USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 54
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Horace Levi Dyer was born in Louisiana, Pike county, February 24, 1873, and sup- plemented his early educational privileges by a course in Smith Academy of St. Louis,
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from which he was graduated with the class of 1890. He next entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and won his LL. B. degree upon graduation in June, 1895. Returning to his native state he settled in St. Louis, where he has since been contin- uously in the general practice of his profession and has won a most creditable place as a representative of the bar of this city. He is a member of the St. Louis Law Library Association, the St. Louis Bar Association and the Missouri State Bar Asso- ciation. From 1899 until 1902 he served as assistant city attorney and then resigned, after which he was appointed assistant United States attorney and occupied the posi- tion for five years.
On the 7th of June, 1899, Mr. Dyer was married to Miss Betty Edgar, a daughter of Selwin C. Edgar. She was born in 1875 and passed away October 5, 1901, at the age of twenty-six years. On the 2d of December, 1905, in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Dyer married Betsy E. Wilcox, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Byron and Eliza- beth (Cogswell) Wilcox, both representatives of old New England families. Two chil- dren have been born of this marriage: David Wilcox, born in St. Louis, February 26, 1908; and John Cogswell, born October 12, 1913.
During the World war Mr. Dyer was actively connected with the Red Cross at Houston, Texas, being stationed at Camp Logan, where he served as field director. He was also a member of the Legal Advisory Board of the twenty-fifth ward of St. Louis. During his college days he took a very active interest in athletics and college sports and was a star on the football team. He was also assistant manager of the college glee club. He now largely finds his diversion in aquatic sports. He belongs to the Sigma Chi, being identified with the Theta Theta chapter at Ann Arbor. In pol- itics he is a republican and was an active worker in the ranks of the party within the past ten years. His attention and efforts are now, however, concentrated upon his pro- fessional interests and duties which are of important character and his connection with leading litigation heard in the courts of the district is evidenced in the court records.
PAUL Y. VERSEN.
Paul Y. Versen is one of the younger representatives of the St. Louis bar who since beginning practice in 1919 has largely specialized in railroad law and rate adjustments on the part of the railroad corporations. He is a partner in the firm of Brackman, Hausner & Versen and his practice is one of growing proportions. He was born in St. Louis November 28, 1887, and is a son of Henry B. Versen, a native of Illinois and of German descent, the family being founded in America by the grand- father, August Clemons Versen, who on crossing the Atlantic settled in Marine, Illi- nois, where he followed farming but afterward became identified with financial busi- ness. Henry B. Versen was reared and educated in Marine, Illinois, and in 1880 became a resident of St. Louis where he was successfully engaged in mercantile pursuits and the real estate business. He married Emma Bickelhaupt who was born in Edwards- ville, Illinois, and is of German lineage. They became parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom the brother, Henry W., is deceased. The sisters are still living as is the mother, but the father passed away in St. Louis at the age of fifty-four years.
Paul Y. Versen is indebted to the public school system of this city for the early educational opportunities which he enjoyed, passing through consecutive grades of the Central high school. On the 15th of June, 1912, he became secretary of the South- western Tariff Committee, an association of railroad companies, but at length deter- mined to make the practice of law his life work and began preparing for the profes- sion as a student in the Benton College of Law from which he was graduated in 1919. He continued to hold his office as secretary of the Southwestern Tariff Committee until December 31, 1918, and following his graduation entered upon the practice of law, joining the firm of Brackman, Hausner & Versen, in which connection he specialized in railroad law and rate adjustments on the part of railroads. His previous experience with the Tariff Committee brought to him knowledge of great value in his practice of this character and he is regarded as a most able representative of the department of railroad law. He is also manager of the Tariff department of the Curran Printing Company of St. Louis. He has not only been self-supporting from the age of fifteen
PAUL Y. VERSEN
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years but has also aided in the support of his father's family and his advancement and success are due entirely to his own efforts and perseverance.
On the 6th of April, 1915, in San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Versen was married to Miss Lida M. Brooks, a native of Texas and a daughter of J. B. Brooks, assistant general freight agent of the San Antonio and Arkansas Pass Railroad.
