USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 12
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organized and the business was reorganized into separate units. Out of one of these Mr. Gardner developed the present Gardner Advertising Company, of which he has since been the president and executive head. In 1911 he organized the Trimplex Sales Company and was also chosen president of the new corporation. In 1914 he still president. In these various business connections he has displayed marked enterprise, capable management and keen discernment, leading to the attainment became the organizer of the Wizard Lightfoot Appliance Company, of which he is of substantial success.
In January, 1918, Mr. Gardner was appointed director of publicity for the eighth federal reserve district in charge of the Liberty Loan publicity, and so con- tinued without compensation through the third, fourth and fifth Liberty Loans. Under his management in these three loans, the eighth district was the first to reach its quota, resulting in nation-wide publicity for St. Louis. In 1919, as a result of his achievement, Mr. Gardner was presented with the Wilkinson cup, which was offered to that member of the Advertising Club of St. Louis who did the most for the city, state and nation in advertising during the preceding twelve months. In 1920 he was elected honorary secretary of the American Association of Adver- tising Agents. During the progress of the World war he was also director of publicity for the Y. M. C. A., Red Cross and the United War Work drives in Missouri. Aside from his business affairs already mentioned, he is one of the directors of the American Trust Company.
On the 8th of April, 1896, Mr. Gardner was married to Miss Mary Platt Read, a daughter of Edward M. Read, a retired piano dealer and well known citizen of St. Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Gardner have three sons: Edward Read; Herbert S. and Charles H. The son Edward was graduated from Princeton University in 1919 and is now associated with his father in business, while the younger sons are now in school. Mr. and Mrs. Gardner occupy a beautiful home at No. 13 Kingsbury Place.
Mr. Gardner has been a resident of St. Louis since 1887, or for a period of more than a third of a century, and has kept pace with the city's growth in every particular, in fact he has contributed in no small measure to public progress and improvement. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and cooperates in all of its plans and projects for the city's upbuilding and for the promotion of civic interests. He is likewise a member of the Salesmanship Club of St. Louis. He belongs to the Pilgrim Congregational Church and is a member of the state executive board of the Missouri Sunday School Association. He is likewise a well known figure in social circles, belonging to the Noonday Club, the Missouri Athletic Club, the City Club, the Bellerive Country Club and the Advertising Club of St. Louis. He has never been a negative quantity in any relation. His positive nature, his laudable ambition, his determination and his energy have brought him prominently to the front and he has accomplished what he has undertaken, while at all times his efforts and labors have been of a character that have contributed not only to individual success and advancement but also to the public good. He today occupies a central place on the stage of activities in St. Louis.
THOMAS J. SWEAZEA.
Thomas J. Sweazea, of St. Louis, was born on his father's farm in Reynolds county, Missouri, October 14, 1870. He is a grandson of William Sweazea, a native of Tennessee, who removed to Missouri in 1808, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of the state. He located near the Black river, where he entered and purchased a large and fertile tract of land, which he tilled and developed and on which he made his home until his death in 1850. His son, William Sweazea, horn in Mis- souri in 1832, was reared in Wayne county, where he started in the business world as a farmer, cultivating first a small tract of land on the Black river. In 1865 he removed to Reynolds county, where he purchased other land and thereon spent his remaining days in the cultivation and improvement of his farm, which he de- veloped into a valuable and productive property that was devoted to the raising of grain and live stock. Thereon he died in 1901 and in his death the community lost one of its substantial and highly respected citizens. He married Amanda Mann,
THOMAS J. SWEAZEA
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of Reynolds county, who was born in 1832, a daughter of George Mann, a native of South Carolina, who in early life removed westward, establishing his home in the Black river district of Missouri. His daughter, Mrs. Sweazea, passed away in 1880, at the age of forty-eight years. Both Mr. and Mrs. William Sweazea were devout and consistent members of the Baptist church and in' that faith they reared their family. They were parents of the following named: William A., a resident of Wayne county; Sophronia, the wife of Robert Benson, of Alabama; and Margaret, the wife of M. L. Sanders, of Leeper, Missouri.
