Philip Louis Weiskopf (1850-1916), was born on January 6, 1850, in Eichloch (now Rommersheim), Rheinhessen, Germany. He moved to the United States as an eight year old child with his mother, brother, and sister. He spent the latter part of his childhood in Evansville, Indiana. As a boy, he and his brother worked for a marble cutter in Evansville making tombstones.
In 1869, Phil moved with his sister, Elisabeth, and brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, to Carmi, Illinois, to engage in the marble cutting trade. Phil and Ferd soon had differences, and Phil returned to Evansville a few months later, where he took and passed an examination to become a teacher. Shortly thereafter, an acquaintance named Ludwig "Louis" Haas from Boonville persuaded Phil to come to teach in nearby Boonville, Indiana in late 1869 or early 1870. Phil taught school in Boonville and was introduced to Louis' sister, Charlotte Louisa Haas (1851-1892), whom Phil courted and eventually married on December 28, 1871, by Reverend J. Huber at St. John's Evangelical Church near De Gonia Springs, Warrick, Indiana. She was the daughter of Johann Carl Haas and Charlotta Louise Jost.
Louisa was born on September 22, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Germany. She was confirmed in the Evangelical Church on November 9, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Oldenburg, Germany, and came to America in 1855, with her family, where they settled in the Skelton Township just outside of Boonville, Warrick, Indiana. After their wedding, it appears that Philip and Louisa Weiskopf spent their honeymoon in St. Louis, as evidenced by Missouri Republican newspapers they brought back from St. Louis and kept as mementos. They had 11 children.
Information about Philip's and Louisa's life together is somewhat sketchy. It is known that they lived in Boonville, Warrick, Indiana, throughout the 1870's, where Phil worked as a school teacher. Philip was apparently well educated. He and Louisa purchased property in downtown Carmi, Illinois, in 1876, although they did not move to that town until 1883. In fact, in 1870 and 1880, Phil was a teacher in Warrick County, Indiana, presumably in or near Boonville. Phil and Louisa apparently bought and sold various lots in Carmi over the course of several years.
In 1881, Phil and Louisa moved their family to Babytown, which was a German suburb of Evansville, Indiana. He taught school there for 2 years until 1883.
Phil and Louisa moved the family to Carmi, Illinois, in 1883, because his brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, died of tuberculosis. Phil ultimately took over the "Carmi Marble Works" business at that time. The shop was located at 208 North Church Street in Carmi, which at the time was a brick street. The building is still there as of 2008, having since served as a theater, dentist office, doctor's office, pizza parlor, and paint store.
Phil and Louisa lost an unnamed infant son in 1873, and another son, Al-bert, who was about one and a half when he died in 1881. Philip was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on October 29, 1884, in Carmi. Philip served as Supervisor of Carmi Township for one term, and evidently resided in Carmi for 16 years.
As a national depression descended on the country in the early 1890's, it apparently severely affected Philip and Louisa's marble business. By 1891, they began defending themselves in the first of several lawsuits from marble companies and banks for non-payment of debts due to a poor economic climate. Then, on July 28, 1892, tragedy struck the family when Louisa died suddenly in Carmi, giving birth to their son, George, who tarried but a short while after his mother before dying. She was buried in the Mapleridge Cemetery on the outskirts of town. As was the custom of the day, Philip placed his young children in the homes of various relatives after Louisa died. Philip seems to have developed a drinking problem at some point around this time, if not sooner.
Phil remarried on August 13, 1894, to a divorcee, Lucinda Caroline (Brown) Hughes (1849-1935). Lucinda was born in White Co., Illinois, on September 28, 1849, and was married to James K. Hughes on October 10, 1867. Lucinda and James lived in the Fox River Precinct, before moving to Phillips Township. They had ten children (Catherine, Christopher, Clara, Asmond, Effie, George, Baron, Flora, Orpha, and Clayborn). James and Lucinda were divorced in White County on June 5, 1889, at which time James left and is thought to have moved to Washington state or California. It has been said that the first time Philip came home drunk, Lucinda locked him out of the house for the night, and he never drank again.
