The November 2010 meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library on Wednesday, November 10, at 3:00 pm. This change of day and time was to prevent any conflict with Veterans' Day observances.
Since this meeting was co-sponsored by the Edwardsville Public Library, no reports were presented at the meeting. The following reports have become available.
Financial report for the month of October 2010, as follows:
Rev. Carl V. Nelson has sent the Society an updated copy of his genealogy and family tree: Williams, Hood, Nelson, & Johnson, Family Genealogies/Trees, updated October 19, 2010.
Recently, Dennis Buchmiller, of
Chesterfield, Missouri, joined our Society as a new member. The
families he is researching are from Highland and Pierron, Illinois.
He has been researching since 1979, and has a lot of material
from Germany.
He sent us a disc of family history data. The disc is divided
in sections and also has photos.
Descendants of Albrecht Buechmiller born 1415 in Baden-Wuttenburg,
Germany.
Caecilia Buchmuller born 26 Jan 1811 - Germany died 18 April 1895
in Highland, Illinois.
Johann Daniel Buchmuller born 11 Oct 1821 - died 12 Sept 1887
in Henry, Illinois.
German Buchmuller born 5 Dec 1828 - died 4 Nov 1912, Pierron,
Illinois.
Oskar Buchmuller - born 4 Sept 1863 - ?
Johann Paul Oswein died 12 May 1755.
Johannes Michael Weidner born abt 1685 - died 1743.
Some of the other family names included are: Braun, Davis, Dubach,
Essenpries, Frey, Gramlich, Hamm, Hammer, Hoffman, Huddleston,
Indermill, Isert, Knebel, Linenfelser, Moss, Munie, Paul, Seifried,
Speckart, Strobel, Walter, Wehrle, Weindel, Widmer, Wisnaski,
and Zahner.
If you have a connection to any of these names, Mr. Buchmiller
can be reached at [email protected].
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 $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Barbara Hitch, at [email protected],
about a gift membership.
The regular meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society
is normally the second Thursday of the month. In November 2010,
this would have been the 11th. In order to prevent any conflict
with Veteran's Day observances, the meeting was moved to November
10, 2010. This meeting was also co-sponsored by the Edwardsville
Public Library as part of a book signing. Local historian, Cindy
Reinhardt, is the author of a new book, Leclaire, published
by Arcadia Publishing.
Cindy talked about the founder of Leclaire, N. O. Nelson, and
his principles that brought him to establish the village and his
other philanthropic efforts.
Nelson established the N. O. Nelson Company in 1876 in St. Louis,
Missouri. The company was engaged in the manufacture and wholesale
of plumbing goods. Nelson believed that a possible solution to
the social and economic problems of the factory system was profit
sharing. The decision was made to build a manufacturing plant
in the country as opposed to a city as a rural location was viewed
as offering a more healthful environment.
A site near the city of Edwardsville was selected in 1890. The
site had railway access, a water supply, and a nearby coal mine.
The one-story factory buildings built each housed a specific function.
Every building was supplied with electricity and the walls were
lined with windows for natural light and fresh air. Near the factory
was a tract for sports, a school, residential use, and a working
farm and dairy.
Nelson's four objectives in creating Leclaire were (1) "to
make business the real purpose of rational living; (2) to build
around the man who toils the highest and most inspiring social,
educational, industrial environments; (3) to harmonize the difference
between capital and labor by an equitable distribution of profits;
and (4) to make the world a better, more beautiful place to live."
To Nelson, Leclaire was nothing more than putting the "Golden
Rule" into practice.
The workers could have the company build their house in Leclaire
much cheaper than having someone else build it. The workers were
charged the cost of the materials and labor plus the average profit
being made by the manufacturing business. The monthly installments
were based on the size of the purchaser's family and his wage
- the larger the family, the smaller the payment; the higher the
wage, the higher the payment.
In 1910, twenty years after its founding, Leclaire had grown to
only 575 people. The workmen did not want homes as much as Nelson
guessed, They were used to renting and they wanted to spend all
of their money. The move of the plant to the country caused some
of the workers, who craved city life and nearness to relatives,
to quit.
In 1979, Leclaire was named a National Historic District.
Many of the attendees at the meeting have lived at one time in
or near Leclaire. Many questions and comments followed Ms. Reinhardt's
presentation.
The Madison County Genealogy Society would like to thank the Edwardsville
Public Library for their co-sponsorship of this meeting and their
generosity in furnishing refreshments.