The other member of the family is Thomas J. Sweazea, whose name introduces this review. He lived upon his father's farm in his boyhood days and attended the public schools until he reached the age of twenty, when he entered Carleton College at Farmington, Missouri, there remaining as a student until 1893. He then took up the profession of teaching, which he followed successfully, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired. In 1895 he was elected county commissioner for a term of two years and in 1902 was elected county clerk of Reynolds county by a large majority in which position he served one term. Still higher political honors awaited him, for in 1907 he was chosen by popular suffrage as representative of Reynolds county in the forty-fourth general assembly, and his wise counsel on legislative and public matters is still a matter of comment. He carefully considered all the vital questions which came up for settlement and lent the weight of his aid and influence to further progressive legislation. At the close of his service as a member of the assembly he removed to Salem and studied law until admitted to the bar in 1909. He then removed to Piedmont, where he opened a law office and entered upon active practice. While there residing he filled the position of secretary and member of the Piedmont school board and rendered val- uable service in developing and improving the school system of that place. He is still the owner of land in the vicinity of Piedmont.
On the 6th of June, 1895, Mr. Sweazea was married to Miss Ella Malloy, a daughter of John and Mary (Warren) Malloy, of Wayne county. Their children are: Doyle J., who is employed by the Frisco Railroad Company; Pearl, who was graduated from the Central high school in 1918 and who is now taking private vocal lessons; Ava, who was graduated from the Mckinley high school in Janu- ary, 1920, and from the Perry School of Oratory in June, 1920, and is now a student in the art department of Washington University; and Opal T., who is a student in the Mckinley high school and is also studying music. The religious faith of the family is that of the Baptist church and in political belief Mr. Sweazea is a democrat. He is a representative of pioneer families in both the paternal and maternal lines- families long connected with the development of the state. He came to St. Louis in April, 1912, and since that time has been engaged in the practice of law and in the real estate business. He has made for himself a creditable position in hoth business and professional circles.
CHARLES YEATMAN CARR.
Charles Yeatman Carr, who since 1893 has been engaged in the insurance business in St. Louis, was born September 18, 1872, at Glencoe, Missouri, his parents being Alfred and Angelica (Yeatman) Carr. In the acquirement of his education he attended Smith Academy of St. Louis and also the Eastman Business College of Poughkeepsie, New York. He started out in the business world in connection with insurance interests in 1893 when a young man of twenty-one years, and in the following year became identified with the firm of Carr Brothers. In this connection he has so directed his efforts and energies that notable success has been achieved. He is familiar with all phases of the insurance business and has won a large clientage, while at the same time he has extended his efforts into other fields, becoming the secretary of the General Equipment company, the secre- tary of the Manufacturers' Equipment company, a director of the United Elevator & Grain company and a member of the Merchants Exchange.
In St. Louis, in March, 1899, Mr. Carr was married to Miss Virginia Scudder, a daughter of Charles Scudder. Their religious belief is that of the Episcopal church and Mr. Carr is identified with the democratic party, to which he has given
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his political support since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. During the time when America was at war with Germany he served as a member of the executive bureau of the aircraft service in the eastern division at New York. He belongs to the St. Louis and Noonday Clubs and is identified with various hunting and fishing clubs, associations which indicate the nature of his recreation and diversion, for to those pursuits he turns when business admits of a leisure hour.
BYRON NUGENT.
There is something inspiring in the life record of such men as Byron Nugent, of whom it was said, "Coming to St. Louis thirty-five years ago there was no time in the interval from 1873 to the day of his death in 1908 when Byron Nugent was not a force for progress in the life of this community." For many years he was actively engaged in the dry goods business and became equally prominent as a factor in financial circles but the attainment of success was only one end and aim of his life. He always recognized and met his obligations to his fellowmen and his duties of citizenship and thereby became one of the valued and honored residents of St. Louis.