In his political views Mr. Varsen is a republican but not an aspirant for public office. He belongs to Tower Grove Lodge, No. 631, A. F. & A. M. and to Alhambra Grotto. Something of the nature of his recreation is indicated in his connection with the Forest Park Golf Club. Professionally he is identified with the St. Louis and Missouri Bar Associations and he is also a member of the St. Louis Chamber of Com- merce and the Real Estate Exchange. His interest in the welfare and moral progress of his community is shown in his active work as a member of the Tyler Place Pres- byterian church of which he is serving as one of the trustees. He is also teacher of the young men's Bible class, is actively interested in the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation and is a lecturer before that organization on railroad law and interstate com- merce procedure. He was a captain of the Boys Brigade and was one of the first scout- masters of a Boy Scout troop. He has long been a student of vital questions concern- ing economic, political and sociological conditions. During the World war he was greatly interested in the collection of funds for the United War Work, the Red Cross, the Young Men's Christian Association and other organizations which were constituting the home support of the soldiers on the fields of Flanders and of France. He never lightly regards the duties and responsibilities of life but lives up to every obligation and his course has been the expression of the high standards which he maintains.
LOUIS J. NICOLAUS.
Louis J. Nicolaus is now connected with one of the oldest and most prominent invest- ment banking firms of St. Louis, operating under the style of the Stifel-Nicolaus Invest- ment Company. He was born in St. Louis and is a son of Henry Nicolaus, who has made valuable contribution to the development and upbuilding of the city through the conduct of various important business enterprises. Henry Nicolaus was born in Gommersheim, in the province of Pfalz, Germany, August 14, 1850, his parents being Gottfried and Caroline Nicolaus. He attended the public and polytechnic schools of his native country and then entered upon an apprenticeship to the brewer's trade, of which he soon gained intimate knowledge. The opportunities of the new world attracted him and in 1867 he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for America, becoming a resident of St. Louis. In the following year he became an employe of Becker & Hoppe, maltsters of this city, and later was associated with the National Brewery, while subsequently he was employed by E. Anheuser & Company until 1872. In that year he returned to Europe to gain further knowledge of the business of manufacturing beer by working in the brew- eries of Vienna and Munich. He came again to this country and spent three years in Cincinnati as maltster and brewer in the Muehlhauser Brewery of that city. In 1875 he removed to Keokuk, Iowa, and for four years was in charge of the operation of the brewing establishment of Leisy & Brother as foreman.
It was in 1879 that Henry Nicolaus again became a resident of St. Louis, where he - obtained a position at the Feuerbacher & Schlosstein Brewery and a year later in con- nection with the partners in that enterprise he organized the Green Tree Brewery Com- pany of which he was made superintendent, remaining in charge for nine years. On the expiration of that period the plant was sold to the St. Louis Brewery Association and Mr. Nicolaus remained with the Green Tree Brewery as assistant manager for the new corporation. In 1892 he was made manager and also became a director of the St. Louis Brewing Association, while in January, 1903, he was elected to the presidency. He was likewise a member of the St. Louis board of managers for this great manufacturing enterprise. Not only did he become an active factor in brewing circles in St. Louis but was also a director of the Mechanics-American National Bank, vice president of the Hammer Dry Plate Manufacturing Company, a director of the Merchants & Manufac- turers Association and also of the Gilsonite Construction Company and the Kinloch Tele- phone Company. He has long been recognized as a man of notably sound business judgment and enterprise and has contributed much to the successful conduct of every business concern with which he has been associated.
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Henry Nicolaus is a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to various leading clubs of the city, including the Union, St. Louis, Mercantile, Noonday, Racquet, Missouri Ath- letic and Log Cabin Clubs, and he is likewise a member of the Merchants Exchange.
On the 26th of April, 1883, Henry Nicolaus was united in marriage to Miss Mary Uhrig, a daughter of Ignatius Uhrig, of St. Louis, and her death occurred in April, 1899. There were three children of that marriage: Stella C .; Louis J., of this review; and Elsa K. In 1907 Mr. Nicolaus was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Matilda Griesedick.
