USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 6
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On the 21st of November, 1888, Mr. Shapleigh was married to Miss Mina Wessel, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and they reside at 6 Portland place in St. Louis. They have two children: Alexander Wessel Shapleigh, born August 22, 1890, treasurer of the Shap- leigh Hardware Company, and who married Lois Mckinney of Chicago, and they have three children, Alexander Wessel Shapleigh, Jr., Alfred Lee Shapleigh II, and Warren Mckinney Shapleigh; and Jane, born May 29, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Shapleigh are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church and in club circles he is well known through his membership in the Commercial, St. Louis, Racquet, St. Louis Country, Bellerive, Noon- day, Bogey, Deer Plain and Harbor Point Country Clubs. The extent and nature of his interests is further indicated in the fact that he is a member of the Missouri His- torical Society, the Sons of the Revolution, the Society of the Cincinnati and the Society of Colonial Wars, while his cooperation in much that has to do with the city's welfare and advancement has been manifest in many tangible ways. He is now a director of the Mercantile Library Association, the treasurer of the St. Louis Light Artillery Armory Association, president of the Hospital Saturday and Sunday Association, a director of the Washington University, a director and member of the executive committee of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, was formerly a member of the republican state central committee and is now a member of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, of which at one time he was president. His activities have practically touched all those interests which affect the general welfare of society or which feature in municipal progress, as well as the business interests which have made St. Louis a great com- mercial center of the Mississippi valley.
ANDREW C. BARNETT.
Andrew C. Barnett, general passenger and ticket agent for the Terminal Railroad Association at St. Louis, was born on the 18th of August, 1872, in the city which is still his home. His father, the late Andrew C. Barnett, was a native of Virginia and a representative of one of the old families of that state of English and French lineage.
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The father was for a quarter of a century connected with the St. Louis police depart- ment and was ever a stanch supporter of the democratic party, giving unfaltering allegiance to its principles and doing everything in his power to promote its success. He married Nannie Carver, a native of Kentucky, and descended from English ancestry. Both have now passed away, the mother's death occurring in 1887, while the father died in 1904 at the age of fifty-one years. They were the parents of seven children, six sons and a daughter.
Andrew C. Barnett of this review was the eldest of the family and was educated in the public schools of St. Louis, but his opportunities in that direction were some- what limited for he started out to provide for his own support when a lad of but fourteen years. He was first employed in clerical lines in the passenger departnient of the St. Louis & Southwestern Railroad, known as the Cotton Belt, there continuing for ahout a year. He next hecame connected with the Terminal Railroad Company as a clerk and from that position has steadily worked his way upward through various departments until he has reached the place which he now fills, having been called thereto on the 2d of June, 1919. He has made an excellent record and his business qualifica- tions are thoroughly adequate to the heavy responsibilities and duties that now devolve upon him.
In 1901, in Carrollton, Illinois, Mr. Barnett was united in marriage to Miss Maude E. Finch, a native of Jerseyville, Illinois, and to them has been born a daughter, Mildred Barnett, whose birth occurred in St. Louis, June 21, 1903. The parents have many friends throughout the city and they are members of the Bowman Methodist Episcopal church, the teachings of which guide their lives in all their varied relations.
In political affairs Mr. Barnett is a republican where national questions and issues are involved, but in local elections casts an independent ballot. He keeps well informed on all the questions and issues of the day and is able to support his posi- tion hy intelligent argument. He has membership in George Washington Lodge, No. 9, A. F. & A. M. and is a consistent follower of the craft. He belongs to the St. Louis Railroad Club, and to the Ticket Agents Association and the major part of his time and attention are devoted to his business and his home. Early in his career he recog- nized the fact that industry and faithfulness are essential and indispensable elements to success, and his loyalty to the company which he has served, his laudable ambition and the thoroughness of his work have won for him advancement until step by step he has reached the position of responsibility which he now fills.
GODFREY SWENSON.