Mr. Nugent was born in Marysburgh, Prince Edward county, Ontario, July 1, 1842, and was a son of Thomas and Eleanor A. (Morgan) Nugent. At the usual age he became a pupil in the public schools and later attended Victoria College, at Coberg, Ontario. He was a young man of twenty-one years when he made his initial step in the business world by accepting a clerkship in the store of Robert Carrie, a Scotch merchant of St. Thomas, Ontario. He afterward went to New York City where he was employed by the firm of Lord & Taylor, from 1865 until 1867. He then visited his old home in Canada and one day met on the street an old friend who said he was going to Chicago. Mr. Nugent was then on his way to a telegraph office to wire acceptance of a position in New York but instantly changed his mind and that night accompanied his friend to Chicago. Thus he took his place in the commercial de- velopment of the middle west where he was later destined to play an important part in the business development and upbuilding of the section. He soon secured a situa- tion in the wholesale house of Bowen, Hunt & Winslow, which went out of existence soon after the Chicago fire.
In 1869 Mr. Nugent established business on his own account by opening a small store in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, where he was joined by his brother, Morgan Nugent, who passed away in 1870. It was in March, 1873, that Byron Nugent sold his store in Mt. Vernon and cast in his lot with the business men of St. Louis where he purchased a small store formerly owned by James Barron, at the southeast corner of Broadway and Franklin avenue, and conducted it under the style of B. Nugent from 1873 to 1878. Here he later admitted to partnership his three brothers, James G., Daniel C. and Charles W. Nugent,. all of whom are now deceased except Daniel C. Business was carried on for a time under the firm style of B. Nugent & Brothers, and in 1899 their interests were incorporated under the name of B. Nugent & Brothers Dry Goods Company, of which Byron Nugent became president and so continued until his life's labors were ended in death. His careful direction of the business, his well laid plans and his unfaltering enterprise proved effective elements in the attainment of notable success. The integrity of his methods combined with his determination to bring desired results in all of his business affairs. Aside from his commercial pursuits he became a director of the Boatmen's Bank of St. Louis and his name was ever an honored one on commercial paper. .
In January, 1873, Mr. Nugent was married to Miss Julia Lake, of Nunda, New York, and they became the parents of three sons: Edwin T., Byron and Julian L. It is said that Mr. Nugent was never happier than when he gathered around him at his firseside his wife and children as evening came on and put behind him the cares and perplexities of business. In his later years he traveled extensively and gained comprehensive knowledge of the lands and peoples that he visited, for he was a close observer and possessed a most retentive memory. He had a most interesting way of recounting his reminiscences of his travels and was at all times an entertaining talker.
Mr. Nugent belonged to the Episcopal church and his life was ever the expression of high ideals. He held membership with the St. Louis Country and Noonday Clubs,
BYRON NUGENT
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also belonged to the Mercantile Club and to the St. Louis Retail Merchants Assocla- tion which at his death expressed regret in a fitting memorial, as follows:
"Resolved, that in the death of Byron Nugent, our association, the retail business men of the city and of the county and the city of St. Louis have suffered a loss which it is difficult to estimate. For more than a generation he has stood in the front rank of merchants in this vicinity for success, integrity and public spirit. High character, untiring industry and unswerving devotion to the interests of the city have made his name and the name of his business universally known. We mourn his loss and desire these words to express as best we may our appreciation of what his life has meant to us, his business friends with whom he has so long associated in friendly endeavor. "Resolved, that the retail merchants be requested to close their stores on Tuesday, April 7, between two and three P. M., the hour of the funeral.'
One of the local papers said at his death, "Of a numerous family of strong men, from a sturdy Canadian race, the merchant who passed from the scenes of his activity on Saturday, April 4, 1908, was in a sense a pioneer. His little place of business of thirty-five years ago was opened at a time when St. Louis was yet merely, 'promising' and it was men of the Nugent type that made the promise good in the brilliantly suc- cessful development of this day. Byron Nugent was active in a broad way publicly and in an effective way in his private beneficences. Uncompromising in truth, sym- pathetic in disposition, unsusceptible to flattery, he was a man of sterling qualities and unreserved in friendships once made. Always forceful in his public spirit and disinterested in his devotion to the welfare of the community, positive in decision, contemporaneous with the spirit and progress of his time, aristocratic by nature but a plain man by act and by tendency, he lived a life worth living, a credit to his name and to his city. His passing to the tomb leaves an indelible impress upon the activities of St. Louis and in the hearts of those who knew him."
MARTIN WENZEL.
