USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 5
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On the 27th of December, 1898, Mr. Phillips was married in Chicago, to Miss Margaret T. Ryan, a native of that city, and a daughter of Patrick T. and Mary L. (O'Rourke) Ryan. They have become parents of seven children: Gerald A., Charles F., Elgie Louise, Katherine, Freeman D., Rosemary and John.
Mr. Phillips is a member of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce and is keenly interested in all those forces and agencies which make for the upbuilding of the city and the extension of its trade relations. Politically he is a republican and fraternally he is connected with Keystone Lodge, No. 243, A. F. & A. M. He also
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belongs to the Midland Valley Country Club and finds his recreation and diversion in outdoor sports, particularly enjoying hunting and fishing. All these things, how- ever, are made subservient to his business affairs, and through his individual efforts he has advanced step by step, perseverance, determination and laudable ambition constituting the rounds of the ladder on which he has climbed to prosperity.
WILBUR C. SCHWARTZ.
Wilbur C. Schwartz, attorney at law and vice president of the Municipal Assem- bly of St. Louis, was born in Edwardsville, Illinois, August 2, 1889. He is of German descent, his grandparents coming from Germany to the new world in 1849 and set- tling in St. Louis. His father, William Schwartz, was born in Edwardsville, Illi- nois, January 14, 1865, and is now a retired farmer of that place. He wedded Mary Feldman who was born in St. Louis March 10, 1866, a daughter of Carl Feldman of this city. The only brother of Wilbur C. Schwartz was John Schwartz who made the supreme sacrifice during the World war, his death resulting from pneumonia, in 1918.
Wilbur C. Schwartz was educated in the public schools of his native city and in Washington University at St. Louis where he was graduated in 1911 with the LL. B. degree. He is now engaged in the general practice of law and in 1915 was elected to the board of aldermen and was chosen vice president of that body in 1919, holding the position to the present time.
On the 23rd of June, 1915, Mr. Schwartz was married in St. Louis to Miss Adele Byerly, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Byerly, who died during the early girlhood of Mrs. Schwartz.
Mr. Schwartz is a member of the Evangelical church and he gives his political support to the republican party. During the World war he served as a member of the legal advisory board. He is well known in lodge circles belonging to George Washington Lodge No. 9, A. F. & A. M .; Bellefontaine Chapter No. 20, R. A. M .; Ascalon Commandery, K. T .; the Grotto and Moolah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a past commander of the Knights of Pythias, belongs to the loyal Order of Moose and has membership in the Missouri Athletic Association.
His official duties are making constant demand upon his time for he is a capable and conscientious official whose activities are constituting a tangible element for progress and improvement in municipal affairs.
RICHARD WERNER BOISSELIER.
Richard Werner Boisselier, a certified public accountant of St. Louis, was born September 17, 1852, in the city which is still his home. His father was Charles Gerhardt Boisselier, a native of Birkenswee, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and a grandson of Casper Dethart Boisselier, who was the founder of the American branch of the family, arriving in St. Louis in 1827. He was of French descent, his ancestor being one of the Huguenots who were driven out of France at the time of the suspension of the edict of Nantes, who settled in Bremen, Germany, which was then a free city. His descendants emigrated to Schleswig-Holstein. The grandfather, Casper D. Boisselier, was a farmer who located in St. Louis county, Missouri, taking up his abode in Bonhomme township, where he cleared a tract of land and developed a farm, residing thereon for a number of years but afterwards returning to Schleswig- Holstein, leaving his three sons in America. Two of the sons, Martin and Edward, became farmers in St. Louis county, while the youngest, Charles Gerhardt Boisselier, was first employed as a clerk in St. Louis and later established a hardware business at Thirteenth street and Franklin avenue, where he conducted his store for many years. In 1856 he, too, returned to Schleswig-Holstein, taking with him his four children: his son Richard W., also one younger son, and two daughters. Charles G. Boisselier, during his visit abroad, passed away in his native country. While he possessed a love of his native province which belonged to Denmark, he sympathized with Germany, and when Schleswig-Holstein became a part of the German Empire
WILBUR C. SCHWARTZ
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he proclaimed American citizenship for his children, while in his native country he conducted his father's farm which he later inherited.
