USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 41
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He sought business
everywhere and concentrated his efforts upon the undertaking from five o'clock in the morning until ten o'clock at night. Never did he deviate from his rule of maintaining the highest standards in production. Honest labels and pure ingredi- ents were the watchwords in the plant and this policy which has heen rigidly fol- lowed throughout the years of the company's existence has demonstrated in Mr. Clymer's opinion that the public is ever appreciative of the products of honest man- ufacturing. From a very small beginning the business constantly developed until its annual sales reached seven million five hundred thousand dollars, largely through the personal efforts of the founder. The demand for the output increased with such rapidity that in 1919 it was thought wise to form the present company known as the Temtor Corn and Fruit Products Company. The St. Louis plant has been recently doubled in size and in addition to this the company's holdings con- sists of a factory in South Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and Penn Yan, New York, and it has purchased the thirty-three acre plant of the Corn Products Refining Company in Granite City, Illinois, besides leasing three thousand acres of land upon which is grown the cane for the manufacture of sorghum syrup. Mr. Clymer had been the vice president of the Best-Clymer Manufacturing Company and upon the organiza- tion of the Temtor Corn & Fruit Products Company he was elected to the pres- idency.
In St. Louis in 1891 Mr. Clymer was married to Miss Addie Hausman, who is a daughter of C. A. Hausman, a candy manufacturer. Their children are: Adelyn M., now the wife of M. L. Pittman of New York; and Charles L.
Mr. Clymer is a member of the Maple Avenue Methodist church and belongs also to the Midland Valley Country Club, the Sunset Hill Country Club, the St. Louis Club and the City Club, being a well known factor in club circles in the city. Polit-
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ically he is a republican and is a student of the questions and issues of the day, never lightly regarding the duties and obligations of citizenship. He has come through severe trials in the business world with few marks and scars of battle. His has ever been a genial nature and a kindly disposition, combined with fair- mindedness and recognition of the rights and privileges of others. While he has built up a business of mammoth proportions his course has never been strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes. He has followed constructive measures and an analyzation of his character shows the utilization of qualities that any might cultivate thoroughness, persistency of purpose, diligence and unfaltering integ- rity. The results that he has achieved mark him as a man of high purpose and his example should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others.
JOHN C. MOORE.
John C. Moore, well known for many years as the founder of the Kansas City Times, and active in affairs which shaped the history of the state, was born in Pulaski, Tennessee, August 18, 1832. In his youthful days the family removed to Missouri and the father was one of the early members of the faculty of the St. Louis Medical College of which eventually he became dean. Liberal educational oppor- tunities were accorded John C. Moore, who was a graduate of Yale University and a man of most scholarly attainments, also well known as an able writer. He won fame and prominence in connection with journalistic interests. In young manhood he took up newspaper work in St. Louis and for a time was connected with the Post Dispatch. He afterward went to Denver, Colorado, where he established the Rocky Mountain News (under the name of the Denver News) at a period when Denver was little more than a wild mining town. Everybody went armed, but Mr. Moore knew no fear and he stood always for justice and right, a fact that made him a power in the community. At that time there was a vigilance committee that took things into its own hands endeavoring to maintain order but with little regard for established law. This committee would hang a man and have the trial afterward. The provisional government was organized and the first election h'eld in Denver following Mr. Moore's arrival there, he was made a candidate for mayor, and strange as it may seem the real issue upon which the election was conducted was whether the vigilance committee had the right to hang a man without trial. .Mr. Moore contended that even a criminal was entitled to a trial first and he won the election against the opposition of the vigilants. It was said of the Rocky Moun- tain News office that any man looking for trouble would always find what he was looking for if he went there, as Mr. Moore was a most courageous man and had no hesitancy in defending what he believed to be right. When the Civil war was inaugurated he sold his paper at Denver and joined the Confederate army, becom- ing a sergeant in McDowell's battery. After his commander was killed he left the battery and became a captain and was also made judge advocate general of Ar- kansas, serving under General McGruder. Later he was made General Marma- duke's chief of staff. At length the momentous year of 1865 drew on and when word came to Colonel Moore that his superior officer was going to surrender he said, "Go ahead and surrender but don't surrender me," and he never did surrender. He followed General Shelby into Mexico with sixty of his subordinate officers and men and there they joined the emperor Maximilian, serving under him for some time. A warm friendship sprang up between the emperor and Colonel Moore, who with his troops aided the Mexican leader in subduing the guerrillas in an eighteen months campaign.
