USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 68
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In his native city Charles C. Peterson attended the parochial schools and in 1898 enlisted in the First Wisconsin Volunteers for service in the Spanish-American war, being on duty for nine months after which he was mustered out with the rank of sergeant. It was then that Mr. Peterson came to St. Louis. He had previously been assistant manager of a billiard parlor in Milwaukee and when discharged from the army had offers to go to Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Brooklyn and St. Louis, but decided upon St. Louis, and since then has been a most ardent champion of this city, singing its praises as he travels all over the country on exhibition tours. When he arrived here he accepted the position of manager of the Houser & Royal Billiard Parlors and in 1909 he established business on his own account. Today he has two floors at No. 218 North Seventh street, containing thirty-one billiard tables and eight bowling alleys and also a billiard theater. His is the only parlor in the country that has an amphitheater for exhibitions and entertaining purposes. His establishment is one of the finest billiard and bowling places in the entire country and is known from coast to coast as Peterson's of St. Louis. He is himself an expert player and his fancy shot exhibitions have won him a wide reputation throughout the United States. He has been touring the country with Willie Hoppe, champion balk line player, giving exhibits for the past five years. Mr. Peterson is regarded as the champion fancy shot player of the world. His billiard parlor has the patronage of the best people in the city, including various clubs organized for play in his establishment. One of these, a club of twenty, is composed of retired capitalists, all past sixty years of age, who play billiards daily when in the city. It limits its membership to twenty and has a large waiting list including some of the most prominent and wealthy residents of St. Louis. No man is eligible to membership unless he has passed the age of sixty and is retired. There are numerous other clubs which have Peterson's for their
CHARLES C. PETERSON
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meeting place. Mr. Peterson was the first to encourage ladies to take up the game of billiards and regularly held ladies' progressive tournaments on two evenings each month. There were five clubs organized, each consisting of eight ladies, known as the St. Louis Club, the De Luxe Club, the Wednesday Night Club, the Humphrey Circle and the Peterson Club. St. Louis was the pioneer city in the movement to interest women in the game and to Mr. Peterson belongs the honor for the develop- ment of this interest.
Mr. Peterson also plays golf and is interested in various outdoor sports but has devoted the major part of his life to billiards. He is always trying some new fancy shot, as his specialty is along that line. He won the Red Ball championship of America in St. Louis in 1908 and still retains the championship. He has now been playing billiards for twenty-two years. He makes a thousand points in four and a half min- utes or one hundred points in twenty-seven seconds. During the war Peterson's was the headquarters for soldiers, sailors and marines. At the outbreak of the war a St. Louis unit of marines of one hundred and twenty-five men was organized at Peter- son's and out of this entire number thirty-five were killed and each one of the other ninety was wounded. During the progress of the war exhibitions and tournaments were being held continually at Peterson's, providing entertainment for the men in uniform and the Great Lakes Naval Band and the United States Marine Band each played for the entertainment of the guests at the tournament.
Mr. Peterson is intensely patriotic and has carried a small silk flag in his pocket since April 26, 1898, at which date he enlisted for the Spanish-American war and when he told his mother that he had joined the army she gave him the flag from which he has since never been separated. He has carried it so long that it is now in tatters but he says that he will always have it with him. It is his custom to stand at the entrance of his parlors on all national holidays and pin a small flag on everyone who enters- a custom he has followed for years-and if he is out of town his manager performs the same ceremony. He thus bestows an average of about six hundred flags on each holiday.
Mr. Peterson was married to Miss Katherine Kleser of Milwaukee, and they reside at 2056 Lafayette avenue. They have three children: Herbert, who is attend- ing the Western Military academy; Marie, a student of the Sacred Heart academy; and Dorothy, who is attending the Loretta academy.
In politics Mr. Peterson maintains an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment. He is a member of more clubs and organizations almost than can be named. These include the Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Athletic Association, Century Club, Optimist's Club, the Golf Club, the Knights of Columbus, Elks Club, and countless others. He is a sportsman who holds to the highest rules of the game and there is no man perhaps who has done more to place billiards on the present high plane now occupied a's a source of exercise and recreation today.