Richard W. Boisselier was educated in Schleswig-Holstein and in Bremen, and early in 1873 he returned to the United States, settling in St. Louis. After he had been in this country for two years his brother followed him to St. Louis and a little later the German government tried to have them return to Germany with the object of forcing them to enter military service, but Mr. Boisselier of this review had become imbued with the spirit of American liberty and he and his brother refused to leave the United States. After much diplomatic correspondence the matter was finally adjusted.
On the 1st of February, 1891, Mr. Boisselier entered the profession of public accountancy and when the state established a certified public accountant's degree on the 13th of October, 1909, Mr. Boisselier qualified and has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. In point of time he is the dean of the profession in St. Louis.
On the 6th of June, 1889, in Highland, Illinois, Mr. Boisselier was married to Miss Carrie Louise Crouch, a native of Marine, Illinois, a daughter of the late Dr. Crouch of that place, the latter a representative of an old Vermont family. Mrs. Boisselier, during the World war, was very active in Red Cross work. Mr. Bois- selier is identified with many organizations, which indicate the nature and trend of his interests. He belongs to the Merchants Exchange, Missouri Athletic Association, the Apollo Club, the American Philatelic Association, the Missouri State Historical Society, the Million Population Club, the Automobile Club of St. Louis, the Ameri- can Institute of Public Accountants, the St. Louis Stamp Collectors Society, the Universal Brotherhood, Theosophical Society of Point Loma, California, and the Child Labor Committee of New York. He is also a member of the Altenheim Society. Politically he maintains an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment. His experiences have been wide and varied, making him a man of liberal culture and progressive views.
JOHN A. FLURY, M. D.
Dr. John A. Flury, who for eight years has engaged in the practice of medicine in St. Louis and for five years has been associated in professional work with Dr. F. L. Henderson, was born in Toledo, Ohio, September 13, 1886, and is a son of Joseph Flury, who was engaged in hotel keeping and in the real estate business in Toledo to the time of his death, which occurred in 1893. He was a Frenchman by birth and came to America in his boyhood days. He married Louise Neander, who is of French descent but was born on this side of the Atlantic. She is still living and yet makes her home in Toledo. In their family were four children who survive, while one son, Joseph, died at the age of thirty-three. The living are: Mrs. H. C. Scanell, the wife of C. H. Scanell, of Toledo, Ohio, who is associated with an electric construction company of that city; Leo E., who is also living in Toledo, where he is engaged in the automobile business; Fred, a farmer living near Toledo; and John A., of this review. .
To the public school system of Ohio Dr. John A. Flury is indebted for the early educational advantages which he enjoyed. After coming to St. Louis as a young man he attended the St. Louis University and later the Washington University from which he was graduated in 1912 with the degree of M. D. He then took up the practice of medicine in St. Louis and for the past five years has been associated with Dr. F. L. Henderson. He has made steady professional progress, keeping in touch with the trend of modern thought and investigation regarding the treatment of disease, and is now a member of the American Medical Association and also of the Missouri State Medical Association and the St. Louis Medical Society. He likewise belongs to the St. Louis Ophthalmic Society and in his practice has specialized in ophthalmology.
Dr. Flury was in the service during the World war, holding the rank of captain in the Medical Corps for fifteen months at Camp Lee, Virginia. Politically he is a republi- can but has never been an office seeker, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his professional and other interests. He belongs to the University Club and also to the Riverview Club of St. Louis and is well known and popular among the younger social set of the city. He also enjoys the high regard of his professional brethren, who
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recognize his close conformity to the highest ethical standards of medical and surgical practice. He has been a resident of St. Louis for twelve years and active in his pro- fession for eight years and has attained great prominence.
AUGUSTUS FREDERICK SHAPLEIGH.
While American trade annals contain records of many men who have been the architects of their own fortunes there has been no record more creditable by reason of undaunted energy, well formulated plans and straightforward dealing than that of Augustus Ferderick Shapleigh, the founder of one of the most important commercial enterprises of St. Louis. The name has become a synonym for the hardware trade here and the extensive house, now conducted under the style of the Shapleigh Hard- ware Company, remains as a monument to his progressive spirit and business ability.
