My story begins in Robinson...
Story submitted by: Denise (Weibling) Phillips

Robinson, Kansas Pre- 1900 Artist Unknown

 

     My story begins in Robinson, Kansas. The small town where my dad was born and raised. The stories he used to tell, of his childhood, made a person realize why we created the term "juvenile delinquency"!! But you see, in a town that size, in the 1930’s and 40‘s…it was considered normal young boy behavior. My father and his two brothers, even as they aged, still told "stories". We never really knew if they were true, because they would always have a certain "gleam" in their eye when they told them, but they sure made for a good laugh!
     It was 1977, I was twelve years old and we were having a "Weibling" reunion. The best place to gather was Robinson, Kansas. After all, that is where our "roots" were. The old Rosehill Cemetery was proof of that.
     I don’t recall who all was there, or how long it lasted, but when they took out the old photos of my "ancestors"…

     There I stood, gazing into the faces of my past. I felt like I should know these people, but didn’t. I felt indebted to them somehow, for my own existence. Yet, I knew I could never thank them -- I would never really know them; how they felt; how they lived. All I had were their eyes staring at me from those old photos, trying to tell a story. Did they know how dear they were to me? I was pretty sure, even at the age of twelve, that somehow, they did.
     The group of us then traveled to a place not too far from the old cemetery, where the first Weibling homestead had been. I remember the small pile of rocks still there, marking one corner of the old foundation. That was all that was left of a once prosperous, family home and farm. I remember wanting to stand in the center, where they "lived"… but I didn’t want to disrespect their memory in any way, so I only thought to myself, "they lived right here!!" I still can’t put words to the way I felt at that moment.
     Robinson always had a certain "appeal" to me… and that day, when I was twelve, explained why.

     I made several trips to that small town through the years. Some with my parents; some as an adult with my husband. And it seemed every time I went, I couldn’t tell you how I got there, I just wanted to "get" there. Of course on the way, I thought of the Indians that used to roam those lands, how my own grandmother was named after one; and I tried to picture
the covered wagons that traveled the plains. We would always drive by the house my dad was born and raised in (pictured at right). But it was lifeless now, and seemed to grow a little more neglected every time I saw it. It made me sad to see that.

     I would always walk the cemetery, but I didn’t know who was who in the family line. So I never knew if I was looking at my great-grandfather, or maybe a brother of his. Yet, I was so drawn to it all. When I walked that old cemetery, I felt like I’d "come home". I would ask dad from time to time, and he would always say, "Oh, there’s a whole bunch of ‘em buried up there!"
     I never really thought I would someday, have the answers to all these questions.
     Then in September of 2001, my husband wondered if we could look up the name on an Ancestry website of some kind. We played with that a while, and I posted messages to three others, who seemed curious about the family name. My cousin Danny Lee had submitted some info to an ancestor site, and after a few phone conversations, he shared a copy of an ancestor photo with me.  I never realized the journey I was about to take. Emotionally, as well as spiritually.

 
     At the beginning of November 2001, I was MORE than ready to take another trip to Robinson. I took my camera with me this time, and took pictures of the tiny, run down house dad was born in. There was never much to the town anyway, and there was even less now. But I had to save the memories that were there.
     We again visited the cemetery.  This time I walked it, and I knew John, and who he was.   I knew Charles, and his wife Margaret.  But I didn’t know Joshua.   Yet, as I stood there before his grave, I knew there was something…something about Joshua.

      My husband stood in another part of the cemetery, motioning for me to come "see"- he’d found another one. I couldn’t move from my spot. I remember shooing him, as if to say, "Not now! Can’t you see I’m busy?" As I stood there, I remember saying over and over to myself, "What is it about Joshua? There’s something about Joshua!!" I quickly fanned through my hand written notes….nothing!! What WAS it about Joshua?! But Joshua knew…and he had my full attention.
     It couldn’t be time to leave!! But as I reluctantly headed for the truck, I was still asking myself, "What IS it about Joshua? There’s SOMETHING about Joshua." By this time I was saying it aloud, and I know my family thought I had flipped!!
     As we drove away, I repeated this to all who would listen…"You don’t understand; there’s something about Joshua."
     It was frustrating to me to not get my "answers" that day…but the answers were soon to come.


     On November 18, 2001, I received an email from a complete stranger that read:

~Weibling Ancestry~
~"I was looking up my ancestry on the web and came across your email about your grandfather Edward Charles Weibling. I believe that my great grandfather Marion Weibling lived in Robinson, Kansas. I know that there are very few Weiblings in existence, and would be delighted to hear from those of us who are still around. I know very little about my grandfather’s side of the family, as he died before I was born. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so much. Diane Lee Weibling"~


     I was so excited to hear from a "cousin" that I never knew existed!! I replied almost instantly and let her know, Yes, Marion was in Robinson in 1880...he was one year old, and living with my GGgrandfather. Unfortunately, Diane knew little else about her Weiblings.