The lawsuits continued until about 1895, when Phil suffered from a foreclo-sure of some sort. He acquired a partner, Alex Boyer, at some time, perhaps to help him out of his financial difficulties. In September 1898, Alex Boyer "purchased the interest of Mr. Phil Weiskopf in the firm of Boyer & Weiskopf, proprietors of the Carmi Marble Works, and the partnership heretofore existing has been dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. Boyer will continue the business." At some point shortly after this, Phil removed to nearby Eldorado, Saline, Illinois, where he lived in 1910 at 104 First Street.
By late 1898, Phil had established himself as a German language teacher in nearby Eldorado. He also apparently continued in the marble and monument business in Eldorado, becoming proprieter of the Weiskopf Marble and Granite Works. This is evidenced by a surviving envelope from his shop, as well as one of his obituaries, which mentions his engagement in the trade in Eldorado, and having visited his shop a couple of days before his death. In February 1899, his wife, Lucinda, made a casual visit to Carmi, and left word with the newspaper that he was teaching the German language to thirty students in Eldorado. It appears that he taught school for 19 years total.
We have a first-hand glimpse into Phil's views and life on March 24, 1907, when he wrote a letter to his twenty-five year old niece in Boonville, Miss Dora Haas, only a fraction of which still survives:
March 24th, 1907
Eldorado, Illinois
Miss Dora M. Haas
Boonville, Ind.
My dear Niece,
Your sweet letter of the 11 inst. at hand, and it impressed me much. I know your dear father was with his sweet sister in Heaven. If I had known it a few days before I saw the notice in the paper I would have been at the funeral. I can console with you children and your good mother in the loss of your father, as I have gone through that sad rite myself. Do not forget to be good to your good mother and make her last days be pleasant; you will be rewarded for it in the sweet bye and bye.
Now, I will give you a little sketch of my life since I left Boonville, Indiana. In 1881, I moved to Babytown, a suburb of Evansville, Indiana. There I taught school 2 years and was offered a raise of a dollar which is good news.
Maggie is a graduated trained nurse in Louisville, Ky. She writes she is well and making money. Barbara is teaching school in Chicago, and has been for several years. She is a Sister and loves the school. She is as fat as her dear mother used to be and favors her very much.
Philip and Willie are in California (Los Angeles) and doing well making from $75 to $100 per month. In their letter a few days ago, Will said they will stay till they get rich. Will weighs 180 pounds and is 30 pounds larger than I am.
Lizzie is the only child I have that is married. She is living in Cairo, Illinois, 75 miles south of this city. She has a girl and a boy. John, my baby, is living with Uncle Henry and Aunt Margaret – who have a General store there, and John is the chief clerk. It is only 3 miles from Cairo in Missouri, so he gets to see his sister, Lizzie, nearly every week. He says as he goes to Cairo nearly every week to buy goods for Uncle's store. So you will see my dear niece that my dear children are scattered over the U.S. some, But Thanks be to God they have been taught to live right by their dear mother and not one of them have made a blunder yet that they are ashamed of. Oh! How thankful I am to have had a wife to raise such good children. I pray to God daily to lead them in the strait and narrow path, and I sometimes think my prayers are answered.
……to letter grave stones when a boy with my brother so in 1869, I went with my brother-in-law to Carmi, Illinois, in the grave-stone business. But as we did not agree, I left Carmi and went back to Evansville again, and passed a teachers examination and your uncle Louis came to Evansville to get me to teach in your district. So while teaching in your district, I became acquainted with my dear wife, your Aunt Louisa, the mother of 8 of the sweetest children that ever lived (4 boys and 4 girls). Charlie our oldest son is a Gov. mail carrier in Chicago, Ills. At a salary of $100 per month. I received a letter from him a few days ago in which he stated that he is as sound as….
Dora was the daughter of Johann Georg Haas, brother to Louisa, and his wife, Anna Marie Haas. Three and a half pages from this letter still survive, and it includes a bit of autobiographical material in Phil's own hand. It is in the possession of Bette Ruth (Ridgeway) Wadsack Bain in San Antonio, Texas.
Philip died "after a brief illness of congestion and heart trouble" on Tuesday, March 28, 1916, in Eldorado, Saline, Illinois. His body was brought back to Carmi, and he was buried there on Friday, March 31, 1916, in Mapleridge Cemetery, in the family lot, by the side of his his first wife, Louisa. Funeral services were held at the 5th Street Baptist Church at 11:00 that morning.
