USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 33
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"Boards of directors would be elected, or rather named on paper, and in some Instances boards of directors of some of the defendant corporations have never held a meeting, and yet records were made up as if said corporations had been legally organized and the business carried on by and through regular meetings of the boards of directors and other officers.
"People to the number of tens of thousands, and these tens of thousands multiplied many times, subscribed for stock and bonds and other securities of some of these defendant corporations. The complainants if the allegations of the bill are true, parted with their money and have never received a farthing in return, either principal or interest. No one promise made to them has been observed.
"The organization of these many corporations has been for the purpose of creat- ing an endless chain, to the end that the people who parted with their money could not tell where the chain commenced and where it would end, The bill recites in fact that how much indebtedness anyone of these defendant corporations owes, cannot be ascertained within a reasonable time. Accountants were employed and after expending much time, had to cease their work for lack of money to pay them. Dur- ing the oral argument each of us asked many questions, trying to elicit what the indebtedness of any one corporation amounts to, and what the assets of such cor- porations aggregate. All of such questions resulted in acquiring no information of a tangible or substantial character.
" 'One of the defendants, a bank, has a certificate of deposit of eighty thousand dollars which has just matured and it is now claimed that a court of equity should construe that certificate into a mere receipt for some bills receivable, and that there is by reason thereof no money demand. One corporation swallows the assets of an- other corporation, and in turn the assets of that corporation are swallowed by still another. The truth is, if this bill is to be believed, there is no valid corporation and has been none. Every one of the defendant corporations has been organized
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as a mere sham and pretense-nothing in the world but a cloak to cover the purposes of the defendant, Edward G. Lewis. The matters of course have not yet been in- vestigated. To properly state an account between the so called defendants would require the work of accountants and a mastery in chancery for a considerable period of time.'
"The bill goes on to discuss the purely legal aspects of the case and terminates by appointing a receiver and a master in chancery to conduct an inquiry into the accounts and assets of the concerns.
"The decision was a great victory for C. D. Hall, who discovered and presented the facts and filed the proceedings that threw every dollar and every foot of the property of the corporations into the hands of the receiver for distribution to the thousands of creditors, of whom two hundred and thirty-three had engaged Hall to protect their interests. Hall was pitted for months in the Lewis case, against the leading lights of the Missouri bar. He has come off successful at every turn and has won a national reputation, having been on several occasions referred to on the floor of the United States senate."
Mr. Hall was married at Mount Vernon, Iowa, to Miss Jessie S. Sherwood, from whom he secured a legal separation. On the 20th of April, 1910, in St. Louis, he married Mrs. Laura C. Gays, a native of this city and a daughter of Samuel Newton and Henrietta (Scobee) Cash, and a direct descendant through the maternal line of Daniel Boone.
In politics Mr. Hall has always been a stalwart democrat and has been a very active and earnest supporter of the party. He belongs to Pride of the West Lodge, No. 128, A. F. & A. M., and has also taken the Royal Arch degrees of Masonry and is a Knight Templar and Shriner. He is a member of the City Club and of the Mercantile Club of St. Louis, and he belongs to the Hamilton Avenue Christian church. His is a notable career as a successful man, not only self-made but self- educated, for he worked his way through Washington University. The elemental strength of his character which he thus displayed has constituted the basis of his substantial advancement. He early recognized the eternal principle that industry wins, and industry became the beacon light of his life. It is said no man at the bar in St. Louis has greater liking or greater capacity for hard work than Mr. Hall. He recognized that success dances as a will-o'-the-wisp before the dreamer, slips away from the sluggard, but yields its fruits to the man of determined and resolute pur- pose. All through his life Mr. Hall has done with thoroughness what his hand has found to do and in his professional career he has made devotion to the interests of his clients one of his strongest characteristics, yet he never forgets that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law.
WALTER WAYNE SMITH.
