USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 44
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souri, and they now make their home in Kansas City, Missouri. The father has devoted a number of the years of his life to teaching. In 1871 he removed to Mis- souri and was married in that state. In 1872 he went to Kansas and established a drug store in the town of Buffalo. While there residing he filled the office of jus- tice of the peace, and also engaged in the real estate business in a small way. In 1888 he removed to Kansas City where he engaged in contracting and building. . His political belief is that of the republican party and his religious faith that of the Christian church.
Presley R. Cooper was educated in the graded schools of Buffalo, Kansas, and in the high school of Kansas City, and when the period of youth was passed and he faced life's practical and responsible duties he secured a position at the age of twenty years as bolt maker with the Kansas City Bolt & Nut Company. He also spent five years in the employ of Armour & Company as bolt maker and iron worker in the car department and then became connected with the Weber Engine Company as a machinist. He worked his way upward to the position of foreman, and later won promotion to the superintendency, remaining with the company for seven years. In 1914 he became connected with the Ford Motor Company as assistant superin- tendent, and in 1916 was made superintendent of the Kansas City branch of the business, thus continuing until August, 1919, when he became one of the organizers of the Lee Cooper Motor Company. They began business in a small way but their patronage grew steadily until today they are owners of a big place and are recog- nized among the most alert, energetic and progressive automobile dealers of Kan- sas City. Each month has marked an increase in their business and their sales have reached most gratifying proportions. Mr. Cooper is also a member of the Kansas City Auto Dealers Association and thus keeps in touch with everything that has to do with the trade.
In 1899 Mr. Cooper was united in marriage to Miss Ada Hudson, who was born in Cass county, Missouri, a daughter of Perry and Mary (Jasper) Hudson. Her father was a farmer of Cass county, where he resided in pioneer times, and later became a coal mine operator at Rich Hill. To Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have been born two children: Cecil and Juanita. Fraternally Mr. Cooper is connected with Shef- field Lodge, No. 625, A. F. & A. M .; and he also belongs to Sloan Lodge, No. 729, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all of the chairs. He is loyal to the teachings and purposes of both organizations and his well spent life has gained for him the respect of his fellowmen, while his thoroughness and efficiency in business have brought him steady advancement until now he is active in the control of an impor- tant business enterprise, in connection with which the number of his patrons is steadily increasing.
WALTER GRAHAM WALLACE.
Walter Graham Wallace, general manager of the Nash St. Louis Motor Com- pany, was born in Burgessville, Ontario, Canada, December 5, 1881, and is a son of Samuel Robert and Mary (Chambers) Wallace. The father was born in Good- rich, Ontario, in 1841, and is still living at Burgessville, where he holds the office of dominion fruit inspector. His wife, however, has passed away.
When a little lad of six years Walter G. Wallace entered the public school, passing through consecutive grades to the high school of Woodstock and later con- tinuing his education in the University of Toronto, Canada. He started out in the business world with the Booth Fishery Company which operates establishments in many of the large cities from coast to coast. Mr. Wallace was first stationed at a branch house in Omaha, Nebraska, and in 1912 removed to St. Louis to become bookkeeper with the Overland Automobile Company. He was elected secretary and treasurer, while in 1919 he was chosen for the office of vice president. He is now general manager of the Nash St. Louis Motor Company. He is also connected with several other lines of business as a stockholder and is actuated in all that he does by a progressive spirit that leads to the constant broadening of his interest and activity.
On the 31st of December, 1904, in Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. Wallace was mar- ried to Miss Lucile Cravens, a daughter of J. B. Cravens of that city. To this mar-
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riage has been born one child, Dorothy. Mr. Wallace is identified with the Sunset Hill Golf Club, the Missouri Athletic Association, the St. Louis Auto Dealers As- sociation, the Chamber of Commerce and the Woodmen of the World. He votes for the republican party, which he has supported since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has never regretted his determination to cross the border from Canada into the United States and utilized the business opportunities here offered, for as the years have gone by he has made steady progress and is today in an enviable position in connection with the automobile trade of the country.