WILLIAM C. MAXWELL.
Starting out when quite young to earn his living by selling papers and later filling various minor positions, William C. Maxwell is now the vice president of the Wabash Railroad Company. As a railroad man his career is, an open book, the contents of which are notable. He started at the very bottom and by sheer deter- mination, faithful service, energy and persistency of purpose he stands among those at the very top of his profession. He was born in Keokuk, Iowa, February 20, 1865. His father, John Maxwell, was a native of the north of Ireland, born in Londonderry, whence he came to America and settled in Iowa, there residing until his death, which occurred when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-three years. He won a gratifying measure of success in a pork packing business. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Johnstone, was a native of Scotland and died at the age of eighty-one. Their family numbered ten children, seven sons and three daughters.
William C. Maxwell was the fourth child in this family. He acquired his educa- tion in the public schools of Keokuk and while still in his teens started out to provide for his own support. In fact when very young he began to sell papers and also worked in connection with the butchering business and drove a grocer's delivery wagon. He likewise acted as messenger and from the very start made steady progress actuated
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at all times by a laudable ambition that prompted him to do his best in hope of winning promotion. In 1881 he became connected with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road as a messenger in the freight office at Keokuk and was in the employ of that company for twenty-four years, during which period he was largely connected with the road in Missouri as representative of the freight and passenger department. Event- ually he was made assistant general freight agent at St. Joseph and at St. Louis and in 1905 he became assistant general traffic manager for the Wabash Railroad holding the office until 1908. He was then made general traffic manager and later was elected vice president in which position he is now bending his efforts to administrative direc- tion and executive control. When the government took over the railroads during the war he was a member of the Eastern Rate Committee at New York city and continued to act in that capacity until November, 1919, when he returned to the Wabash Com- pany and again became vice president. He was also a member of the Eastern Corpor- ate Committee and assisted in connection with the New York Central, the New Haven & Hartford, the Pennsylvania and the Wabash Railroads during the war period, serving his country with the rank of colonel. His has been a most busy and useful life and in addition to his faithfulness and capability he has always displayed consideration and friendliness toward those with whom he has come into contact and there are few men who have a greater number of genuine friends than has Mr. Maxwell.
At Columbus, Indiana, on the 1st of October, 1890, Mr. Maxwell was united in marriage to Miss Persis Cochrane, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of James and Agnes (Francisco) Cochrane. They have become the parents of a daughter, Elanore Agnes Maxwell, who has won considerable fame through authorship, having written sixty stories which have been printed in book form and which have had a wide circu- lation.
Mr. Maxwell closely studies the political situations and maintains an independ- ent course in politics, reserving the right to form his own opinion without regard to party ties. He belongs to the Union League Club of Chicago, to the Missouri Athletic Association of St. Louis and to the Glen Echo Country Club, while his religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. His entire life has been actuated by high and hon- orable principles and the sterling worth of his character is attested by all with whom he has been associated, while his progress in the business world consitutes a stimulat- ing example to those who would study the methods of successful men that they may direct their course along similar. lines.
SAMUEL AYRES, M. D.
Dr. Samuel Ayres, chief surgeon of the Kansas City Southern Railroad Company and enjoying an extensive private practice in general surgical work, was born in Danville, Kentucky, June 2, 1858, and as a young man of thirty years came to Kansas City where he has since made his home. His parents, Dr. Samuel and Mildred (Shouse) Ayres were both natives of Kentucky and his father took up the study of dentistry and engaged in practice. He was at one time a minister of the Christian church, organizing and building the Christian church at Danville, Kentucky, in which he served for many years without receiving any compensation.
