Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V, Part 13

Author: Stevens, Walter Barlow, 1848-1939
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: St. Louis, Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 810


USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 13


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The elder son, William J. Kinsella, Jr., was educated in the St. Louis Uni- versity and in the Notre Dame University at South Bend, Indiana, from which he was graduated in 1900. He then began learning the coffee and spice business


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in connection with the firm of which his father was the head and worked his way upward through various positions eventually becoming superintendent, later vice president and in 1918, upon the death of his father, he was elected to the presi- dency. During the World war period the plant was a government licensed plant, furnishing supplies for the army and navy for the United States and for overseas. In 1908 Mr. Kinzella was married in Chicago to Miss Majorie Meacham, a daughter of F. D. Meacham of that city. They are members of the Catholic church, attending services at the cathedral. In politics Mr. Kinsella maintains an inde- pendent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment, and in all mat- ters of citizenship his attitude is a progressive one, for he is interested in all that pertains to the city's welfare and progress. At the same time he has made an excellent record as a forceful and resourceful business man, one of whom by rea- son of innate powers and developing ability has reached a prominent position, whereby St. Louis has become one of the greatest spice and coffee markets in the country.


WILLIAM CHRISTY BRYAN.


Following his graduation from the St. Louis Law School as a member of the class of 1894, William Christy Bryan entered upon the practice of his profession in St. Louis, where he has since continued, advancing steadily from that dreary novi- tiate which usually awaits the young member of the bar to a place of prominence in professional circles, his life record standing in contradistinction to the old adage that "a prophet is never without honor save in his own country." A native of St. Louis, William C. Bryan was born on the 6th of April, 1868, and is descended from an old and prominent family of North Carolina, in which state his grandfather, the Hon. John H. Bryan, was born and reared. He became a distinguished lawyer there and member of congress from his district from 1824 until 1828. He then declined reelection, but although he retired from official life, his labors and opinions continued to be an influencing factor on public thought and action in his state, and when he passed away the state government requested permission to hang his picture in the capitol at Raleigh.


His son. Francis T. Bryan, also a native of North Carolina, was a West Point student, being there graduated with the class of 1846, after which he did active duty with the topographical engineering corps until 1861, when he resigned, having in the meantime surveyed the line between North Carolina and Virginia, also the proposed ship canal route across Florida and the present route of the Union Pacific Railroad. He likewise made early government surveys of much of the western country and was thus in the vanguard of that movement which opened up the great west to the. influences and labors of civilization. He served as a soldier of the Mexican war and was brevetted lieutenant for gallantry and good conduct at the battle of Buena Vista. Subsequently he was in action against the Indians. In 1855 he was stationed in St. Louis, where his remaining days were passed. In early manhood he wedded Edmonia Taylor, a daughter of Nathaniel P. and Matilda Nicholas (Christy) Taylor, the latter a daughter of William Christy, who was a distinguished citizen of St. Louis and in whose honor the sub- ject of this review was named. His old home, erected in 1814 at Second and Monroe streets, is still standing, one of the interesting early landmarks of the city. There was also an interesting military chapter in his life record, for he served under command of Generals Wayne and St. Clair in the Revolutionary war and participated in the expedition against Vincennes, Indiana. His father was Thomas Christy, who had come to America with Braddock's army. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Francis T. Bryan there were six sons, four of whom are yet living: Francis T., who became a business man of Chicago; P. Taylor, a member of the St. Louis bar; William C .; and Dr. Richard Shepard Bryan, who became a well known member of the medical fraternity of St. Louis. Another son, Dr. John H. Bryan, was also a physician, practicing to the time of his death, while George Frederick, the fourth child of the family, died in infancy.


