USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 18
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The family are Catholics in religious faith, identified with the St. Rose parish in St. Louis and Mr. Mudd is a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus. While Mr. Mudd had passed beyond military age at the time of the World war he had four brothers who were in the service. In politics his family has always sup- ported democratic principles and candidates, but he has not affiliated himself with either party, preferring to cast an independent ballot. He belongs to the Missouri Athletic Association of St. Louis and he is prominent and popular in that order and wherever he is known. His business interests have brought him wide acquaintance and with its growth the circle of his friends has been extended.
REV. JOHN NEKULA.
The Catholic ministry has many prominent representatives in St. Louis and among this number is the Rev. John Nekula, pastor of St. Wenceslaus' Catholic church, situated at No. 3018 Oregon avenue. He was born in Moravia, in the province of Austria, now the Czecho-Slovakia republic, on the 3d of January, 1871, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine ( Brokes) Nekula. The father died in 1918 and the mother is still living in the old home at Moravia.
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Mr. Nekula was educated in the Theological Seminary at Brno, Moravia, and in the Louvain University at Louvain, Belgium. In 1894 he came to St. Louis and completed his studies in Kenrick Seminary. On the 8th of June, 1895, he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Kane and was thereafter appointed assistant priest to St. John of Nepomuk church, where he served for five years. In 1900 he was appointed pastor of St. Wenceslaus' parish; over which he has presided for the past twenty years. The parish has been built up from about ninety families to three hundred families and the school has an enrollment of about one hundred and seventy children, making this one of the strong and important parishes of the city. The membership of the church is composed wholly of Bohemian families and Rev. Mr. Nekula is proving a most able leader of his flock, working earnestly for the establishment of the highest Christian principles among his people and laboring untiringly for the upbuilding of the church.
Mr. Nekula belongs to the Knights of Columbus and gives his political allegi- ance to the democratic party. He was sent to Europe in November, 1919, by the Catholic National War Council of Washington, D. C., to study conditions abroad and to lecture in the Czecho-Slovakia country. He spent seven months traveling throughout that country, also through France, Italy and Switzerland, and in Rome made a report to the pope. He returned home on the 28th of May, 1920. While in Europe he crossed the battle fields of France eight times as he traveled from point to point and gained a most intimate knowledge of conditions which then existed and of events which had taken place while the war was in progress.
HON. E. L. MORSE.
Excelsior Springs, with its modern improvements and air of general progress and prosperity, largely stands as a monument to the enterprise and business ability of Hon. E. L. Morse, who when a lad of eight years was working as errand boy and general assistant in a little bank and drugstore, the two business interests occupying one room. Since then Mr. Morse has proved his ability as a member of the bar, has been connected with the promotion of electric lights and water plants, with railway building, with real estate dealing and with many other business enter- prises which have been dominant factors in the upbuilding of Excelsior Springs. His entire career might be summed up in the one word, advancement, but justice demands a fuller exposition of his life because this advancement has ever been of a character that has contributed to the welfare and benefit of community, common- wealth and country, while at the same time as the architect of his own fortune he has builded wisely and well.
Mr. Morse is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Bing- hamton, Broome county, New York, March 10, 1866, his parents being Benjamin Whitney and Emeline ( Bissell) Morse, who were natives of New York and Penn- sylvania respectively. The father was a contractor and builder of Binghamton and conducted a very profitable business. In 1872 he came to Missouri, settling at Osborn where he purchased a farm, continuing its cultivation until his death in 1894. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of New York and tradition has it that seven brothers of the name came to America from the old world at an early period in the colonization of this country. Both the father and the grand- father of Hon. E. L. Morse prospered in business, but the Civil war brought on some reverses.
