The next meeting of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society will be the members Annual Christmas party Tuesday, December 9th at 6 PM. 

Our Farmstead Nuts and Treats order is in! Please stop by and pick yours up today.

All history is local until it is woven together with other stories to become part of the National fabric and there is no aspect of National history that doesn’t touch Tazewell County.

It’s Christmas time, so let’s look at a few of the Jewelers of the past, from Jesse A. Nason to Jones Brothers.

Jesse A. Nason Watchmaker
Jesse was born 9 October 1819 in Gorham, Maine to Rev. Reuben and Martha Coffin Nason. The family moved to Illinois following Reuben’s death, and Jesse is listed in the 1845 state census of Tazewell County.

He served in Company G of the 4th Illinois infantry during the Mexican-American war. He was awarded 162 acres of bounty land in the Southwest quarter of Section 31 in Township 25N, Range 2W (Deer Creek) for his service as a Corporal in Captain Jones’ Company of Illinois Volunteers. 

It seems Jesse sold the land and used the money to settle in Pekin, where he’s found living in the 1850 census. The family stayed in Pekin until the late 1860s, when they relocated to Nebraska.

While living in Pekin, Jesse married Anna Maria Coldren Doolittle, widow of Irwin Doolittle (1812-1851), on 10 August 1854. Anna had two children from the first marriage, Mary, who wed B F Wilson 28 November 1881 in Pekin, and Irwin B., who married Ida James after the family moved to Nebraska.

Jesse and Anna had three more children: Elmore A (1856-1928) who at one point ran off with a Wild West Show for about ten years, leaving the family to think him dead, before turning up on his half-brother’s doorstep in Colfax, Washington; Apphia Sarah (Alfred) Burlingame (1859-1936) who lived in Denver and Walter R. (1862-1899) who was a jeweler in Havensville, Kansas at the time of his death.

At various times in his life, Jesse was listed as a surveyor, then as a watchmaker and jeweler, the occupation he followed while in Pekin. His store was impacted by the Grondenberg fire in March 1860, but it’s unknown to what extent. His store was listed in the 1861 City directory. He was briefly listed as a farmer in Nebraska before returning to a jewelry store.

Jesse died 21 September 1897 in Scribner, Nebraska and was buried in the Scribner city cemetery.

Birkenbusch Jewelers
Old Louis Birkenbusch was born 2 February 1819 in Battenberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany and first appeared in U.S. records in the 1850 census of Baltimore, Maryland. He was naturalized in 1857 in Illinois and by 1860 was living in Pekin while operating a boarding house. 

Louis and Louise operated the Mansion House at Second and Margaret from about 1860 until the late 1870s. He is then listed as a jeweler in 1880. The couple had four children: Henry (1851-1947), Louis (1853-1891), Louisa K. Weyrich (1857-1920), and Minnie A. (1859-1953).

Their son Louis was a brewer in the 1870 Pekin census, but by 1880 was living and working as a brewer in Cincinnati, where he died in an accident and was buried in Walnut Hills cemetery. He left a widow and three little girls.

Henry Birkenbusch  
Henry was born 23 December 1851 in Baltimore, Maryland, to Louis and Elizabeth Engelbach Birkenbusch, married 23 January 1878 to Franziska Raskopp (1855-1948), and was a jeweler at 420 Court Street for 78 years.

He was only 16 years old when he apprenticed to J. J. Wolfe, then took over the business when Wolfe retired. He was very civic-minded and served as a volunteer fireman, was on the hospital board, cemetery association, park board, and others. He was with the Pekin Association of Commerce, sat on several bank boards, and was a charter member of the Tazewell Club, Elks, and Woodmen. Henry and Franziska had three children: Louis, Clara and Albert (1881-1883). Clara (1885-1980) married Harry Whitfield and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Henry died 15 July 1947.

Louis A. Birkenbusch
The third Louis Birkenbusch was born in Pekin 29 November 1878, married Katherine Bell on 14 October 1914, and took over the reins of Birkenbusch Jewelers from his father. Louis had been a jeweler from 1884 until his retirement in 1958. Louis A. was a member of St. Paul Episcopal Church and the Empire Masonic Lodge. He and Kathryn had just one child, Frances K. (1915-1984), who did not marry, so the Birkenbusch name died with her. 

Henry Zuckweiler Watches, Clocks, Silverware and Spectacles
Henry Zuckweiler (1837-1909) was a jeweler, watchmaker, and engraver who held a patent on a trolling hook. It was a bass fly with a tiny silver spoon to prevent tangles with underwater weeds. He later brought his sons into the business located at 228 Court St. in 1908. After Henry’s passing, the sons only kept the business about nine years. Zuckweiler Jewelry was last listed in the 1918 city directory.

Better known simply as Jones Brothers Jewelers
The brothers were born in Streator to Thomas H. and Elizabeth Youngquist Jones. Orville (1906-1988) was a Master Watchmaker, a skill he learned attending Bradley Horological Institute. Earl E. (1909-1986) was a certified gemologist. Together the brothers owned and operated the jewelry store from 1939 to 1979, and it was not just jewelry; they had beautiful china and crystal, and other gift items that your writer remembers well. The store and the staff were second to none. Another family bought the business in 1980 and kept it going, but eventually, the Pekin store closed. 

A Very Merry Christmas to All
The Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society is an award-winning 501c3, all-volunteer organization that has been in continuous service to our members and the public for 47 years. TCGHS operates an archive, library, and research facility at 719 N. 11th St., Pekin. Visit our website at www.tcghs.org to learn more about us. If you have any point of interest that you would like to know more about, stop in at TCGHS or drop us a line.

Footnote: We want to clarify that the Frank G. (who was born in 1880 Italy) in last month’s column was not Frank Gianessi that was born in 1903 in Corsavy, France and had only one child, Donald Frank Gianessi.