Wililam Christy Bryan, who was the fifth in order of birth, supplemented his public school education by study in Smith's Academy and in Racine College of


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W. CHRISTY BRYAN


Vol. V-8


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Racine, Wisconsin, while later he entered Princeton University and there won the Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation in 1891. He made preparation for the bar in the St. Louis Law School and won his Bachelor of Law degree as a member of the class of 1894. The previous year, however, he had been admitted to practice and has since been active as an attorney of St. Louis, giving his atten- tion to general practice but largely specializing in civil law. His success in a professional way affords the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. The wide research and provident care which he has always displayed in the preparation of his cases has made him notable among lawyers. In no instance has his reading ever been confined to the limitations of the questions at issue; it has gone beyond and compassed every contingency and provided not alone for the expected but for the unexpected, which happens in the courts quite as frequently as out of them. His logical grasp of facts and principles of the law applicable to them has been another potent element in his success, and a remarkable clearness of expression, an adequate and precise diction which enables him to make others understand not only the salient points of his argument but his every fine gradation of meaning, may be accounted one of his most conspicuous gifts and accomplishments.


Mr. Bryan was married in St. Louis, June 3, 1896, to Miss Mary Walker White, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of R. J. and Anne (Walker) White, natives of Madison county, Kentucky. The only son of this marriage, William Christy Bryan, Jr., was born October 7, 1899. The parents are communicants of the Episcopal church and Mr. Bryan has since 1903 been a member of the board of management of the St. Louis Industrial School. He belongs to the Ridgedale and Sunset Hill Country Clubs, to the St. Louis, Missouri State and American Bar As- sociations and the St. Louis Law Library Association. He has ever voted with the democratic party and was its candidate for judge of the district court in 1904. However, he has always preferred to concentrate his attention and energies upon the private practice of law and his devotion to his clients' interests has ever been a forceful factor in his successful career. Whatever he does is for the best inter- ests of his clients and for the honor of his profession. No man gives to either a more unqualified allegiance or riper ability.


FRANCIS HUMPHRY WILLIAM WOOLRYCH.


Francis Humphry William Woolrych, whose name is widely known in art circles not only in St. Louis but throughout this and other countries, is the possessor of many awards from art exhibits, while his pictures are seen in many of the finest private collections in various countries. A native of Australia, he was born in New South Wales, February 1, 1864, his parents being Francis Benson William and Fran- ces Emily (Sherrington) Woolrych. The mother, who was born in England, died July 1, 1908. The father was the second son of Humphry William Woolrych, Esq., of Croxley House, Herts, England, one of the last sergeants at law. Francis B. W. Woolrych became a civil engineer. He was educated at Putney College and became the metropolitan district surveyor at Sydney, New South Wales. He retired in 1887 and passed away on the 16th of July, 1907.


F. Humphry W. Woolrych obtained his early education under private tutors and also attended the Sydney Grammar School, where he pursued studies equivalent to early college work. He was afterward under private tuition in Heidelberg, Ger- many, and later entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at Berlin, from which school he was graduated. He then continued his studies in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Atelier Colorossi under Gerome, Raphael Collin and Gustave Courtois until 1888. He also studied under Puvis de Chavannes in Paris. His life in early manhood was that of artist, teacher and illustrator. He became a member of the Hellas Art Club of Berlin and since coming to America in 1889 has been admitted to membership in the St. Louis Artists Guild, the Brush & Pencil Club, the St. Louis Architectural Club and the American Federation of Arts. His entire life has been devoted to art, including figure painting, portraits and landscapes in oil and water colors, and he also specializes in architectural renderings in water colors. His awards have been numerous. He received the bronze medal at the Portland exposition in 1905, also a medal for portrait and


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medals for water colors at the Sedalia State Fair of Missouri in 1913. His work is seen in the St. Louis public library and he has made water color renderings of the State Normal schools of Missouri, the Missouri University of Columbia for the World's Fair at St. Louis and the Filipino reservation for the World's Fair expo- sition for the United States government. He has pictures in prominent private collections in London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Berlin, Germany, Sydney, Australia, and New York and other cities of the United States.


