USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921, Volume V > Part 77
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remedy is self-suggesting.
In 1918 he read a paper on "Prevention of Deformities in time of peace and war." In this paper he stressed the following: "All infants should be examined as early as possible for possible deformities or conditions that may develop into deformities later and the proper measures taken at once. Sometimes all that is necessary is to instruct the mother how to hold the baby or to construct a cast-bed in which the baby may comfortably lie in an overcorrected position. When the child reaches school age
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society must provide for it a desk and chair orthopedically correct that would not tend to develop the slight inborn deformity into an incurable deformity." On the rehabilitation of the wounded soldiers he emphasizes the following: (1) Active medical and surgical treatment; (2) Functional re-education; (3) The provision of artificial appliances; (4) Professional re-education (or vocational training) ; (5) Es- tablishment in civilian life. "Restoration of function of the wounded soldier is one of the main purposes of orthopedic surgery. In order not to have the self-respect and social standing of the disabled soldier lost, early and organized effort should be made to convince the disabled that he can and must again become self-sustaining. The duty of the state is not to support them but rather to equip them with means of earn- Ing a living wage. We must try to impart cheerfulness to the wounded and impart hope and to encourage the self-respect and self-support of the soldier wounded in defense of our beloved United States."
Dr. Belove is the author of "Congenital Dislocation of the Hip," which was re- printed in the Medical Herald of Kansas City and St. Joseph, Missouri, in April, 1914. He is also the author of "Transplantation of Tibia in the Spine for Kyphosis." During the World war he offered his services as orthopedic surgeon and was accepted.
In Kansas City, Dr. Belove was married to Miss Sarah Saffran, a daughter of Louis Saffran, president of the Western Union Manufacturing Company of Kansas City, extensive manufacturers of overalls. Dr. and Mrs. Belove now have one child, Anna. Dr. Belove certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished. He provided the means for his own education and by diligent study and research has reached a place of distinction as an orthopedic surgeon of the west.
WILLIAM CHRISTY FARRAR.
William Christy Farrar of the Farrar Pump & Machinery Company, was born in St. Louis, December 20. 1855, a son of Dr. John O'Fallon Farrar and a grandson of Dr. Bernard G. Farrar who came to St. Louis from Kentucky in 1807 and was closely identified with many events that have left their impress upon the annals of city and state. Mr. Farrar's mother was Mrs. Sallie (Christy) Farrar, a daughter of William T. Christy who came from Tennessee to St. Louis in the early '30s of the nineteenth century and won a position among the city's prominent merchants. Moreover, he was the founder of the Christy Fire Clay Company.
William C. Farrar early manifested the interest in books and literature which has characterized his entire life and his youthful studies were never irksome but always a pleasure to him. He entered Washington University in which he pursued a classical course, completing the full four years' work in three years, so that he was graduated with the class of 1876 in which he was associated with the late Ben Bluvett who remained an intimate friend throughout his career.
After taking his college degree Mr. Farrar immediately entered upon the study of law, first under the direction of Chester H. Krum and later in the office of Judge A. Modill who directed his reading for a time, after which he entered upon the active practice of the profession in connection with the now well known lawyer, George M. Block, under the firm style of Farrar & Block. Subsequently the former practiced law in Lafayette county, Missouri.
Upon returning to St. Louis Mr. Farrar entered upon his present line of business- the manufacture of pumping machinery and hydraulic engineering, becoming first the secretary and later the president of the Hooker Steam Pump Company. At a subsequent period the business expanded and was taken over by the present Farrar Pump & Machinery Company of which Mr. Farrar is the head. The business of the firm, which in its early career was restricted to steam pumps, has expanded into lines which embrace the installation of water works, drainage and irrigation plants, many of which the Farrar Company has established and installed. The career of Mr. Farrar has been that of a very busy man who has given almost undivided attention to his activities. In fact he has so closely applied himself to business that he has taken no· vacation in twenty-five years. He finds his recreation in study, and literature in which he delights and his happiest hours are spent with the master minds of all ages within the walls of his own library.