A native of New Hampshire, Augustus F. Shapleigh was born at Portsmouth, January 9, 1810, a son of Captain Richard and Dorothy (Blaisdell) Shapleigh. The ancestry of the family in America is traced back to Alexander Shapleigh, who was a merchant and shipowner of Devonshire, England, and prior to 1635 came to America in his own ship "Benediction" as representative of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. He built the first house at Kittery Point, now in the state of Maine, on the river Piscataqua, authority for which statement is found in the entry on the records of the York court in 1650; "For as much as the house at the river's mouth where Mr. Shapleigh first bylt and Hilton now dwelleth; in regard it was the first house there bylt."
In successive generations members of the Shapleigh family filled important offices of trust under the British crown and were rewarded by landed possessions which are still held by members of the family, constituting a tenure of more than two hundred and fifty years.
Major Nicholas Shapleigh, son of the American progenitor, was especially promi- nent in colonial affairs in the province of Maine, serving for many years as a member of the council and as treasurer of the province from 1649 to 1653. He was a com- mander of the militia from 1656 to 1663, made a treaty with the Sagamore Indians in 1678 and was attorney for the lord proprietor, Robert Mason. He also represented his district in the Massachusetts general court until his death. The line of descent is traced down through Alexander, son of the first Alexander, Captain John, Major Nicholas II, Nicholas III, Captain Elisha and Captain Richard Shapleigh to Augustus F. Shapleigh, of this review. In 1706 Captain John Shapleigh was killed by the Indians, who at that time captured his son. Major Nicholas Shapleigh served for a long period as major of the colonial wars while his son Nicholas took part in colonial wars with the "Blue Trupe of York," one of the companies of the regiment commanded by Sir William Pepperell. Captain Elisha Shapleigh, one of the sons of Nicholas Shapleigh III, raised the first company of the Second York County Regiment and as its captain served in the Revolutionary war.
Captain Richard Shapleigh, father of Augustus F. Shapleigh, was master and owner of the ship Granville, which was wrecked off Rye Beach, New Hampshire, in 1813. In that disaster he lost his life, his ship and much of his property, and upon the son soon devolved the necessity of assisting the mother in the support of the family. Mrs. Shapleigh was a daughter of Abner Blaisdell, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who served in the Revolutionary war as sergeant in Captain Titus Salter's company of artillery at Fort Washington and later with Captain John Langdon's Light Horse Volunteers.
The early boyhood of Augustus F. Shapleigh was devoted to acquiring an education, but when his father died and the family was left in straitened financial circumstances, he sought and secured a position as clerk in a hardware store at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where in compensation for a year's services he received the sum of fifty dollars and boarded himself. The succeeding three years were devoted to seafaring life, during which he made several voyages to Europe, but at the solicitation of his mother and sisters, he left the sea and secured employment with the hardware house of Rogers Brothers & Company, of Philadelphia. Entering that employ in 1829, he there remained for thirteen years and successive promotion eventually made him junior partner. This firm extended its operations to St. Louis in 1843 and Mr. Shap- leigh's business capacity, understanding of the trade and powers of organization led
AUGUSTUS F. SHAPLEIGH
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to his selection for the establishment of the hardware house of Rogers, Shapleigh & Company, under which name the trade was continued until the death of the senior partner. Thomas D. Day was then taken in and the firm was reorganized under the name of Shapleigh, Day & Company, thus operating for sixteen years, or until the retirement of Mr. Day, when the firm of A. F. Shapleigh & Company continued the business until 1880. In that year the A. F. Shapleigh & Cantwell Hardware Company was incorporated and when Mr. Cantwell retired in 1886, the name was changed to the A. F. Shapleigh Hardware Company, which was retained until the retirement of Mr. Shapleigh in 1901. The business was then reorganized as the Norvell-Shapleigh Hardware Company, the corporate name being changed a few years later to Shapleigh Hardware Company. From 1845, A. F. Shapleigh was the head of this well known establishment and from its incorporation until his retirement acted as president. He trained his sons to the business, except Dr. John B. Shapleigh, who is a prominent aurist. Alfred L., chairman of the board of directors, and Richard W., now president, exercise a controlling interest in the house, which from its organization has made continuous progress, enjoying that creditable and enviable prosperity which results from careful systematization, undaunted determination and the execution of well defined plans and purposes. Today the house has no superior in the entire Mississippi valley, its ramifying trade interests reaching out to practically all sections of the country and to foreign countries, while the development of the business has been an indispensable factor in making St. Louis the center of the hardware trade.
