USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 56
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In 1902 Mr. Madorie was married to Miss Lillian Shea and they have two children, Margaret and Katherine. The family is well known in Kansas City, occupying an enviable social position. Mr. Madorie has always been religiously inclined, attending church and Sunday school the greater part of his life. In the early part he was a member of the Christian church and later became identified with the Catholic church. He has always been charitable to the unfortunate, on one occasion befriending a for- saken outcast, an habitual drunkard, a man of fifty years, whom he took out of prison, supplying him with clothing, putting him to work and acting as his friend and adviser so that in the end the man made a good citizen. On another occasion he came to the aid of an old woman who barely existed, supplying her with clothing, food and fuel until her son was old enough to earn a livelihood for them. He likewise supplied small amounts of money to welfare workers to provide living quarters for the unfortunate until they were able to secure positions to make their own way. During hard times he has helped many poor people to have a happy Christmas by furnishing them clothing and food.
Mr. Madorie believes in clubs and fraternal organizations. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and in 1920 was elected a member of the executive committee and made chairman of the membership committee. He was a Mason, having attained the Knights Templar degree and also crossing the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, but in 1917 he withdrew from the order and joined the Knights of Columbus. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and in 1920-21 served in the capacity of lecturing knight. He is a member of the Optimist Club and in 1920-21 was appointed chairman of its entertainment committee. He belongs also to the Auto- mobile Club, Real Estate Board of Kansas City and the Loyal Order of Moose. He was active in twelve of the drives promoted hy the World war and his activity in these drives brought results that in every instance made him one of the leaders of the campaign. He started in the first drive as a solicitor but in later drives was made a captain, with the responsibility of organizing a large team. His success as a leader was proven when he secured seventy thousand dollars in the Memorial drive as against thirty-five thou- sand secured by another captain in the United Charities drive. In the Boy Scout drive, a one-day campaign, his team secured eight thousand dollars of a total amount of fifty- five thousand raised by twelve teams. He was presented an emblem of the organization and also a large silk flag with a pennant attached, with the words "Boy Scout" printed on it. In one Red Cross drive in one block he organized a team and secured thirty- three hundred memberships. He was ready at all times to do his full part in the war work and his labors were most effective and far-reaching.
Mr. Madorie's political endorsement was given to the democratic party in 1908. He served as a member of the Kansas City legislative council under Mayor T. T. Crittenden, representing the eleventh ward in the lower house. During that period he was a member of the committee on streets, alleys and grades. This committee negotiated the Kansas City Terminal Railroad franchise, which the railroads were trying to get for ninety-nine years. Mr. Madorie served on the committee for eighteen months, looking . after Kansas City's best interests. As a member of the committee he set out to force the railroads to insert several articles in the franchise that would prevent exorbitant switching charges by the railroads against the manufacturing and jobhing interests, and that Kansas City's traffic ways be left open and provided with viaducts and subways to prevent possible congestion of future transportation. In order to accomplish this end he induced several of the city's prominent business men to hold a meeting and met with them, talking to them in reference to the franchise that the railroads were trying to force the city to adopt. This meeting resulted in the formation of a large committee picked from the business men. Realizing that expert talent should be employed they
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obtained the services of the representative of the transportation department of the Kan- sas City Chamber of Commerce who attended each meeting and acted in the capacity of adviser. When the franchise was agreed upon these men employed a lawyer to put it in a legal and forceful form. The result of this council committee's hard work was that Kansas City secured railroad passenger and freight terminals and a union station, costing many millions of dollars, that will never be a burden to the city's manufacturing and industrial interests nor the city's growth. Mr. Madorie deserves much personal credit for securing this protection for Kansas City and may well be proud of the fact that he served on the committee. While serving in the city council he was a member of the streets, alleys and grades committee, the finance committee and the public build- ings, parks and grounds committees and was an active worker on each of them.
ALBERT G. BLANKE.