Early in 1880 Mr. Farrar was married to Miss Clara Jeunings, a daughter of the
WILLIAM C. FARRAR
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late William H. Jennings and a granddaughter of James Jennings one of the pioneer citizens of St. Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Farrar have a son, Christy M. Farrar, the well known St. Louis lawyer. Notwithstanding the success which he has made in business the father has always regretted that circumstances diverted him early in his career from the pursuit of law for which his tastes and inclinations adapted him. Neverthe- . less his life has been one of great activity and usefulness and he is today a prominent figure in industrial circles of his native city.
VICTOR H. STEMPF.
Victor H. Stempf, resident manager at St. Louis for the firm of Touche, Niven & Company, public accountants, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 28, 1893. His father, Richard Stempf, was a native of Germany and came to the United States at the age of twenty-five years settling in Baltimore, Maryland. Later he removed westward, living for a time in Cincinnati, Ohio, then in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and eventually in St. Louis, where he took up his abode in 1900. He was a prominent musician and an influential member of the Liederkranz. He passed away in St. Louis in 1915 and is still survived by his widow who bore the maiden name of Jessie Cirkler and was born in Connecticut. They became the parents of two sons and two daughters.
Victor H. Stempf, the third in order of birth, was educated in the public schools and in the St. Louis University from which he was graduated in 1915 with the degree of B. C. S., while in 1917 he received the degree of C. P. A. from the Missouri state examining board. In 1915 he entered the employ of Touche, Niven & Company when . that firm opened an office in St. Louis and in July, 1919, he was made resident man- ager. He thus became a representative of one of the most prominent firms of public accountants, having- offices in London, England; in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Cal- gary, Edmonton and Vancouver, Canada; in Buenos Aires and Rosario de Santa Fe, Argentine; in Montevideo, Uruguay; and in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneap- olis and St. Louis. The highest requirements are demanded of their representatives and that Mr. Stempf has been called to the important and responsible position of resident manager at St. Louis is at once proof of his capability and efficiency.
On the 6th of April, 1917, in St. Louis, Mr. Stempf was married to Miss E. Dorothea Meisner, a daughter of Charles F. Meisner, vice president of the St. Louis Butchers Supply Company. They now have one son, Charles Richard, born October 3, 1920.
Politically Mr. Stempf is a republican, giving stanch support to the principles of the party. Fraternally he is a Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Midland Valley Country Club, to the Missouri Athletic Association, to the City Club, the Old Colony Club and the Kiwanis Club and is popular in the social circles represented by these organizations. In 1919 he was elected to the presi- dency of the local chapter of the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants and in 1920 was honored with the vice presidency in the state society. His professional position is one of notable prominence and leadership and he occupies an enviable posi- tion among the representative young business men of St. Louis.
FRANK OVERTON WATTS.
Frank Overton Watts, who effected the consolidation of the Mechanics American National Bank, the St. Louis Union Bank and the Third National Bank under the name of the First National Bank of which he has been president snce July, 1919, is numbered among those financiers of the city who are honored and respected not alone for the success which they have achieved but by reason of the straightforward busi- ness principles which they have ever followed. Mr. Watts has figured in the bank- ing circles of St. Louis since 1912 and brought to his activities here the wide experi- ence and thorough training received through previous connection with various bank- ing institutions in different parts of the country. He was born in Paducah, Kentucky, November 14, 1867, and is a son of Thomas Lacey and Ruth (Caldwell) Watts. After acquiring his education in public and preparatory schools of Tennessee he entered.
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upon his business career and from 1888 until 1897 was cashier of the First National Bank of Union City, Tennessee. Seeking the broader field of opportunity offered in Nashville he became cashier of the First National Bank of that city in 1897 and after occupying that position for six years was elected to the presidency in 1903, so con- tinuing until 1912. In July of the latter year he came to St. Louis as the vice presi- dent of the Third National Bank of this city. He was also chairman of the executive committee of the First Savings Bank & Trust Company for a time and in accord with the progressive spirit which has ever actuated him in all of his business career and as the result of his splendid powers of organization, he effected the consolida- tion of the Mechanics American National Bank, the St. Louis Union Bank and the Third National Bank under the name of the First National Bank in St. Louis, to the presidency of which he was elected in July, 1919. He has also been identified with other business interests of importance. He is a director of the Southwestern Tele- graph & Telephone Company, also of the Laclede Gas Light Company and of the United Railways Company. He is a member of the Federal Advisory Council of the Fed- eral Reserve Banking System and his prominence in financial circles is indicated In the fact that he was called to the presidency of the Bankers Club of St. Louis in 1918, was made president of the St. Louis Clearing House Association in 1919 and has been officially connected with the American Bankers' Association through a num- ber of years, acting as chairman of the executive committee in 1908-1909, as vice presi- dent in 1909-1910 and as president in 1910-1911.