GEORGE S. ELDER.
George S. Elder, president of the Elder Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, December 12, 1879, his parents being L. M. and Mollie (Saffarrans) Elder. The father is a native of Trenton, Tennessee, and is now living in Chattanooga, where he is recognized as a prominent attorney. His wife was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and they were married in that city. They have become the parents of six children, five of whom are daughters.
George S. Elder, the only son and the third member of the family, was educated at the Baylor school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and became a resident of St. Louis in 1899, when a young man of twenty years. He entered the employ of the Fer- guson-Mckinney Dry Goods Company as a clerk and remained with the house in various positions for eight years. He then entered the employ of the Ely-Walker Dry Goods Company and continued with that firm for eight years as manager of the manufacturing department of their business. In April, 1916, he organized the Elder Manufacturing Company of which he was elected president. This company is engaged in the manufacture of men's wear and the Tom Sawyer brand of chil- dren's wear. Theirs is the largest business of the kind in the state and their products are shipped all over the United States and into many foreign countries as well. During the war they had two factories utilized for government work in the making of khaki uniforms, flannel shirts, tents and other supplies needed by the government. Their business has become one of extensive and gratifying proportions, for the business has been thoroughly organized along modern lines and sound judg- ment is displayed in the management of every phase of the work.
In St. Louis, on the 16th of October, 1907, Mr. Elder was married to Miss Hazel Garrison, a daughter of O. L. Garrison, a prominent coal mine operator of St. Louis. They have two children, O. L. Garrison and Mary Garrison. When leisure permits Mr. Elder enjoys a game of golf and other outdoor sports, but his time and energies are largely devoted to his business affairs. He votes with the republican party and is a member of several of the leading clubs of the city, including the St. Louis Country Club, the Log Cabin Club, Racquet Club and Noonday Club, and is likewise a member of the St. Louis Employers' Association and the Associated Industries of Missouri. Without special advantages at the outset of his career he has made continuous advancement since starting out in the business world. From each new experience he has learned the lesson therein contained and his broadening capabil- ities and powers have at length brought him to an enviable position as a repre- sentative of the manufacturing interests of St. Louis.
JOHN ZAHORSKY, A. B., M. D.
Dr. John Zahorsky, who won his professional degree in 1895 and through the past fifteen years has specialized in the treatment of children's diseases, has won much more than local fame in this connection, for his developing powers and abil- ity have gained him notable prominence and success. Dr. Zahorsky is a native of Mereny, Hungary, born October 13, 1871. His father, John Zahorsky, came to America with the family in 1872, when Dr. Zahorsky was only six months of age, and for a long period engaged in farming at Steelville, Missouri, but is now living retired. He was married on the 1st of January, 1871, to Amelia Gura, who was horn in Hungary, and they became the parents. of three sons: John, who is the
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eldest; Jacob C., a farmer of North Dakota; and Arthur R., who is head of the electrical engineering department of Rankins school and resides in Webster Groves. All three sons are married.
Dr. Zahorsky, after attending the public schools of Steelville, Missouri, was graduated from the Steelville Normal & Business Institute, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1892. He determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work after reviewing the broad field of business with its limitless opportunities along agricultural, commercial, industrial and professional lines and at length en- tered the Missouri Medical College of St. Louis, from which he was graduated in 1895, winning the M. D. degree. He then became house physician for the Bethesda Foundling Home Hospital and also acted as assistant to Dr. E. W. Saunders until 1900. In that year he began practicing independently, continuing in general prac- tice for a decade, but during the last fifteen years has limited his practice to chil- dren's diseases, in which he has been extremely successful. In addition to a large private practice he was connected with Washington University from 1895 until 1911 in various connections, acting for a time as teacher of diseases of children and finally as clinical professor. Since 1911 he has also been professor of children's diseases in the St. Louis University Medical School and at present is physician and pediatrician to St. John's Hospital, to the Bethesda Hospital and the St. Louis Maternity Hospital. From 1900 until 1905 he was editor of the St. Louis Courier of Medicine, an interstate medical journal. During the Louisiana Purchase Expo- sition held in St. Louis he had charge of the baby exhibit during the later months of the fair. He has won distinction as a practitioner and educator in the medical field and is widely recognized as an authority on children's diseases and has been extremely successful in pediatric cases. Dr. Zahorsky has been a large contributor to the pediatric medical literature and has written two books on the subject of children's diseases. He has become the owner of a large farm near Steelville, Mis- souri, and delights in spending his leisure hours there, greatly enjoying the devel- opment of the fields according to modern scientific agricultural methods.