Aside from his connection with this business Mr. Shapleigh was associated with various other business concerns, all of which constitute elements in the city's develop- ment as well as the source of revenue to himself. In 1859 he became identified with the State Bank of St. Louis and in 1862 was elected a director of the Merchants National Bank, so continuing until 1890, when he resigned in favor of his son Alfred L. Shap- leigh. He was also president of the Phoenix Insurance Company, vice president of the Covenant Mutual Life Insurance Company and interested in the Hope Mining Company and the Granite Mountain Mining Company.
The marriage of Mr. Shapleigh and Miss Elizabeth Anne Umstead, of Philadelphia, was celebrated in 1838, and they became parents of eight children, five of whom sur- vive; Mrs. J. Will Boyd, A. F., Dr. John B., Richard W. and Alfred Lee Shapleigh.
The death of Augustus F. Shapleigh occurred in February, 1902, when he had reached the venerable age of ninety-two years. Thus passed from life one whose activity made the world better. While he never sought the distinction that comes in political and military circles, his record was characterized by the faithful performance of each day's duty to the best of his ability-and that his ability was of superior order is indicated in the splendid results he achieved. His entire career was in conformity with the high- est standard of commercial ethics, and his history indicates that splendid success and an honored name may be won simultaneously. In early manhood he gave his political support to the whig party and on its dissolution joined the ranks of the republican party. He was long a member of the Central Presbyterian church and religion was to him no mere idle word. It guided him in all his relations with his fellowmen, and he ever strove toward those ideals of living which were set before the world by the Nazarene teacher more than nineteen centuries ago.
FRANK SHAPLEIGH.
The hardware business of which Augustus F. Shapleigh became the founder and promoter was carried on for many years by his son, Frank Shapleigh, in whose death on the 1st of January, 1901, St. Louis lost one of its leading residents and represen- tative merchants. All who knew him bore testimony to his ability and his worth as a man. His birth occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1838, and he was a boy of scarcely five years when brought to St. Louis by his parents, Augustus F. and Elizabeth Anne (Umstead) Shapleigh. He pursued his education in the Wyman school at Sixteenth and Pine streets in St. Louis until he had mastered the elementary branches of learning, after which he continued his education at Hermann, Missouri, until 1857.
In that year Frank Shapleigh became connected with the hardware establishment
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of which his father was the head and which at that time was conducted under the firm name of Shapleigh, Day & Company. He applied himself to the mastery of the business and gained comprehensive knowledge of every phase of the hardware trade. It has been said that "power grows through the exercise of effort" and by his con- tinued application, enterprise and industry Frank Shapleigh became more and more thoroughly qualified for the conduct of the business. His training was received under his father and he became the associate of his brothers in the management of the Shapleigh Hardware Company. The company always maintained the highest standards in the personnel of the house, in the treatment accorded patrons and in the line of goods carried and their patronage became one of mammoth proportions, their house outstripping many competitors and winning a place among the leading hardware estab- lishments of the Mississippi Valley.
On the 6th of June, 1865, Frank Shapleigh was united in marriage in St. Louis to Miss Mary Daggett, daughter, of the Hon. John D. Daggett, who was at one time mayor of St. Louis. Mr. Shapleigh held membership in the Business Men's League, the Mercantile Club and the Merchants Exchange. His religious belief was that of the Presbyterian church and his life was guided by high and honorable principles. To his family he was devoted and he always held friendship inviolable. His own career exemplified the Emersonian philosophy that "the way to win a friend is to he one." He maintained unsullied the honored name transmitted to him by his father and when death called him St. Louis chronicled the loss of one of her most valued citizens. He regarded himself but as the steward of his wealth and used his means wisely and generously for the benefit of others, and at no time was he oblivious to nor neglectful of the duties and obligations of citizenship.
