folder 203Folder 204Folder 205Folder 206Folder 207Folder 208Folder 209Folder 210 |
Real estate/lumber #04696, Subseries: "2.5. Real Estate/Lumber." Folder 164-210 |
Oversize Volume SV-4696/22 |
Volume 22: Rent ledger, 1930-1935 #04696, Subseries: "2.5. Real Estate/Lumber." SV-4696/22 |
Oversize Volume SV-4696/23 |
Volume 23: City rental ledger, 1935-1938 #04696, Subseries: "2.5. Real Estate/Lumber." SV-4696/23 |
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 211Folder 212Folder 213Folder 214Folder 215Folder 216Folder 217Folder 218Folder 219Folder 220Folder 221Folder 222Folder 223Folder 224Folder 225Folder 226Folder 227Folder 228Folder 229Folder 230Folder 231Folder 232Folder 233Folder 234Folder 235Folder 236Folder 237Folder 238Folder 239Folder 240Folder 241Folder 242Folder 243Folder 244Folder 245 |
Papers of Weil Employees' Trust Fund #04696, Subseries: "2.6. Weil Employees' Trust Fund." Folder 211-245 |
Image Folder P-4696/Folder 14 |
Photographs of citizenship award ceremonies, 1947-1954 #04696, Subseries: "2.6. Weil Employees' Trust Fund." P-4696/Folder 14 |
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 246Folder 247Folder 248Folder 249Folder 250 |
Papers of Wayne Foundation/Henry Weil Memorial Fund #04696, Subseries: "2.7. Wayne Foundation/Henry Weil Memorial Fund." Folder 246-250 |
Financial and other records of various companies.
Processed by: Lu Ann Jones, July 1994; Roslyn Holdzkom, October 1995
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, August 2010
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