In St. Louis, on the 26th of June, 1900, Dr. Zahorsky was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Silverwood, a daughter of Dr. W. F. Silverwood, who has now retired from active practice, and Carrie (Cilley) Silverwood, now deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Zahorsky have two children, a son and a daughter. The former, Theodore Saunders, born September 2, 1901, is now a medical student in Washington Uni- versity and during the war was in the Reserve Officers Training Corps at Washing- ton University. The daughter, Carrie Elizabeth, born February 5, 1905, is now attending Washington University. The parents are members of the Kings High- way Presbyterian church, in which Dr. Zahorsky has been ordained an elder. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but has neither time nor inclination to seek political office. During the World war he was asked by the board not to apply for war work because of the value of his activity among the children. He belongs to Tuscan Lodge, No. 360, A. F. & A. M., to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Phi Beta Pi, a Greek letter fraternity. He is identified with many professional societies, having membership in the St. Louis, Missouri State and American Medical Associations, the St. Louis Pediatric Society of which he was president from 1905 until 1907, the Central State Pediatric Society, the American Association of Teachers of Diseases of Children of which he was president in 1911 and 1912, the Southern Medical Association, the Academy of Science and the Washington University As- sociation. In 1919 he was made a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He needs no word of praise-his work speaks for itself.
ROCCO SARLI.
Rocco Sarli, president and manager of the Kansas City Macaroni Company,, one of the big macaroni manufacturing concerns of the country, with selling agen- cies in various parts of the United States, is a native of Italy, his birth having oc- curred at Anze Potenzo on the 2d of February, 1884. He is a son of Raphael Sarli, a successful business man of Italy, where he spent his entire life. The son Rocco Sarli obtained his early education in his native land and was engaged in business
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there as a merchant before coming to the United States at the age of twenty years. He learned to speak the English language after crossing the Atlantic and for a time remained in Chicago, after which he removed to Peoria, Illinois, where he was engaged in the haking business. He afterward went on the road as a traveling salesman for a Chicago exporting and importing firm, his territory being in the west. He covered Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and other states, and through his various business experiences learned to read, write and speak the English language with fluency. While a commercial traveler he became acquainted with Kansas City, liked the town, and after ten years spent on the road decided to locate here and did so. Through the intervening period he has been identified with the business interests of the city and in 1912 organized the Macaroni Company. Through the intervening period the trade of the house has steadily grown until its output is found in almost every section of the country, for various selling agencies have heen established throughout the United States and the trade has steadily and constantly grown. Mr. Sarli is a member of the board of directors of the Merchants Bank and occupies an enviable position in business and financial circles.
Mr. Sarli was married to Miss Lena Basili, a daughter of Antonio Basili, one of the early grocers of Kansas City. After locating here Mr. Sarli formed a part- nership with Mr. Basili and conducted a business at No. 615 Independence avenue, until he turned his attentions to the manufacture of macaroni. He is well known in club and social circles. He helongs to the Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Kansas City Athletic Club and also of the Kiwanis Club and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he maintains an independent course, voting for men and measures rather than for parties. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to try his fortunes in the new world, for in this land he found the business opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress toward the goal of assured success.