On the 1st of October, 1887, in Paris, France, Mr. Woolrych was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Hewit, a daughter of Orson and Laura (Fenton) Hewit, of Conneaut, Ohio. Her father was a member of the Hewit-Sharp Commission Company of St. Louis and also vice president of the American Exchange Bank of this city. He died in 1907. To Mr. and Mrs. Woolrych have been born two chil- dren. Francis Humphrey William Woolrych, Jr., born in Compiegne, France, was married June 12, 1916, to Naomi Harman. Edmund Hugh Woolrych, born in Upper Alton, Illinois, was married April 17, 1917, to Sue Monemaker. The elder son is an architect of St. Louis and the younger is a mining engineer, now instructor in the Rolla School of Mines of the Missouri University. Mrs. Woolrych, like


her husband, possesses marked artistic talent. She was born in Conneaut, Ohio, and was a pupil in the St. Louis School of Fine Arts and also studied under


Morot, Collin and Courtois in Paris. She is a member of the St. Louis Art Students Association and also of the St. Louis Artists Guild, of which she was treasurer from 1905 until 1909. She was awarded a medal at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland in 1905 and has won gold and silver medals at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts and a silver medal in 1908 at the St. Louis District General Federation of Women's Clubs. Both Mr. and Mrs. Woolrych have fre- quently been mentioned in the press by reason of their contributions to art circles, whereby they have gained prominence and well won distinction.


They reside at No. 3855 Hartford street in St. Louis and have an attractive summer home at Sherman, Missouri. In religious faith Mr. Woolrych is an Epis- copalian, while Mrs. Woolrych attends the Unitarian church. Mr. Woolrych belongs to the Two by Four Society and also to the Missouri Athletic Association as well as the various different artists' associations previously mentioned. He is perhaps most widely known through his specialty of architectural renderings in water colors, in which connection he has gained wide and well merited fame.


HOMER HALL.


Homer Hall, attorney at law practicing in St. Louis, was born in Trenton, Missouri, August 24, 1871. His father, George Hall, a native of Indiana and a descendant from one of the old families of that state and of Kentucky, was born on a farm about ten miles from Indianapolis that had been preempted under the patent laws by his father and is still in possession of the family. In the paternal line there is a Scotch ancestral strain. In May, 1867, George Hall became a resident of Missouri and for the past fifty-two years has been an active practitioner at the bar of Grundy county. He is now the oldest practicing lawyer in that part of the state. Before his removal to Missouri he had served in the Civil war as a member of the Nineteenth and of the Seventy-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He proudly wears the little bronze button that proclaims him a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and he served as department commander for Missouri in 1899-1900. In politics he has always been an active republican and was a member of the Old Guard of 306 who voted for the nomination of U. S. Grant for a third term at the national convention of the republican party in 1880. From 1876 until 1880 he served as probate judge of Grundy county. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rachel Abbott Smith, is a native of Ohio and is a descendant of an old Penn- sylvania family. Her father was a pioneer Methodist preacher of Ohio and West Virginia and was of Irish descent, and she was a cousin of the late Bishop C. W. Smith of the Methodist Episcopal church. She has been active in the Woman's Relief Corps, having served as president of the state organization and in the Federation of Women's Clubs in Missouri.


. Homer Hall was the second in order of birth in a family of four children. He


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was educated in the Trenton public and high schools and in De Pauw University at Greencastle, Indiana, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Phil- osophy degree in 1893. He also studied law in that institution and in his father's office and he passed the required bar examination at Trenton, being admitted to practice in April, 1894. He then became associated with his father in practice as a member of the well known firm of Hall & Hall, which included a younger brother Frank Hall, who was for twelve years assistant to the United States attorney gen- eral in the land division of the department of justice and is now in private practice at San Francisco.


On the 15th of October, 1910, Homer Hall came to St. Louis and served as assistant United States attorney from that date until March 1, 1915, when he entered upon the private practice of his profession. He belongs to the St. Louis, Missouri and American Bar Associations. Politically Mr. Hall is a republican and in 1899 was representative of Grundy county in the general assembly. He has always been an active worker for the party and for the best interests of the state. In 1909 he was a member and the secretary of the State Statute Revision Commis- sion of Missouri. When America's advent into the World war brought about fast changing conditions and made different demands upon the citizenship of the country, he became a member of Company F of the First Missouri Regiment of the Home Guards in August, 1917, joining the command on its organization and holding the rank of sergeant when discharged in October, 1918, at which time he was commissioned a major in the judge advocate general's department of the army, with which he served in Washington until the 24th of March, 1919. He is a member of Grace Methodist Episcopal church, is serving on its board of stewards and was a delegate to the Methodist general conference at Los Angeles in 1904, at Baltimore in 1908 and at Minneapolis in 1912. He is a member of the Uni- versity, City and Algonquin Clubs. Since the 1st of January, 1921, he has been general attorney for the Wabash Railway Company for the territory of Missouri and Iowa.