Walter Wayne Smith, clergyman and educator, who since 1916 has been president of the Independent Institute of Arts and Sciences at Independence, Missouri, was born at Somerset, Pulaski county, Kentucky, September 21, 1878, his parents being Martin Beatty and Melissa A. (Stephens) Smith. The father died in 1889 and in 1891 the mother removed with her children to Johnson county, Missouri, where Walter W. Smith was employed at farming until the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, when he enlisted as a private of Company L, Fourth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, serv- ing throughout the period of hostilities. During a part of this time he held a com- mission as Y. M. C. A. secretary with his regiment, under the Army Christian Com- mission.
Following his release from military service Mr. Smith removed to Kansas City, Missouri, and was appointed to the active ministry of the reorganized church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by the general conference of 1900. He filled appoint- ments in Kansas City and in Northern Missouri until April, 1904, when he was chosen pastor of the First Saints' church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, there remaining until 1916 when he removed to Independence, Missouri, to become the pastor of the First Saints' church of this place and also president of the Independence Stake Conference. This position he held until April, 1920, when he relinquished it to become the head
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of the historical department of the church also occupying the position of church his- torian and editor of the Journal of History. This position he still fills.
Mr. Smith received his early education in the public schools of Pulaski county, Kentucky, and Johnson county, Missouri, and during his pastorate in Philadelphia he devoted much time to study and research, receiving the Ph. B. degree from Potomac College in 1913 while in the same year he received his Divinity degree. He was graduated from the Teachers' College at Temple University in 1916 and has been honored with the M. A. degree by the divinity school. In connection with his min- isterial work he has found time to teach almost continuously. In 1916 associated with others he founded the Independence Institute of Arts and Sciences and was chosen president, which position he now fills. He is also a lecturer at Graceland College at Lamoni, Iowa, and is a member of the standing high council of the church. He is also the author of a Normal Teacher training textbook and the nature and breadth of his interests is further indicated in the fact that he is a member of the Archaeological Institute of America; the National Geographic Society; the State Historical Society of Missouri; the Boy Scout Council of Independence and he also served as editor of Zion's Ensign the missionary newspaper of the church from 1916 until 1919.
On the 25th of December, 1901, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Maggie Eunice Winn, a daughter of David F. and Elizabeth J. ( Howe) Winn of Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of three sons: Robert Wayne, born in Kansas City, June 6, 1903; Dudley Winn, born in Philadelphia December 24, 1905; and Ronald Martin, born in Philadelphia, September 23, 1909. Mrs. Smith is also active in the educational field, having received her training in the public schools of Kansas City and at Hatton College at Higbee, Missouri, while later she was graduated from the Teachers' College in the kindergarten training department of Temple University in 1913. She received an A. B. degree from Milton University in 1916 and is now engaged in teaching, being registrar of the Independence Institute of Arts and Sciences of which she was one of the founders and director of the department of normal kindergarten- primary training. She is also the author of Sunday School lessons, beginners grade, for her denomination. She belongs to the I. K. U., the Kindergarten Club of Kansas City, the Laurel Club, the Mother's Club and the Musical Clubs of Independence.
ALFRED BYRON KING, D. O.
Missouri is the home of osteopathic practice. The original school for instruction in this science was located within the borders of the state and many of the most successful practitioners have found their opportunity in the cities of this. common- wealth. Among this number is Dr. Alfred Bryon King, a most capable osteopathic practitioner of St. Louis. He was born July 4, 1862, at Kittanning. Pennsylvania, and is descended from English ancestry, the family having been founded in America in the early part of the seventeenth century, the great-great-grandfather of Dr. King settling near Philadelphia when he arrived in the new world from England. Several generations of the family remained in Pennsylvania and in 1870 the parents of Dr. King removed to lowa, where he attended the high school at College Springs. He later became a student in Amity College from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1883. He initiated his business career as a clerk in a retail dry goods store in Rapid City, South Dakota, and after three years thus spent went to Sturgis, South Dakota. In 1887 he removed to Omaha, Nebraska, and occupied a clerical position with the McCord-Brady Company, wholesale grocers, with whom he continued until he turned from commercial pursuits to take up the study of osteopathy.