Albert G. Blanke, president of the Albert G. Blanke Real Estate Company of St. Louis, comes to this city from the neighboring state of Illinois, his birth having occurred at Marine on the 1st of February, 1866. His parents were Frederick G. and Caroline (Ortgies) Blanke. The father, who was for many years engaged in general merchandising, retired from active business in his later years and passed away in February, 1919, at the notable old age of ninety-seven. The mother is still living, making her home at No. 3109 Eads avenue in St. Louis. The sons of the family are: Cyrus F., who is president of the C. F. Blanke Tea & Coffee Company of St. Louis; Richard H., who is secretary and treasurer of the same company; Fred C., who is connected with the same business; and Albert G., of this review.
The last named attended the schools of his native town to the age of fourteen years and then came to St. Louis, where he obtained employment as clerk in a com- mission house. From that time forward he has been dependent upon his own re- sources and his industry and ability have been the vital forces in the attainment of his present-day success. He afterward entered the employ of the L. H. Lohmeyer Real Estate Company and thus received his initial training along the line of business in which he is now engaged. In 1897 he embarked in the real estate business on his own account and has operated in this field to the present time. While he handles all kinds of property, he specializes in financing the building of homes. He is thor- oughly familiar with property values and his judgment is most accurate in placing valuation upon city real estate. He belongs to the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange and he is also one of the directors of the Title Guaranty Trust Company.
On the 24th of April, 1901, Mr. Blanke was married in St. Louis to Miss Lilly M. Verborg, daughter of Francis H. and Dorothy Verborg, the former now deceased, while the latter is yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Blanke have two children, Janet and Bert. Mr. and Mrs. Blanke are both well known in the city where they have long resided and their circle of friends is almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. Mr. Blanke gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and he belongs to several clubs, includ- ing the Missouri Athletic, the Midland Valley and the Sunset Hill Country Clubs. He was very active during the Liberty Loan drives and in support of various other lines of war service. He enjoys golf and horseback riding and in these finds his diversion and recreation. Persistent energy in his business, close study of every- thing that has to do with real estate activity and other substantial qualities have placed him in a creditable position in the business circles of his adopted city.
SIDNEY R. STANARD.
Sidney R. Stanard, who through the successive stages of progress in the field of newspaper publication has reached the position of managing editor of the St. Louis Times, was born at Lamoille, Illinois, February 19, 1888. His father, Henry A. Stanard, also a native of that place, was a lawyer by profession. He gave his political support to the republican party, was a member of the Baptist church and was very active and prominent in local affairs. He wedded Elmie Roberts, a native of Ottawa, Illinois,
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and both have now passed away, the father's death having occurred in March, 1917. They were parents of two children, the daughter being the late Mrs. Alice Bigelow, who died while a missionary in the Philippine islands.
Sidney Roberts Stanard was educated in the public and high school of Lamoille, Illinois, and in Shurtleff College at Upper Alton, Illinois. As a boy newspaper publica- tion held a certain fascination for him and he was only fourteen when he entered the office of the Lamoille Gazette, a weekly newspaper, to work after school hours and on Saturdays. The Gazette was but crudely equipped as were all weekly papers of that time and the young newspaper enthusiast became familiar with such mechanical occu- pations as setting type by hand and operating an old-fashioned Washington hand press. After leaving school he became associated with the Duquoin Call, a daily newspaper of Duquoin, Illinois, and remained with that publication until taking charge of the Duquoin Herald, an evening daily, as editor and owner. While with the Herald he became active in republican politics of southern Illinois.
Mr. Stanard came to St. Louis in 1912. He was employed first on the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, then went to the St. Louis Republic and later was identified for two years with the Post-Dispatch. In 1915 he went to the St. Louis Star and during his five years with that newspaper served as city editor, news editor and for a brief period was acting managing editor. In 1920 he became managing editor of the St. Louis Times, which responsible position he holds at the present time. His persistent effort, close study and ready adaptability have been salient forces in bringing him to his present place in journalistic circles.
