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invitation to the other Luxembourg organizations to join it, which invitation was again rebuffed.
The effort to link all Luxembourg organizations into one umbrella group was now dead. From
this point, they would go their separate ways.
In 1898 and 1899, the Grand Lodge met to review the affairs of the previous years and to
discuss the future. At the 1899 Grand Lodge meeting, John Schmitt was elected as Grand
President succeeding John Hankes. Nicholas Nilles was
elected to succeed John N. Watry as Grand Secretary, a
post he would hold until 1949.
The insurance laws of Illinois required insurance organizations
to have a least 500 insured members. In order to
qualify for a state insurance charter, a membership drive
was initiated. In January and February, 1900, Section 1
initiated fifty eight new members and Sections 2 and 3
doubled their membership.
On February 14, 1900, the Luxembourg Benefit
Society asked to be admitted as a group into the L.B.A. This
request was granted and the group became known as Section
4. The former Luxembourg National Benefit Society
of Town Lake (north side of Chicago) was admitted as
Section 5, on September 9, 1900. On September 30, 1900, a
John Schmit
2nd Grand President
group from Hawthorne became known as Section 6 and on
October 7, 1900 Aurora was admitted as Section 7, with
Peter Weiland as its first president.
On February 23, 1902, forty three members were
initiated and officers were installed into the newly organized Section 8 located in Evanston,
Illinois. On March 16, 1902, 21 candidates were intitiated and officers installed to form Section 9
in the Lakeview area of Chicago. With the establishment of these new sections, membership of
the L.B.A. reached the 500 mark. With 500 members, the L.B.A. qualified as an insurance
organization which permitted it to pay sick and death benefits.
A review of the insurance charter, dated May 21, 1902, shows the name of the organization
to be "Luxembourger Brotherhood of America." The incorporators were listed as Nicholas
Mausen, Bernard Metzel, John N. Watry, Nicholas Nilles, Nickolas Gans, John P. Michels,
Bernard Prost, John P. Schommer, Theodore Abens, Charles J. Lemmer, John P. Kohn, Bernard
Klein, Peter Flamming and Jacob Schaack.
The object for which the L.B.A. was incorporated as
an insurance corporation was:
to provide for the payment of benefits in
case of disability and death or of either, resulting
from disease, accident or old age of its members;
provided the period in life at which payment
of physical disability benefits on account
of age shall commence, shall not be under 70
years of age.
The plan to be used to implement the insurance
program was the:
lodge system with ritualistic form of work
and representative form of government.
The supreme governing, managing and
legislative body shall be known as the "Gross-
John N. Watry bund" (or Grand Lodge) and shall be composed
3rd Grand President of the elective officers of the "Grossbund" and