Dr. King was planning at that time to become a medical practitioner and he di- rected his reading toward that end, but on account of some difficulty with his eyes during his senior year at college he was warned not to attempt a medical course until later. For this reason he entered the commercial field wherein he continued until his health failed, and being benefited by osteopathic treatments determined to enter upon the study of osteopathy and matriculated in Still College at Des Moines, Iowa, winning his degree upon the completion of his course there in 1901. He has since successfully practiced in St. Lonis and is a member of the National Osteopathic Association and the St. Louis Osteopathic Association and has served as a director of the latter, while of the Missouri State Osteopathic Association he is the vice president. He is also a
DR. ALFRED B. KING
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charter member of the Optimist Club, of which he is the treasurer, and in 1920 was a member of the house of delegates of the American Osteopathic Association. He is a member of the Iota Tau Sigma fraternity and his social qualities make him popular wherever he is known. He belongs to the First United Presbyterian church and while his attention is chiefly given to his professional duties which he discharges with a sense of conscientious obligation, he never neglects the other interests of life that go to make a well balanced character. During the war period he served in the pub- licity department.
On the 13th of October, 1892, at Dorchester, Nebraska, Dr. King was married to Miss Lora Maud Kepler and they have one child, Louise King, who was married May 25, 1917, to Robert E. Zipp Prodt. Mr. and Mrs. Zipp Prodt have a son, Robert King, whose birth occurred November 13, 1918. Dr. King finds his chief sources of recrea- tion in golf, fishing and motoring and enjoys an enviable position in social as well as professional circles of his adopted city.
FRANK H. SOSEY.
Frank H. Sosey, United States appraiser at St. Louis, was born in Palmyra, Marion county, Missouri, February 14, 1864, and is a son of the late Jacob and Annie (Hanley) Sosey. The father was a native of Virginia and was descended from an old family of French Hugeunot origin that was founded in America prior to the Revolutionary war. Jacob Sosey came to Missouri in 1839, settling in Marion county. He established a newspaper called the Palmyra Spectator which was the second journal published at Palmyra. It was originally a supporter of the whig party but afterward became a democratic organ. Mr. Sosey continued as a newspaper publisher until his death which occurred in 1888 when he had reached the advanced age of eighty years. At the time of his death he was the oldest newspaper publisher in the state, while the paper which he established is today the oldest in Missouri since the St. Louis Republic has gone out of business. Jacob Sosey had learned the printing trade in Staunton, Vir- ginia, in young manhood, serving an apprenticeship with a Mr. Harper and later he became half owner of the paper which was known as The Spectator. The "Palymra Spectator" which was established by him, is still in possession of the family and since the father's death has been conducted by his sons, Frank H. and John M. Sosey. From that time forward he was continuously connected with the printing business and occupied a prominent position as a representative of the journalistic fraternity of Mis- souri. He was very active in politics and in civic matters but never sought nor filled public office. He had two sons, August and Harper Sosey, who were half-brothers of Frank H. Sosey and who served with the Confederate army during the Civil war. He married Annie Hanley, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Francis A. Hanley who came from Ireland when a youth of nineteen years. Mrs. Sosey was reared and educated in Philadelphia and in 1836 her father came to Missouri, settling in Palmyra where a few years later he was joined by his daughter, Mrs. Sosey, who had remained in the east in order to complete her education. It was in Palmyra that Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Sosey were married and they became the parents of three children: Hallie, still a resident of Palmyra; Frank H., of this review; and John M. The wife and mother passed away in 1880 at the age of forty-five years, while Mr. Sosey sur- vived until 1888.