Dr. Samuel Ayers of this review pursued his education through the graded and high schools of Danville and afterward continued his education in Center College there, being graduated in 1878 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. He later attended the University of Louisville and won his M. D. degree upon graduating with the class of 1883. He then entered upon the general practice of medicine in Louisville where he remained until 1886 when he removed to Great Bend, Kansas and there remained until 1888. In the latter year he removed to Kansas City where he at first engaged in general practice but now confines his attention to surgery and has developed a high degree of skill in that branch of the profession. His standing is indicated in the fact that for twenty-seven years he has been chief surgeon of the Kansas City Southern Railroad Company. During the World war he was medical examiner of advisory board No. 520, Kansas City. It was his desire to go overseas but he was rejected. He is now serving on the staff of St. Mary's Hospital and at all times keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and progress through his membership in the Jackson County, Missouri State and American Medical Associations.
DR. SAMUEL AYRES
Vol. V-40
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In 1886 Dr. Ayres was married in Louisville, Kentucky, but his wife died in 1909, leaving a son, Samuel Ayres, Jr. He married again in Kansas City in 1910, and his second wife passed away in 1919. On the 24th of May, 1920, he wedded Mrs. M. M. Boggess, of Kansas City, Missouri. Politically Dr. Ayres is a democrat but never has been an office seeker. He belongs to the Kansas City Club but has never sought promi- nent relations in that connection, devoting bis attention to his practice which is now very extensive.
REV. DANIEL J. LAVERY.
Rev. Daniel J. Lavery, who in 1891 organized the Holy Rosary parish of which he is still the pastor, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, on the 19th of December, 1860. His early educational training was received in one of the national schools of that country of which his father was a teacher. He afterward became a teacher in the seminary at Killarney and next entered Maynooth College, near Dublin, Ireland, where he won the highest honors accorded by that institution. Following his gradua- tion therefrom he was ordained to the priesthood on the 23d of May, 1886, by Most Rev. Dr. Higgins. Immediately following his ordination he sailed for America and was appointed assistant pastor to Father Brady of the Annunciation church of St. Louis. A year later he was transferred to St. Lawrence O'Toole's parish where he remained for five years and his labors there resulted largely in the upbuilding of the church and the extension of the influence of the parisb. In 1892 he was assigned by Archbishop Kenrick to the Holy Rosary parish which at that time was in a dis- organized state, having no church building.
For some time Father Lavery conducted mass in a tent on the prairie but his excellent powers of organization and bis executive ability enabled him soon to bring the forces of the church into a harmonious condition, leading to the construction of a church building. A year after he assumed the duties of the parish he laid the cornerstone of Holy Rosary church in August, 1891, and the edifice was dedicated the following December. The parishioners at that time were few in number but Father Lavery labored untiringly and in the course of years this became one of the strong Catholic churches of the city. He is greatly loved and respected by his people and his labors have indeed been fruitful in his efforts to spread the Catholic faith and organize the forces of the church for effective work in the section of the city covered by his parish.
JESSE McDONALD.
Jesse McDonald, of St. Louis, at one time judge of the circuit court and now president of the board of education, was born November 14, 1864, in Wabash county, Indiana, his parents being David W. and Sarah A. (Ramsey) McDonald. The father, a native of Pennsylvania, spent the greater part of his life farming in Wabash county, Indiana. In that county Judge McDonald attended the public schools and later took a general course of study in the Valparaiso University of Indiana, from about 1880 to 1884. He then assisted in starting a newspaper in Wabash, Indiana; left it in 1885 to go to Canada when the Riehl rebellion broke out and after the capture of Riehl he returned to the United States and engaged in newspaper work in Cleveland. About a year later he came to St. Louis and after two years of reporting entered the law department of the Washington University of St. Louis, from which he was graduated in 1890. His student days were not continuous, however, for in early years he engaged in teaching during part of each year that he was in the University and then devoted about two years to newspaper work. He came to St. Louis in 1886 and was made secretary of the city council in 1888. In 1889 he served as secretary to the mayor of St. Louis and in 1893 was elected to serve a four year term as assistant circuit attor- ney. In November, 1902, he was elected judge of the circuit court of St. Louis for a term of six years, resigning that office in five years. During that service he cleared the then heavy docket in both the civil and criminal divisions in which he presided.
