Sunday's Obituary - Edna Veith

Sunday’s Obituary is an ongoing blogging prompt developed by Leslie Ann at Ancestors Live Here and tallied on the Geneablogger's site.

Edna Veith
1903 - 1994

Edna Veith was one of my grandfather's sisters. She and her twin brother, Edwin, were the youngest of five children and Edna is the only child who never married. She was born on 20 August 1903 in Hollisterville, Wayne County, Pennsylvania to Gottlieb Veith and Hannah Zeiler, and died 22 February 1994 in Atlanta, Georgia.  She had moved from her parents' farm in northeastern Pennsylvania by 1920 and lived with her sister and brother-in-law, Carrie and Charles Heffner in Hoboken, New Jersey. At some point, she and her sister, Esther Veith Foster, shared an apartment at 7 East 86th Street in New York City before they both retired and moved near their nephew Art Foster and his family in Georgia.

VEITH, Miss Edna, 90, Avondale Estates, Georgia, died Tuesday, February 22 at the Budd Terrace Nursing Home, Atlanta, Georgia.
   Born in Hollisterville, daughter of the late Gottlieb and Hannah Zeiler Veith, she was the last surviving member of her family. A graduate of Wyoming Seminary, she was an executive secretary in the banking business in New York City before retiring in 1964 to Atlanta, Georgia.
  Surviving are two nephews, Harold Veith, Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., and Arthur D. Foster, Duluth, Ga.; a niece, Mrs Warren Grant, Little Falls, NJ; grand nieces and nephews, including Mrs. David Dulay and James Foster, both of Honesdale; several great-grandnieces and nephews.
   She was preceded in death by a brother, Harold Veith Sr; two sisters, Carrie Veith Heffner and Ester Veith Foster, twin brother, Edwin Veith; also a nephew, Burton W. Foster.

Then and Now

My great-grandparents, Gottlieb Veith and Hannah Zeiler Veith, bought their Hollisterville, Pennsylvania, farm in October 1895, seven years after they were married. My third cousin, Jason,  found the property purchase deed for me recently in the Wayne County Courthouse. I visited the property about two weeks ago and was lucky enough to find the current owner in her garden. I showed her pictures of the house the way it had been, and she was gracious enough to show me the indoors. It was exciting to walk in the home of my great-grandparents!

Veith Residence, Hollisterville, Wayne County, Pennsylvania
about 1915

July 2011

about 1915

July 2011

Veith siblings

On Monday, I am planning to meet up with some cousins who are also descendants of  Hannah Zeiler and Gottlieb Veith. I am descended their son, Harold, and my 2nd cousin is descended from Harold's sister, Esther.

Children of Gottlieb Veith and Hannah Zeiler, Hollisterville, Pennsylvania

My grandfather, Harold Theodore Veith is the man on the right and his brother Edwin is on the left (in the cap). The 3 daughters are Carrie, Esther, and Edna but I'm not sure which is which. I'm hoping my cousin might know!

Second Cousins

I sent a letter last week to Jill, a 2nd cousin I have not seen in at least 40 years. My mother, Dorothy Veith, and her father, Burton W. Foster, were first cousins, and thus, Burt was my first cousin once removed. However since Burt was near my mother's age, we kids called him Uncle Burt. He and his family lived not too far away from us in Cresskill, New Jersey during the 1960s and early 1970s until they moved to Pennsylvania.

Burt's parents were Arthur Foster and Esther Veith. Esther was my grandfather's Harold T. Veith's sister. They had two children, Arthur D. Foster, born in 1926 and Burton W. Foster born in 1928.

Burt and Art Foster, about 1929

Dorothy Veith and Harold C. Veith with their cousins Burt and Art Foster
at their grandparent's farm in Hollisterville, PA
 summer 1936

The exciting thing is that Jill and I are going to meet each other for the first time as adults in a few weeks time. We talked briefly last night and she told me that she and her brother both had pictures of our mutual g-grandparents, Gottlieb Veith and Hannah Zeiler. She also said one of Art Foster's daughters is interested in genealogy! I think I may have met her when I was young too but lost track of that side of the family. I did contact Art Foster once when I first started getting interested in genealogy back around 2001, and he told me he had a pile of information he was putting aside for me. Unfortunately, he died before it was ever sent. Maybe this newest 2nd cousin will be the one who might have the portraits hanging on Gottlieb's wall that I noted in my post last week, My Grand-father's Siblings. Wouldn't that be truly exciting?

My Grandfather's Siblings

I posted previously about my mother's paternal grandparents, Gottlieb Veith and Hannah Zeiler. Gottlieb and Hannah had 5 children live to adulthood including my grandfather, Harold Theodore Veith.

8 August 1919
left to right: Edwin, Hannah, Edna, Harold, Carrie, Esther, Gottllieb

Children:
Carrie M. Veith born April 1889
Harold Theodore Veith born 19 May 1891
Esther Veith born 10 April 1895
twins Edwin and Edna Veith born 20 August 1903.

Picture was taken in the family home in Hollisterville, Salem Twp, Wayne County, Pennsylvannia

Hannah Zeiler

Last month I posted about Gottlieb Veith here . Hannah Zeiler was his wife.

Hannah Zeiler was born on the 21 May 1869 in Jefferson Twp, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvannia to Joseph Zeiler and Anna Margaretha (Margaret) Mack. Both of Hannah's parents immigrated to the U.S. from Wurttemberg, Germany in the 1850s.

Hannah was the 4th of 5 children, all born in Jefferson Twp, Pennsylvannia. Her father, Joseph, was a farmer in the Elmdale community his entire life.

Since Hannah was just 18, and a minor when she married Gottlieb, her father had to give his written consent to the marriage.

Gottlieb Veith and Hannah Zeiler
marriage certificate - 8 March 1888
Jefferson Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania

I love this marriage certificate! The image at the bottom is that of H.A. Smith, Minister of the Gospel.Witnesses to the marriage were Hannah's brother, Theodore A. Zeiler, and Kate Lowert. Kate was probably a friend of the couple.

Gottlieb and Hannah had 5 children. Their oldest child, Carrie M. Veith was born in April 1889, 13 months after the marriage. Harold Theodore Veith, my maternal grandfather, was born 2 years later on  19 May 1891. Esther Veith was born on the 10 April 1895 and the twins, Edwin Veith and Edna Veith were born on 20 August 1903.

I don't know too much about Hannah. My mom once told me that Hannah did not like her much since she was a 'modern woman' and didn't know how to cook!

Gottlieb and Hannah Veith

Hannah died at home on 30 August 1942 at 10:35 PM of a heart attack. Her husband, Gottlieb was the informant on the death certificate. She was buried 3 days later in the Hollisterville Cemetery,  Hollisterville, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. When Gottlieb died 5 years later, he was buried in the same plot as was their oldest daughter, Carrie.

Hollisterville Cemetery, Hollisterville, Salem Twp, PA