A list of the beautiful and substantial structures that have come into existence through the activity of the Swenson Construction Company at once establishes the position of Godfrey Swenson as one of the most prominent contractors of western Missouri, for he is the president of the Swenson Construction Company which he incorporated in 1908.
A native of Sweden, Godfrey Swenson was born on the 18th of April, 1876. His father was a contractor of heavy masonry in connection with railroad, build- ings, etc. The son graduated from schools in Sweden and studied some English preparatory to coming to the new world in 1896. He served an apprenticeship as a stone and brick mason and since the starting point in his career has made steady progress. His first work was a job by the day in Salina, Kansas, and the difference in his business position at the present is indicated in the fact that he is now erecting in Salina one of the largest buildings in the west. A few months after reaching Kansas he removed to Kansas City, Missouri, and again secured employment at his trade. He then began taking masonry contracts, which grad- ually became of a more extensive and important nature as he gave proof of his capability and as his powers increased through the exercise of activity. He like- wise attended night school, where he took up the study of English, mathematics and drawing. In fact everything which he did constituted a forward step in his professional career. From the beginning his business has enjoyed a steady growth and today there is no better indication of his high professional standing than to state that he built the Telephone building of Kansas City, one of the finest office structures in the west, was the builder of the Westport high school, the Firestone
GODFREY SWENSON
Vol. V-4
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building of Kansas City, the Security building and Liberty theatre of Kansas City, the Live Stock Exchange of Kansas City and the building of the Sears Roebuck Company of Kansas City. He has also been called into various other sections of the southwest and at Excelsior Springs there stands as a monument to his skill and power the fine Elms Hotel. His handiwork is also evidenced in the Barnes building at Muskogee, Oklahoma, and in the Sinclair building of Tulsa as well as in the Home National Bank building at Arkansas City. Another of the structures which have come into existence through his business power is the Coco Cola building of Kansas City.
In 1898 Mr. Swenson was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Johnson, who is also a native of Sweden. They have become parents of twins, Clarence and Florence. The son will graduate in 1921 from the Kansas University, while Flor- ence will in the same year complete a course in the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan. She is deeply interested in domestic science and in kinder- garten work, being very fond of children.
Mr. Swenson and his family are members of the Swedish Lutheran church and he belongs to various Masonic bodies, having taken the Scottish Rite degrees, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is deeply interested in civic affairs, supporting all measures for the general good, and in politics he is a republican where national issues are involved but at local elections casts an independent ballot, considering men and measures rather than party. Mr. Swenson has contributed much to the upbuilding and development of Kansas City and in his construction work employs from two hundred to five hundred men. He was a member of the board of directors of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in 1916 and 1917 and his life in every relation has spelled progress.
HERMAN JACOB ELSON.
Herman Jacob Elson, treasurer and manager of Walter A. Zelnicker Supply Company of St. Louis, manufacturers of railroad equipment and materials, was born in Meridian, Mississippi, January 7, 1876. His father, Louis C. Elson, now deceased, was a native of Bavaria but was brought to America by his parents during his infancy in 1840, the family settling originally in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was reared and educated. He removed to Memphis, Tennessee, prior to the Civil war and was there successfully engaged in general merchandising, conducting busi- ness in that city at the time it was captured by the Union forces. In the early '70s he removed to Mississippi where he continued until 1898 when he came to St. Louis, and here lived retired until his death, passing away in 1917 at the age of seventy- six years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Caroline Teller, is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and belongs to one of the old families of that city of German lineage. She survives her husband and makes her home in St. Louis.
H. J. Elson, the eldest of the family, was educated in the public schools of Meridian, Mississippi, and in the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, from which he was graduated in 1898. He was first made ensign in the United States navy and served off Santiago during the Spanish-American war and then in the Philippines during the insurrection and in Chinese waters during the Boxer Re- bellion. In 1902 he resigned from the navy and became identified with the Walter A. Zelnicker Supply Company and has since been connected therewith in an official capacity. In 1910 he was made lieutenant commander and chief engineer of the Missouri Naval Reserve, now part of the United States Naval Reserve force with which he is still connected.
