Frederick Wegley

• Born: About 1843, Shade Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
• Died: June 27, 1889, Indiana County, Pennsylvania
• Relationship: My second great-granduncle

Frederick Wegley was my second great-granduncle and one of the sons of Joseph William Wegley and Eve Berkebile. He was born around 1843 or 1844 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, when the Wegley family was still concentrated in the part of the state where earlier generations had lived for decades.

The 1850 United States census provides one of the earliest records of Frederick as a child. He was recorded as six years old and living in Shade Township with his parents, several brothers and sisters, and his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Berkebile. The census evidence in my current family research supports at least nine children of Joseph and Eve, although earlier family histories and online family trees list more.

Parents

Frederick’s father, Joseph William Wegley, was born on October 14, 1802, in Brothers Valley Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. His mother, Eve Berkebile, was born on December 20, 1811.

Joseph and Eve remained in Somerset County through at least 1860 before moving north to McKean County sometime between 1860 and 1864. Frederick, however, was already beginning his own adult life and remained associated with western Pennsylvania rather than following his parents permanently to the Kane area.

Marriage to Sarah Jane Shaffer

On September 16, 1861, Frederick married Sarah Jane Shaffer in White Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Frederick was only about seventeen or eighteen years old at the time.

Frederick and Sarah had five children presently identified in my family records:

• Elmer R. Wegley
• Clara Caroline Wegley
• William D. Wegley
• R. Bella Wegley
• Jonathan Wegley

Sarah appears to have died sometime around 1870, after the birth of their youngest child. I have not yet located sufficiently strong documentation establishing her exact date or circumstances of death, so that date should remain approximate.

We know that Fred’s son Elmer died on October 31, 1917 because we have his death certificate. But it also gives us other valuable information about the family.

Field	Information
Full name	Elmer R. Wegley
Sex	Male
Race	White
Marital status	Married
Date of birth	January 3, 1862
Date of death	October 29, 1917
Age at death	55 years, 9 months, 26 days
Place of death	Latrobe, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Street address	Appears to be 429 Weldon Street
Occupation	Carpenter
Birthplace	Indiana County, Pennsylvania
Father	Fred Wegley
Father’s birthplace	Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Mother	Surname appears as Shaffer
Mother’s birthplace	Pennsylvania
Informant	Mrs. Jennie Wegley, Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Cause of death	Acute bronchitis
Contributory cause	La grippe
Date of burial	October 31, 1917
Place of burial	Appears to read Unity

A Second Marriage

After Sarah’s death, Frederick married again. On August 20, 1872, he married a woman identified in family records as Magdalene, sometimes called Maggie.

Frederick and Magdalene (Maggie) had at least three children:

• Jettie Wegley, born 1873
• Grace Wegley, born 1879
• Blaine Johnson Wegley, born 1881

Between his two marriages, Frederick therefore had at least eight children presently identified in my research. His large family continued another branch of the Wegley name in western Pennsylvania while his parents and younger brother John Wesley became associated with McKean County farther north.

I have a copy of Blaine Wegley’s death certificate, which shows Frederick Wegley as his father. This kind of government document is great for verifying data and family members.

This death certificate tells us more than the person’s name. It also shows that Fred’s son, Blaine, worked as a production manager at Duncan-Miller Glass Company in Washington. Since he died at age 69, it’s likely he retired from that job.

The interesting part is that my grandfather (Raymond Wegley), his wife Elsie, and even my mother worked at Barlet Collins Glass Company in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Coincidence? Perhaps. But interesting nonetheless.

Field	Information
Full name	Blaine Johnson Wegley
Sex	Male
Race	White
Marital status	Married
Date of birth	February 23, 1881
Date of death	March 7, 1950
Age at death	69 years
Place of death	Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Address	28 East Hallam Avenue, Washington, Pennsylvania
Usual residence	Same address, 28 East Hallam Avenue
Occupation	Production Pro. Manager
Employer/industry	Duncan-Miller Glass Company
Birthplace	Indiana, Pennsylvania
Father	Frederick Wegley
Mother’s maiden name	Maggie Johnson
Citizenship	U.S.A.
U.S. Armed Forces service	No
Informant	Mrs. Blaine J. Wegley
Cause of death	Cerebral thrombosis
Underlying cause	Prolonged bed confinement
Underlying injury	Fractured cervical vertebrae
Place of injury	Home, Washington, Pennsylvania
Type of injury	Accident
Date of injury	October 21, 1949
Time of injury	2:30 p.m. EST
How injury occurred	“Fell headlong down the stairs from the 1st to the 2nd floor”
Autopsy	No
Burial date	March 10, 1950
Burial place	Washington Cemetery, Washington, Pennsylvania

Another great legal document I found verifying Blaine was Fred’s child was Blaine’s marriage license. One more piece of the puzzle.