     After my excitement settled, and I looked over my notes and information…I was astonished when I seen it there before me…Marion’s father---was Joshua.  And Diane was the last of their "Weibling" line.--


~Diane Lee Weibling and JoAnn (Weibling) Klacsan~

 Coincidence??  Diane had an aunt named Jo Ann. They were from Seattle, Washington. Our kinship was INSTANT. The similarities in our families were UNCANNY. The three of us started digging through info we’d collected, and managed to share an amazing amount. Their generosity helped me put together an album of "family treasures". They freely gave me an eighty year span of hand written, "Weibling letters".  They also sent me a group photo they had…and for the first time, I
got to see Joshua. They began planning a trip to meet me, and visit Robinson. (But April seemed so far away!!)

 

     December 2001.… In a short conversation with my nephew Ed, I found out a "long lost" Weibling cousin of mine was living in the area. He was a first cousin to me, but we’d never been around each other enough to know one another very well. He grew up in Robinson. Something told me I needed to contact him. I had a feeling he would appreciate the "family history". He’d been separated from all of us for so long, though.  Would

he even want to see us?  I looked up his phone number in the book and my mom said she’d call him. The afternoon wore on, and no word from Mom. How I wished she would hurry up!!  I had to know if he was interested. Momma worried too, how the phone call would end up. She put off picking up the phone.Yet a voice kept nagging at her..."Call him...CALL HIM!!"  When she did, the most wonderful thing happened. My cousin Calvin Lee and I, found a kinship we never knew we had.


~Calvin Lee Weibling Jr~
     His childhood left a lot to be desired and he had a brother, but they’d never been close. Within three days, we were sitting in my mother’s dining room….we couldn’t wait to see each other. We couldn’t wait to start a family bond. And bond, we did!! His family and mine got along great!! The only way to describe the feeling we ALL had that day was love. In it’s purest form. It was almost like we weren’t SUPPOSED to meet until that moment. (Any other time would have thrown the universe off somehow!!!!)

 

     Calvin, (better known to me, as Calvie), said he had some pictures he would bring with him. These were Weiblings, but he didn’t know who they were. A lady from the Brown County Museum had given them to him years ago. After that, they just kind of sat there in a box.
He pulled out the first photo, simply labeled, "Grandpa Weibling". It was a single print, of a young man, the photo was in fantastic shape for it’s age, the face, so clear….

     As I stared in amazement, I KNEW who it was. And I could only speak these two words……"That’s Joshua!!".
He had a picture of the original Weibling homestead. He had a baby picture of Joshua, and a picture of one of Joshua’s sons-- Coincidence??

(Just for the record, Joshua was born in 1852. He was my Ggrandfather’s brother.)

 
~~"The name Weibling is apparently rare. This is good and bad. It is good because if you find one, the probability of a relationship is high. It is bad because it is hard to find one." --- William Martin (fellow researcher.)~~

     Any Weibling knows how "rare" the name is!! (Most Americans will pronounce it wrong nine times out of ten!!) Not to mention, most Weiblings think they’re the only ones left!!
With that in mind, I have to tell the story of Fred Weibling. I live in a fairly small community in Missouri. The chances of a Weibling living here are about one in a zillion!!

     Back in May of 2000, I stood in a vet‘s office with my sister‘s cat. (Bear with me here!) When I told the receptionist the last name was Weibling, she asked me if I meant Fred Weibling. Quite amazed I asked,


~Fred Weibling~

 "You mean  there’s a Fred Weibling living in this area?"  Of course vets, like other doctors, keep their records confidential! So I went home to look up his number. He had lived in the same town with me, but when I called, I found he’d moved. (Heavy sigh) Oh well, I tried.
Well, Fred came to mind again somewhere around November 2001. I took a chance on a regional phonebook, and found him living seven miles from me!! (Of course I called him!) He was surprised to know we’d lived in the same TOWN…much less the same state!!
     He told me he was originally from Durant, Oklahoma…. Told me his GGgrandfather’s name, and I knew HIS line originally came from Robinson Kansas before that!! Then he mentioned a family group picture he had, with his GGgrandfather in it. He described it to me, and we discovered we had the EXACT same ancestor photo!!!
     He told me he used to drive a truck for Wal-Mart, and he would drive right past the Robinson exit almost everyday….but never knew, until I called, that his GGGgrandparents were buried there!
     Strangest of all, he told me he was teaching drama and coaching at Lawson High School--- the town I grew up in!!---- Coincidence??

     We agreed to get together and meet. I was amazed at the family resemblances between his family members and mine….(and Diane’s!!!). It was quite over whelming to look at all these other Weibling families.

 

     Amazing also, that all these families have one common link…a man named Charles Weibling and his wife Louiza, who moved to a small farming community known as Robinson, Kansas. And simply lived.


~Louisa and Charles Weibling~

 

     This story may never end. All I know at this point, is had my father lived past 1998, he would have been so thrilled to know of these people. He would be so proud of all we’ve accomplished in these short five months. The Weibling book is two to three inches thick now, and keeps growing.
     I have tried to do our ancestors justice with how I’ve presented them. I hope it tells it’s story well. I hope whoever looks upon it’s pages, sees how special they all are to us.

~Denise Weibling Phillips March, 2002~


~Denise Weibling Phillips~

Photos provided by: Denise, Calvin, Diane, JoAnn, and Fred

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