Mina Weil was born on December 16, 1814, the daughter of Leopold Weil and Judith Mayer in the Untergasse in Hohenems (today Radetzkystraße 30). Her father traded in copperware, silkware and handkerchiefs – he died early, as did Mina’s mother. Mina Weil’s first child, Babette, died when she was two years old. Her second child, Jacob, born in 1853, was also an illegitimate child. Mina Weil tried to make a living as a peddler to feed her son. At times she was denied a peddler’s permit, and in 1855 she was fined for trading anyway. In 1857 she finally obtained a trading permit for textile goods. When she applied for a peddler’s license again in 1867 after a prolonged illness, she was declared a previously convicted offender because of the fine of 1855 and the license was again refused. Her son worked as a tailor and butcher until 1878, when he joined the Jewish community as a shechter. In 1899 Mina Weil was allowed to live to see her son receive the honorary office of cantor. She died one year later and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Hohenems.