Martin Wenzel, president of the H. Wenzel Tent & Duck Company, was born in St. Louis, January 29, 1881, and has made for himself a creditable position among the younger business men of his native city. He is a son of Herman Wenzel, who was born in Germany in 1849 and who came to America in 1870, when twenty-one years of age, settling first in Springfield, Massachusetts. He arrived in St. Louis in 1873 and here engaged in the manufacture of tents, awnings and canvas. In 1887 he organized the H. Wenzel Tent & Duck Company and continued active in the business until on account of age he retired. He started in a small way but developed the business to one of the largest enterprises of the kind, displaying at all times keen sagacity, sound judgment and indefatigable enterprise. He married Emma Buch, a native of St. Louis, in which city their marriage was celebrated, and to them were born two sons and three daughters.
Martin Wenzel, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the public schools of St. Louis and after his textbooks were put aside he began learning the business with his father. It is true that he entered upon a business already estab- lished, but in enlarging and controlling this many a man of less resolute purpose and of more restricted ability would have failed. He has on the contrary improved methods and promoted his interests until his concern is one of the foremost of the kind in the middle Mississippi valley. They are now making a specialty of auto- mobile tents and goods of similar character and their output is shipped all over the United States and Canada. Upon his father's retirement Martin Wenzel was elected to the presidency of the company in 1915 and has since remained its direct- ing head, shaping its policy and promoting its growth. He is also a director of the Briell-Rodgers Cotton Goods Company and of the Detring Real Estate Company. During the war period the factory of the H. Wenzel Tent & Duck Company was utilized almost entirely in making tents and tarpaulins for the government.
In 1905, in New York city, Mr. Wenzel was united in marriage to Miss Adele Wenzel, a cousin, and they have become parents of three children: Esther, Edith and Adele. In his political views Mr. Wenzel has always been a stalwart republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and has attained the Knight Templar degree in Ivanhoe Commandery.
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In religious faith he is a Protestant. He belongs to the Midland Valley Country Club, to the Tower Grove Turnverein, to the National Tent & Awning Association, to the Chamber of Commerce and the Credit Men's Association, and he is widely and favorably known in both social and business circles.
LUCILLE E. WEPFER.
There is scarcely a field of business into which woman's activities have not penetrated within the last few decades, and in no field where intellectual effort, concentration and sound judgment are required has she failed. Occupying a unique position in connection with the productive industries of St. Louis are Miss Lucille E. Wepfer and her sister, Miss Marion J. Wepfer, the latter heing the president and the former the vice president of the C. Damhorst Soda Water Company. Miss Lucille E. Wepfer was born in St. Louis, June 9, 1900, and mention is made of her parents in connection with the sketch of her sister, Marion J. Wepfer, on another page of this work. She spent her girlhood days under the parental roof and pursued her education in St. Mark's parochial school, while later she attended the Visitation Academy. She then entered her father's establishment, for he was for a long time the president and treasurer of the C. Damhorst Soda Water Company, with which he had been associated at an early day as an employe. Gradually, however, he had worked his way upward until he acquired the ownership of the business and re- mained at its head until his demise. His daughters were trained to this work and gained comprehensive knowledge of and familiarity with the business, so that they- were well qualified to take over its control when the father passed away. Both are recognized as young women of excellent business ability, of keen sagacity and sound judgement and they have made for themselves a very creditable name and place in manufacturing circles.
MARION J. WEPFER.
Miss Marion J. Wepfer is the president and treasurer of the C. Damhorst Soda Water Company of St. Louis and is a business woman of excellent executive ability and of unfaltering enterprise. She was born in this city October 22, 1892, a daughter of Augustave A. Wepfer, whose birth occurred in Hamburg, Missouri, but who came to St. Louis when a young man. Here he engaged in husiness in connection with the Casper Damhorst Soda Water Company and became thoroughly familiar with every phase of the trade. Eventually he became general manager and afterward purchased the plant. In September, 1901, the business was incorporated under the name of the C. Damhorst Soda Water Company, of which Mr. Wepfer was the president and treasurer until his death, which occurred on the 27th of August, 1910. This is one of the oldest established business enterprises of the kind in the city. The mother, Albertina (Faessler) Wepfer, was born in Zurich, Switzer- land, and was brought to the United States at the age of ten years by an aunt, who settled in St. Louis. In 1890 she became the wife of Augustave A. Wepfer and she passed away in this city May 8, 1905.