On leaving Mexico Mr. Moore returned to St. Louis, where he remained for a short time and then went to Kansas City, Missouri, and established the Kansas City Times. He was associated with B. R. Drury and the publication was begun on the 8th of September, 1868. Mr. Moore gave a half interest to the famous writer John N. Edwards and they afterwards sold a third interest to Mr. Mumford. In the early days Mr. Edwards and Mr. Moore acted as reporters and did the work, while eventually Mr. Moore was editor in chief, Mr. Edwards political editor, and Mr. Mumford business manager. At a later period Messrs. Moore and Edwards sold out to their partner. On the 4th of May, 1875, Mr. Moore established the "Mail." He
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obtained the United Press franchise for all three Kansas City papers, this being the first telegraph service brought to Kansas City, it being used by the Times, the Journal and Chronicle.
Mr. Moore was a firm believer in duels, as he said it made men courteous and respectful of the rights of others and made them courteous to women, for if a man insulted a woman he had to fight someone. Mr. Moore is accredited with having fought several duels but would never talk of this. It is well known, however, that he fought one duel on the Island of St. Louis. He was also with General Marma- duke and acted as his second when the general fought his duel with General Walker.
When Mr. Moore sold his newspaper interests in Kansas City he went to Colo- rado and established the Pueblo Press, which he owned, edited and conducted for about three years and then returned to Kansas City and to Springfield, Missouri. For some time he wrote for the Post Dispatch and the Springfield Gazette. He was also the author of a work entitled the Great Issue, an argument on the negro question. He had attained the age of eighty-three years when, on the 27th of October, 1915, he passed away. He had in many ways left the impress of his indi- viduality and ability upon the development and the history of Missouri and the west, belonging to that class of men who saw and recognized their opportunities for the upbuilding of great states in pioneer times.
COLONEL HORACE S. RUMSEY.
Colonel Horace S. Rumsey, in charge of the business of the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company, at St. Louis, since October, 1919, was born March 30, 1877, in the city which is still his home. He is a son of L. M. Rumsey, and a grandson of Mose Rumsey who had charge of the government arsenal at Black Rock, 1812, near Buffalo, New York. His son, Lewis Miller Rumsey, Sr., was the head of the L. M. Rumsey Manufacturing Company, of St. Louis and remained an active factor in business until his sudden death which occurred while he was on a summer vacation in Winona, Minnesota, in 1900, when he was sixty-seven years of age, his remains being brought back to St. Louis for interment. He was a very public-spirited citizen, interested in many projects for public development and progress. He was one of the builders of the old citizen street railway, and was otherwise connected with public affairs of importance. His widow, who is now living at 4346 Westminster Place in St. Louis, was born in this city, a daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Burbridge) . Gaty. To Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Rumsey were born eight children, five of whom are still living: Horace S .; Lewis M .; Evadney, the wife of Stanley Stoner; Marion E., the wife of Nat Ewing; and Julia, the wife of Robert Holland.
Horace S. Rumsey attained a public school education and then entered Smith Academy, while later he was a student in the Manual Training School and in Wash- ington University. In his studies he specialized in hydraulics and mechanics, and in 1895 entered the employ of the L. M. Rumsey Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, of which his father was the founder and promoter. The son started at the bottom, his first job being that of core maker, and later he worked as a moulder and afterward in the machine shop. Eventually he went on the road as a traveling salesman and later became cashier, while his next official position was that of vice president and general manager. In 1917 the business was sold and Colonel Rumsey prepared for active military duty.