Upon resigning he returned to the practice of law in which he has ever since been
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engaged. He has always taken an interest in the public life of the community. He was chosen a member of the board of freeholders which drew up the city charter adopted in 1914 and he served as chairman of that body. He was elected a member of the board of education of St. Louis in 1919 and was chosen president of that body a few months later.
Along with his law practice Judge McDonald has become interested in and quali- fied in business affairs. He is now director in such corporations as the Cupples Com- pany, Wm. J. Lemp Brewing Company, Laclede-Christy Clay Products Company and Samuel Cupples Envelope Company and he is president and director of several smaller manufacturing and investment and land companies in which he represents his clients' interest.
He lectures at the St. Louis University Institute of Law and takes an active inter- est in educational work.
Judge McDonald was married at Orange, New Jersey, November 29, 1893, to Miss Gertrude Dillon, whose father was editor of the Post-Dispatch of St. Louis and later of the New York World. They have two children-John and Gertrude. The former, when about to finish his course at Cornell University, went to New York and joined the Twelfth Regiment for service in the World war. He was immediately recommended for and transferred to the officers' training camp at Plattsburg, New York, where he won the commission of second lieutenant and was sent to Camp Upton, Long Island, where he was engaged in training until April, 1918, when he sailed for France. He went to the front on the fighting line with the Seventy-Seventh Division on the 2nd of July, 1918, and there remained until the armistice was signed. He then volunteered and joined the Second Division which had suffered severe losses and with this division he went into Germany as a member of the army of occupation, with which he con- tinued until July, 1919.
Judge McDonald has always been a supporter of the democratic party. His fraternal relations are with the Masons. He belongs also to the Noonday, the Racquet and Floris- sant Valley Country Clubs of St. Louis. His recreation and pleasure are taken in hunting. The nature of his more serious interests is indicated in his connection with the St. Louis, Missouri and American Bar Associations, the National Tax Association, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, American Economic Associa- tion, American Society of International Law and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
DON CARLOS GUFFEY, M. D.
Dr. Don Carlos Guffey, a man of broad public spirit as well as of high professional attainments, now successfully practicing in Kansas City, is numbered among Missouri's native sons, his birth having occurred in Putnam county, November 8, 1878, his parents being William and Nancy Jane (McCollom) Guffey, both of whom were natives of Missouri. His father was a planter and throughout his entire life was very active in connection with public affairs.
Dr. Guffey of this review completed a high school education at Unionville, Mis- souri, and then entered the State University at Columbia, from which he was graduated in 1899 with the Bachelor of Science degree. He went east for his professional train- ing, becoming a student in the University of Pennsylvania, in which he won his M. D. degree in 1905 and was elected to membership in the scientific honorary society of Sigma Xi. He then went to Kansas City as a member of the faculty of the medical school of the University of Kansas, doing at the same time research work in the university, for which he was given the degree of Master of Science in 1908. From 1905 to 1910 Dr. Guffey engaged in the general practice of medicine but throughout the past ten years has limited his practice to gynecology and obstetrics.
Since 1911 Dr. Guffey has been professor of gynecology and obstetrics in the Uni versity of Kansas and is an acknowledged authority upon this branch of professional work. He Is also connected with the hospital of the University of Kansas, with the Kansas City Research Hospital and St. Luke's Hospital. The hospital of the Uni- veraity of Kansas Is known as the Bell Memorial Hospital and Dr. Guffey is chief of staff in the department of gynecology and obstetrics. He was one of ten physicians who contributed ten thousand dollars toward the Bell Memorial Hospital, being keenly
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interested in retaining the institution in Rosedale. He ever holds to the highest pro- fessional standards and is constantly broadening his knowledge by research, investiga- tion and experience. During the war in Europe he was detailed as a teacher in the University of Kansas and the Bell Memorial Hospital. He was active in all war work, doing all in his power to promote the various drives and to sustain the government in its connection with the allied forces in France. Dr. Guffey is a member of the Jackson County, Missouri State and American Medical Associations and also of the American College of Surgery.