At St. Louis, on the 2d of November, 1903, Mr. Elson was married to Miss Ophelia S. Scharff, a daughter of Adolph and Jeanette (Myer) Scharff. Politically Mr. Elson maintains an independent course, voting for the man whom he regards as best qualified for the office which he seeks. Fraternally Mr. Elson is a Mason, having membership in Brotherhood Lodge, No. 986, A. F. & A. M., of Chicago, in Oriental Consistory of that city and Medinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He now belongs to the Missouri Athletic Association, to the Columbian, Westwood Country, and Engineers' Clubs of St. Louis. During the World war he was inspector of
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machinery for naval vessels which were being rebuilt on the Great Lakes, the principal one being the conversion of the steamship Eastland into a modern gunboat now named "Wilmette" and used by the United States Navy for reserve force work on the Lakes. He acted in that capacity during the entire period of America's connection with hostilities in France and served until the spring of 1919. He is ever loyal to any cause which he espouses, is faithful to every trust reposed in him and by reason of a social, genial nature has become quite popular in the different club organizations with which he is identified.
JACOB M. LASHLY.
Jacob M. Lashly is a lawyer of pronounced ability in the trial of cases, espec- ially effective in his addresses to the juries, but while he has won prominence as a representative of the bar, he has never allowed his law practice to thoroughly monopolize his time, ever recognizing his duties and obligations in other relations, and thus it is that he is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and an earnest worker for all those interests and activities which are an uplifting in- fluence in the lives of men. He was born in Randolph county, Illinois, February 16, 1882, his parents being George W. and Cora (Woolford) Lashly. The father was born in Missouri, representing one of the old pioneer families of Iron county, where five generations of the family have been represented. The ancestral line shows mingled Scotch and Irish strains. George W. Lashly resided for many years in Missouri but is now engaged in mercantile pursuits in Monterey, California. His wife was also born in Randolph county, Illinois, where her people homesteaded at an early day. The first of the Woolford family in the new world had settled in Pennsylvania, seven brothers coming from Switzerland to the United States in 1846. Five of them homesteaded on adjoining farms in Randolph county, Illinois, where George W. Lashly and Cora Woolford were married and where both of their children, Arthur V. and Jacob M., were born. The maternal grandfather of Jacob M. Lashly was Jacob Woolford.
Jacob M. Lashly was educated in the schools of Steeleville, Illinois, and the high school at Sparta, after which he entered the St. Louis University and was there graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1903, while in 1905 his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. He prepared for the practice of law in Washington University and won his LL. B. degree in 1907. While still in school he acted as life insurance agent in order to provide for his own support and he also followed journalism at El Paso, Texas, being connected with the El Paso Herald. Following his graduation he entered upon active practice in 1906, having passed the state bar examination prior to his graduation. His attention has since been given to professional duties and he practiced alone from 1906 until 1912, when he became a partner in the firm of Johnson, Rutledge, Marlatt & Lashly, with offices in the Third National Bank building. The firm maintained its existence for a year, after which two of the members departed this life. In 1913 the present firm was organized under the style of Holland, Rutledge & Lashly and engages in general practice. Mr. Lashly has specialized somewhat in bankruptcy law, being considered an authority upon the subject, as is indicated in the fact that since 1916 he has lectured in the Washington University law department upon bank- ruptcy and for nine years was on the faculty of the St. Louis University Institute of Law, so continuing until 1918, when he resigned on account of the demands of his private practice. He is a man of marked personality who handles his subject in a convincing and forcible manner, whether speaking upon questions of law or important public topics. One who knows him well said of him: "His promptness, honesty and persistency in all business matters makes it a pleasure to transact business with him. He is a wonderful trial lawyer, especially effective before juries." He belongs to the St. Louis, Missouri State and American Bar Associations and on several occasions has served on the executive committee of the State Bar Association.