On the 19th of November, 1902, Colonel Rumsey was married in St. Louis to Miss Louise Garrison Chappell, a daughter of Winthrop G., and Carrie (Garrison) Chappell. They have become parents of a daughter, Louise, who is with them in an attractive home at No. 5290 Waterman avenue.
In religious faith Colonel and Mrs. Rumsey are connected with the Episcopal church. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he is identified with several of the leading clubs of the city, including the St. Louis, Racquet, River- view, Sunset and Noonday Clubs. He won his title by being commissioned colonel and aid-de-camp on the staff of Governor Elliot W. Major, serving in that capacity from January, 1913, until 1917. He was also excise commissioner of St. Louis from 1915 until 1917. His active military record dated from his enlistment on the 12th of December, 1895, when he became a private of Company C of the First
COLONEL HORACE S. RUMSEY
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Infantry Regiment of the Missouri National Guard. On the 18th of February, 1897, he was made a corporal and on the 19th of August of the same year was promoted to sergeant. On the 4th of May, 1898, he Became a commissioned officer with the rank of second lieutenant in Company L of the First Regiment Volunteer Infantry, and was sent to Jefferson Barracks in preparation for the Spanish-American war. The Regiment was mustered into the Federal service on the 13th of May, 1898. Mr. Rumsey went out with his regiment and returned with them, being mustered out on the 31st of October, 1898. Following their return he was commissioned a first lieutenant of Company H and later was commissioned captain of Company A of the First Infantry Regiment of the Missouri National Guard, thus serving until April 1, 1903, when he resigned. When the country again needed the aid of all of her loyal sons, he reentered the service on the 14th of July, 1917, as first lieu- tenant of Battery A, First Regiment Field Artillery. On the 26th of July he was promoted to the rank of captain and adjutant of the First Regiment of Field Artillery. On the 3d of August, 1917, he was made regimental adjutant and retained the rank of captain. He was mustered into the Federal service August 15, 1917, and aided in the organizing of the First Regiment of Field Artillery, which, on being mustered into the Federal service became the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Field Artillery, U. S. A. On the 27th of February, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of major and with his regiment was ordered overseas. He was in action at Vosges, St. Mihiel, and the Argonne offensive, the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth being assigned to the Thirty-Fifth Division. Major Rumsey was wounded October 2, 1918, at Charpenty, France, and was cited for bravery on the 17th of October, 1918. He was back to duty with the One Hundred and Thirtieth Field Artillery on the 2d of January, 1919, and later returned to the United States with that command. On orders from the treasury department in Washington he was sent to St. Louis to take up work on the Liberty Loan and was a speaker in connection with the promo- tion of the Loan. Later he was appointed state representative in charge of the demobilization here and he was mustered out of military service on the 28th of April, 1919. He is now commander of the State Artillery of the National Guard. He served on the executive committee of the Salvation Army drive, was active in promoting various other war service measures, and served on a number of important committees.
In his school and college days Colonel Rumsey was very active in all athletic sports including track team events and football. In 1894 he won a twenty-five mile bicycle road race in Forest Park in St. Louis, and in 1894 and 1895 he was the amateur 'champion-one hundred fifteen to one hundred twenty-five pounds-in wrestling and boxing. He has always been the typical American young man, alert, energetic, ready for play or for work, ready for service or for duty. He measures up to the highest standards of manhood and citizenship, and is one of the most popular residents among the young men in military and in business circles in his native city.
JOHN J. NANGLE.
John J. Nangle, member of the St. Louis bar, has been engaged in practice since 1914, devoting his time throughout the intervening years to law work. Mr. Nangle is a native of Omaha, Nebraska. He was born March 28, 1891, a son of John Nangle, a native of Ireland who came to America in 1880 and is now general manager for the Drovers Packing Company of Kansas City. He was formerly manager for the Cudahy Packing Company in Kansas City and has thus for a number. of years been identified with the packing interests of western Missouri. He married Catherine Cogan, a rep- resentative of an Irish family, the wedding being celebrated in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1888. They became the parents of five sons and three daughters, John J. being the eldest of the number. There is one brother deceased, while the others of the family are living.