Field	Information
Groom	Blaine J. Wegley
Bride	Pearl Evey
Marriage license no.	1882
Relationship between parties	None
Age of groom	20 years
Age of bride	18 years
Residence of groom	Indiana, Pennsylvania
Residence of bride	Indiana, Pennsylvania
Groom’s parents	Fred and Maggie Wegley
Bride’s parents	Appears to read John and Lou. Evey
Race	White
Groom’s occupation	Glass worker
Parental consent	Filed for both parties
Application date	February 25, 1901
License issued	February 25, 1901
Marriage date	February 25, 1901
Marriage place	Indiana, Pennsylvania
Officiant	Lewis S. Hay, Minister of the Gospel
Certificate returned	February 26, 1901

Death in 1889

Frederick Wegley died on June 27, 1889, in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He was approximately forty-five or forty-six years old.

A probate proceeding dated July 1, 1889, only four days after his reported death, provides additional evidence that Frederick had died by that date. Probate was the legal process through which his estate could be administered, debts settled, property accounted for, and any remaining assets distributed to the people legally entitled to inherit them.

I previously had an automated analysis of this probate document that attempted to identify several possible heirs from the handwriting. I no longer consider those identifications reliable enough to present as fact, so I removed them until the original document can be carefully transcribed and the names independently verified.

Frederick’s Place in the Wegley Family

Frederick belonged to a generation in which the Wegley family was beginning to spread beyond its old Somerset County center. His father, Joseph, was born in Brothersvalley in 1802, but by the 1860s Joseph and Eve had moved north toward Kane, while Frederick established his own family in western Pennsylvania.

Frederick’s surviving records give us details that are easy to overlook in a traditional family tree. He married twice, became the father of a large family, appears in a federal tax assessment connected with a still, and died comparatively young in 1889. Together, those records provide a much fuller picture than simply listing his birth and death dates.

For me, one of the most interesting pieces of his story remains that 1866 tax assessment. It captures Frederick not merely as someone’s son, husband, or father, but as a young Pennsylvania man whose everyday economic activities became part of the federal record more than 150 years ago.

Frederick Wegley and the 1866 Federal Tax Assessment

One of the more unusual records connected with Frederick comes from a United States federal internal-revenue assessment made in 1866. The federal government had introduced a sweeping system of internal taxes during the Civil War to help finance the enormous cost of the conflict, and many of those taxes remained in effect after the war ended in 1865.

The 1866 assessment lists Frederick Wegley in connection with a 20-gallon still. The assessment amounted to $40, based on a rate of $2 per gallon.

This offers an interesting glimpse into Frederick’s economic life because it shows he owned or operated distilling equipment large enough to be subject to federal taxation. A still could produce whiskey or other distilled spirits from grain, an activity with a long history in rural Pennsylvania.

The record should not necessarily be interpreted to mean that Frederick operated a large commercial distillery. It does establish that federal authorities assessed him for a 20-gallon still and collected or charged the corresponding excise tax.

During this time, the U.S. government imposed excise taxes on various goods, occupations, and businesses to fund the war effort (this was during the Civil War era).

For Frederick Wegley, the record shows that:

• He was taxed for operating a still, which is a device used for distilling alcohol.
• His still was assessed at 20 gallons.
• The tax rate was $2 per gallon, meaning he owed $40 in excise tax.

What This Means:

1. Frederick Wegley was likely a distiller, producing alcohol or spirits, possibly for sale or personal use.
2. He had to pay federal excise tax on his still, which was common for alcohol producers at the time.
3. The tax was part of the government’s effort to raise revenue during the Civil War (1861-1865).
4. The government closely regulated distilleries since alcohol production was a major source of tax revenue.

This tax record confirms that Frederick Wegley was involved in distillation and was officially recognized by the government for taxation purposes.

I had AI analyze this image, which is a probate record related to Fred Wegley, dated July 1, 1889. Probate records typically document the legal process of settling a deceased person’s estate, including the distribution of assets and handling of debts.

• This document confirms that Fred Wegley passed away before July 1, 1889.
• His estate was going through probate, meaning that legal proceedings were underway to distribute his property, pay debts, and settle any claims.
• The probate process was likely handled in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, as the document mentions Indiana County.
• The record may contain details about his heirs, property, and executor (the person responsible for managing the estate).
• Witnesses or legal representatives were involved in the process, as seen in similar probate documents.

Key Details from Fred Wegley’s Probate Record (July 1, 1889):

1. Probate Location:

   • The probate proceedings took place in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
   • This suggests Fred Wegley either lived in the county or owned property there.

2. Date of Probate:

   • The document is dated July 1, 1889, so Fred Wegley likely died before this date.
   • Probate usually begins shortly after a person’s death to settle their estate.

3. Executor and Legal Proceedings:

   • The document mentions an executor or administrator—the person responsible for handling Fred Wegley’s estate.
   • This person would have handled distributing assets, paying debts, and managing any legal matters related to his estate.

Possible Heirs Mentioned:

1. Sarah Wegley – This could be Fred Wegley’s widow or a daughter.
2. Joseph Wegley – Likely a son or another close relative.
3. John Wegley – Another possible son or heir.
4. Catherine Wegley – Possibly Fred Wegley’s wife or a daughter.
5. Henry Wegley – Could be another son or family member.