Meisenheimer Scrapbooks

The Madison County Historical Society holds nearly 200 scrapbooks prepared by local historian Harold Meisenheimer. They are housed in the Madison County Archival Library. The Hayner Public Library District’s Genealogy & Local History Library in Alton holds a similar number of Mr. Meisenheimer’s scrapbooks; some holdings at the two institutions overlap. Most of the scrapbooks include indexes.

Harold Louis Meisenheimer was born on November 26, 1927, in Alton, Illinois. He grew up on Condit Avenue and attended Alton public schools. He served as a medic with the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, Harold married Alvie M. Sharp and started his career as a carpenter at Owens-Illinois. The couple purchased a home on Condit Avenue in 1955, where they lived for the rest of Harold’s life. After retiring from Owens-Illinois in the early 1980s, Harold became a local historian, focusing on Alton and nearby Madison County communities. He died on July 3, 2018.

Online Finding Aids for Meisenheimer Scrapbooks

These finding aids represent indexing work by Mr. Meisenheimer and by staff at the Hayner Genealogy & Local History Library and the Madison County Archival Library.

Meisenheimer scrapbooks held by MCHS: Scrapbook list

Alton Telegraph: “Our Past”: Subject/name index to 2007-2010, 2012-2014
The “Our Past” feature in the Alton Telegraph featured an archival photograph with an explanatory caption, sourced from Telegraph archives and private collections. Indexes for additional years are available at the library.

World War I scrapbooks: Name index to WWI scrapbooks
Primarily obituaries for WWI soldiers and veterans from Madison County, but includes some from nearby Jersey, Calhoun, and St. Clair counties.

World War II scrapbooks: Name index to WWII scrapbooks 1-5, 2008
Primarily obituaries for WWII soldiers and veterans from Madison County, but includes some from nearby Jersey, Calhoun, and St. Clair counties. Indexes for additional World War II scrapbooks are available at the library.