The progenitor of the family was an unknown linen weaver, surnamed Weber, that fled from the Holy Roman Empire to the United Provinces of the Netherlands due to religious persecution, likely because he was a member of the Reformed church. He married a Dutch woman and fathered John, Frederick, and two other sons in the Netherlands.
John Weaver (1763–1830) was a German-Dutch settler, immigrant, and Revolutionary War veteran who came to the Province of Pennsylvania from the United Provinces in the 18th century with his 3 brothers. Eventually, John would settle in the Reems Creek valley in North Carolina, where his son, Montraville Weaver (1808–1882) would found the town of Weaverville.[4][5][6][7]
John Weaver maintained friendly relations with the local Cherokee in the valley and built an Indigenous-style house, before purchasing 320 acres of land to construct a European log cabin as his family's permanent residence.[8][9]
John's son, Montraville, became a slaveholder.[10] Despite the vast majority of Germans in the Antebellum South not using slaves and many being generally opposed to the practice, there was a minority of German slaveholders located primarily in the Shenandoah Valley and other parts of the region.[11]
As a slaveholding family, many members of the Weaver family fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, such as Captain Elbert Weaver (1841–1935), who was Montraville's first son, and Private Abraham Weaver (1832–1913), who deserted in northern Georgia after his unit was slaughtered during Wheeler's October 1863 Raid. Abraham was the grandson of Frederick Weaver (1750–1839), John Weaver's brother, Revolutionary War veteran, and slaveholder in Sullivan County, Tennessee.[12][13][14]
Weaver College, founded in 1851 as Weaverville College, was a co-educational Methodist academy located in Weaverville. It was founded on land gifted by the town's founder, Montraville Weaver, and operated from 1873 to 1934 before being merged with Rutherford College to form modern-day Brevard College.[15][16]
William Trotter Weaver (1858–1916) – President of the National Bank of Asheville and businessman who brought electricity to western North Carolina[19][20]
Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas Weaver (1828–1864) – Commander of the 60th North Carolina Infantry Regiment killed during the Battle of Murfreesboro[21][22]
Colonel Charles Owen Hobough – Retired NASA astronaut descended from Frederick Weaver (1750–1839)
Command Master Sergeant David Weaver y Pérez (1970 – ) – Command chiefofOsan Air Base in South Korea,[24] descended from Confederate deserter Abraham Weaver (1832–1913)
