About a month ago, I received an email from somebody who had stumbled upon this website when she searched on Google for “Jacob Eifert.” She’d seen the name on the back of an old photograph she’d found when cleaning out the storage locker of a recently departed family member.
Author: Will Eifert
Will Eifert is the son of Paul S. Eifert Jr., the third great grandson of Joseph Eifert. He was born and raised in Covington, Kentucky. He currently lives in Edgewood, Kentucky, and works at Kroger Digital in Cincinnati.
I’ve decided to start keeping weekly notes here on my progress in researching family history. Selfishly, forcing myself to let people know what’s going on will help me stay engaged in the research.
In addition, if people find this post using search, I may get some more hints that will keep me from getting stalled!
So without further ado, here’s what I’ve learned this week.
As is so often the case with ancestors, I don’t have letters or other artifacts to confirm Victor Eifert’s exact location at various times. However, I think there is enough circumstantial evidence to confirm that Victor did join the Union forces after the siege of Atlanta. With this and information from other sources, I hope to paint a picture of what his life may have been like during this time.
Joseph Eifert was the son of Michael Eifert, a German immigrant. He was born in Knox County, Ohio and died in Mercer County, Ohio. He married Sophia Weis and was the father of eight children.
The son of Joseph Eifert and Sophia Weis Eifert, Sylvester Victor Eifert was born in St. Joseph, Ohio. He was a long-time organist at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Covington, Kentucky.
Around 1860, Michael Eifert and his sons, Joseph and Victor, purchased land in Mercer County, Ohio. They were part of a large westward movement of German immigrants likely seeking better land, freedom from anti-Catholicism and the ability to give their children a Catholic education.