ERWIN GRIESBAUM.
Erwin Griesbaum, president of the Simplain Tool Company of St. Louis, was born at New Baden, Illinois, October 17, 1891, a son of Xavier Griesbaum, a native of Ger- many, who came to America with his parents when nine years of age, settling near New Baden, Illinois. For many years he followed farming but is now living retired at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Rip- plinger, was a native of Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, and came to America with her parents at the age of thirteen years. She died in 1915 at the age of sixty-seven.
Erwin Griesbaum is the youngest of a family of six sons and four daughters. He obtained a public school education at New Baden, Illinois, and later attended Mc- Kendree College at Lebanon, Illinois, while subsequently he matriculated in the Uni- versity of Illinois from which he was graduated in 1914 as a mechanical engineer. Early in his business career he served as draughtsman with various firms and later became factory manager for the Brisk Glass Company of Monroe, Michigan, with which he remained for a year. In September, 1917, he enlisted in the Engineers Corps as a member of Company E, Three Hundred and Tenth Infantry, and was promoted to ser- geant in the Signal Corps. He served for six months in France and then returned to America in December, 1918, after the armistice was signed.
In February, 1920, Mr. Griesbaum organized the Simplain Tool Company of which he became president. This company is now engaged in the manufacture of gray iron castings and is planning to extend the scope of its business to include tool manufac- turing. The business is enjoying a steady growth and the patronage is constantly increasing.
In June, 1917, in St. Louis, Mr. Griesbaum was married to Miss Olivia M. Greener, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Greener, of this city. They now have one son, Gerard Arthur, born October 19, 1919. Mr. Griesbaum turns to reading, tennis and music for recreation. He is a member of the Riverview Club and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church, while his political belief is that of the republican party. He is loyal to any cause which he espouses and by reason of his persistency of purpose and capability he is making steady progress in the business world and has now reached an enviable position for one of his years.
FRED J. HOFFMEISTER.
Fred J. Hoffmeister, attorney at law of St. Louis, was born August 27, 1891, in St. Louis county, a son of Jacob C. Hoffmeister, also a native of St. Louis, and a grandson of Christian Hoffmeister, who was born in Germany and became one of the early settlers of Missouri, where he opened one of the leading undertaking estab- lishments of St. Louis in 1855. At his death the business was taken up by his son, Jacob C., who is still conducting it, and the enterprise is today the oldest establish- ment and one of the leading of its kind in St. Louis. Jacob C. Hoffmeister was married to Miss Sophie Neubauer, who was born at Glenhaven, Wisconsin, a descend- ant of an old family of that state. They became the parents of four sons and two daughters, of whom Fred J. was the fifth in order of birth. Three of the elder sons are deceased, all having died within one week.
Fred J. Hoffmeister was educated in the public schools of St. Louis and in the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1914 with the LL. B. degree. The same year he was admitted to practice at the Michigan bar and returned to
FRED J. HOFFMEISTER
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St. Louis, where he has since followed his profession in the state and United States courts, save for a short period of service in the United States army, extending from the latter part of August, 1918, until the 1st of January, 1919. He was a first sergeant in the infantry replacement camp at Camp McArthur, Texas. As a member of the bar he has won a notable place and position and has always manifested the utmost devotion to the interests of his clients. Aside from his practice he is a direc- tor of the C. Hoffmeister Undertaking & Livery Company.
On the 2d of June, 1917, Mr. Hoffmeister was married in Detroit, Michigan, to Marcia Munsell, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a daughter of George J. and Kate (Mack) Munsell. Mrs. Hoffmeister is a highly educated and cultured lady, hav- ing graduated from the University of Michigan in June, 1915, with the A. B. degree. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmeister have one child, a son named Frederick Lincoln.
