Background
Weik was born in Greencastle, Indiana. His father emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1848. His mother was a native of Cincinnati.
Weik was born in Greencastle, Indiana. His father emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1848. His mother was a native of Cincinnati.
His education, begun in the public schools of Greencastle, was completed at Indiana Asbury College (now DePauw University), in Greencastle, where he received an Bachelor of Arts in 1875 and a master of arts in 1883.
He was admitted to the bar in 1880, but never practiced. In 1882 he received an appointment as special examiner of the United States. Pension Bureau, and was detailed to examine the merits of certain pension claims in the neighborhood of Springfield, Illinois. While in the latter locality he began to familiarize himself with the life and history of Abraham Lincoln.
He interviewed carefully and in detail all persons there and elsewhere who had been associated with or had known Lincoln in his lifetime.
He also visited that section of Kentucky in which Lincoln was born, giving special attention to the questions of his birth and descent, and traveled through southern Indiana amid the scenes of Lincoln"s boyhood.