Résumé

Partner, Plummer and Feil, Interior Design, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1914.

On his World War I draft registration card of 06/02/1917, Feil indicated that he worked as an "architect and farmer." This card indicated that he worked for himself in 1917. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Los Angeles Source Information U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 04/15/2021.)

Feil joined the military during World War I, serving between 08/28/1917 and 04/01/1919. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, accessed 04/15/2021.)

Feil maintained his office at 1709 West 8th Street, Rooms #502-503, in Los Angeles as per his World War II draft registration card of 04/25/1942. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147 Source Information U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, accessed 04/15/2021.)

Relocation

Feil was born in Dayton, OH, on 01/24/1890. Just before his birth, in 1888, his parents lived at 218 Troy Street in the North Dayton neighborhood. In 1900, ten-year-old Joseph lived with his family at this same address. Patrick Feil, his father, continued to work as a wagonmaker, and his two eldest sisters, Carrie and Mary, worked as a house worker and dressmaker, respectively. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Dayton Ward 3, Montgomery, Ohio; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0043; FHL microfilm: 1241306, accessed 04/15/2021.)

By 1910, 20-year-old Joseph no longer lived in Dayton with his father and two siblings. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Dayton Ward 3, Montgomery, Ohio; Roll: T624_1216; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0061; FHL microfilm: 1375229, accessed 04/15/2021.)

The 1930 US Census located Joseph and Hilda Feil at 5637 La Mirada Avenue in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. On 04/25/1942, Feil and his wife continued to live at the same address.

Joseph, Sr., and Hilda Feil both died in Orange County, CA, in 1979 about one month apart. In addition, their son, Joseph Feil, Jr., passed away in an automobile accident near Sonoma, CA, on 11/03/1979. (See "Joseph Feil," Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 11/07/1979, p. 13.)

Parents

His father was Patrick J. Feil (born 08/02/1846 in Württemberg, Germany-d. 04/26/1914 in Dayton, OH), his mother, Dorothea Daler (or "Daller," born 12/1846 at sea to German parents-d. 12/30/1907 in Dayton, OH). (See "P.J. Feil," Dayton Herald, 04/30/1914, p. 5.) According to the 1900 US Census, Patrick left Germany in 1864 and had been naturalized. Dorothea had been born in transit between Germany and the US in 1846. They wed on 11/12/1871 in Montgomery County, OH, and, by 1900, Dorothea had had six children, five of whom survived in that year. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 04/15/2021.)

Between 1880 and 1910, at least, Patrick Feil worked as a wagon maker on Troy Street in North Dayton. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1880; Census Place: Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio; Roll: 1052; Page: 466A; Enumeration District: 164 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Dayton Ward 3, Montgomery, Ohio; Roll: T624_1216; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0061; FHL microfilm: 1375229, accessed 04/15/2021.)

Their children included: Carrie Feil (born c. 10/1872 in OH), Mary Feil (born c. 03/1886 in OH), Frank Feil (born c. 06/1886 in OH), Joseph, and Edward Feil (born 12/1892 in OH). Another son, Otto, had been born in 1879, but died early in life.

Frank Feil became a cabinet maker, who married Nora Petty Ehlers on 08/30/1938 in Vancouver, WA. He resided in Portland, OR, at this time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013, accessed 04/15/2021.)

Spouse

At age 30, Feil married Hilda Johanna Schmidt (born 06/07/1899 in Davenport, IA-d. 08/12/1979 in Santa Ana, CA) of Oakland, CA on 01/24/1920 in Oakand, CA. She was ten years younger at the time of the marriage, and had been working as a government stenographer. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, accessed 04/15/2021 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation Place: Orange; Date: 12 Aug 1979; Social Security: 545309703 Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000, accessed 04/15/2021.)

Hilda's parents were John F. Schmidt and Paulina Koos.

Children

He and Hilda had two children:

Biographical Notes

His birth name may have been Joseph William Clarence Feil, but he seems to have changed it to "Lawrence." (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Ohio, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1774-1973 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, accessed 04/15/2021.)

His World War I draft registration card indicated that Feil was Caucasian, tall and slender with blue eyes and brown hair. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Los Angeles Source Information U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 04/15/2021.) Feil's draft card for World War II service indicated that he also had a mole on his right cheek. This later draft card listed him as being 5-feet, 10-and-1/2-inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147 Source Information U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, accessed 04/15/2021.)

SSN: 547301037.