JAMES F. MURPHY.
James F. Murphy, general manager for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, with offices in St. Louis, has devoted his entire life to railroad service, and capability, thoroughness and fidelity have constituted the rounds of the ladder on which he has climbed to success and prominence in railroad circles. He was born in Peoria, Illinois, April 6, 1870, and is a son of William H. and Elizabeth (Smith) Murphy, both of whom were natives of Illinois, the former of Irish descent, while the latter belonged to an old Canadian family of English origin. The father suc- cessfully engaged in merchandising in Peoria for many years but at the time of the Civil war put aside all business and personal considerations and joined the Union army, aiding in the defense of the country until victory was achieved. He passed away in Peoria in 1884, having for two years survived his wife, who died in 1882.
James F. Murphy, the eldest in their family of six sons and a daughter, was educated in the public schools of his native city to the age of sixteen. years, when he initiated his business career by accepting a position with the Peoria & Pekin Union Railroad in the capacity of yard clerk at Peoria, Illinois. Later he entered the train service as a brakeman and was advanced to the position of conductor. His first official position was that of yardmaster with the Kansas City Southern and subsequently he was with the Pittsburgh & Gulf Railroad. His next position was that of train master with the same road and in 1905 he came to the Missouri Pacific as train master in Kansas. Later he was made superintendent of various divisions of the system and so continued to serve until 1911, when he was made general superintendent at St. Louis and continued to act in that capacity until the 15th of November, 1915, when he was promoted to the position of general manager and has so served to the present time. Thus through gradual promotions he has worked his way steadily upward to a place of large responsibility and importance and is today a well known figure in the railroad circles of the Missis- slppi valley.
It was in Kansas City, on the 5th of September, 1893, that Mr. Murphy was married to Miss Mary H. Crowley, a native of Missouri and a daughter of William
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JAMES F. MURPHY
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H. and Mary (McMahon) Crowley, the former now deceased. Five children have been born of this marriage: Frank, Margaret, William, Mary Alice and Elizabeth, all of whom were born in Kansas City.
The religious belief of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church and in his political faith Mr. Murphy is a democrat. He belongs to the St. Louis Club and to the Missouri Athletic Association and he finds his chief diversion in golf. He is also much interested in farming and is actively connected with agri- cultural affairs as a side line to his railroad service. His life illustrates what can be accomplished through determined purpose and laudable ambition, for these are the qualities which have carried him to prominence and success.
WILLIAM A. MELETIO.
William A. Meletio, president of the Meletio Sea Food Company of St. Louis, established this business in 1898 and for twenty-three years has conducted a grow- ing and successful enterprise. Nor are his efforts confined alone to this interest as he has contributed to the profitable management of other corporations in which he is officially and financially interested. He was born in St. Louis, November 4, 1874, and is a son of George S. Meletio, who was born on the island of Ketherer, then belonging to England but now a province of Greece. He came to America after acquiring his education in Athens, where he was graduated from the Univer- sity of Athens in 1864. He then left the sunny land of classical memory and at the age of twenty years hecame a resident of St. Louis, where he engaged in mer- cantile pursuits. He married Julia Dent Roy, a native of France, who came to the United States with her parents when but six years of age, the family home being established in St. Louis where Mrs. Meletio was reared and educated. She resided on a farm adjoining that of the Dent family whose daughter became the wife of President U. S. Grant. Her parents and the Dent family were intimate friends and neighbors, very prominent in the social life of the community then known as Georgetown. The death of Mrs. Julia Dent (Roy) Meletio occurred in St. Louis in 1899 when she was forty-eight years of age. Mr. Meletio survived his wife for a number of years, passing away in 1912 at the age of sixty-eight years. They were the parents of eight children, three sons and five daughters, of whom four daugh- ters and two sons are yet living.
