What are the weirdest names in Philly?
Well, there is a writer named Mister Mann Frisby.
An 18th century city official was Israel Israel – and he wasn’t even Jewish.
We might add current Philly’s pitcher, Seranthony Dominquez, 1940s boxer Young Gene Buffalo and long-gone basketball player, Mockie Bunin.
However, we suggest that the strangest Philly name belonged to the late Vexil Domus Weisgerber.
The name is Latin and means “flag house.” The man was born and raised in the Betsy Ross house on Arch Street. His daddy, Charles H. Weisgerber, was an artist and live-in supervisor of the Betsy
Ross house from 1898 until his death in 1932.
Little Vexil was born in 1902 and had a close association with the Betsy Ross House during most of his life. He was curator of the museum house when he died in 1959. His father brought national attention to the decaying house when he painted a very large picture of Betsy meeting with George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross.
To raise cash for the house, the picture was reprinted on certificates purchased for a dime by tens of thousands of school kids.
Vexil Weisgerber said the neighborhood kids called him “Flaghouse” some called him Vex. In truth, his first name, like his father’s, was Charles. Apparently, no one ever called him Charles and he got to like “Vexil.”
Everything about Betsy Ross is the source of endless debate: the flag, the house, her grave, a visit by George Washington etc. We will examine some of these controversies in later posts.
However since the topic here is names, Betsy was married three times.
So her full name is Elizabeth, Griscum, Ross, Ashburn, Claypoole.