Cornelius F. Bauer, who since 1890 has practiced at the St. Louis bar, was born December 26, 1869, in the city which is still his home, and is a representative of one of the old families of the city. He comes of both German and French ancestry. His father, Christopher Bauer, now deceased, was born in Bavaria, Germany, but came to America in 1840 and for many years successfully engaged in business as a tea merchant under the firm style of C. F. Bauer, his establishment being located on North Third street in St. Louis. During the Civil war he served as a member of the state militia. He married Catherine Minges, of French lineage, the wedding being celebrated in St. Louis in 1861. They became the parents of a son and two daughters, Cornelius F. being the eldest; Elizabeth, the second of the family, became the wife of J. B. Vogelsang, the leading stockholder in the Riley Hauk Supply Company of St. Louis, and he and his family are now living in Los Angeles, California; Minnie, the second daughter, has been connected with a religious order for about twenty-eight years.
Cornelius F. Bauer was educated in the parochial schools in St. Louis and in the St. Louis University, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in June, 1887, while in 1888 he won the Master of Arts degree. He afterward served as a member of the faculty of St. Louis University for one year and while thus engaged pursued his law studies in Washington University, where he won the LL. B. degree in May, 1890. Immediately afterward he was admitted to practice in the state and federal courts and at once entered upon the active work of his profession, in which he has continued successfully to the present time. Although advancement at the bar is proverbially slow, no dreary novitiate awaited him and steadily he has progressed, confining his practice to civil cases and specializing to a large extent in corporation law. In 1898 he was a candidate for the office of prosecuting attorney.
During America’s connection with the World war Mr. Bauer was a member of the legal advisory board of St. Louis county and his county was first over the top in all the Liberty Loan subscriptions. Mr. Bauer gave generous assistance to the various war activities. He belongs to the Catholic church and is a member of the Catholic Knights of America, of which he has been state president. His church connection is with St. Peter’s at Kirkwood. Politically he is a democrat, well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but he has no ambition for office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his professional interests. He is a member of the St. Louis Bar Association, of which he was secretary from 1890 until 1897, and he belongs also to the Missouri State Bar Association.