Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting – January 8, 2023
On January 8, 2023, the
Madison County Genealogical Society held a meeting at the Edwardsville Public
Library.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
GIFT
MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
Do you have a family member that is
interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison
County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will
be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $25.00
Patron Annual Membership $35.00
Institutional Membership $25.00
Contact our Correponding Secretary, Lynn Engelman, at [email protected], about a gift membership.
January Meeting
On January 8, 2023, a meeting of the Madison County Genealogical
Society was held. At this meeting, a slate of officers was elected. Since there
was only one candidate for each office, the election was by acclamation. The officers for
the upcoming year are:
President Robert
Ridenour
First
Vice President Mary
Westerhold
Second
Vice President Open
Treasurer Ferne
Ridenour
Corresponding
Secretary Lynn
Engelman
Recording
Secretary Rose
Mary Oglesby
Discussions were held about changes to the
website, e-mail addresses, and updating the by-laws. More to
come on these subjects later.
After the business meeting, Lynn Engelman made
a presentation on Enhancing Your Family History.
There are many ways to change a collection of facts,
figures, and names into a family history.
Photo albums can be used to enhance your stories.
Probate records may contain many different items: pictures, baptismal
certificates, discharge certificates, receipts for funerary items, family
trees, letters, maps, and plats. Physical objects may also be used to enhance
your family histories.
The following two samples show how items that may be
passed down from one generation to another can be used to enhance your family
history.
We were
doing research on a belt buckle obtained by the Madison County Historical
Society and it had an ‘MG’ on it. The belt buckle was
from the Madison Guard. Have you ever heard of the Madison Guard? How could you
use a belt buckle to enhance your family history?
The story tied to this particular belt buckle includes
murder, a lynch mob, and the establishment of a military company in Madison
County.
This belt buckle was part of the Sutter collection
purchased by the museum in 1929. The museum curator started researching it,
starting with the Historical Society information, and she found out that the MG
stood for the Madison Guard. The research resulted in the following story:
In 1857, Franz Jacob Barth was a German sutler going
between Troy and St. Jacob and was accosted by three Englishmen. Supposedly,
they were drunk and requested a ride on Barth’s wagon. He said no and continued
on his way to Troy. They apparently got angry and planned on robbing him and
decided they would kill him at the next opportunity.
Later in the day, the three of them ambushed the
trader outside Troy, shooting him several times. He was found on the roadside
by a passer-by, who took him to a nearby house where he was
attended to by a doctor. The three assailants were captured the next
day, which was May 13. Now, keep in mind it began on May 12, they captured the
culprits on May 13. They were brought before Barth, the gentleman who was shot,
and he identified them.
Barth died three days later. The three were held in
the Edwardsville jail awaiting trial, which was scheduled to
be held about a week later on May 20. As the trial neared, a report came
out that the men would be acquitted and a mob gathered in Highland and
travelled to Edwardsville intending to lynch the three men. The local sheriff
had advanced warning and was able gather a large group of men to defend the
jail. According to the Norton History of Madison County, a guard unit from
Alton was also called on to guard the courthouse during the trial.
The three were convicted 15 minutes after the jury
started deliberating. Two of them were sentenced to be hung,
while the third was sentenced to life in prison. He was later pardoned on the
petition of leading Edwardsville citizens, based on his youth and the fact that
he did not participate in the actual shooting. Upon his release, he changed his
name, moved to St. Louis, and opened a popular restaurant.
After the incident at the jail, the citizens of the Edwardsville
vicinity decided that they needed a local militia and by May 28, 1857,
they voted to form a military company. By June 9, by-laws for the company were
written and the name Madison Guard was adopted. They selected the U.S. musket
as the unit’s weapon, and elected officers. Joseph Schloss was elected Captain
and Joseph D. Robinson became 1st Lieutenant.
What did all this have to do with the belt buckle?
Apparently, they were known far and wide for their military discipline as a
very prestigious unit and for the beauty of their uniforms; the belt buckle was
part of their uniform.
This buckle was owned by the Captain
of the Guard. In 1859, the unit
numbered 104 men, including a drum corps. When the first call came for troops
to fight the War Between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, the Civil
War, or the War for the Suppression of the Slaveholders Rebellion of 1861,
whichever name you want to use, most of the unit joined Company I in the 9th
Illinois Infantry.
The 1st Lieutenant of the Guard, Joseph D.
Robinson became Captain of Company I and Guard Captain Joseph
Schloss went to Alabama and fought for the Confederacy.
There were some interesting connections - Doctor
Edward Weir, the son of John Weir, who owned the house where the Madison County
Historical Museum is located, was a drummer boy for the Company when he was
about 12. The story of Jacob Barth’s murder was one of the first told at the
first Old Settlers Union Stories in June 1898.
This particular belt buckle had connections to the
Madison County Historical Society and the Madison Guard. So you can see how you
can use that one thing to enhance your family story.
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Libby Prison was one of 23 Confederate prisons in
Richmond. It was originally a three-story tobacco warehouse that was converted
into a prison. It was second only to Andersonville Prison in Georgia for
overcrowding, disease, malnutrition, and mortality.
According to the accounts recorded in the American
Civil War Collection 1860-1922, prisoners in Confederate Prisons in Richmond
were known for working in bone and wood to reduce the tedium of imprisonment
and many items were purchased by Confederate soldiers and officers for their
beautiful workmanship … a lot of times the prisoners would make jewelry.
William Wrightman was a cooper from Alton taken
prisoner in 1862 and held in Libby Prison for 22 months. He was one of those
prisoners who did bone carving. One particular piece owned by the Madison County
Historical Society has the initials H.M.W. on the back. These are the initials
of Helen M. Wrightman, William’s wife. William was honorably discharged after
the war, returned to Alton to take up his cooper business, and he also held a
position in city government. This carved bone jewelry was
donated to the Madison County Historical Society by William’s grandchildren.
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Sometimes when you go through parents’ houses or
grandparents’ houses, you will find things that you know were always there.
There are questions you should ask: Who owned it? Where did it come from? What
is it? Sometimes they keep something because of who owned it and sometimes it’s
just to figure out what it is. You can look at picture albums and possibly find
out where it came from.
I am sure that everybody here has got stuff that they
can use to enhance their family story. Don’t just be a keeper
of names, facts, and figures but use things to tell the history of your
family and ancestors, or what was going on in the period.
