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Bartelso is a pretty little village situated in Santa Fe Township, and occupying the original site of Santa Fe. Its immediate neighborhood was settled by the whites prior to 1816. Up to 1876 it was a part of Carlyle and Germantown, but at the aforesaid date it was made a separate precinct.

With the establishment of St. Cecelia’s parish a new spirit invaded the settlement, and the little village was named in honor of the pastor of St. Cecelia’s the Rev. B. BARTELS.

Little can be added to the description of the village contained in the writeup of St. Cecilia’s parish. The growth of Bartelso is coincident with the same, and can be gleaned from that description. A splendid school is located in Bartelso. It boasts a bank, hotel and telephone exchange, all signs of decided progress. The beautiful church is pictured in this issue. It indicates, better than words can describe, the spirit of the little village.

St. Cecilia’s, Bartelso

This parish was created A.D. 1884 by Rt. Rev. Bishop P.J. BALTELS and the territory for same severed from St. Boniface’s parish of Germantown, Ill., and St. Mary’s parish of Carlyle, Ill.

The church was erected 1884 by the present Vicar General Rt. Rev. Msgr. William CLUSE, at that time rector of St. Boniface’s church, Germantown, Ill. It is a brick building of 500 seating capacity and the cost of its erection was approximately $25,000.00. Rev. Joseph SPAETH was appointed first pastor of the new congregation and on January 19, 1885, the first mass was said in the new church. Father SPAETH resigned in spring, 1888 and was succeeded by Rev. B. BARTELS in April, 1888. As the health of Father BARTELS began to fail, Rev. Conrad JANSEN was made his assistant. After he had become pastor of St. Lawrence’s church, at Sandoval, Ill., he was succeed in 1890 by Rev. Cornelius HOFFMANS, who came here from Fayetteville, Ill., and assisted Father BARTELS in the pastorate of the congregation. Father HOFFMANS died November 18, 1891. His successor in the assistantship was appointed July, 1892. Father BARTELS died May 4, 1894, and was succeeded by the present incumbent. Father BARTELS donated the site where the present church and other buildings were built and also donated the cemetery where he found his resting place. The village of Bartelso is named after him. The original name of the congregation was Santa Fe.

The first rectory was erected 1884 at the same time when the church was built. It was a two-story frame structure and cost $1,600.00. In 1889 Father BARTELS built an addition to the rectory in order to have rooms for an assistant. In the year 1911, the present rectory was remodeled and brick veneered, also a hot water heating plant installed. The total cost of remodeling amounted to $3,600.00

The first school was held in a little frame building, formerly a public school building, which Father SPAETH had bought for the parish. The school was opened in the fall of the year 1885 with about 30 pupils and the

present Rev. Mother M. TERESA, C.P.P.S., of Ruma, Ill., was the first teacher. As the number of pupils increased another schoolroom was opened in the sisters’residence. The sisters of the Most Precious Blood have been in charge of the school from the beginning of the congregation and in order to make school work more effective,

in 1893, the help of a male lay-teacher, Mr. P.P. GOELZ, was secured. In 1894 Rev. J. H. KEIM erected, with the liberal assistance of Father BARTELS, the present school building at a cost of $7,000.00 and in 1906 added to more school rooms at a cost of $3,000.00. At present four school rooms and a large instruction room serve for the

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education of the youth of the congregation besides a large hall and stage in the upper story. The present attendance at school is 160 pupils.

The oldest society since 1887 affiliated with the parish is a branch of the Catholic Knights of Ill., and its present membership is 50. The second oldest is the Young Men’s Society, since 1894, membership 65. Two societies were started in 1897 for the ladies of the parish, vis: The Society of Christian Mothers (112), and of Young Ladies (65). Also the men of the congregation formed a society in the year 1899 and is with a present membership of 90 in a flourishing condition and helping the parish in many ways. Besides the society of the Holy Childhood among the children there is the youngest Society "Harmony" whose aim is to sing the correct ecclesiastical chant at divine services and to furnish from time to time useful musical and theatrical entertainments to the members of the parish: membership 25.