The daughter, Marion J. Wepfer, was educated in the Sacred Heart convent at St. Louis, Missouri, and in the Loretto Academy of St. Louis, from which she was graduated in 1911. After leaving school she became associated with the C. Damhorst Soda Water Company as the secretary and in May, 1914, following the death of her father, she was elected president and treasurer of the company. In the meantime she had gained a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the busi- ness in every particular and is well qualified to manage this concern, which is today one of the oldest of the kind in St. Louis: The business is of very gratifying proportions and the success of the undertaking in the past few years is attributable in very large measure to the efforts, the understanding and the executive ability of Miss Wepfer.
During the World war Miss Wepfer was a member of the Red Cross. She belongs to St. Mark's Catholic church, in the faith of which she was reared. She has always
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lived in St. Louis and has a wide acquaintance here, being highly esteemed by many friends who have known her from her early girlhood, while her business experiences have brought her the respect and esteem of many with whom commercial transac- tions have brought her in contact.
WILLIAM J. KINSELLA, JR.
Throughout his entire business career, William J. Kinsella, Jr., has been Identified with the coffee and spice trade and, steadily working his way upward as a result of his developing powers and increasing business ability, he is now the president of the Hanley & Kinsella Spice Company of St. Louis. He is a native son of this city, born September 18, 1881, his father being William J. Kinsella, Sr., who was prominently known for many years as a merchant and manufacturer of St. Louis. He was born in Carlow, Ireland, June 9, 1846, a son of Patrick and Ellen (Keating) Kinsella, the former a leading architect of Ireland. The son attended St. Patrick's College at Carlow and started upon his business career in the wholesale house of A. F. McDonald & Company of Dublin, Ireland. He was employed in his native land to the age of nineteen years, when he crossed the Atlantic and sought a position in the large mercantile house of A. T. Stewart of New York. There was no position suitable to his ability that was vacant at the time so he began wrapping parcels but not long afterward obtained a better position with Hamilton, Easter & Sons of Baltimore, Maryland. In 1870 he estab- lished a grocery business in Cleveland, Ohio, in company with his brother Edward J. Kinsella, and in the year 1874, William J. Kinsella removed to St. Louis, where he entered the employ of Porter, Worthington & Company. He was later offered a position as business manager of the St. Louis office of the Kingsford Oswego Starch Company, and he displayed such ability that he drew the attention of the Thompson-Taylor Spice Company of Chicago and in 1879 was placed in charge of their St. Louis business. Two years later he purchased the business and in 1881 organized the firm of William J. Kinsella & Company, developing a mammoth trade as the years passed. In 1886 the business was incorporated under the name of the Hanley & Kinsella Spice Company with a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Mr. Kinsella becoming president and treasurer of the cor- poration. In time the firm's two large factories covered an entire block on Spruce street and contained a floor space of one hundred and twenty thousand square feet, while the annual sales amounted to a million and a half dollars, their trade extending throughout the entire west and southwest, making St. Louis one of the leading spice markets of the world. The business ability, the sound judgment and unfaltering energy of Mr. Kinsella were the effective forces which brought about the desired result, and for a long period he occupied a prominent position among the leading business men of St. Louis. He was, moreover, a most public-spirited citizen and gave his hearty aid and cooperation to all movements for the general good. He was likewise president and vice president of the Western Commercial Travelers Association and belonged to the Associated Wholesale Grocers & Busi- ness Men's League, to the Mercantile, Noonday and St. Louis Clubs, to the Royal Arcanum, to the Knights of St. Patrick and to the Latin-American Club, of which he was vice president. Aside from his coffee and spice business he became inter- ested in banking and was a director of both the Mechanics National Bank and the Mercantile Trust Company. He became one of the directors of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and was appointed chairman of the committee of mines and metallurgy and a member of the ways and means committee. It was said of him that he possessed marked characteristics which commanded the respect of his fellowmen, combining a dignified manner with a simplicity and personal magnetism which won him a large circle of friends. In 1880 he married Nellie M. Hanley, a daughter of Lawrence Hanley of New York city, and they became parents of two sons and a daughter: William J., Dalton L. and Ella Marie. The death of the father occurred in 1918.
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