The educational opportunities of E. L. Morse were extremely limited owing to the fact that when eight years of age he began to work in the bank and drug store of Osborn, spending eight years in that connection. He was sixteen years of age when he came to Excelsior Springs and established a drug store of his own, having thoroughly acquainted himself with the business in his previous employment. He was a registered pharmaceutist and knew every feature of the trade. He opened his drug store in 1880 and carried on the business for a year, at the end of which time he sold out. He then went to Kansas City where he entered the Kansas City School of Law, pursuing his studies for two years, after which he was admitted to the bar in 1883. Returning to Excelsior Springs he began the practice of his pro- fession and was elected to the office of city attorney in which capacity he served
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for eight years, making a most creditable record by the prompt and faithful per- formance of his duties. The limitless field of business, however, called to him and in 1888 he built and operated the Excelsior Springs Light & Water Plant. Still the chance for the expansion of his interests made demand upon his energy and in 1893 he built the Kansas City, Excelsior Springs and Northern Railway, which he afterward sold to the Wabash system in connection with which the line is now operated. Mr. Morse also promoted and became the president of the company that huilt the Elms hotel. In this undertaking he was associated with the same people that were connected with him in the railway building. Later he organized the Excelsior Springs Land & Investment Company which owned the town site. This company took over all the assets and holdings of the original Townsite & Land Company in 1893 at the time of the building of the railroad. It is due to Mr. Morse's energy, enterprise and foresight that Excelsior Springs is the attractive city one finds today. He still owns a large amount of property here, including eight blocks of the improved property in the business district. He organ- ized the Excelsior Springs Trust Company. Opportunity has ever been to him a call to action-a call to which he has made ready response.
In 1887 Mr. Morse was married to Miss Kate Lemon who passed away in 1893, leaving three children. Benjamin W., deceased; Wallace M. and Howard Holden. In 1895 Mr. Morse was again married, his second union being with Harriett C. Chamber- lain of Denver, Colorado, and they have become parents of three children: Kate, Marguerite and William. The son Howard served through the World war. He is a young man of attractive personality and very popular in Excelsior Springs. He made a most creditable record while in the service being with General March and General Goethals. He was overseas five times and was with General Pershing when the armistice was signed.
In his political views Mr. Morse is a republican and is a recognized leader in the ranks of the party in this state. In 1892 he went to the state legislature and was instrumental in securing the passage of a bill enabling Excelsior Springs to build its sewer system. In 1900 he made the big fight whereby the streets in Excelsior Springs were paved. Though he was strongly opposed in this under- taking at the time there is now no one but what feels that his course was most wise and justifiable. Mr. Morse has a wide acquaintance among prominent polit- ical leaders of the country and numbers among his friends Ex-Governor Lowden of Illinois and Senator James E. Watson of Indiana. There is perhaps no record in this volume which indicates more clearly that notwithstanding the advantages one may or may not have in the way of education he must eventually formulate and determine his own character. His life record also proves that the strongest and hest in men is brought out through the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition. With but limited advantages at the outset of his career he has made notable progress, accomplishing great things in the way of city building and there is no one to whom Excelsior Springs is more deeply indebted than to E. L. Morse.
HERMAN LOUIS NIETERT, M. D.
Dr. Herman Louis Nietert, an able surgeon of St. Louis, was born in Edwards- ville, Illinois, February 22, 1866. His father, Frederick Nietert, was a native of Germany and came to America in 1845, when twenty years of age, originally settling in Cincinnati, while during the '50s he removed to Edwardsville, Illinois. He was a farmer and stock raiser, conducting his business very successfully. He passed away in September, 1919, at the notable age of ninety-four years, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Minnie Slueter, passed away in 1910, at the age of eighty-six years. She too was a native of Germany and came to the United States prior to the Civil war. By her marriage she became the mother of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters.