RICHARD WALDRON SHAPLEIGH.
To say that Richard Waldron Shapleigh has for ten years been president of the Shapleigh Hardware Company is at once to establish his position as one of the fore- most merchants of St. Louis. Born in this city September 28, 1859, he was educated in the public schools and in the Washington University in which he pursued the academic course. He became connected with the hardware company in 1876 and had thorough training in all departments of the business, serving from stock hoy up to salesman. He has for some years given special attention to establishing trademark merchandise and the name "Diamond Edge" is known today wherever hardware and building supplies are used. It has become a synonym for standard quality in these lines. Mr. Shapleigh has accomplished his purpose in this direction. Indeed he is a man who never stops short of the attainment of his objective and his methods are at all times of a constructive and progressive nature. The firm today is represented hy two hundred and seventy traveling salesmen and their business extends to Mexico, Porto Rico, Central America and various European centers. The confidence and esteem which the salesmen and all employes of the house have for the officers of the concern is notably remarkable and is largely due to the efforts and policy of Richard W. Shap- leigh who believes in absolute fairness, a just wage and due consideration for all those in his service. If an individual is once employed by the Shapleigh Hardware Com- pany and proves satisfactory, his position is insured and, moreover, the employe is thoroughly satisfied with the business conditions and environment which surround him. Such a course as is followed by the Shapleigh Company would if universally adopted forever settle the questions of labor unrest.
On the 22d of September, 1886, Mr. Shapleigh was married to Miss Helen Shapleigh, a daughter of Marshall and Elizabeth (Blandy) Shapleigh, the former a well known white goods merchant of 'Philadelphia. One child has been born of this marriage: Dorothy, who is now Mrs. Leo deSmet Carton. She has one son, Benoist Langdon Car- ton, born in 1911.
Of the Episcopal faith Mr. Shapleigh is a communicant of Christ Church Cathedral. He belongs to the St. Louis Club, the St. Louis Country Club, the Bellerive Club, the Noonday Club and the Missouri Athletic Association and he finds his recreation in golf.
. He needs no commendation of his career. His business record speaks for itself but the constructive policy which he has followed may well serve as an example to others
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and an analyzation of the development of the trade indicates that the growth is attribut- able in no small measure to the efforts of him who for the past ten years has been the head of the establishment.
ALFRED LEE SHAPLEIGH.
Alfred Lee Shapleigh, who since July, 1901, has been the treasurer of the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis, his native city, was born February 16, 1862, a son of Augustus Frederick and Elizabeth Anne (Umstead) Shapleigh. He pursued his education in the academic department and for two years in the undergraduate depart- ment of Washington University, and he initiated his business career as a clerk in the Merchants National Bank, while later he was with Thomson & Taylor, wholesale coffee and spice dealers, until 1882. In the latter year he became cashier of the Mound City Paint & Color Company, thus continuing until 1885 when he was elected secretary of the A. F. Shapleigh Hardware Company. Since that time, or for a period of thirty- six years, he has been continuously connected with the hardware establishment which is today one of the foremost concerns of the kind in the country. The business was reorganized under the name of the Shapleigh Hardware Company and in July, 1901, Alfred L. Shapleigh was chosen treasurer, in which position he has since continued and on the 1st of January, 1912, was elected chairman of the board of directors. Some- thing of the volume of their trade is indicated in the fact that they are now represented upon the road by two hundred and seventy traveling salesmen. Alfred L. Shapleigh is also the president of the Shapleigh Investment Company and identified with various other corporate interests which regard his cooperation and sound judgment as valuable assets in their successful conduct. He is the president of the Union Lead Company, also of the Washington Land & Mining Company, is vice president of the Merchants- Laclede National Bank, vice president of the American Credit Indemnity Company of New York and a director of the St. Louis Cotton Compress Company and the St. Louis- San Francisco Railway Company.
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