John J. Nangle was educated in the Christian Brothers College and completed a high school course. He afterward attended St. Mary's College at St. Marys, Kansas, for three and a half years, pursuing the classical course and was graduated from the Kansas City School of Law in June, 1914, being admitted to practice in the state
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and federal courts on the 6th of July of that year. He started upon his professional career with the firm of White & Lyons of Kansas City as a law clerk. continuing with them until 1912 when he became a student in the Kansas City School of Law. Fol- lowing his graduation and admission to the bar he became assistant attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railroad at Kansas City and was with that corporation until 1916. During that period he was associated with Edward J. White, general attorney for the Missouri Pacific at Kansas City. In 1916 he became assistant claims attorney at St. Louis for the Missouri Pacific and there remained until 1917, when he resumed the practice of law associating himself with the insurance organization of Lynton T. Block and Company, who represent various important insurance companies. In this con- nection he has since continued and is making a most creditable record through his important work with the firm. He is also representing the Employers Indemnity Cor- poration of Kansas City and the Mid-West Insurance Company of Wichita, Kansas.
In Kansas City, on the 27th of June, 1917, Mr. Nangle was married to Miss Mary Kathryn McKenna, a daughter of P. A. McKenna, of Kansas City. They have become parents of one child, Mary Kathryn, born July 22, 1918. They make their home at No. 710 Limit avenue in University City. Their religious faith is that of the Catholic church being communicants of All Saints church in University City. Mr. Nangle also belongs to the Knights of Columbus in which he has attained the fourth degree. He belongs also to the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity, is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and in his political views is a democrat. During the World war he served on the legal advisory board of the fifteenth ward and did active work in behalf of the Liberty loan and other war activities. Along strictly professional lines his connec- tion is with the St. Louis, Missouri State and American Bar Associations. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought and progress of the profession and holds to its highest ethical standards in his practice.
WILLIAM J. BERKOWITZ.
"When the history of Kansas City is finally recorded in the annals of time and the achievements of its great men, its builders, are set forth in brilliant accents there will be one name that will stand out prominently among those who have contributed their energies and abilities to make this city the great metropolis that it is, and that name is William J. Berkowitz." Thus wrote one of the local papers when William J. Berkowitz passed on into the larger life. His position among his fellowmen was due to the ability and enterprise which he manifested in business but more than that to the helpful part which he took in promoting all those interests which are of value in community life, which contribute to the uplift of one's fellowmen and to the upbuilding of the commonwealth. "Not the good that comes to us, but the good that comes to the world through us, is the measure of our success," wrote a modern philosopher; and it is by this standard that William J. Berkowitz is judged. The earliest recollection of one who knew him throughout his entire life was that of a chubby little ruddy-faced fellow with curls dropping to his shoulders, a child full of life, love and laughter. He was the sixth of the seven children born to Louis and Henrietta Berkowitz, his birth occurring in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1860. His parents were of that sturdy pioneer class who under the stress of trying circumstances ventured to break away from eastern Germany (Silesia) in 1847 to seek freedom from galling religious restrictions and obtain the larger economic possibilities of the new world. Shortly after their marriage they sailed for America and their hardships aboard a sailboat were often recounted to the wonder of their children, upon whom they made a deep impres- sion. After a few years of stanch struggling with the difficulties of getting a foothold in Philadelphia, where some of their friends and relatives had settled, they crossed the Allegheny mountains to the border town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and there the family was reared. The father, who first engaged in peddling goods, became with the passing years a well-to-do man through the exercise of his native talents and the im- provement of his opportunities. He became identified with the real estate business in Pittsburgh and there erected many houses which he sold to employes of the Carnegie steel plant, making the sales on the installment plan. His last days were spent in Kansas City where he passed away in 1893, when seventy-three years of age, while his wife's death occurred many years previous. In their family were five sons, all of whom
WILLIAM J. BERKOWITZ
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sought and obtained superior educations. The surviving members of the family are: Dr. Henry Berkowitz, now of Philadelphia but formerly rabbi in charge of B'nai Jehudah congregation in Kansas City; and Mr. Maurice Berkowitz, who is president of the Waxide Paper Company of Kansas City.