Herman L. Nietert, who was the sixth in order of birth, was educated in the public schools of Edwardsville and at Shurtleff College at Alton, Illinois. His early life to the age of sixteen years was spent upon the home farm, and after completing his studies in the local schools, he entered the St. Louis Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1889. After winning his degree he served for
DR. HERMAN L. NIETERT
Vol. V-11
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one year as interne in the St. Louis City Hospital and then spent two years abroad, studying in Heidelberg and in Vienna. Returning to St. Louis he entered upon the private practice of his profession, in which he has since continued but for some time has specialized in surgery. In 1902 he was superintendent and surgeon in charge of the St. Louis City Hospital, continuing in that position from 1899 until 1902, a period of four years. He was also post mortem physician for four years or until 1899. He belongs to the St. Louis, Missouri State, and American Medical Associations. He is now surgeon for the Deaconess Hospital and the Lutheran Hospital, and he has an extensive private practice which is indicative of the con- fidence reposed in his professional skill and ability. During the war he served as a member of the Medical Reserve Corps and was commissioned captain.
On the 30th of November, 1902, Dr. Nietert was married in St. Louis to Miss Katherine Ziegenhein, a native of St. Louis and a daughter of Henry and Katherine (Hinkel) Ziegenhein. Fraternally Dr. Nietert is a Mason belonging to Meridian Lodge, A. F. & A. M. and to Ascalon Commandery, K. T. of St. Louis. He also has membership in the Sunset Inn Country Club. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, and he keeps thoroughly in touch with the questions and issues of the day but has never had ambition for office outside of the strict path of his profession. The thoroughness with which he has devoted his atten- tion to his practice has led to the attainment of the enviable position which he now occupies as one of the leading surgeons of St. Louis.
OLIVER DWIGHT FILLEY.
Oliver Dwight Filley, a man of the strictest integrity and probity of character, actuated at all times by marked devotion to duty during the most troublous period in the history of Missouri as well as in the days of calm and orderly progression, left the impress of his individuality in unmistakable manner upon the annals of city and state. While he never sought to figure in public life, he was the associate and was recognized as the peer of many of the ablest of the prominent men of Mis- souri. His birth occurred at Wintonburg, now Bloomfield, Connecticut, May 23, 1806, and his ancestral record is traced back to the earliest settlement of New England. When many were fleeing from the mother country to seek religious lib- erty in the new world, William Filley aided in founding the town of Windsor, Connecticut, in 1633 and thus established the Filley family on American soil.
Oliver D. Filley was one of a family of six children, five sons and a daughter, whose father, Oliver Filley, Sr., was a tinner by trade and in his establishment the son began learning the business at an early age. He also attended the district schools and early in life became a factor in the industrial activity of Bloomfield. On attaining his majority he removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and worked at his trade in the shop of his uncle, Harvey Filley. He afterward removed to Pittsburgh, where he was employed for a time at his trade and then returned to Bloomfield but after residing there for a brief period started 'for the middle west, with St. Louis as his destination. He was accompanied by his brother, M. L. Filley, and the two made the trip in 1829, at which time Oliver D. Filley was but twenty-three years of age. On reaching this city he entered the employ of a Mr. Mansfield, for whom he worked as a journeyman tinner and about a year later purchased the business from his employer and for more than forty-three years was one of the prominent factors in the industrial life of St. Louis. In 1834 his brother, Giles F. Filley, entered the establishment as an apprentice and after com- pleting his term of indenture was admitted to a partnership in the business-a relation that was maintained for four years and from the business conducted by the brothers there developed the extensive stove works that constituted one of the important business enterprises of St. Louis, conducted by Mr. Filley up to the time of his retirement in 1873. In that year he sold his interests to Rodney D. Wells and put aside the more active cares of business life, having in the mean- time through his capable management, unfaltering enterprise and sound judgment acquired a handsome fortune. In no section of the country, especially in the west and northwest, was Mr. Filley unknown, his business relations extending to all parts of the United States, St. Louis being at that time the distributing point for
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the Mississippi valley and the great middle western country. His plans were always carefully formulated and promptly executed and his determined purpose and enter- prising methods enabled him to overcome all the difficulties and obstacles in his path and ultimately reach the point of substantial success.