In Dayton, Ohio, December 28, 1911, Mr. Lashly was married to Miss Bessie Henderson, who was born in Ohio but was reared in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Dr. John A. and Flora (McGaw) Henderson, of Dayton, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Lashly have become parents of four children: Elizabeth, who was born
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June 22, 1915; John Henderson, whose birth occurred August 20, 1916; Jean Ellen, whose natal day was November 10, 1918; and Jacob Mark, Jr., born Septem- ber 11, 1920. All are natives of St. Louis.
When America was at war with Germany Mr. Lashly was active in promoting various campaigns for the benefit of the government and the army and he spent his thirty days at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station as a Y. M. C. A. secre- tary, doing excellent work in that connection and not only contributing his time but paying all of his expenses. He was also a four-minute speaker, a member of the Protective Association and assisted in all the various war activities. He finds his chief diversion in hunting. In politics he is a democrat and from 1908 until 1912 was president of the Young Men's Democratic Club of St. Louis. He belongs to Polar Star Lodge, No. 79, A. F. & A. M., and has attained the thirty- second degree of the Scottish Rite, being also a Mystic Shriner. His social activities include connection with the City, University and Triple A Clubs. He is a member of the governing board of the Central Young Men's Christian Association and is a devoted representative of the First United Presbyterian church of St. Louis, in which he is serving on the board of deacons. He is generous to the church with both his money and his services. His activities have been directed in those chan- nels through which flow the greatest good to the greatest number. He recognizes the needs of the individual for physical and mental as well as moral development. He therefore supports the basketball team and baseball club of the Sunday School League and is a teacher in the Sunday school connected with the church in which he has membership. He is a lover of music, both vocal and instrumental, and supports the musical activities of the city. The interests of his life are thus broad, varied and of a helpful character.
SAM LAZARUS.
Sam Lazarus, president of the Acme Cement & Plaster Company of St. Louis, was born in Syracuse, New York, February 4, 1855, and is a son of Henry L. Lazarus, a native of England, who came to America during the early '40s. He settled in New York, where he resided until his death in 1859. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Annie Isaacs, was a native of London, England, and crossed the Atlantic with her parents when but three years of age, the family home being established in Syracuse, New York, where she became the wife of Henry L. Lazarus. Four childrn were born of this marriage, two sons and two daughters, of whom one only (the subject of this review) is now living. The mother's death occurred in 1916, in New York city, when she had reached the age of eighty-one years.
Sam Lazarus was the second in order of birth in his father's family. He was educated in the public schools of Syracuse, New York, and of New Orleans, Louisiana, and when a lad of fourteen years started out in the business world. He has since been dependent upon his own resources and is truly a self-made man whose energy and determination have constituted the broad and stable foundation upon which he has built his prosperity. In 1869 he removed to Ladonia, Texas, and was there employed as a clerk in a dry goods store. He devoted about eight years to clerical work and then entered the cattle business, which he successfully followed for twenty-two years. At length he sold his interests in cattle and in 1898 removed to St. Louis. It was at this time that the Acme Cement & Plaster Company, which had previously conducted business at St. Joseph, Missouri, established its plant at St. Louis and since coming to the city Mr. Lazarus has been its active head, the business being one of the largest of the kind in the United States. He is also the president of the Quanah Acme & Pacific Railway Company and is a director of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad. In 1895 he became identified with the building of the Texas Louisiana and Eastern Railroad of which he was president and which was later sold to the Santa Fe system. In 1900 he was president of the Red River, Texas and Southern Railroad and has done not a little to promote railroad building and stimulate high standards of railroad manage- ment in this section of the country.