In 1909 Mr. Stanard was married to Miss Victoria Zoeckler, of Duquoin, Illinois, and they have one child, Roberts.
GEORGE EDWARD MIX.
George Edward Mix, judge of Division No. 2 of the city court of St. Louis, was horn in Waterville, Oneida county, New York, August 21, 1876, his parents being Daniel and Ida (Biglow) Mix, who were also natives of Waterville. The father was very prominent in the freighting and transportation business in that section of the country, handling and hauling all kinds of heavy freight and farm products. In 1887 he removed with his family to New Britain, Connecticut, and became connected with the P. & F. Corbin Lock Company, there remaining until his death which occurred in 1893. His wife survived him for several years, passing away in 1907. It is interest- ing in this connection to note something of the ancestry from which Judge Mix sprang. In the paternal line he is a representative of the old Mix family of Con- necticut, the progenitors thereof being among the earliest settlers of the New Haven colony. The Biglow family is of equally extended connection with New England, for the first of the name were early settlers in Massachusetts.
George Edward Mix was educated in the public schools of New Britain, Connecti- cut, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, while later he attended the Williston Academy of Easthampton, Massachusetts, and then pursued an academic course in Yale University, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1901. He next entered upon the study of law at Yale and received his LL.B. degree in 1904. He was a leading member of his class, as indicated in the fact that he was elected its permanent secretary. He was also president of the Yale-Kent Debating Club and held the record for championship in Indian club swinging. Following his graduation from the high school at New Britain, Connecticut, he had made his initial step in the business world hy obtaining employment at the Corbin Cabinet Lock Works, where he learned the trade of metal pattern making. In this way he earned the money that enabled him to continue his education in the Williston Academy and at Yale. He met all of the expenses of his preparatory and college courses and thus displayed the ele- mental strength of his character, foreshadowing the qualities which were to win him success in his later career. He entered upon the practice of law in New York city where he remained from the summer of 1904 until the latter part of January, 1905, when he came to St. Louis as attorney for insurance companies and other interests in connection with the work of wrecking all of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition buildings. He had entire charge of all claims for damages and all law suits growing out of accidents and injury claims both for the various wrecking companies who
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were taking down the buildings and the liability insurance companies. In February, 1907, he entered upon the general practice of law in St. Louis and has so continued to the present time. He represents several of the largest corporations of the United States in all of their legal work in St. Louis and the state of Missouri and is recognized as a most prominent corporation lawyer, thoroughly familiar with this branch of jurisprudence. He was appointed by Mayor Henry W. Keil as judge of the circuit court of the city of St. Louis, presiding over Division No. 2, April 21, 1919, and since taking his place upon the bench has made a splendid record. He is a man of rare judgment, broad-minded, fearless and absolutely fair and impartial, making no dis- tinction between rich and poor, high and low. It is his purpose to render absolute justice and often in order to get at the truth he makes a personal investigation and questions witnesses to gain a knowledge of the real facts. He has been designated by the press and others as "Methodical Mix"-a name which carries with it a high measure of praise. As a judge he maintains the full dignity of the law, demanding respect for the court from all who come within its confines. He has little regard for the man who bases his right to recognition and respect upon the record of his ancestors but lacks ambition and force to win esteem through the possession of per- sonal qualities that are worth while. During the first six months of Judge Mix's service upon the bench his court showed receipts of thirteen thousand, six hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars, while in the corresponding month of the previous year in the same court under his predecessor the receipts were only three thousand, seven hundred and sixty dollars, showing that Judge Mix has made the court more than self-sustaining, taking it off of the expense list of the city and making it con- tribute to the general municipal fund. In 1909 he was appointed by the St. Louis circuit court as special commissioner in the case of Johnson vs. The United Railways Company, wherein nearly three million dollars was involved.