WILLIAM M. HANGEN, M. D.


Dr. William M. Hangen, physician and surgeon, with offices in the Arcade build- ing in St. Louis, was born in Dayton, Ohio, March 28, 1881. His father, Chris- topher Hangen, was also a native of Ohio and was of German descent, the grand- father of Dr. Hangen having been the founder of the American branch of the family. He came to the new world in the early '40s, settling in Ohio, where he followed the blacksmith's trade. Christopher Hangen was reared and educated in Ohio and became a successful farmer and stock raiser. He passed away in July, 1902, at the age of fifty-six years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Meyer, is a native of Ohio and also of German lineage. She survives and is now living in Wellington, Kansas. Their family numbered six sons and three daughters.


Dr. Hangen who was the third child, was educated in the public and high schools of Wellington, Kansas, and in the State University at Lawrence before entering the St. Louis University School of Medicine, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1907. Following his graduation he served in the city and private hospitals for six months and then entered upon the private practice of his profession in St. Louis, where he has continuously remained, being success- fully engaged in general practice throughout all the intervening years. He is very careful in the diagnosis of his cases and seldom, if ever, at fault in foretelling the outcome of disease. Moreover, he is most conscientious in the performance of all of his professional duties and holds to the highest ethical standards. He belongs to the St. Louis, the Missouri State and the American Medical Associations. During the period of the World war he was assistant diagnostician of urology for the city of St. Louis.


On the 4th of October, 1912, in St. Louis, Dr. Hangen was married to Miss Grace L. Knaber, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Knaber. Fraternally Dr. Hangen is connected with Tuscan Lodge, No. 360, A. F. & A. M .; with Home Chapter of the Eastern Star; with Pacific Lodge, No. 304,


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K. P., of which he is a past chancellor; and with the Loyal Order of Moose. He likewise belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Rotary, St. Louis and Missouri Automobile Clubs. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church.


His interests and activities are broad and varied, showing that he is fully cognizant of the duties and obligations of citizenship and that he possesses a keen interest in everything pertaining to public progress. He has recently estab- lished what is an innovation in western cities-a down-town emergency hospital. This is most scientifically equipped according to modern methods and is maintained in connection with his splendidly equipped offices. The hospital contains two operating rooms, an X-ray laboratory, a chemical and microscopical laboratory and bedroom equipment, with attendant nurses, while a physician is always on duty, ready for any emergency that may arise. This hospital is proving of great value to St. Louis, having already taken care of many emergency cases, and in its establishment Dr. Hangen displayed the progressive spirit which has actuated him at all points in his professional career.


HENRY CLARKSON SCOTT.


If each individual used his talents to the utmost and neglected no duty that de- volved upon him the problems of the world would be settled. There are men here and there whose high sense of honor prompts them to the fulfillment of every obliga- tion and to the utilization of every opportunity for advancement. Such was the record of Henry Clarkson Scott who became a dynamic force in the business world, contributing to the upbuilding not only of St. Louis but of various other sections of the country and who while winning substantial success never for a moment forgot that business was but one phase of life and not the sole end and aim of existence. On the contrary his career was characterized by the highest principles and the world is better for his having lived. He came to St. Louis from Fredericksburg, Virginia, where his birth occurred on the 5th of May, 1859, his parents being Hugh and Anne (Clarkson) Scott. His public school training was supplemented by a course of study in the Fredericksburg Military Institute from which he was graduated with the rank of captain and adjutant.