While ever averse to holding public office, Mr. Filley was yet an active worker in the ranks of the Benton and Jackson democracy and was an intimate friend of both Thomas Benton and Andrew Jackson, the latter always making Mr. Filley's residence his headquarters on every visit to the city, while Benton upon his return from Washington to St. Louis always made it a point to call at Mr. Filley's office and extend to him his first greeting. The latter was also a close friend and sup- porter of General Frank P. Blair. He stood with Benton in the split which subse- quently led to a split on the nomination of General Cass for the presidency as against Van Buren, Mr. Filley following the fortunes of the latter. For a time Mr. Filley was a director in the Bank of the State of Missouri and resolutely opposed the policy of recognizing and dealing in the doubtful currency that prevailed in the west prior to 1857. In 1858 he actively entered public life as mayor of St. Louis and his administration was characterized by various reforms and improve- ments. The free soilers in that year made him their candidate for mayor, much against his wish, but he was persuaded to accept the nomination, as he was con- vinced by his friends that he was the only man upon whom all the discordant ele- ments would unite and thus prevent the defeat of the party. He was elected after a hot contest by a handsome majority and served for two years. He gave his sup- port to the Union during the trouhlous times following the declaration of war in 1861 but strongly opposed the military levies of money on all who were not con- sidered loyal, believing this to be an act of injustice. Under his administration many improvements were made in St. Louis. The fire alarm telegraph system was installed and a paid fire department was established. At the inauguration of the war he was given the chairmanship of the committee of safety, serving with James O. Broadhead, Samuel T. Glover, John How and J. J. Witzig. Mr. Filley stood as a strong Blair man in the difficulties originating in the removal of John C. Fremont from the command of the military district. His position was never an equivocal one. He stood loyally for what he believed to be right and a sense of justice and honor guided him in all things.
At Bloomfield, Connecticut, in 1835, Mr. Filley was married to Miss Chloe Varina Brown and at his death left six children: Oliver; John D .; Mrs. Ellen Richards; Mrs. Maria J. Davis, the wife of John T. Davis; Mrs. Alice Moore; and Mrs. Jeanette Morton, the wife of Isaac Wyman Morton mentioned elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Filley passed away in St. Louis, August 21, 1881. He was a man of the strictest honor and integrity who could be trusted at any and all times to stand loyally by his beliefs and in support of the high principles which guided his life. He was liberal in his charity to those in need and gave generously where he believed assistance would be of real value. He made his life count for good at all times, on the side of progressive citizenship, of municipal reform and progress, of commercial and industrial development and also on the side of that broad humanitarianism which seeks to ameliorate the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate. He was one of the city's most honored and respected residents, a public benefactor and a noble representative of true manhood.
HAMPTON ROTHWELL.
Hampton Rothwell, who is engaged in the general practice of law in both the state and federal courts at St. Louis, was born in Callaway county, Missouri, January 20, 1877, his parents being Alexander and Sallie (Price) Rothwell, the latter a daugh- ter of Captain Joe Price, of Callaway county. The father was a Kentuckian who came to Missouri about 1865 and continued a resident of this state until his death In 1912. His widow is still living. In their family were three sons: Fount, who is collector of United States customs in St. Louis; Hampton, of this review, known to all of his friends as Hamp; and Allen, who resides in Columbia, Missouri, and is conducting business under the name of the Columbia Printing Company.
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HAMPTON ROTHWELL
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Hampton Rothwell pursued his early education in the public schools of Ash- land, Missouri, and was graduated in 1902 from the State University of Columbia with the LL. B. degree. He devoted five years to the profession of teaching in the southern part of the county. He afterward pursued post graduate work in the State University and has since given his attention to law practice. He followed the pro- fession for four years at Moberly, Missouri, and in 1915 came to St. Louis where he has since conducted a general practice in the state and federal courts. He is recog- nized as an able attorney and his devotion to his clients' interests is proverbial. He belongs to the St. Louis Bar Association, the Randolph and Boone County Bar Asso- ciation, the Missouri State and the American Bar Associations. While residing at Columbia, he served as city attorney for eight years making an excellent record in that office.