Politically Mr. Hoffmeister is an earnest republican. He belongs to the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, to the Phi Alpha Delta, a college law fraternity, and he also holds membership in the St. Louis, Missouri State and American Bar Asso- ciations. The Masonic order finds in him an exemplary representative, his member- ship being in Pyramid Lodge, No. 180, A. F. & A. M., at St. Louis. He also belongs to St. Louis Camp, No. 5, of the Woodmen of the World and his religious belief is that of the Methodist church. High and honorable principles actuate him at every point in his career and he is widely known as one of the prominent young lawyers of St. Louis.
WALTER F. LEWIS.
Walter F. Lewis, wholesale fruit and produce dealer of St. Louis, was born on the 2d of June, 1875, across the river in East St. Louis, and comes of Welsh ancestry, the family having been founded in America, however, prior to the Revolutionary war. The descendants of the progenitor of the family participated in the struggle for inde- pendence and also in the War of 1812 and one of the family was among the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The grandmother of Walter F. Lewis in the paternal line was a close relative of General Robert E. Lee. For many generations the family has been represented in Virginia and William Lee Lewis, father of Walter F. Lewis, was born in Fauquier county of that state. He was reared and educated in Alexandria, Virginia, and at the outbreak of the Civil war became a member of the Old Dominion Rifles, which was later known as Company E, Seventeenth Virginia Regiment of the Confederate army. He joined the troops as a private and served until the close of hostilities. An older brother, Charles Lewis, was an orderly on the staff of General Lee. After the close of the war William Lee Lewis went to Greensboro, North Caro- lina, and was there united in marriage to Miss Mattie Baker Morton, who was born in Abingdon, Virginia, and also belongs to one of the old and prominent families of the south; represented by branches in both Virginia and North Carolina, while origi- nally they came from Pennsylvania. Mrs. Lewis is still living and by her marriage has become the mother of five children and has also nine grandchildren.
Walter F. Lewis, who was the third in order of birth, was educated in the public schools of St. Louis and at the age of fifteen years started out to provide for his own livelihood, being employed as office boy in the offices of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. He next took up clerical lines in connection with commercial pursuits and was thus engaged until 1898 when he entered the wholesale commission business, be- ing first associated as secretary with the McLain-Alcorn Commission Company, remain- ing in that connection for six years. In June, 1919, he established his present business in which he has since been continuously and successfully engaged, handling fruit and produce as a wholesale dealer. He has built his business up to extensive proportions and his trade is steadily growing.
On the 2d of June, 1902, Mr. Lewis was married in St. Louis to Evelyn Martin, a native of this city and a daughter of Harry and Annie (Ebert) Martin, both repre- sentatives of old families of this city. Mrs. Lewis passed away February 3, 1918, in her thirty-ninth year.
Mr. Lewis is a democrat in his political views. Fraternally he is connected with Rose Hill Lodge, No. 550, A. F. & A. M., Kilwinning Chapter, No. 50, R. A. M., and with the Eastern Star. His business career illustrates what can be accomplished through Vol. V-32
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determination and energy. He started out without resources and his first salary was fifteen dollars per month. From that humble beginning he has steadily worked upward until he is now in control of an extensive and satisfactory wholesale fruit and produce business, conducted under the name of W. F. Lewis & Company. His business methods are such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny and his enterprise has ever been of a character that triumphs over obstacles and difficulties.
LOUIS F. HORN.
Louis F. Horn, general manager of the Union Cooperage Company of St. Louis, was born July 13, 1884, in the city where he still conducts his business and makes his home. His father, Louis F. Horn, Sr., was born in St. Louis, January 3, 1855, and was formerly engaged in the flour milling business with the Sessinghaus Milling Com- pany for a number of years. He passed away May 16, 1914. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Dora Becher, was also a native of St. Louis, so that Louis F. Horn is a representative in the third generation of both the Horn and Becher families in this city. He pursued his education in the public schools and in the St. Louis Commercial College and he secured a clerkship with Buck's Stove & Range Company when he started out in the business world. He remained with this firm until 1905 and then accepted a position as clerk and bookkeeper with the Union Cooperage Company. He applied himself closely to the mastery of the business and gradually worked his way upward, being made general manager in September, 1914. Through the intervening period of more than six years he has continued to fill this position of large responsibility and his successful control and operation of the plant have constituted important features in the steady growth of the business. During the World war his plant was used in part in making supplies for the government, including trench kegs, water coolers and buoys and they are still filling some of the contracts for government use.