William A. Meletio, the fourth in order of birth in the family, was educated in the public schools of St. Louis and in the Jones Commercial College, from which he was graduated in 1894. He also completed a course in a business college and then became a salesman for the George E. Benz Stationery Company, with whom he con- tinued for about a year. He was afterward with the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company in the statistical department and continued in the railroad serv- ice until 1898, when he organized the Meletio Fish & Oyster Company, beginning business in a small way with a stand in the Union Market. From that humble start he has developed the largest business of its kind west of the Mississippi river and in addition to handling a large retail trade also conducts business along whole- sale lines and his patronage extends from coast to coast, the firm being known throughout the country as leading wholesalers of sea food. In this connection Mr. Meletio has huilt up a splendid organization and thoroughness and enterprise have characterized his operations at all times. The business today brings a most gratifying financial return which is the legitimate outcome of his energy, capabil- ity and thoroughness. He is also a director of the United States Bank and is the president of the Meletio Auto Company, which operates the largest garage in the down-town district of St. Louis. He is likewise the president of the United Drilling & Development Company, which operates in the gas and oil fields of Texas, and is the president of several realty and investment companies, owning property in this city and in various sections of the country. His business activities thus cover a very wide scope and indicate the capability and resourcefulness of Mr. Meletio, whose sagacity is keen, whose judgment is sound and whose enterprise is unfal- tering.
On the 22d of August, 1899, Mr. Meletio was married in Belleville, Illinois, to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Hawksley, a native of St. Louis and a daughter of William
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and Alice (Berry) Hawksley, the Berry family having been long resident in St. Louis county. To Mr. and Mrs. Meletio has been born a son, George William, whose birth occurred May 9, 1901.
During the World war Mr. Meletio took active part in all those interests which served to advance the country's welfare and was a captain in connection with the Liberty loan and Red Cross drives. His son, George William, was graduated from the Western Military Academy and is now a student in Washington University. In his political views Mr. Meletio has always been a republican. He belongs to Cosmos Lodge, No. 282, A. F. & A. M .; Kilwinning Chapter, R. A. M .; and Moolah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is a life member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and he belongs to the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, to the Missouri Ath- letic Association, to the Riverview Club, the Sunset Hill Country Club and to the Presbyterian church. In these associations are found the rules which govern his conduct and shape his relations with his fellowmen. A kindly nature, a gracious spirit and attractive social qualities have made for popularity in his life, while progressiveness and enterprise have constituted the salient features in his business career, leading to the attainment of gratifying prosperity.
REV. SIDNEY CATLIN PARTRIDGE.
Rev. Sidney Catlin Partridge, bishop of the diocese of west Missouri of the Episcopal church and a resident of Kansas City, was born in New York city, Sep- tember 1, 1857, his parents being George Sidney and Helen Derby (Catlin) Part- ridge, the former a native of Newport, Rhode Island, while the latter was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was descended on his father's side from John Part- ridge of Norfolk county, England, who arrived in Boston in 1638 and soon after- ward settled at Duxbury, Massachusetts. In the maternal line Bishop Partridge traces his ancestry back to Sir Robert Catlin, lord chief justice of England under Queen Elizabeth, whose descendants came to Connecticut in 1630.
Liberal educational opportunities were accorded Bishop Partridge, who from 1862 until 1866 was a pupil in Dr. Hall's school at Orange, New Jersey. During the succeeding two years he studied under a private tutor in Paris, France, and greatly broadened his knowledge through the experiences of his sojourn in Europe. From 1868 until 1870 he attended Dr. Dammamis' school in Hanover and also the Royal Gymnasium at Wiesbaden, Germany. In the latter year he returned to his native country and until 1876 was a student in the Adelphi Academy at Brooklyn, New York. He then entered Yale and completed his classical course in the uni- versity in 1880, at which time the Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred upon him. In 1880-81 he was a student in the theological department at Yale and from 1882 until 1884 attended the Berkeley Divinity School of Connecticut, which in the latter year conferred upon him the Doctor of Divinity degree.
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