His second wife, Lucinda, died on May 5, 1935, and was buried beside him.
In 1869, Phil moved with his sister, Elisabeth, and brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, to Carmi, Illinois, to engage in the marble cutting trade. Phil and Ferd soon had differences, and Phil returned to Evansville a few months later, where he took and passed an examination to become a teacher. Shortly thereafter, an acquaintance named Ludwig "Louis" Haas from Boonville persuaded Phil to come to teach in nearby Boonville, Indiana in late 1869 or early 1870. Phil taught school in Boonville and was introduced to Louis' sister, Charlotte Louisa Haas (1851-1892), whom Phil courted and eventually married on December 28, 1871, by Reverend J. Huber at St. John's Evangelical Church near De Gonia Springs, Warrick, Indiana. She was the daughter of Johann Carl Haas and Charlotta Louise Jost.
Louisa was born on September 22, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Germany. She was confirmed in the Evangelical Church on November 9, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Oldenburg, Germany, and came to America in 1855, with her family, where they settled in the Skelton Township just outside of Boonville, Warrick, Indiana. After their wedding, it appears that Philip and Louisa Weiskopf spent their honeymoon in St. Louis, as evidenced by Missouri Republican newspapers they brought back from St. Louis and kept as mementos. They had 11 children.
Information about Philip's and Louisa's life together is somewhat sketchy. It is known that they lived in Boonville, Warrick, Indiana, throughout the 1870's, where Phil worked as a school teacher. Philip was apparently well educated. He and Louisa purchased property in downtown Carmi, Illinois, in 1876, although they did not move to that town until 1883. In fact, in 1870 and 1880, Phil was a teacher in Warrick County, Indiana, presumably in or near Boonville. Phil and Louisa apparently bought and sold various lots in Carmi over the course of several years.
In 1881, Phil and Louisa moved their family to Babytown, which was a German suburb of Evansville, Indiana. He taught school there for 2 years until 1883.
Phil and Louisa moved the family to Carmi, Illinois, in 1883, because his brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, died of tuberculosis. Phil ultimately took over the "Carmi Marble Works" business at that time. The shop was located at 208 North Church Street in Carmi, which at the time was a brick street. The building is still there as of 2008, having since served as a theater, dentist office, doctor's office, pizza parlor, and paint store.
Phil and Louisa lost an unnamed infant son in 1873, and another son, Al-bert, who was about one and a half when he died in 1881. Philip was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on October 29, 1884, in Carmi. Philip served as Supervisor of Carmi Township for one term, and evidently resided in Carmi for 16 years.
As a national depression descended on the country in the early 1890's, it apparently severely affected Philip and Louisa's marble business. By 1891, they began defending themselves in the first of several lawsuits from marble companies and banks for non-payment of debts due to a poor economic climate. Then, on July 28, 1892, tragedy struck the family when Louisa died suddenly in Carmi, giving birth to their son, George, who tarried but a short while after his mother before dying. She was buried in the Mapleridge Cemetery on the outskirts of town. As was the custom of the day, Philip placed his young children in the homes of various relatives after Louisa died. Philip seems to have developed a drinking problem at some point around this time, if not sooner.
Phil remarried on August 13, 1894, to a divorcee, Lucinda Caroline (Brown) Hughes (1849-1935). Lucinda was born in White Co., Illinois, on September 28, 1849, and was married to James K. Hughes on October 10, 1867. Lucinda and James lived in the Fox River Precinct, before moving to Phillips Township. They had ten children (Catherine, Christopher, Clara, Asmond, Effie, George, Baron, Flora, Orpha, and Clayborn). James and Lucinda were divorced in White County on June 5, 1889, at which time James left and is thought to have moved to Washington state or California. It has been said that the first time Philip came home drunk, Lucinda locked him out of the house for the night, and he never drank again.
The lawsuits continued until about 1895, when Phil suffered from a foreclo-sure of some sort. He acquired a partner, Alex Boyer, at some time, perhaps to help him out of his financial difficulties. In September 1898, Alex Boyer "purchased the interest of Mr. Phil Weiskopf in the firm of Boyer & Weiskopf, proprietors of the Carmi Marble Works, and the partnership heretofore existing has been dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. Boyer will continue the business." At some point shortly after this, Phil removed to nearby Eldorado, Saline, Illinois, where he lived in 1910 at 104 First Street.