On the 19th of April, 1883, Mr. Lazarus was married in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Miss Lillie N. Fisk, a native of New Orleans and a daughter of Frank and Margaret (Stumpf) Fisk. They have one child, Henriette, now the wife of William F. Baker,
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residing in New York. Mr. Lazarus gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and has been a prominent factor in democratic councils of city, state and nation for many years and has a wide acquaintance among the leading men of the party throughout the country. He was elected president of the city council of St. Louis in 1912, was a delegate to the democratic national convention held in Baltimore in that year at which time Woodrow Wilson was nominated for the presidency and was also a delegate to the national convention in San Francisco in 1920 when James E. Cox received the democratic nomination. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, also to the Noonday, Columbia and Sunset Country Clubs and to the Columbian. He is like- wise a member of Dr. Harrison's church. While but the merest outlines of the life work of Mr. Lazarus have herewith been presented, owing to a lack of space, there is always something stimulating and encouraging in the history of such a man, as it shows what can be accomplished through individual effort. Dependent upon his own resources from the age of fourteen years, he is now at the head of important business interests and has become widely recognized as a leading figure in industrial and commerical circles in St. Louis.
ARTHUR B. DEWES.
One of the most progressive of the younger representatives of the printing trade in St. Louis is Arthur B. Dewes, the head of the A. B. Dewes Printing & Stationery Company. Never content with what he has accomplished he is constantly reaching out along new lines, continually seeking to improve his business and to afford the highest possible satisfaction to his patrons. His initiative is constantly manifest in one form or another and his business has established standards which others have followed.
Arthur B. Dewes was born in St. Louis, February 18, 1881, his parents being Alexander H. and Matilda M. (Droege) Dewes. The father, who was a native of St. Louis and engaged in the notion business, passed away in 1888. The mother, who is still living, is of German descent and her parents were residents of the south side. To Mr. and Mrs. Alexander H. Dewes were born six children: Joseph A., who is the treasurer of the Woerner Sawmill Company; Edward, who is with the United States ordnance department; Matilda, now the wife of E. J. Andrae; Arthur B .; Olivia, the wife of Allen Bethal, copy editor with the Post-Dispatch; and Lydia.
Arthur B. Dewes attended the public schools of St. Louis and afterward pur- sued a commercial course, being graduated on the completion of his studies in book- keeping and accounting in 1897. He then began work in the printing line and has since been so engaged. Gradually he advanced and became the organizer of the A. B. Dewes Printing & Stationery Company, of which he is now the president and treasurer. The organization was effected in 1902 and in 1907 the present firm style was adopted. The company not only does a large local business but receives an extensive patronage from various other states, including Louisiana, Arkansas, Missis- sippi and Texas. Mr. Dewes publishes a little pamphlet called Points, which is most original, unique and attractive in character, in which every word points to the thought it is intended to convey, the little booklet carrying conviction to the minds of its readers concerning the progressive style and initiative of the man who is at the head of the business. The word Points itself, according to its various letters, is taken to mean promptness, originality, individuality, neatness, thoroughness and service, all of which characterize the establishment of the Dewes Printing Company.
On the 20th of September, 1905, Mr. Dewes was married to Miss Corinne Schoenle, daughter of Louis Schoenle, who was a dry goods merchant, well known in St. Louis, but is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Dewes have eight children: Ray- mond, Emmet, Corinne, Lucille, Grace, Matilda, Bernice and Mercedes. The relig- lous faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Dewes is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He helongs also to the Century Boat Club, the Lieder- kranz, the City Club, the White Squadron and the Ben Franklin Clubs. The last named is a printers' organization, of which he was president for the year 1920. He was one of the organizers of the White Squadron, formed "to establish and maintain friendly and sociable relations amongst each other and our friends, regardless of religious or political differences or affiliations," and for seven years he was elected
ARTHUR B. DEWES
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captain of the organization, this being its chief executive office. His political sup- port is usually given the democratic party although he is not a strong partisan. He took an earnest interest in all war activities, including the Y. M. C. A. drives, the Lib- erty bond sales and other projects, doing effective work along those lines. It has been said of him: "He is a good Missourian, a most loyal friend and a most progressive business man whose notable success can be attributed to straightforward dealings, promptness, efficiency and conscientious regard for all obligations of his contracts." He is a most interesting conversationalist and enlightening public speaker upon any question which he discusses and his utterances are always enlivened by humor and enriched by sound logic.
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