Missouri

Biography of Robert A. Holekamp

Robert A. Holekamp, president of the Holekamp Lumber Company and a dominant factor in the industrial development of St. Louis and the state, was born at Nordstemmen, in the province of Hanover, Germany, May 4, 1848, his parents being the Rev. Frederick F. and Amelia (Koch) Holekamp, who lived and died in Hanover. The father was a Lutheran minister, devoting his entire life to the work of the church. Robert A. Holekamp was reared and educated in his native country, acquiring his early education under his father’s personal instruction. When fourteen years of age he was sent away to Hildesheim … Read more

Biography of Howard G. Cook

Howard G. Cook, attorney at law practicing as a member of the firm of Cook & McCauley, well known patent attorneys of St. Louis, was born October 20, 1881, at Harlem, Columbia county, Georgia. His father, Harvey A. Cook, was a native of the state of New York and represented an old family of English origin. He was reared and educated in the Empire state and in the latter ’40s removed to Georgia, where he engaged in the lumber business. During the Civil war he served in the Confederate army with the engineering department, remaining with the southern troops throughout … Read more

Biography of Henry Jackson Waters

There is perhaps no man in Missouri more competent to speak with authority upon the question of scientific production in connection with the farm and the dairy than is Professor Henry Jackson Waters, who for a long period has made a very close study of the many topics relative to this broad field of labor. He was born in Center, Missouri, November 23, 1865, and in the acquirement of his education won the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture from the Missouri State University in 1886. In the same year he was appointed assistant secretary of the Missouri State Board of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Sanford Martin Withers, M.D.

Dr. Sanford Martin Withers was born in Clearwater, Wayne county, Missouri, November 25, 1891, and is a son of George A. and Avis M. (Martin) Withers, the latter a daughter of the Rev. Samuel Sanford Martin, a pioneer Baptist minister of Illinois. He was a native of Connecticut and married Miss Elmira Palmer, whose birth occurred in Illinois. The grandparents of Dr. Withers in the paternal line were William Price and Mary Elizabeth (Coles) Withers, natives of Kentucky and of Illinois, respectively. George A. Withers, the father, was born at Funks Grove, Illinois, February 13, 1847, and the greater part … Read more

Biography of Harry G. Greditzer, M.D.

Dr. Harry G. Greditzer, specializing in the practice of surgery in St. Louis, was born in Nevada, Missouri, December 4, 1889, a son of A. S. Greditzer, a native of Germany, who came to the United States in 1870, when sixteen years of age, first settling in New York and afterward removing to Mississippi, while in 1887 he came to Missouri. He was a resident of Nevada, this state, for thirteen years and in 1900 removed to St. Louis, where he has since made his home and continues in business as a commercial traveler. He married Rose L. Levy, who … Read more

Biography of Hon. David Patterson Dyer

Hon. David Patterson Dyer, for many years an influential leader of the republican party in Missouri, filling various public offices of importance, has at the same time continued an active representative of the bench and bar of the state and it was not until May, 1919, that he retired from the office of United States district judge for the eastern district of Missouri, being at the time in the eighty-first year of his age. He was born February 12, 1838, in Henry county, Virginia, a son of David Dalton and Nancy (Salmon) Dyer. The father was born in Henry county, … Read more

Biography of Henry Louis Dausman A.M., Ph.D., M.D.

Dr. Henry Louis Dausman, a physician and surgeon of St. Louis, his native city, was born January 18, 1855. His father, the late Henry Dausman, was a native of Germany but was brought by his parents to America when only two years of age, the family home being established on a farm near Evansville, Indiana. There Henry Dausman was reared, pursuing his education in nearby schools and after reaching a working age learned the tobacco business, thoroughly acquainting himself with that task. In 1850 he became associated in tobacco manufacturing in connection with John E. Liggett under the firm style … Read more

Biography of Maj. R. B. Weaver

The facility with which the American soldier laid down the implements of war, at the close of the great conflict between the Northern and Southern States, and adapted himself to the pursuits of civil life, has been the wonder of all nations, and scarcely less surprising than gratifying to the American people themselves. While not a few very profound citizens of the republic were speculating as to what was to become of the thousands of men mustered out of the armies, the question was solved by the ex-soldiers themselves, who quietly stepped into the ordinary walks of life, bent the … Read more

Biography of Benjamin F. McKinney

BENJAMIN F. McKINNEY. The incidents in the early life of the original of this notice were not materially different from those of other boys living on farms. He was taught to work, to make himself useful around the pioneer homestead, and, in common with other boys, to attend the winter schools at intervals, and to assist in improving the farm during the summer. His birth occurred in Smith County, Tennessee, in 1838. He was the eldest of six children born to R. S. and Ann S. (Roe) McKinney. The other children were named as follows: William died in infancy; Jordon … Read more

Biography of Fenton T. Stockard

Fenton T. Stockard

In this country where so many young men are thrown upon their own resources at an early age and are often obliged, while yet inexperienced and unfamiliar with their own tendencies and inclinations, to choose their occupation in life, it can not be expected that the most suitable or congenial pursuit will be selected. Consequently it should be impressed upon the minds of youth that they ought to begin at an early age to practice introspection and seriously study the famous Delphic oracle, ” Know thyself.” They will thus find as suitable an occupation as did Fenton T. Stockard, who … Read more