By late 1898, Phil had established himself as a German language teacher in nearby Eldorado. He also apparently continued in the marble and monument business in Eldorado, becoming proprieter of the Weiskopf Marble and Granite Works. This is evidenced by a surviving envelope from his shop, as well as one of his obituaries, which mentions his engagement in the trade in Eldorado, and having visited his shop a couple of days before his death. In February 1899, his wife, Lucinda, made a casual visit to Carmi, and left word with the newspaper that he was teaching the German language to thirty students in Eldorado. It appears that he taught school for 19 years total.
We have a first-hand glimpse into Phil's views and life on March 24, 1907, when he wrote a letter to his twenty-five year old niece in Boonville, Miss Dora Haas, only a fraction of which still survives:
March 24th, 1907
Eldorado, Illinois
Miss Dora M. Haas
Boonville, Ind.
My dear Niece,
Your sweet letter of the 11 inst. at hand, and it impressed me much. I know your dear father was with his sweet sister in Heaven. If I had known it a few days before I saw the notice in the paper I would have been at the funeral. I can console with you children and your good mother in the loss of your father, as I have gone through that sad rite myself. Do not forget to be good to your good mother and make her last days be pleasant; you will be rewarded for it in the sweet bye and bye.
Now, I will give you a little sketch of my life since I left Boonville, Indiana. In 1881, I moved to Babytown, a suburb of Evansville, Indiana. There I taught school 2 years and was offered a raise of a dollar which is good news.
Maggie is a graduated trained nurse in Louisville, Ky. She writes she is well and making money. Barbara is teaching school in Chicago, and has been for several years. She is a Sister and loves the school. She is as fat as her dear mother used to be and favors her very much.
Philip and Willie are in California (Los Angeles) and doing well making from $75 to $100 per month. In their letter a few days ago, Will said they will stay till they get rich. Will weighs 180 pounds and is 30 pounds larger than I am.
Lizzie is the only child I have that is married. She is living in Cairo, Illinois, 75 miles south of this city. She has a girl and a boy. John, my baby, is living with Uncle Henry and Aunt Margaret – who have a General store there, and John is the chief clerk. It is only 3 miles from Cairo in Missouri, so he gets to see his sister, Lizzie, nearly every week. He says as he goes to Cairo nearly every week to buy goods for Uncle's store. So you will see my dear niece that my dear children are scattered over the U.S. some, But Thanks be to God they have been taught to live right by their dear mother and not one of them have made a blunder yet that they are ashamed of. Oh! How thankful I am to have had a wife to raise such good children. I pray to God daily to lead them in the strait and narrow path, and I sometimes think my prayers are answered.
……to letter grave stones when a boy with my brother so in 1869, I went with my brother-in-law to Carmi, Illinois, in the grave-stone business. But as we did not agree, I left Carmi and went back to Evansville again, and passed a teachers examination and your uncle Louis came to Evansville to get me to teach in your district. So while teaching in your district, I became acquainted with my dear wife, your Aunt Louisa, the mother of 8 of the sweetest children that ever lived (4 boys and 4 girls). Charlie our oldest son is a Gov. mail carrier in Chicago, Ills. At a salary of $100 per month. I received a letter from him a few days ago in which he stated that he is as sound as….
Dora was the daughter of Johann Georg Haas, brother to Louisa, and his wife, Anna Marie Haas. Three and a half pages from this letter still survive, and it includes a bit of autobiographical material in Phil's own hand. It is in the possession of Bette Ruth (Ridgeway) Wadsack Bain in San Antonio, Texas.
Philip died "after a brief illness of congestion and heart trouble" on Tuesday, March 28, 1916, in Eldorado, Saline, Illinois. His body was brought back to Carmi, and he was buried there on Friday, March 31, 1916, in Mapleridge Cemetery, in the family lot, by the side of his his first wife, Louisa. Funeral services were held at the 5th Street Baptist Church at 11:00 that morning.
His second wife, Lucinda, died on May 5, 1935, and was buried beside him.