When William J. Berkowitz was a mere schoolboy he began to serve. A Dr. Rex of Pittsburg took a fancy to him and drove him about when making his calls, kept him in his office, trained him to keep his records and to "keep office." This constituted vacation work for Mr. Berkowitz during several summers. Denied the opportunities of schooling abroad his parents were eager to give their children every opportunity and denied themselves many pleasures to insure this ambition. Theirs were the first of the Jewish children to attend and graduate from the Central high school of Pittsburgh. After the mother's long illness and untimely death in 1875, the family removed to Coshocton, Ohio, where the elder boys had established a store, and there W. J. Berko- witz earned his spurs as a successful merchant. Ambitious to continue his studies he became a diligent student and formed a little reading club of which Joseph Marsh, now president of the Standard Underground Cable Company of Pittsburgh, was a mem- ber, together with Miss Rose Ingraham, who afterward became Mrs. Marsh. The members of this little organization were mutually helpful in advancing their knowledge of cultural subjects. Mr. Marsh had gone to Coshocton from a farm and taken a posi- tion in a grocery store. His education had been very limited, but W. J., Berkowitz inspired and instructed him. After Mr. Marsh had saved enough from his earnings he went to Pittsburgh and took a course at Duff's Business College and in turn taught his friend, Mr. Berkowitz, by the correspondence method, his daily lessons in stenog- raphy and bookkeeping. On the basis of this instruction the latter broke away from Coshocton and settled in Kansas City in 1884, here securing a position in the office of Lathrop, Smith & Morrow. His ambition was to qualify for admission to the bar and to this end he studied at night and clerked over week-ends to add to his funds. It was at the persuasion of his brother, Rabbi Berkowitz, that he relinquished these tasks, which were altogether too severe a physical strain upon him, the effects of which were unquestionably felt by him in later life. At this time he had been backing his younger brother Maurice in the printing business, they having entered into a partnership from which developed the important enterprise known as The Berkowitz Envelope Company. It was in 1886 that a partnership was formed and a little printing establishment opened in the rear room at No. 23 East Sixth street. Maurice Berkowitz was the practical printer of the firm, having learned the trade in early manhood. William J. Berkowitz became the business solicitor and made trips to the various parts of the city on schedule time, visiting each customer not only on a certain day of each week but also at a cer- tain hour. He was a keen judge of human nature and found it easy to handle men and to satisfy his patrons. The first printing press used by the Berkowitz brothers was operated by foot power. Steadily their patronage increased and in 1890 they began the manufacture of envelopes, which proved a profitable undertaking. In fact their busi- ness in that direction increased with such rapidity that they gradually withdrew from the printing business. Several years ago Maurice Berkowitz retired from the firm, after which the business was carried on by William J. Berkowitz and his two sons. The gradual development of their trade called for more commodious quarters and from time to time and at different periods they were located at 1016 Grand avenue, at 1920-24 Main street, at 1918-20 Wyandotte street and ultimately at Twentieth and Tracy streets. The business is still conducted and the firm now occupies the fifth floor of the Traders building, while the product of the company reaches every state in the Union. They did a vast amount of work for the government during the World war, furnishing supplies to General Pershing at headquarters in France.
On February 7, 1888, W. J. Berkowitz was married to Miss Emilie Block, a daugh- ter of Simon Block, who later moved to Kansas City, and they became parents of two sons and a daughter: E. Bertram, who was born in 1889 and is now president of the Berkowitz Envelope Company; Estelle, the wife of Irving Hirsch, of Kansas City; and Walter J., who was born in 1892 and was graduated from Harvard University in 1914. He served with the rank of first lieutenant in the World war, and is the secre- tary and treasurer of the Berkowitz Envelope Company. The eldest son, E. Bertram, was in charge of the envelope plant during the war. He is a graduate of the Manual Training high school, where he took a post-graduate course in engineering.
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