At Belleville, Illinois, on the 29th of February, 1908, Judge Mix was married to Miss Irene Zent, a daughter of Morris F. Zent, of Belleville. The Judge is well known in Masonic circles. He belongs to Polar Star Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; St. Louis Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M .; Hiram Council, No. 1, R. & S. M .; and Alhambra Grotto, No. 47, M. O. V. P. E. R. He is likewise a member of the Masonic committee. having in charge the erection of the new million dollar Masonic Temple. He is very fond of gym- nastics and all manly outdoor sports, especially golf and swimming. Along strictly professional lines he has connection with the St. Louis, Missouri and American Bar Associations. Judge Mix is recognized as a man of wonderful strength of character and honesty of purpose, broad-minded, versatile and at all times genial and approach- able. These qualities have gained him the warm regard of an extensive circle of friends.
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WILLIAM BARKER McBRIDE.
William Barker McBride, principal owner of the McBride Secret Service, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, March 18, 1871. His father, John Henry McBride, who has passed away, came of American ancestry that dates back through five generations. His occupation was that of a steamboat captain and he also became a steamboat owner. He was licensed to operate on the Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee and Missis- sippi rivers and also on the tributaries of all rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. He was one of the organizers of Harbor No. 28 for masters and pilots of steam vessels and he became one of the charter members of the masters and pilots of the Ohio & Mississippi Pilots Association. During the Civil war he served with the Union army in the transport service as steamboat captain, rendering valuable aid to his country in that connection. He also fought in the Mexican war, and during the Spanish-American war was engaged in transferring troops. He married Harriet Ann Cannon, who is connected through her ancestral line with the Dewey family. To Mr. and Mrs. McBride were born seven children, five sons and two daughters, of whom William Barker is the fourth in order of birth. The others were: Henry Robert E. Lee, now deceased; Sarah Emily, who has also passed away; John C., who married Margaret Short, of Philadelphia; Frederick Woodruff, deceased; Samuel Edward, who has passed away; and Harriet E., the wife of Charles E. Colville, an actor on the Orpheum circuit.
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William Barker McBride attended the grammar schools of St. Louis and after- ward pursued a general course in the Perkins & Herpel Business School of this city. Later he became an instructor in that school and subsequently he entered the employ of the Kehlor Milling Company as a stenographer, remaining in that position until 1893, when he left St. Louis on a trip through Canada, Greenland, Baffin's Land, and Nova Scotia. He was absent three years, and went through all the remarkable ex- periences of the explorer. In 1896 he returned to this city, where he took up the show business. From 1896 until 1899 he was identified with theatrical entertain- ments as actor and manager, making trips over the entire United States. From 1899 until 1902 he was engaged in the general contracting business and through the suc- ceeding two years he was connected with the St. Louis Star. Again, from 1904 until 1909, he was in the contracting business under his own name, confining his atten- tion to contract work along the line of plumbing and heating. In 1910 he was appointed chief of police, also served as city marshal at Maplewood, Missouri, and in 1911 he entered the Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, with which he continued until 1916, rising to the position of assistant superintendent of the St. Louis office. In the latter year he established business on his own account under the name of the McBride Secret Service and has so continued to the present time. He is the prin- cipal owner of the business and has gained a large clientage. He is also a trustee and the general manager of the Bengal Manufacturing Company of St. Louis and during the period of the Spanish-American war as well as the World war he did a great deal of work for the government in the line of investigation and also subscribed to all the various war activities.
In St. Louis on the 1st of May, 1899, Mr. McBride was married to Miss Bertha Powell and they have become the parents of two sons and a daughter, Winfield Ber- wyn, Wallace Denman, and Merna Elizabeth. Mr. McBride is a representative of one of the old families of Missouri, his grandfather having been circuit judge of Pike county at an early day. He came to Missouri in 1830 and to St. Louis in 1844 and through the intervening period the family has here been represented, having for ninety years heen well known in this state.
In politics William B. McBride is an independent republican and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. He is a member of Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 40, A. F. & A. M., and is a loyal follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft. He helongs to the Chamber of Commerce and is interested in all that has to do with the welfare and progress of his native city, cooperating heartily in many plans and measures for the general good.