Philip Louis Weiskopf (1850-1916), was born on January 6, 1850, in Eichloch (now Rommersheim), Rheinhessen, Germany. He moved to the United States as an eight year old child with his mother, brother, and sister. He spent the latter part of his childhood in Evansville, Indiana. As a boy, he and his brother worked for a marble cutter in Evansville making tombstones.
In 1869, Phil moved with his sister, Elisabeth, and brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, to Carmi, Illinois, to engage in the marble cutting trade. Phil and Ferd soon had differences, and Phil returned to Evansville a few months later, where he took and passed an examination to become a teacher. Shortly thereafter, an acquaintance named Ludwig "Louis" Haas from Boonville persuaded Phil to come to teach in nearby Boonville, Indiana in late 1869 or early 1870. Phil taught school in Boonville and was introduced to Louis' sister, Charlotte Louisa Haas (1851-1892), whom Phil courted and eventually married on December 28, 1871, by Reverend J. Huber at St. John's Evangelical Church near De Gonia Springs, Warrick, Indiana. She was the daughter of Johann Carl Haas and Charlotta Louise Jost.
Louisa was born on September 22, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Germany. She was confirmed in the Evangelical Church on November 9, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Oldenburg, Germany, and came to America in 1855, with her family, where they settled in the Skelton Township just outside of Boonville, Warrick, Indiana. After their wedding, it appears that Philip and Louisa Weiskopf spent their honeymoon in St. Louis, as evidenced by Missouri Republican newspapers they brought back from St. Louis and kept as mementos. They had 11 children.
Information about Philip's and Louisa's life together is somewhat sketchy. It is known that they lived in Boonville, Warrick, Indiana, throughout the 1870's, where Phil worked as a school teacher. Philip was apparently well educated. He and Louisa purchased property in downtown Carmi, Illinois, in 1876, although they did not move to that town until 1883. In fact, in 1870 and 1880, Phil was a teacher in Warrick County, Indiana, presumably in or near Boonville. Phil and Louisa apparently bought and sold various lots in Carmi over the course of several years.
In 1881, Phil and Louisa moved their family to Babytown, which was a German suburb of Evansville, Indiana. He taught school there for 2 years until 1883.
Phil and Louisa moved the family to Carmi, Illinois, in 1883, because his brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, died of tuberculosis. Phil ultimately took over the "Carmi Marble Works" business at that time. The shop was located at 208 North Church Street in Carmi, which at the time was a brick street. The building is still there as of 2008, having since served as a theater, dentist office, doctor's office, pizza parlor, and paint store.
Phil and Louisa lost an unnamed infant son in 1873, and another son, Al-bert, who was about one and a half when he died in 1881. Philip was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on October 29, 1884, in Carmi. Philip served as Supervisor of Carmi Township for one term, and evidently resided in Carmi for 16 years.
As a national depression descended on the country in the early 1890's, it apparently severely affected Philip and Louisa's marble business. By 1891, they began defending themselves in the first of several lawsuits from marble companies and banks for non-payment of debts due to a poor economic climate. Then, on July 28, 1892, tragedy struck the family when Louisa died suddenly in Carmi, giving birth to their son, George, who tarried but a short while after his mother before dying. She was buried in the Mapleridge Cemetery on the outskirts of town. As was the custom of the day, Philip placed his young children in the homes of various relatives after Louisa died. Philip seems to have developed a drinking problem at some point around this time, if not sooner.
Phil remarried on August 13, 1894, to a divorcee, Lucinda Caroline (Brown) Hughes (1849-1935). Lucinda was born in White Co., Illinois, on September 28, 1849, and was married to James K. Hughes on October 10, 1867. Lucinda and James lived in the Fox River Precinct, before moving to Phillips Township. They had ten children (Catherine, Christopher, Clara, Asmond, Effie, George, Baron, Flora, Orpha, and Clayborn). James and Lucinda were divorced in White County on June 5, 1889, at which time James left and is thought to have moved to Washington state or California. It has been said that the first time Philip came home drunk, Lucinda locked him out of the house for the night, and he never drank again.