In 1900, in Sullivan county, Missouri, Dr. Guffey was married to Miss Sallie Leone Thomas, whose parents are farming people and natives of Missouri. Her father has been a prominent factor in the public life of the state but has never been ambitious to hold office. To Dr. and Mrs. Guffey have been born two daughters, Marian Louise and Helen Leone. Dr. Guffey has membership in the City Club and in the Knife & Fork Club and he is also a member of the Presbyterian church. His attention, by reason of his extensive practice, however, is largely concentrated upon his professional duties and he is recognized as one of the leading surgeons not only of Kansas City but of the west. Modest and unassuming, he is nevertheless a recognized master of his profession, a profound student and deep thinker and one who does not hesitate to express his honest convictions. In his profession and in every relation of life he has followed constructive methods and his entire course reflects credit and honor upon the calling that he has chosen as a life work.
JOHN R. LONGMIRE.
Prominent among the business men of St. Louis is John R. Longmire who for a number of years has been closely identified with the financial activities of the city as a representative of one of its most important business interests, for he is the vice president of the Mississippi Valley Trust Company. He is a man of keen discrimina- tion and sound judgment and his executive ability and excellent management have brought to the concern with which he is connected a large degree of success. He was born in New York, June 10, 1890, and is therefore just entering upon what will un- doubtedly be a most successful business career. His father, John G. Longmire, is of Canadian birth and came to the United States when twelve years of age. He Is a grain merchant, treasurer of the Powell & O'Rourke Commission Company of St. Louis. He married Sarah Linderman, a representative of a family from Switzerland. Their marriage was celebrated in North Dakota in 1888 and they became the parents of a son and a daughter, John R. and Kathryn.
John R. Longmire pursued a grammar school education in Brooklyn, New York, and also attended the Mckinley high school in St. Louis, being graduated therefrom in June, 1908. He then entered the St. Louis University Law School, devoting his evening hours to the study of law until his graduation in 1912 with the LL. B. degree. While thus pursuing his studies he was working during the daytime with the Mississippi Valley Trust Company as a stenographer and clerk and following his graduation he became bond salesman for the company. His advancement has been continuous since his earliest connection with this corporation. In 1914 he was made assistant manager of the bond department and in 1917 was advanced to the position of manager. In 1919 he was elected vice president, which position he is now filling in a most capable and efficient manner. He has made a thorough study of the bond business and there are few men of his age who can speak with greater authority concerning the value of com- mercial paper.
During the war period Mr. Longmire acted as manager of the salesmen for the Liberty loan campaigns and was most earnest in his support of all war activities. Socially he is well known as a member of the Glen Echo Country Club and of the Missouri Athletic Association. He also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and is interested in all of the projects and plans of that organization for the benefit and up- building of the city and the maintenance of civic standards. In politics he maintains an independent course. His religious faith is indicated in his membership in the Fry Memorial Methodist church and his life has at all times been actuated by the highest and most honorable principles.
In St. Louis, on the 24th of January, 1914, Mr. Longmire was united In marriage
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to Miss Viola Miller, an artist and daughter of Richard Miller, a well known bridge contractor. They have become the parents of three children, Helen, John and Mary. They are well known socially, having many friends in St. Louis where Mr. Longmire has resided from his youthful days. By reason of his well defined purpose, his laudable ambition and his untiring energy he has worked his way steadily upward and has made for himself a most creditable position in financial circles. The safe, conservative policy which he has inaugurated in connection with the bond department commends itself to the judgment of all and he has secured to the company a patronage which makes the volume of business transacted in the bond department one of great importance and magnitude.
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