Information on Empire Sewing Machine Company's web pages, regarding the Juengst family and their various companies, factories name and location, including those links to Remington S.M. Co., come from different sources, appear to present some discrepancies and also seem arduous to line up dates.

NEWS FROM THE PAST

A Sewing Machine Company's Troubles

David J. White, L. Anderson, P. J. Ekstrom, Michael Bauerle, Frank Stark and David D. Cornell have filed a bill in the Circuit Court against William G. Moore, F. W. Kalbfleish, John Burns, J. W. Olds and Fred F. Hilder, who constitute the Remington Empire Sewing Machine. Plaintiffs allege that themselves and others, with the defendants in this suit were stockholders in a certain company known as the “Western Empire Sewing machine Company”, doing business in Chicago and which was incorporated under the laws of this state for the purpose of manufacturing sewing machines. This was a joint stock company, with an authorized capital of $150.000, being 3.000 shares at $50 per share.

Up to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the company continued to manufacture and sell their machines, but the conflagration swept away the books, records, machinery and tools. Assets, consisting of horses, wagons, sewing machines, bills receivable, amounting to $20.000, however, were still left.

On December 20, 1871, some of the stockholders of the Western Empire, how many is not known, met together and, with Wm. G. Moore as chairman, adopted a resolution to form a new company under the name of the “Remington Empire Sewing Machine Company” in which new company the stockholders of the old one were to be allowed stock to the amount of their certificates.

A Committee, consisting of W. G. Moore, J. H. Burns, J. W. Olds, C. Crosswell and F. F. Hilder, was appointed at this meeting to act as trustees and the stockholders were to be called together under the name of the Remington Empire Company. It is alleged that the Committee subsequently deserted the company and declared it dissolved and the stockholders never met. In the meantime the bill states, the defendants have usurped the assets and are carrying on the business on their own account. The relief asked is the appointment of a receiver to take change of the assets and distribute them under the direction of the Court, the balance, if any after paying the debts, to be distributed prorata among the stockholders. An injunction is also desired to restrain the collection of the assets of the Remington machines or selling and disposing of them by the defendants.

May 1873

To the Citizens of Watertown and Vicinity

Our attention having been called to an article entitled a “Sewing Machine Company’s Troubles".

We deemed it only doing justice to the public, as well as Mr. H. Goetsch of your city to inquire into the origin of the article above named. We find upon inquiry the article publication was paid for by Messrs. Fuller & Lightbody, Agents for the Singer Sewing Machine. And why do Messrs. Fuller & Lightbody take such a lively interest in a quarrel of a stock company of Chicago, pray? solely for the purpose of bringing the troubles of the Western Empire Company before the public by which means they will secure capital to work upon in making their sales of the Singer Sewing Machine to a misinformed public. Their manner of procedure is as follows: They take with them a copy of the paper containing the above named article and on entering a house where they find a Remington Sewing Machine, of which Mr. H. Goetsch is local agent for Watertown and vicinity. They at once enter into a cruel dissertation on the demerits of the Remington, making the assertion that the Machine was manufactured by the Western Empire Company and that it is not manufactured by the Remington Rifle works, at Ilion, New York and consequently all parties buying the Remington will have no depot from which to obtain supplies for their machines; all of which is utterly false.

Now, then, the object of this article is to inform the public that the Remington Sewing Machine is manufactured by the Remington Empire Sewing Machine Company, a corporation duly incorporated, whose chief office or place of business, is in the town of Ilion, in the county of Herkimer, State of New York.

The corporation with whom we have a contract for selling the Remington Sewing Machines as State Agent for Wisconsin, Mr. H. Goetsch, of Watertown, holds a contract with us as local agent for Watertown and vicinity and as Mr. Goetsch is so well known, it is useless for us to expatiate upon his standing as a reliable business man. We simply say that what Mr. Goetsch agrees to perform with regard to the Remington, will be done promptly and all persons purchasing a Remington Sewing Machine can get supplies from him. Now, then, if Messrs Fuller & Lightbody have any intention to have a public trial with the Remington we shall be pleased to meet them and show to the generous public that they hare been imposed upon quite long enough by the gentlemen who are selling the old established and obsolete Singer Sewing Machine; what say you, gentlemen ? Mr. Keyes, Editor or this paper, has seen our contract, with the Remington Empire Sewing Machine Company and can vouch for the fact of our having a contract with the said Company, instead of with the collapsed Western Empire Company, as implied by Messrs Fuller & Lightbody’s assertions that the Remington was built by the Western Empire Company. We hope all parties wishing to buy a Sewing Machine, will not purchase until they examine a Remington, as its simplicity, completeness, and durability combined, cannot fail to please the most fastidious Machines!. Remember it is sold by Mr. Goetsch, late of the firm of Goetsch & Bros., Watertown, Wis.

J. H. Barr & Co. General Agents for State of Wisconsin - May 1873