#AngelenoSwissHistoryMonth: Pioneer Eugene Germain

via google Book “Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea” (Download PDF – 30MB)

One of the oldest commercial institutions in Los Angeles is the Germain Seed and Plant Company, whose founder was the late Eugene Germain. He established his home at Los Angeles almost 150 years ago, and was a man of wide and influential relationships with the city until his death.

He was born in the French part of Switzerland, November 30, 1849. Educated in public schools and the college at Lausanne until he was twenty, he then came to New York City and after a short time went west to Los Angeles by way of Panama. His first enterprise in California was a restaurant, but soon afterward he opened a grocery store and gradually developed the commission business then known as the Germain Fruit Company. While it was a general commission firm, an important feature was the handling of seed, nursery stock, wines, and the operation of a fruit packing plant at Santa Ana. Eugene Germain continued as president of the business until 1893.

President Cleveland appointed him United States Consul to Switzerland for a term of four years, and during his absence the business was left in charge of a manager. On returning to Los Angeles he sold the wine department to his brother Edward and the commission business to Loeb-Fleishman & Company, and thereafter concentrated his attention upon the seed and nursery features under the name Germain Seed & Plant Company. In this line he continued active until his death in 1909, when his son succeeded him.

April 2, 1872, at Los Angeles, Eugene Germain married Caroline Sievers. They had five children: Edmund, of Brooklyn, New York; deceased; Lillian, wife of C. A. J. Sharman, of Alberta, Canada; Clare, at home; and Marc L.

Eugene Germain was the first president of the Board of Trade, one of the first vice-presidents of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and a director and officer in many other important institutions. He was a Mason and Odd Fellow, a member of the Jonathan Club, a charter member of the California Club, and a democrat in politics.

Marc L. Germain, who was born at Los Angeles, August 20, 1882, attended the local public schools to the age of nine, and during his father’s residence abroad attended the schools at Zurich, Switzerland. He finished his education in Yale University, graduating in 1904. On returning to Los Angeles he became associated with his father in the Germain Seed & Plant Company, and as noted above, succeeded him as president in 1909. Eugene Germain has also been responsible for much building improvement in Los Angeles. Some of the buildings erected by him were the Germain Block’ on Los Angeles street, near Requena street, a building on Los Angeles between First and Second streets, another at the northwest corner of Fourth and Los Angeles streets, the Germain Hotel at Tenth and Hope streets, the Germain building at 224 South Spring, a large building at the southeast corner of Twelfth and Main streets, and 215. 219, 221 South Main, near Second street, now a parking lot.

The Germain business was originally located in the T- Kurtz building at First and Main streets, but in 1899 was moved to 326-330 South Main street. In 1918 a separation was made between the wholesale and retail departments, the retail being located at Sixth and Main streets and the wholesale at the Terminal Market.

One Night Only in LA, at the Beverly Hills Women’s Club: The History of the De Büren Family

Welcome to LA, Jean-François de Büren!
(Event Details & PDF Poster)

Art Show with Jean-François de Büren at the Historic Beverly Hills Women’s Club

Our very own Helvetic.LA contributing editor, designer, writer, historian, genealogist, and aspiring filmmaker, Jean-François de Büren has been passionate about his family history for as long as he can remember.
For the past 10 years he has actively worked on the story of his Swiss, Argentine & American roots. Jean-François’ presentation will cover his 800 year family story as well as highlight his current creative endeavors surrounding his heritage.

Soldiers and Statesmen. Adventurers and Artists. The History of the de Büren family.

Covering over eight centuries of history, in the United States, Switzerland and Argentina, the de Büren family saga is replete with passionate tales of soldiers, statesmen, adventurers and artists. From the blood-drenched battlefields of Europe to the steaming jungles of South America, from the fertile pampas of Argentina to California’s Central Valley,  the tale of the de Bürens reads like a great novel — evoking the grand sweep of history as well as its telling details, bursting with complex intrigue, fascinating personal stories, and the most compelling of family dramas.

In addition to the presentation Jean-François will showcase family heirlooms, as well as engravings, drawings, sketches, watercolors and sculpture made by family members during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Jean-François grew up in Northern California is a dual Swiss and American citizen and is active in the local Swiss community. He will publish this year his great-great-grandfather’s journals chronicling a two-year journey through the Americas of the 1850s.

As a companion to the book, Jean-François aims to retrace his Ancestor’s expedition for a documentary film. He is also writing a screenplay for a feature film set in Switzerland that centers around his deaf-mute ancestor. Additionally, Jean-François writes about Swiss emigration to California, and is currently working on the Swiss-American version of the popular Swiss board game Helvetiq.

WHEN: APRIL 8, 2011, 6:00 – 9:00 pm

WHERE: Beverly Hills Womens’ Club
1700 Chevy Chase Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

DETAILS:
6:00pm Cocktails & Light Buffet
7:00pm Presentation
$ 40. – Members & Guests
$ 60. – Non-Members & Guests after April 5
RSVP by April 5, 2011: info@bhwomensclub.org

PARKING FYI:
Access to the Parking lot is off Benedict Canyon,
just south of the Clubhouse.

Would you kindly forward this PDF to potentially interested family or friends, and invite them to join Jean-Francois de Büren’s soirée?

“The Grand Tour” Preview (PDF)

Jean-Francois de Büren, April 8th, Beverly Hills Womens Club (PDF)

 

Albert Gallatin: America’s Swiss Founding Father

Statue of Albert Gallatin in front of the north side of the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. - Image via Wikipedia

via ThinkSwiss.org

The Embassy of Switzerland invites you to commemorate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the birth of Albert Gallatin, the most prominent Swiss-American in U.S. history.

Albert Gallatin, born in January 1761 and raised in Geneva, immigrated to the United States and became a U.S. Senator, a Congressman, the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. negotiator of the Treaty of Ghent, U.S. Minister to France and Britain, and the first president of the Council of New York University, among other distinctions.

In honor of Albert Gallatin’s 250th birthday year, the Swiss Confederation has launched the Gallatin250 Project, including the Gallatin250 Roundtables. The Gallatin250 Roundtables will be organized as a series of events throughout the U.S. to address the topic of public debt and fiscal responsibility.