Biographical Sketch of Lawrence Long

Lawrence Long, of Culpepper Co., Va., settled in St. Louis Co., Mo., in 1797, and built a saw and grist mill. His children were Gabriel, John, William, James, Nicholas, Nancy, Sally, and Elizabeth. John married Rachel Zumwalt, by whom he had Lawrence and Andrew J. He died soon after, and in 1823 his widow and her two sons removed to Warren County, where she married Newton Howell. Lawrence married Malinda Hutchings, of St. Charles County. Andrew J. married Mary W. Preston of St. Charles County.

Biography of Albert Joseph Davis

Albert Joseph Davis is successfully engaged in the investment business lit St. Louis as the head of the firm of A. J. Davis & Company, which he organized in 1911 and which deals in corporation and municipal bonds. He is a native son of St. Louis, his birth having occurred on the 25th of June, 1883, his parents being Thomas D. and Martha (Littler) Davis, the former born in Cardiff. Wales, and the latter in Newbigging, Musselburgh, Parish of Imberesk, County of Edinburgh, Scotland. His education was obtained in the graded and high schools of St. Louis and in 1901, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James Adams

James Adams, of Virginia, settled in St. Louis Co., Mo., in 1818. He married Sally Brown, and their children were Burrell, James, Polly, Sally, Elizabeth, Lucy, Rebecca, Martha, and Nancy. Burrell was a soldier in the war of 1812. He came to Missouri in 1816, with Judge Beverly Tucker, and was married in 1818 to Harriet Allen, a daughter of John Allen, who died in 1830. Mr. Adams died in Danville, Mo., during the-summer of 1876, in his 82d year. He had eight children William B., B. T., J. B., James B., Susan F., John A., C. C., and Sarah … Read more

The Old Gravois Coal Diggings

The Old Gravois Coal Diggings

Mary Joan Boyer’s “The Old Gravois Coal Diggings,” published by The Tri-City Independent in Festus, Missouri, in 1952, provides a comprehensive historical account of a once-thriving coal mining locality in St. Louis, Missouri. This photocopied book, consisting of 107 pages with irregular pagination and faint photos and text, preserves the history of an area that has largely faded from contemporary memory.

Biography of John Baptist Miege

John Baptist Miege, first Catholic bishop of Kansas, was born in 1815, the youngest son of a wealthy and pions family of the parish of Chevron, Upper Savoy, France. At an early age he was committed to the care of his brother, the director of the episcopal seminary of Moutiers, and completed his literary studies at the age of nineteen. After spending two more years at the seminary in the study of philosophy, on October 23, 1836, he was admitted to the Society of Jesns. The following eleven years he spent in further study, a portion of the time at … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John Chambers

John Chambers, of Ireland, settled in North Carolina and married Mary Thompson, of Kentucky, by whom he had John, Jr., William, Sarah, James, Thomas, Alexander, Nancy, and Jane. In 1798 Mr. Chambers came to Missouri and settled in St. Louis County, and in 1800 his wife died. After that he lived with his son, Thomas, in St. Charles. Thomas married Eleanor Kennedy, and the names of their children were Prospect, Riley, Sarah, Julia, Harriet, Davis H., Ellen, Rhoda, and Thomas, Jr. Thomas and Alexander Chambers were rangers together in Captain Musick’s company, and were at the battle of the sinkhole … Read more

Biography of Isaac Burrows Snow

ISAAC BURROWS SNOW – Forty years of experience in the insurance business, preceded by several years of pioneer railroading in the West, represents the experience of Isaac Burrows Snow, who is now living retired in Bernardston. Mr. Snow is a member of the Mayflower Society, being a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster, and of Stephen Hopkins, of the “Mayflower.” Nicholas Snow, the immigrant ancestor of Mr. Snow’s line, came to Plymouth in the ship “Ann” in 1623, and had a share in the division of land in Plymouth in 1624. In 1634 he settled in Eastham, Massachusetts, where he … Read more

Houses of the Illinois Confederacy

Although the tribes of the loosely constituted Illinois confederacy claimed and occupied a wide region east of the Mississippi, in later years centering in the valley of the Illinois River, nevertheless certain villages are known to have crossed and re-crossed the great river. Thus, in the early summer of 1673, Père Marquette arrived at a village of the Peoria then standing on the right Mississippi, at or near the or west bank of the later it had removed to the upper Illinois. Two months passing the Peoria, Marquette discovered another of  the Illinois tribes, the Michigamea, living near the northeastern … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Samuel T. Howell M.D.

Samuel T. Howell is a native of Gentry county, Missouri, born February 22, 1843. His father, James M. Howell, was a native of Virginia, and his, mother, Rachel R. Howell, was born in Kentucky. Our subject was reared upon a farm and was educated in the common schools, supplemented by a few terms at the Camden Point College, of Camden Point, Platte county, Missouri. At the age of twenty-four he began, the study of medicine at Albany, Missouri, with Dr. G. W. Stapleton, and in 1866, entered the Missouri, or McDowell, Medical College, of St. Louis, and graduated at the … Read more

Biography of Robert Capps

ROBERT CAPPS. This gentleman has been a resident of this section since 1837, coming thither from St. Louis County, Missouri, where he had settled in 1836. He was born in Mecklenburg County, N. C., February 2, 1820, in which State his parents, Richard and Rachel (Barnhill) Capps, were also born and reared. After their marriage they removed to Tennessee and made a good home for themselves in Grainger County, but in 1836 removed to Missouri, and the following year came to this section of Arkansas. The father became a prominent farmer of Newton County, but was called from life in … Read more

Biography of Emanuel F. Oehler, M. D.