Mr. Scott was a young man of but twenty-two years when he arrived in St. Louis in 1881 and from that time until his demise he was closely associated with business affairs of the city, his energies being first directed to his duties as secretary of the Carondelet Gas Light Company of which he became manager in. 1884. Following his resignation he founded the Laclede Power Company and was elected to the presidency, so continuing until the company was taken over by the North American Company. In the meantime he had become closely associated with various industrial, commercial and financial projects and business enterprises, his cooperation being eagerly sought by reason of his keen business sagacity, his sound judgment and his ability in discrim- inating between the essential and the non-essential in all business affairs. Moreover, he united and coordinated seemingly diverse elements into a unified and harmonious whole and never stopped short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose. He was not only the president of the Laclede Power Company but also of the National Light & Improvement Company, of the Missouri & Illinois Coal Company and a director of the Merchants Laclede National Bank, the Hydraulic Press Brick Company and the American Central Insurance Company. Various points in the southwest profited by his sound judgment, his keen discernment and indefatigable energy. He became the president of the Fort Worth Light & Power Company of Fort Worth, Texas; presl- dent of the Waco Gas Company and Citizens Railway Company of Waco, Texas; presi- dent of the Wichita Gas & Electric Company of Wichita, Kansas; vice president of the Bellefontaine Cemetery Association; and a director of the American Surety Company of New York. The value of his judgment in business matters was widely recognized and at all times he commanded the respect of his fellowmen by his fairness, progressive- ness and initiative.


On the 14th of February, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Henry Clarkson Scott and Miss Bertha Drake, whose father, George Silas Drake, is mentioned else- where in this work, for he was an honored pioneer resident of St. Louis where he


HENRY C. SCOTT


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took up his abode in 1826. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Scott were four in number: Hugh, Anne Warburton, George Drake and Alice Marion. The elder daughter on the 12th of June, 1918, became the wife of Thomas S. Blumer of Boston, Massachusetts, where they reside, and they now have one daughter, Nancy Scott. Mr. Blumer was a first lieutenant in the Massachusetts Field Artillery during the World war.


Mr. Scott's older son, Hugh, was a member of the Three Hundred and Fortieth Field Artillery of the Eighty-ninth Division. He left the senior class in Yale and was graduated in absento. In May, 1917, he enlisted and was sent to the officers' training camp at Fort Riley, where he was under the instruction of General Wood for a year. He was made a lieutenant in August, 1917, and was sent to France the following June. He participated in the St. Mihiel offensive and was on the Euvexans front at the time of the signing of the armistice, after which he was sent with the army of occupation into Germany where he remained until May, 1919. He then returned home and is now associated with Robert Gaylord, Incorporated, a paper box manu- facturing company. On the 6th of October, 1920, he married Miss Anne Block, a daugh- ter of Harry L. Block of St. Louis.


George Drake Scott, the younger son, also left Yale where he was a student in the Sheffield Scientific School, in May, 1917, and joined the navy. Later he was transferred to the naval aviation section and was graduated at the Massachusetts School of Technology as an ensign in February, 1918. He was then made instructor in aviation at Bay Shore, Long Island, and left the service in April, 1919, with the rank of junior grade lieutenant. He is now associated with George Tiffany & Com- pany, cotton brokers of St. Louis.


Mr. Scott did not live to witness the splendid record made by his sons in military service for he passed away on the 14th of January, 1911, when fifty-two years of age. He was an Episcopalian in religious faith, attending the services of Christ Church Cathedral and was a devoted member of its chapter. Mr. Scott long took a helpful part in benevolent and charitable activities and in all good works. For a number of years prior to his death he had been one of the directors of St. Luke's (Episcopal) Hospital and he was chairman of the committee managing the business affairs of Holy Cross Mission. He held membership in the Society of the Cincinnati and belonged to the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association of which he was president and director, the Academy of Science, the Missouri Historical Society and various social organiza- tions, including the St. Louis, Noonday, University, St. Louis Country, Florissant, Bellerive, Commercial and Contemporary Clubs. When he passed away the Merchants Laclede Bank said of him: "Combined with ripe experience, wisdom and foresight that insured a splendid success and prosperity to whatever business devoted, he possessed such courteous manners, such charming social qualities, and generosity of heart, as endeared him to all his friends and make his loss irreparable." This was but one of many expressions of regret at his passing made by various boards of which he was a member. All who knew him felt that a good man had been called to his reward. He held with Abraham Lincoln that "there is something better than making a living- making a life," and his contribution to the world's work was indeed valuable along the lines of cultural and moral progress. Well descended and well bred the innate refinement of his nature was opposed to anything gross or common and the high ideals which he cherished were transmitted as a priceless legacy to his family.




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