In the acquirement of his education Frank H. Sosey attended Palmyra Seminary and St. Paul's College at Palmyra, Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1885, being then twenty years of age. He afterward entered his father's newspaper office and learned the printer's trade. Upon the death of his father he became editor of the paper and has since continued its publication, still remaining as editor, writing his editorials from his St. Louis office, while the younger brother looks after the business management and mechanical end of the publication. Frank H. Sosey was reared in the democratic faith and has never seen occasion to change his views upon political questions and party policy. He has been a very active worker in party ranks and for fifteen years served as secretary of the democratic central committee of Palmyra. He was elected to the state legislature, serving during the forty-third general assembly, and such was his record that he was reelected to the forty-fourth, forty-fifth and forty-sixth assemblies. In his work in the legislature he was ever
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guided by a high sense of devotion to his country and an eager desire to aid in advanc- ing the welfare and progress of the commonwealth. He introduced a constitutional amendment that was adopted by the people and which was the means of building the present good roads of Missouri, thus taking the necessary initial legislative step for the good roads movement in the state. During the forty-fifth general assembly Mr. Sosey was instrumental in securing an appropriation of ten thousand dollars to build a monument in memory of Mark Twain at Hannibal, Missouri, the monument being there erected and dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, much to the pride and pleasure of the citizens of the town where the most celebrated American humorist once lived. In 1914 Mr. Sosey was appointed by President Wilson to his present position as United States appraiser and in this capacity has since served most acceptably, his duty being the appraising of merchandise brought to St. Louis from foreign ports.
Mr. Sosey is also well known in literary circles through his authorship of a volume entitled "Robert Devoy," a tale of the Palmyra massacre. This is a true story of how ten Confederate prisoners were taken from the Palmyra military prison to the fair grounds, were seated on their own coffins and then shot by order of General John McNeil, commanding the Federal forces of northern Missouri. The deed was in retalia- tion for the abduction of a Union man by Confederate soldiers, this man having made himself obnoxious to southern sympathizers. The event treated of in the story is considered the most tragic incident in the Civil war. The book was published in 1904 and had a very large sale in all parts of the United States and in foreign countries, three editions having been brought out.
In April, 1892, Mr. Sosey was married in Palmyra, Missouri, to Miss Sally Hawkins, a native of Hannibal, Missouri, and a daughter of Judge Thomas W. Hawkins, a well known and prominent lawyer and jurist of Hannibal, and of Belle (Newland) Hawkins. Both parents were natives of Kentucky and in early life came to Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Sosey became the parents of a son, Donald H., who was born February 20, 1893, and who married Virginia Ellison, their home being at Palmyra. They have a daughter, Martha, who was born February 19, 1920. Donald Sosey served for one year during the World war as a member of the navy. Mrs. Sally (Hawkins) Sosey died at Palmyra, December 13, 1906, when but thirty-seven years of age, her birth having occurred August 3, 1869.
Mr. Sosey is well known in Masonic circles, belonging to Palmyra Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M., of which he is a past master, and to St. Louis Consistory, S. P. R. S., having thus attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also connected with the Royal Arch Chapter of Palmyra and he belongs to the Elks Lodge, No. 166, of Hannihal, Missouri. He likewise has membership in the Optimists and City Clubs of St. Louis and he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, South, at Palmyra. His entire life has been passed in this state where he has a very wide acquaintance by reason of his important connection with journalistic and legislative interests and other affairs of public concern.
WILLIAM WURDACK.
William Wurdack, a man of broad intelligence, of industry, and always faithful in the performance of every duty, has become well known in the business circles of St. Louis as president of the William Wurdack Electric Manufacturing Company. He was born in New York City September 3, 1858, a son of Ignatius and May Wurdack who were married in the eastern metropolis and who came to this country from Germany when quite young, settling in New York. The father was a land- scape gardener and followed that profession in connection with the improvement of public parks and large estates. He came to St. Louis about 1872 to take up work in connection with Forest Park and otherwise was associated with the development of the park system of this city.