Dr. Emanuel F. Oehler, whose most proficient surgical work has gained him prominence in the profession in St. Louis, was born in Yorktown, Texas, September 23, 1877, a son of the late Rev. Michael Oehler, who was an Evangelical Lutheran minister. He was born, reared and educated in Baden, Germany, and was graduated from a theological seminary there, after which he was united in marriage to Louise Mueller. They came to America following the close of the Civil war, first settling in New Orleans and later removing to Texas, where Mr. Oehler continued in the active work of the ministry … Read more

Biography of Justin E. Joy

Justin E. Joy, a prominent lumberman of Missouri, who always deserves mention in a history of the state as the one who was practically the builder of Webster Groves, was born at Oquaqua Junction, Iowa, June 17, 1844, his parents being Mr. and Mrs. Edward Joy, who removed to Burlington, Iowa, during the infancy of their son. There the father operated a sash and door factory for many years, or until 1874, when he removed with his family to St. Louis and in subsequent years was employed as superintendent of building by his son Justin. The latter was educated in … Read more

Biography of Hon. A. E. L. Gardner

Hon. A. E. L. Gardner, lawyer and lawmaker, representing the twenty-fifth senatorial district in the upper house of the general assembly, makes his home in Kirkwood but practices in Clayton and is also a representative of some of the more important corporations of St. Louis. He was born at Millersport, Ohio, December 4, 1867, and is a son of Thomas W. and Maria (Lindsey) Gardner, who were also natives of the Buckeye state. The father was engaged in mercantile business in Lancaster, Ohio, for many years and in 1879 came to Missouri, settling in Sedalia, where he engaged in merchandising … Read more

Biography of Hon. Orlando B. Ficklin

Hon. Orlando B. Ficklin, attorney at law, Charleston; he was born in Kentucky Dec. 16, 1808, being the son of William and Elizabeth Kenner (Williams) Ficklin, both of Virginia. His early education was obtained in country schools, in Kentucky and Missouri, except about one year, which he spent at Cumberland College, located at Princeton, Caldwell Co., Ky., under the auspices of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His parents having removed to Potosi, Washington Co., Mo., he commenced the study of law with Henry Shurlds of that place, who was afterward elected to the Circuit Court bench, and at a later period … Read more

Biography of Arthur Valentine Lashly

Arthur Valentine Lashly, a very successful lawyer, due to his native talents and acquired ability, was born in Randolph county, Illinois, February 14, 1880, and since his admission to the bar in 1910 has engaged in the practice of law in St. Louis. He is a son of George W. and Cora M. Lashly, who are now residing in Monterey, California. He obtained a public school education, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, which he attended in Steeleville, Illinois. His professional preparation was made in the St. Louis University Institute of Law and in 1910 he won his … Read more

Biography of the Hensley Brothers

Samuel and Benjamin Hensley were sons of an English family that settled on the Potomac River in Virginia, at an early date. Samuel married a Miss Landers, and they had Samuel, Jr., and William. His first wife died, and he was married again to Susan Taplett, by whom he had several children. William, son of Samuel, Jr., by his first wife, married Elizabeth Appleberry, of Virginia, and they had James, Benjamin, William, Jr., Thomas, Fleming, Judith, and Elizabeth. James, William, Jr., Thomas, and Fleming came to Montgomery County in 1826, and all except Thomas afterward married and settled in Jefferson … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles Ferdinand Wimar

Charles Ferdinand Wimar, usually known as Carl Wimar, was born in Germany, 1828; died in St. Louis, November, 1862. Came to America and settled in St. Louis during the year 1843. A few years later he met the French artist Leon de Pomarede, with whom he later studied and made several journeys up the Missouri for the purpose of sketching. Went to Europe and returned to St. Louis about 1857. His Buffalo Hunt, now reproduced, was painted in 1860, exhibited at the St. Louis Fair during the autumn of that year, when it was seen by the Prince of Wales, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Albert F. McFarland

Albert F. McFarland was born in Platte county, Missouri, near Weston, August 5, 1838, and resided there until he was twenty-three years old, receiving his education in the common schools and at Pleasant Ridge College, of that county. He pursued a course of medical studies at St. Louis, Missouri, during the years 1860, ’61, ’62 and ’63, and began practice in the general army hospital in 1863, where he continued to practice until the close of the war, in 1865. In 1866 he made a trip across the plains to Salt Lake City, Utah, and to Virginia City, Montana, returning … Read more

Biography of Thaddeus Constantine Frazier, M. D.

Thaddeus Constantine Frazier, M. D. A useful life crowded with activity and crowned with achievement both as a physician and as a citizen, Dr. Thaddeus C. Frazier, of Coffeyville, may still further be considered because he is the pioneer medical man of this city. For forty-two years he has been a physician and surgeon here and additionally has been a leader in all forward movements, accepting public positions as a helpful means of progress for the city, encouraging educational movements and through his stability of character conferring honor upon this whole section. Doctor Frazier was born in Henry County, Tennessee, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles Woodruff

Charles Woodruff, of Buckingham Co., Va., married a Miss Gatewood, and their son, Wyatt P., married Mary Talphro, and settled in St. Louis Co.; Mo., in 1825. In 1827 they removed to St. Charles County, and from there to Montgomery County in 1832. They had John, Charles E., Robert H., Francis S., and David B. all of whom live in Montgomery County.