In August, 1917, Mr. Rothwell was appointed oil inspector for the city of St. Louis by Gov. Gardner. The commission is for a period of four years. Mr. Roth- well is a director of and St. Louis attorney for the American Mutual Indemnity Asso- ciation of Missouri, and the American General Indemnity Corporation of Missouri, both companies being incorporated under the laws of Missouri, and doing a general automobile and plate glass insurance business. Mr. Rothwell is also president of the Security Stucco Company, of St. Louis, a Missouri corporation.
Mr. Rothwell has two sons, Frank and Fount. He left behind him many friends when he removed from his old home, but he has made many new ones in St. Louis, where he has since gained a creditable social as well as professional position. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows and with the Elks and his political belief is that of the democratic party, while his religious faith is that of the Baptist church. He has been particularly active in politics throughout his entire life and Is well known to many of the leading statesmen of Missouri. He was chairman of the city democratic committee of Columbia, and secretary of the Boone county central committee for a number of years. He has always done everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party because of his firm belief in its principles, and his position upon any vital question, political or otherwise, is never an equivocal one.
A. N. ALTRINGER, M. D.
Dr. A. N. Altringer of Kansas City, devoting his attention to diseases of the ear, nose and throat, was born in Denver, Colorado, March 17, 1891, his parents being Edward W. and Mary Frances (Crowell) Altringer, who were natives of Virginia and Missouri respectively, the father becoming well known as a banker of Kansas City, Kansas.
Dr. Altringer pursued his primary education in the public schools and also attended St. Benedict's College in Kansas, from which he was graduated in 1908 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. He took up the study of medicine in the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and won his M. D. degree in 1912. Later he spent three years in hospital work as an interne in Johns Hopkins Hos- pital, gaining broad and valuable experience in that connection. He was afterward connected with St. Mary's Hospital in Kansas City and also studied in the Chicago Eye and Ear Hospital, pursuing post-graduate work there in 1915.
After America's entrance into the World war Dr. Altringer was for twenty-one months connected with the army. He first went to Base Hospital No. 28 and was commissioned first lieutenant. There he remained for four months and was then transferred to Mobile Hospital, No. 3, a French hospital, and was captain of the unit. He remained in service until April, 1919, when he received an honorable discharge and returned to Kansas City. He then resumed practice here and has since specialized in the treatment of the ear, nose and throat. He is constantly broadening his knowledge in that field of practice and his ability is manifest in the excellent results which have attended his professional labors. He belongs to the Jackson County, Missouri State and American Medical Associations, and the Amer- ican Academy-Oto Rhino Laryngologists.
In 1916 Dr. Altringer was married in Kansas City to Miss Pauline Bracken. He is a communicant of the Catholic church and also has membership with the
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Knights of Columbus. Politically he is a republican but while well informed on the questions and issues of the day has never been an office seeker. Appreciative of the social amenities he now has membership in the Mission Hills and University Clubs. He is a young man of sterling personal worth and of most creditable pro- fessional attainment and is spoken of in terms of high regard throughout Kansas City and this section of the state.
ALFRED GERNE.
A jeweler of St. Louis prominent in the trade is Alfred Gerne, whose birth occurred at Lebanon, Illinois, on the tenth of October, 1870. Conrad Gerne, hls father, was a German butcher who emigrated to the United States as a youth and established a business in Lebanon, Illinois. Christina (Dolle) Gerne, his mother, likewise of German parentage and birth, also grew up in Lebanon. Their family consisted of four girls and four boys of whom Alfred was second from the youngest.
Educated in the public schools of Lebanon, Illinois, Alfred Gerne began to learn the watchmaker's trade when he was fourteen years of age and has con- tinued in the jewelry business since that time. He came to St. Louis in 1893 and established the A. Gerne Jewelry Company of which he is the president.
Mr. Gerne is a republican partisan. His only fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Pythias in which he has uniform rank. He is a member of the North St. Louis Turnverein. Mr. Gerne is unmarried and maintains a home for his sisters.
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