JAMES B. NOURSE.
James B. Nourse, an attorney of Kansas City, practicing as a member of the firm of Hutton, Nourse & Bell, was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, April 22, 1888, and is a son of Dr. Wallace Logan and Sadie (Bartrim) Nourse. His ancestral line is not only traced back to the early colonization period in American history but to a remote century in English history. The records show that Thomas Chicheley died in England in 1400, leaving three distinguished sons, Henry, Robert and John, of whom Henry became archbishop of Canterbury, while Robert was lord mayor of London in 1421 and John was attorney general to King Henry and was the direct ancestor from whom James B. Nourse of this review traces his descent. It was Henry Chicheley, archbishop of Canterbury, whom Shakespeare uses as one of his characters in the opening scene of King Henry V. The third son, John Chicheley, attorney general to King Henry, had a daughter, Phillipia, who married John Nourse, and their grandson, Walter, who married Christina, daughter of Sir Fredrick Wall, built the house of Weston in Herefordshire in 1600. It is still standing, a splendid example of Tudor architecture and in it was born James Nourse, who went to Virginia in 1769 and served with the American troops in the Revolutionary war. He left London on the 16th of March and arriving at Hampton, Virginia, purchased land near Charleston. He hecame one of the legislators of that state, representing Berkeley county in the general assembly, and was very active in equipping troops for service in the war for independence. His son, James Nourse, was a prominent lawyer and his
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grandson, Charles Nourse, was a merchant of Bardstown, Kentucky. Joseph Nourse of this family was the first registrar of the United States treasury.
Among the ancestors of James B. Nourse were also Benjamin Logan of early Ken- tucky history and Judge William Logan who was United States senator in 1819 and 1820 and who served as a member of the Kentucky court of appeals. He was the first white child born in the state of Kentucky and it was his daughter, Rosa, who became the mother of Wallace Logan Nourse, a distinguished Presbyterian divine, who was born at Bardstown, Kentucky, November 30, 1834. His father, Charles Nourse, born in the same town, became a well known business man there and was prominent as a leader in the whig party and as an influential member of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Nourse pursued his early education in the schools of Bardstown and afterward attended the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Danville, teaching school at inter- vals before completing his course. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Louisville in 1862 and in his early work in the ministry was located in Daviess and Hancock counties in connection with the Synod of Kentucky. In 1869 he removed to Rockport, Indiana, where he remained for sixteen years and during that period was instrumental in building several churches. In 1885 he accepted the pastorate of the Ninth Street Presbyterian church, now the Westminster church, in Hopkinsville, Ken- tucky, where he occupied the pulpit continuously for eighteen years, accomplishing a great work not only in the spiritual upbuilding of the membership but in the salutary influence he exerted throughout the community. At length he resigned his pastorate, after which he had charge of the Lester Memorial church in South Christian and of the Presbyterian church at Franklin, Kentucky, but continued to make Hopkinsville his home. One of the papers of that city, at the time of his passing, said: "No man was better known to the people and none held in higher honor and esteem, and his gifts and graces, the sweetness and light of his life, his zeal in the service of Christ, his patriotism and civic pride, his wise counsels and his constant and intelligent activity in advancing the moral and material welfare of the city will be held in enduring and grateful remembrance." In a memorial prepared by the Athenaeum, of which Dr. Nourse was the president, it was said: "Dr. Nourse was truly a man of God and one of earth's noblemen. As a minister he was learned and distinguished; as a scholar he was ripe in knowledge and possessed of a wide range of information; as a citizen he was patriotic, decided in his convictions and correct in his judgment; as a literary man he deserved to rank with the leaders of thought and the ablest exponents of advanced ideas amongst those with whom he came in contact; as a friend and asso- ciate in our club life he was near and dear to us all, and his death is a source of grief that cannot find expression in mere words."
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