William Wurdack wa's educated in the public schools of St. Louis, attending the day sessions also the high school and the night school, pursuing a course in mechanical engineering in the latter. He started upon his business career with the Heisler Electrical Company about 1873 and remained in that house for seven- teen years, or until 1890. He afterwards engaged in business on his own account for a few years and then organized the Inter-State Electric Company, conducting
WILLIAM WURDACK
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a general electrical construction business until 1897. From that date until 1904 he operated under his own name, after which he incorporated his interests under the firm name of the William Wurdack Electric Manufacturing Company which he has since controlled and of which he is president. The company specializes in devices for electric distribution and control doing a business throughout the territory served by St. Louis. During the period of the World war their entire plant was devoted to supplying electrical devices to the government.
In January, 1890, Mr. Wurdack was married in St. Louis to Miss Louise Steber of this city, and their children are: William F., Arthur H., Walter I., Blanche, and Pauline. The last named of the sons served during the war in the air service and was at Camp Mills for four months. The older sons did service during the war in connection with the operation of the plant in furnishing supplies for the government. All three sons are now with their father in the electrical business as designers and electrical engineers.
Politically Mr. Wurdack is a republican and gives loyal support to the party. He is most progressive in his interests and aside from devoting his factory to war work he was very active in promoting the Red Cross and Liberty Loan drives in order to finance the army and promote the work growing out of war conditions. He is a great lover of music and his daughter Pauline possesses much musical talent. In the line of his profession he is connected with the Jovian Order and also with the Association of Electrical Manufacturers. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, to the St. Louis Automobile Club and to the St. Louis Electrical Board of Trade. He is a man of very pleasing personality, his manner being that of unfeigned cordiality, and he makes every one feel at ease in his presence.
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FIDELIO C. SHARP.
Fidelio C. Sharp, attorney at law of St. Louis, in which city he was born January 5, 1875, is a son of Fidelio C. and Blanch M. Sharp, the latter bearing the maiden name of Blanch Maude. She represented one of the old families of St. Louis whose history is closely interwoven with the annals of the city. Fidelio C. Sharp, Sr., was reared on a farm near Frankfort, Kentucky, and later moved to Lexington, Missouri, and came to St. Louis in 1859. Before his removal here. he studied law in Lexington under Judge H. C. Wallace, a very prominent and well known attorney, and when he removed to St. Louis he entered upon the practice of his profession in connection with Col. James O. Broadhead under the firm style of Sharp & Broadhead, attorneys at law. This association was maintained until the death of the senior partner in 1875. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Sharp there were five children of whom three are living: Daisy S. who is the widow of Alex. Niedringhaus, who was well known in St. Louis; Birdie, the wife of William Hackney, a stock and bond broker of Chicago; and Fidelio C.
The last named, the youngest of the family, was but three years of age when his father died. He was educated in the public schools of St. Louis and in Washing. ton University and the University of Virginia. He was graduated from the latter institution with the degree of LL. D. with the class of '94. He entered at once upon the practice of law in St. Louis and has remained at the bar occupying well appointed offices in connection with Judge Seddon and other prominent attorneys of the city in the Central National Bank building. Mr. Sharp has made continuous progress in his profession and has already gained for himself a most creditable place in a calling where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability. He is very careful and painstaking in the preparation of his cases and his reasoning is always clear and cogent, while his deductions are sound and logical.
On the 28th of January, 1894, Mr. Sharp was married to Miss Ollie Niedringhaus, a daughter of F. G. Niedringhaus, former congressman of St. Louis and a represen- tative of a prominent family of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp occupy an attractive home in the quiet residence district of Clayton, St. Louis county, where they have all the advantages and conveniences of suburban life as well as the opportunities of the city. Mr. Sharp is a native son of St. Louis and has witnessed much of the growth and development of the city and that his life has been well spent has been indicated in the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from Vol. V-20
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his boyhood at the present time. Politically he has always been liberal in his opinions, voting independent of party ties. In religious faith he is a Methodist and is now serving as one of the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal church of Clayton. In Masonry he has advanced to the Knights Templar degree in the York Rite and is a member of the Mystic Shrine, while along professional lines his connection is with the St. Louis and Missouri State Bar Associations. He enjoys the good will and confidence of the general public, and the high respect of his professional brethren by reason of his close conformity to the highest ethical standards of law practice.
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