On the 16th of January, 1894, Mr. Watts was married to Miss Helen Moore, of Helena, Arkansas, and their children are Lawson, Frank O. and Helen.
Mr. Watts is an independent democrat in his political views. He is well known in the club circles of the city, holding membership in the Log Cabin Country, St. Louis Country, Sunset Hill Country, Bogy, St. Louis and Noonday Clubs and the Mis- souri Athletic Association.
CHARLES G. WEBER.
The splendid powers of organization possessed by Charles G. Weber are brought into play in the development and building up of the sales organization of the Ameri- can Pretzel Company, the largest manufacturers of pretzels and ice cream cones in the world, with factories at St. Louis, Missouri, Cincinnati, Ohio, Hamilton, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Weber also occupies the position of vice president and sales manager of the Brooks Tomato Products Company, with factories at Alta- mont, Illinois, Mount Vernon, Illinois, and Shirley, Indiana. His executive ability is manifest in the direction of the mammoth concerns now largely under his control and especially is the promotion of the trade due to his keen business insight and a broad vision that enables him to recognize not only every existing condition of the trade but the possibilities and opportunities of the future.
Mr. Weber is a native of Covington, Kentucky. He was born April 23, 1871, a son of Anthony and Anna K. (Koehnen) Weber, who were both natives of Cologne, Germany, where they were reared and married. In 1861, immediately following their marriage, they sought the broader and better business opportunities of the new world and after coming to the United States lived for two years in Cincinnati, Ohio. They then removed to Covington, Kentucky, where they resided until called to their final rest. The father was connected for years with the Robert Mitchell Furniture Company and was thus well known in the business circles of his city.
Charles G. Weber was educated in the public and high schools of Covington and when fifteen years of age became a wage earner, being made city buyer for the Runkle & Burtner Drug Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. He remained with that firm until his twenty-first year, when he determined to follow the advice of Horace Greeley-"Go west, young man, go west." Accordingly he made his way to St. Louis to enter upon a business career in this city. He brought with him letters of recommendation to Theodore F. Meyer, then president of the Meyer Brothers Drug Company, and through his instrumentality secured a position as traveling salesman with the George A. Bayle Food Products Company, covering the entire United States for that house and being the youngest traveling salesman at that time on the road. Later he became sales manager for the firm and remained with the Bayle interests in this important capacity
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CHARLES G. WEBER
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for ten years. In 1902 he entered into partnership with Charles F. Betz in the Col- umbia Pretzel & Baking Company of St. Louis and Cincinnati. In the year 1916 the American Pretzel Company was formed, taking over all the plants in the United States, which then included six. Two of the St. Louis plants, however, were discontinued and the other four plants were enlarged and the business thus extended. In the year 1918 the company absorbed the American Ice Cream Cone Company and has today the largest manufacturing establishment devoted to pretzels and ice cream cones in the world. The headquarters of the firm are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, so that Mr. Weber divides his time between the Philadelphia and St. Louis offices. The American Pretzel Company also owns the Brooks Tomato Products Company, thus con- trolling the output of three large tomato canning interests. In 1902, when Mr. Weber became a member of the Columbia Pretzel & Baking Company, he was made one of the directors as well as sales manager, and on the incorporation of the American Pretzel Company in 1916 he was elected vice president of the Brooks Tomato Products Company and was made general sales manager for both corporations. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Diamond Wood Heel Manufacturing Company of St. Louis. The extent and importance of his business interests and connections have made him widely known in commercial circles throughout the country.
Mr. Weber is identified with several of the leading social organizations of St. