Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting - November 10, 2010
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.
In the
Library
Updated
Version of Family Tree
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.
New
Family History Data Available
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 denbuchm@swbell.net.
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 $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Barbara Hitch, at racerbarb@aol.com,
about a gift membership.
November
Meeting
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.