Biography of Dr. Leonidas Kirby

In performing the arduous labors of the general medical practitioner, Dr. Leonidas Kirby has been very conscientious in the discharge of his professional duties, is well up to the times in medical lore, and has the intelligence to properly apply his knowledge. As evidence of his skill and ability to adapt himself to circumstances, when he first commenced the practice of medicine, a child of G. J. Howells accidentally got a grain of corn in its windpipe and was in a dying condition from the same. Dr. Kirby met the father with his child in the street and performed the operation … Read more

Biography of Jasper N. Ray

JASPER N. RAY. Jasper N. Ray belongs to that class of American citizens who are enterprising, thoroughgoing and industrious, and who rise in a few years from a condition of dependence to one of prominence and the possession of considerable wealth. In fact, he is a self-made man in all which that much-abused term implies, and the property he has accumulated is the result of his own honest industry. He first saw the light of day in what is now Maries County, Missouri, his birth occurring in 1846, to the union of Hubbard and Vashti (Moon) Ray, the father, a … Read more

Biography of Prof. G. M. Siler

PROF. G. M. SILER. This able, experienced and successful educator of Douglas County, Missouri, is a native of Holt County, this State, where he was born July 28, 1864, a son of Granville L. and Nancy J. (Bohart) Siler, for a history of whom see the sketch of J. G. Siler, of Taney County. Prof. George M. Siler received his education in the schools of Arno, Ava and Silver Shade, and eventually graduated in the teacher’s course from the well-known Bradleyville School. He was brought up on a farm, and while following the plow or wielding the hoe he learned … Read more

Biography of Samuel Turner

SAMUEL TURNER, deceased, one of the leading merchants and most prominent citizens of Douglas County, Missouri, was born in Indiana, November 3, 1836, a son of William and Hannah (West) Turner, and grandson of James Turner, all of whom settled near Arno, Missouri, in 1839, or 1840, and there engaged in farming. The grandfather was a soldier in a number of the early Indian wars, and died in Missouri, in 1861, when quite advanced in years. His wife, Mary, died in Arno, a few years after his death, at the age of eighty-four. William Turner located in Lynn County, Missouri, … Read more

Biography of M. H. Osburn, M. D.

M. H. OSBURN, M. D. There are always in the medical profession some individuals who become eminent and command a large patronage, and among those who deserve special recognition is Dr. M. H. Osburn, whose face is a familiar one in the home of the sick and afflicted. He has practiced his profession in his section of Missouri for twenty years and his name has become almost a household word. He is a Georgian by birth, born March 27, 1838 a son of Ectyl and Cynthia (Nelson) Osburn, who were born in the Palmetto State and Georgia, respectively. The paternal … Read more

Biography of Robert P. Lawing

ROBERT P. LAWING. This well-known pioneer, who is everywhere respected for his sterling worth, came originally from Rutherford County, Tennessee, where his birth occurred August 4, 1825. He is a son of Robert and Mary A. (Sublett) Lawing, and the grandson of Andrew Lawing who was a native of the Old North State, where he received his final summons. The Sublett family came to Tennessee from Virginia, and our subject’s grandfather, William Sublett, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, being captain of a company. He was of Irish descent. Mrs. Lawing was but seven years of age when the … Read more

Biography of E. G. Friend

E. G. FRIEND, who was born near his present home near Sparta, Christian County, Missouri, August 29, 833, is one of the prominent farmers and stockraisers of his section, and a man well posted on agricultural topics. He is a son of William and Elizabeth (Grimes) Friend, and a grandson of James Friend, who was a native of Scotland. The latter crossed the ocean with his two brothers to America at an early date, and settled in the grand old State of Virginia, where he was married and raised a large family. Later he moved to Ohio, and from there … Read more

Biography of George W. Pearcy

GEORGE W. PEARCY. Ability, when backed by enterprising business measures and progressive ideas, will accomplish more than any other professional or commercial requirement. An illustration of this is found in the mercantile establishment owned and conducted by George W. Pearcy at Thornfield, MO. This gentleman was born in Platte County, Missouri, in 1848, but his parents, William H. and Jane (Henry) Pearcy, were born in Kentucky in 1813 and Indiana in 1818, respectively. After their marriage, which occurred in Indiana, they came to Platte County, Missouri, later removed to Dallas County, and when the subject of this sketch was four … Read more

Biography of Dr. Wesley B. Wasson

DR. WESLEY B. WASSON. The value to any community of a professional man is not marked merely by his learning and skill, his proficiency in medical and surgical practice, but also by his character both private and professional, his honorable adherence to medical ethics and his personal integrity and benevolence of purpose. When a physician combines these characteristics it is with great pleasure that we record his life-work, and such a man do we find in Dr. Wesley B. Wasson. Although but just starting on his career in the medical profession, this young physician and surgeon has already become prominent … Read more

Biography of Albert Hodges

ALBERT HODGES. Albert Hodges is an attorney at law of wide reputation, a man of unquestioned integrity, a close reasoner and a profound thinker. He is a Missourian by birth, and has inculcated in him the sterling principles of the better class of citizens of the State. He was born in Taney County (afterward Douglas County), November 2, 1848, and is a son of Edmond and Sarah (Garrison) Hodges, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Warren County, Indiana, born in 1827. The grandfather, John Hodges, was a native of Kentucky, and the family moved from that … Read more