The lawsuits continued until about 1895, when Phil suffered from a foreclo-sure of some sort. He acquired a partner, Alex Boyer, at some time, perhaps to help him out of his financial difficulties. In September 1898, Alex Boyer "purchased the interest of Mr. Phil Weiskopf in the firm of Boyer & Weiskopf, proprietors of the Carmi Marble Works, and the partnership heretofore existing has been dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. Boyer will continue the business." At some point shortly after this, Phil removed to nearby Eldorado, Saline, Illinois, where he lived in 1910 at 104 First Street.
By late 1898, Phil had established himself as a German language teacher in nearby Eldorado. He also apparently continued in the marble and monument business in Eldorado, becoming proprieter of the Weiskopf Marble and Granite Works. This is evidenced by a surviving envelope from his shop, as well as one of his obituaries, which mentions his engagement in the trade in Eldorado, and having visited his shop a couple of days before his death. In February 1899, his wife, Lucinda, made a casual visit to Carmi, and left word with the newspaper that he was teaching the German language to thirty students in Eldorado. It appears that he taught school for 19 years total.
We have a first-hand glimpse into Phil's views and life on March 24, 1907, when he wrote a letter to his twenty-five year old niece in Boonville, Miss Dora Haas, only a fraction of which still survives:
March 24th, 1907
Eldorado, Illinois
Miss Dora M. Haas
Boonville, Ind.
My dear Niece,
Your sweet letter of the 11 inst. at hand, and it impressed me much. I know your dear father was with his sweet sister in Heaven. If I had known it a few days before I saw the notice in the paper I would have been at the funeral. I can console with you children and your good mother in the loss of your father, as I have gone through that sad rite myself. Do not forget to be good to your good mother and make her last days be pleasant; you will be rewarded for it in the sweet bye and bye.
Now, I will give you a little sketch of my life since I left Boonville, Indiana. In 1881, I moved to Babytown, a suburb of Evansville, Indiana. There I taught school 2 years and was offered a raise of a dollar which is good news.
Maggie is a graduated trained nurse in Louisville, Ky. She writes she is well and making money. Barbara is teaching school in Chicago, and has been for several years. She is a Sister and loves the school. She is as fat as her dear mother used to be and favors her very much.
Philip and Willie are in California (Los Angeles) and doing well making from $75 to $100 per month. In their letter a few days ago, Will said they will stay till they get rich. Will weighs 180 pounds and is 30 pounds larger than I am.
Lizzie is the only child I have that is married. She is living in Cairo, Illinois, 75 miles south of this city. She has a girl and a boy. John, my baby, is living with Uncle Henry and Aunt Margaret – who have a General store there, and John is the chief clerk. It is only 3 miles from Cairo in Missouri, so he gets to see his sister, Lizzie, nearly every week. He says as he goes to Cairo nearly every week to buy goods for Uncle's store. So you will see my dear niece that my dear children are scattered over the U.S. some, But Thanks be to God they have been taught to live right by their dear mother and not one of them have made a blunder yet that they are ashamed of. Oh! How thankful I am to have had a wife to raise such good children. I pray to God daily to lead them in the strait and narrow path, and I sometimes think my prayers are answered.
……to letter grave stones when a boy with my brother so in 1869, I went with my brother-in-law to Carmi, Illinois, in the grave-stone business. But as we did not agree, I left Carmi and went back to Evansville again, and passed a teachers examination and your uncle Louis came to Evansville to get me to teach in your district. So while teaching in your district, I became acquainted with my dear wife, your Aunt Louisa, the mother of 8 of the sweetest children that ever lived (4 boys and 4 girls). Charlie our oldest son is a Gov. mail carrier in Chicago, Ills. At a salary of $100 per month. I received a letter from him a few days ago in which he stated that he is as sound as….
Dora was the daughter of Johann Georg Haas, brother to Louisa, and his wife, Anna Marie Haas. Three and a half pages from this letter still survive, and it includes a bit of autobiographical material in Phil's own hand. It is in the possession of Bette Ruth (Ridgeway) Wadsack Bain in San Antonio, Texas.
Philip died "after a brief illness of congestion and heart trouble" on Tuesday, March 28, 1916, in Eldorado, Saline, Illinois. His body was brought back to Carmi, and he was buried there on Friday, March 31, 1916, in Mapleridge Cemetery, in the family lot, by the side of his his first wife, Louisa. Funeral services were held at the 5th Street Baptist Church at 11:00 that morning.