On the 12th of June, 1907, Mr. Horn was married in St. Louis to Miss Augusta Kraft, a daughter of Frederick Kraft, who conducted a large butchering business in St. Louis. They have one child, Walter, born March 11, 1910. Mr. Horn finds his recreation in baseball, fishing and hunting. He belongs to the Friedens Evangelical church and has lived an upright, honorable life, winning for him the respect and con- fidence of all. Fraternally he is a Mason, affiliated with Mount Moriah Lodge and in politics he is a republican, active in the work of the party and doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success.
PROFESSOR EDWARD H. BEUMER.
In the educational field of Missouri, Professor Edward H. Beumer, principal of the Kirkwood schools, occupies a prominent position. His capability is widely recog- nized and holding at all times to high professional standards he has done much to improve the schools which have at different times been under his direction. He has thus won well merited fame and his record stands in contra-distinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, for Professor Beumer is a native son of Missouri. His birth occurred in St. Charles on the 24th of October, 1887, his parents being George and Emily (Nadler) Beumer, the former also a native of St. Charles, while the latter was born in Augusta, Missouri, both being representa- tives of families connected with the state from pioneer times. The father is now one of the prominent farmers of St. Charles county, where for many years he has carefully conducted his agricultural interests. His wife passed away, however, on the 23d of June, 1920, when fifty-six years of age.
Professor Beumer was educated in the rural schools of St. Charles county and in the University high school of Columbia, Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1910. Subsequently he attended the University of Missouri and completed his course there as a member of the class of 1914, the degrees of Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Science being conferred upon him. He also did post-graduate work in education in half of the succeeding year and on the 1st of February, 1915, came to Kirkwood as a teacher of history and economics in the high school. He continued to serve in that
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capacity for two and a half years, at the end of which time he was made principal of the high school and so continued for a period of two years. On the 1st of July, 1919, he was elected superintendent of the Kirkwood schools and under his direction various improvements have been introduced and the schools have shown constant and steady growth and development.
On the 12th of August, 1915, Professor Beumer was married to Miss Rose Kroenung of Chesterfield, St. Louis county. He belongs to Kirkwood Lodge, No. 484, A. F. & A. M., is independent in politics and he and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal church. They are well known in Kirkwood occupying an enviable position in those social circles where true worth and intelligence are received as the passport into good society.
GEORGE S. KLETZKER.
George S. Kletzker, who is the secretary of the Central Engraving Company of St. Louis, has been identified with this business throughout his active career. Today the firm enjoys an extensive patronage which covers not only Missouri but various other states and the enterprise and progressiveness of George S. Kletzker has con- tributed in marked measure to their success. A native of St. Louis, he was born August 2, 1891. His paternal ancestors came from Germany but his father, Albert J. Kletzker, was born in St. Louis where for many years he conducted a photo engrav- ing business winning success by the excellence of his work and his carefully directed business methods. He married Elizabeth M. Guhman, a daughter of Dr. Nicholas Guhman, who was one of the most prominent physicians of St. Louis. The death of Albert J. Kletzker occurred May 10, 1910.
George S. Kletzker was a pupil in the public schools of St. Louis, passing through consecutive grades to the Mckinley high school and after completing his course there he joined his two brothers, William N. (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work), and Wallace J. in an engraving business which was incorporated in 1908 under the name of the Central Engraving Company. At the present time Mr. Kletzker is secretary of the company, which does a business that extends over Missouri and six or seven other states. The firm bears a well earned reputation for the artistic excel- lence of its work, for it has ever maintained the highest standard in its output which is comprised of half-tones, zinc etchings, Benday plates, artwork of all descriptions including designing, photo retouching and wash drawings. The plant has been recently equipped with the most modern machinery for process color plate and photo litho plates. The business continued to prosper during the war period although Wallace J. Kletzker was in the army serving with the Three Hundred and Thirteenth Engineers and he was in France during the last seven months of the war period.
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