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| Chaffee Historical Society, Chaffee, MO, chaffeehistory.com Note: many Frisco magazines are held at the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis |
By
the 1920's America's companies embraced promoting employee relations
and internal marketing advancements by publishing human interest stories
in their company magazines. These stories highlighted employee
promotions, but also featured employee's hobbies, showcased children of
employees, announced marriages and deaths, military service, and more.
For genealogists it's good to know that not only top executives were
highlighted.
Looking
for an ancestor's photo? Family researchers may not only find an
article filled with genealogical information, we may even find a baby
picture, marriage picture, or a photo of your ancestor in uniform.
Obituaries of company employees were often much larger and more
informative than those printed in the newspapers.
Where to Begin
 |
| Chaffee Historical Society Chaffee, MO chaffeehistory.com |
Armed
with this information, the researcher will want to identify any
historic industry magazine or internal company publication. Corporate
magazines became prevalent in the 1900s with a rise in popularity late
1920's.
Where To Find Company Magazines?
WorldCat
is a great place to start. A quick inquiry led me to libraries that
held historical company magazines, but be sure to contact local
libraries and museums.
At
the recent Missouri State Historical Association conference, Dennis
Northcutt of the Missouri History Museum and Library shared examples
from its genealogy collection of company magazines, some St. Louis
company specifically, other nationwide companies highlighting personnel
from across the nation. This collection is in the process of being
indexed, some series already completed (Genealogy & Local
History indexes).
Highlighted Magazines
Union Electric Magazine
of the 1930s periodically ran a Perfect Baby issue with baby pics of
children of their employees. This magazine also ran human interest
stories of weddings and photos. Currently 70,000 names from 70 years are
being indexed at the Missouri History Museum and Library, St. Louis.
Voice of Emerson from the Emerson Electric company (not yet indexed. ) also highlights St. Louis area employees.
Not
just companies, but historic neighborhoods also published newsletters,
highlighting gossipy news, but announcing promotions, family births,
deaths and marriages. One plus, is these small newsletters also
documented when neighbors moved and announced their new location.
Were African Americans Featured?
 |
| African American Pullman http://afro-americanstudies.com/blog/tag/brotherhood-of-sleeping-car-porters/ |
African American
employees were also highlighted. Company employee's loyalty and
longevity were announced as were favored employees. I located
information on a client's Florida ancestor who was an elevator
operator. The obituary printed in the company magazine gave a short
employment history and information on his WWI service history.
The Transit News,
a magazine of the St. Louis Public Service, featured Randle H. Ross in
an article of "A Black with Track Department. Ross, a service man, had
served in the Army. A photo accompanied this article.
Labor Union and Industry Magazines
Labor
unions and industry magazines highlighted employees and members and
were forerunners of publishing human interest stories (as early as early
1900's). Here are a few examples:
Police Journals
Labor Unions
· International Photo-Engravers' Union of North America (IPEU) - labor union formed in 1904 to represent halftone photoengravers in the printing industry
· Printing Trades Magazine
Army and Navy Journal - mostly showcased officers
For more information visit Genealogy Clues in Company's History.
Kathleen Brandt
a3genealogy@gmail.com
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