His second wife, Lucinda, died on May 5, 1935, and was buried beside him.
In 1869, Phil moved with his sister, Elisabeth, and brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, to Carmi, Illinois, to engage in the marble cutting trade. Phil and Ferd soon had differences, and Phil returned to Evansville a few months later, where he took and passed an examination to become a teacher. Shortly thereafter, an acquaintance named Ludwig "Louis" Haas from Boonville persuaded Phil to come to teach in nearby Boonville, Indiana in late 1869 or early 1870. Phil taught school in Boonville and was introduced to Louis' sister, Charlotte Louisa Haas (1851-1892), whom Phil courted and eventually married on December 28, 1871, by Reverend J. Huber at St. John's Evangelical Church near De Gonia Springs, Warrick, Indiana. She was the daughter of Johann Carl Haas and Charlotta Louise Jost.
Louisa was born on September 22, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Germany. She was confirmed in the Evangelical Church on November 9, 1851, in Birkenfeld, Oldenburg, Germany, and came to America in 1855, with her family, where they settled in the Skelton Township just outside of Boonville, Warrick, Indiana. After their wedding, it appears that Philip and Louisa Weiskopf spent their honeymoon in St. Louis, as evidenced by Missouri Republican newspapers they brought back from St. Louis and kept as mementos. They had 11 children.
Information about Philip's and Louisa's life together is somewhat sketchy. It is known that they lived in Boonville, Warrick, Indiana, throughout the 1870's, where Phil worked as a school teacher. Philip was apparently well educated. He and Louisa purchased property in downtown Carmi, Illinois, in 1876, although they did not move to that town until 1883. In fact, in 1870 and 1880, Phil was a teacher in Warrick County, Indiana, presumably in or near Boonville. Phil and Louisa apparently bought and sold various lots in Carmi over the course of several years.
In 1881, Phil and Louisa moved their family to Babytown, which was a German suburb of Evansville, Indiana. He taught school there for 2 years until 1883.
Phil and Louisa moved the family to Carmi, Illinois, in 1883, because his brother-in-law, Ferdinand Preher, died of tuberculosis. Phil ultimately took over the "Carmi Marble Works" business at that time. The shop was located at 208 North Church Street in Carmi, which at the time was a brick street. The building is still there as of 2008, having since served as a theater, dentist office, doctor's office, pizza parlor, and paint store.
Phil and Louisa lost an unnamed infant son in 1873, and another son, Al-bert, who was about one and a half when he died in 1881. Philip was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on October 29, 1884, in Carmi. Philip served as Supervisor of Carmi Township for one term, and evidently resided in Carmi for 16 years.
As a national depression descended on the country in the early 1890's, it apparently severely affected Philip and Louisa's marble business. By 1891, they began defending themselves in the first of several lawsuits from marble companies and banks for non-payment of debts due to a poor economic climate. Then, on July 28, 1892, tragedy struck the family when Louisa died suddenly in Carmi, giving birth to their son, George, who tarried but a short while after his mother before dying. She was buried in the Mapleridge Cemetery on the outskirts of town. As was the custom of the day, Philip placed his young children in the homes of various relatives after Louisa died. Philip seems to have developed a drinking problem at some point around this time, if not sooner.
Phil remarried on August 13, 1894, to a divorcee, Lucinda Caroline (Brown) Hughes (1849-1935). Lucinda was born in White Co., Illinois, on September 28, 1849, and was married to James K. Hughes on October 10, 1867. Lucinda and James lived in the Fox River Precinct, before moving to Phillips Township. They had ten children (Catherine, Christopher, Clara, Asmond, Effie, George, Baron, Flora, Orpha, and Clayborn). James and Lucinda were divorced in White County on June 5, 1889, at which time James left and is thought to have moved to Washington state or California. It has been said that the first time Philip came home drunk, Lucinda locked him out of the house for the night, and he never drank again.
The lawsuits continued until about 1895, when Phil suffered from a foreclo-sure of some sort. He acquired a partner, Alex Boyer, at some time, perhaps to help him out of his financial difficulties. In September 1898, Alex Boyer "purchased the interest of Mr. Phil Weiskopf in the firm of Boyer & Weiskopf, proprietors of the Carmi Marble Works, and the partnership heretofore existing has been dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. Boyer will continue the business." At some point shortly after this, Phil removed to nearby Eldorado, Saline, Illinois, where he lived in 1910 at 104 First Street.