The parish consists of 134 families with about 800 souls. The nationality of the parishioners is German or more correctly, Americans of German descent. The growth of the parish has been steady. A fluctuating membership is unknown in this parish, same being composed of farmers and town residents. So far only one son of the parish, Rev. John JANTZEN, became a priest, but there are several preparing for the priesthood so that the future looks brighter in this respect. Twenty-one girls belonging to this parish have joined different sisterhoods, where they educate the youth or nurse the sic. Among the benefactors of the parish the name of Father BARTELS stands foremost.

The present pastor of the parish, Rev. John H. KEIM was born in Neidermunster, Rheinish-Prussia, Germany, December 21, 1865. After having graduated from the gymnasium at Vechta, Oldenburg, he studied philosophy and theology at the University of Munster, Westfalia and finished his studies at the Theological Seminary of St. Francis, Wis. He was ordained to the holy priesthood by Rt. Rev. John JANSEN on the 24th of June, 1892, at St. Henry’s Church, East St. Louis, Ill. His first appointment was that of an assistant at Bartelso, July 16, 1892. In September 1893, he was appointed administrator of the parish and in October, 1894, was appointed its pastor. 

Bartelso Savings Bank

Previous to the year 1908 the banking business of Bartelso was done at Germantown and Carlyle. During that

year, the above named bank was started by several of the citizens of Bartelso and it is today recognized as one of the best banks of Clinton County. Its officers and directors are men well known and respect for probity, whose estimated combined wealth is upwards of several 

hundred thousand dollars. The Bartelso Savings Bank is a private bank, its deposits averaging forty thousand dollars. It does a general banking business. Among its stockholders are the following well known citizens: Peter P. GOELZ, Blase BACH, Jos. BERGMANN, F. Hy JANSEN, Frank BECKER, A.B. MICHELS, H.C. and Fred J. KOCH. Peter P. GOELZ is president and Blase BACH, cashier. Fred J. KOCH of New Baden, is vice-president. Its total resources since its opening are shown herewith yearly: 1908, $9,000; 1909, $17,000; 1910, $25,000; 1911, $31,000; 1912, $39,000. Up to the year 1911 the bank was operated as a branch bank of Germantown. During that year it organized as a private bank and elected its present officers. It corresponds with the Farmers and Merchants’ Trust Company of St. Louis, Mo.

F. Henry JANSEN

Mr. JANSEN conducts the only hotel in the city and has been located in Bartelso for the past seven years occupied in the business. He has been a resident of Bartelso for twenty years. He was born in Germantown in 1858 and was in 1881 married to Miss Anna DUEING, from which union sprang eight children, six girls and two boys.

The hotel, while a small one, is excellently conducted and is noted for its cuisine. Rates are $1.50 per day.

Mr. JANSEN is also manager and owner of the Bartelso Mutual Telephone system. It was organized in 1906 and has over sixty subscribers. Twenty of this number live in the village proper, while the others are ruralites. One operator attends to the business of the company, as only day service is maintained. The system connects with the Citizens’ Telephone and Telegraph Company and also with the independent systems to all points in the United States. The central office is located in the office of Dr. F. FISCHER opposite the hotel and near the Southern depot. The officers and directors of the company are: F. Henry JANSEN, president; Hy. S. MADDOX, secretary, Ben HODAPP and Ben GRAWE, directors.  

Peter P. GOELZ

Mr. Peter P. GOELZ, besides being president of a bank, is also the principal of the school at Bartelso. He has held his present position 20 years and teaches the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades in St. Cecilia’s parish school. The number of pupils under his direct charge is equal to the largest number in any of the rooms of the school. Previous to locating in Bartelso, Mr. GOELZ was teacher of the parochial school at Venice, Ill. He received his early training in the schools of Waterloo, Monroe County, Ill. He was born in O’Fallon in 1871 and was married in 1895 to Miss Clara BROES of St. Clair County. The couple are the proud parents of nine children. The number four boys and five girls, all winsome and sturdy. Two of Mr. GOELZ’s boys are studying for the priesthood, at St. Meinrad’s college.