By late 1898, Phil had established himself as a German language teacher in nearby Eldorado. He also apparently continued in the marble and monument business in Eldorado, becoming proprieter of the Weiskopf Marble and Granite Works. This is evidenced by a surviving envelope from his shop, as well as one of his obituaries, which mentions his engagement in the trade in Eldorado, and having visited his shop a couple of days before his death. In February 1899, his wife, Lucinda, made a casual visit to Carmi, and left word with the newspaper that he was teaching the German language to thirty students in Eldorado. It appears that he taught school for 19 years total.
We have a first-hand glimpse into Phil's views and life on March 24, 1907, when he wrote a letter to his twenty-five year old niece in Boonville, Miss Dora Haas, only a fraction of which still survives:
March 24th, 1907
Eldorado, Illinois
Miss Dora M. Haas
Boonville, Ind.
My dear Niece,
Your sweet letter of the 11 inst. at hand, and it impressed me much. I know your dear father was with his sweet sister in Heaven. If I had known it a few days before I saw the notice in the paper I would have been at the funeral. I can console with you children and your good mother in the loss of your father, as I have gone through that sad rite myself. Do not forget to be good to your good mother and make her last days be pleasant; you will be rewarded for it in the sweet bye and bye.
Now, I will give you a little sketch of my life since I left Boonville, Indiana. In 1881, I moved to Babytown, a suburb of Evansville, Indiana. There I taught school 2 years and was offered a raise of a dollar which is good news.
Maggie is a graduated trained nurse in Louisville, Ky. She writes she is well and making money. Barbara is teaching school in Chicago, and has been for several years. She is a Sister and loves the school. She is as fat as her dear mother used to be and favors her very much.
Philip and Willie are in California (Los Angeles) and doing well making from $75 to $100 per month. In their letter a few days ago, Will said they will stay till they get rich. Will weighs 180 pounds and is 30 pounds larger than I am.
Lizzie is the only child I have that is married. She is living in Cairo, Illinois, 75 miles south of this city. She has a girl and a boy. John, my baby, is living with Uncle Henry and Aunt Margaret – who have a General store there, and John is the chief clerk. It is only 3 miles from Cairo in Missouri, so he gets to see his sister, Lizzie, nearly every week. He says as he goes to Cairo nearly every week to buy goods for Uncle's store. So you will see my dear niece that my dear children are scattered over the U.S. some, But Thanks be to God they have been taught to live right by their dear mother and not one of them have made a blunder yet that they are ashamed of. Oh! How thankful I am to have had a wife to raise such good children. I pray to God daily to lead them in the strait and narrow path, and I sometimes think my prayers are answered.
……to letter grave stones when a boy with my brother so in 1869, I went with my brother-in-law to Carmi, Illinois, in the grave-stone business. But as we did not agree, I left Carmi and went back to Evansville again, and passed a teachers examination and your uncle Louis came to Evansville to get me to teach in your district. So while teaching in your district, I became acquainted with my dear wife, your Aunt Louisa, the mother of 8 of the sweetest children that ever lived (4 boys and 4 girls). Charlie our oldest son is a Gov. mail carrier in Chicago, Ills. At a salary of $100 per month. I received a letter from him a few days ago in which he stated that he is as sound as….
Dora was the daughter of Johann Georg Haas, brother to Louisa, and his wife, Anna Marie Haas. Three and a half pages from this letter still survive, and it includes a bit of autobiographical material in Phil's own hand. It is in the possession of Bette Ruth (Ridgeway) Wadsack Bain in San Antonio, Texas.
Philip died "after a brief illness of congestion and heart trouble" on Tuesday, March 28, 1916, in Eldorado, Saline, Illinois. His body was brought back to Carmi, and he was buried there on Friday, March 31, 1916, in Mapleridge Cemetery, in the family lot, by the side of his his first wife, Louisa. Funeral services were held at the 5th Street Baptist Church at 11:00 that morning.
His second wife, Lucinda, died on May 5, 1935, and was buried beside him.
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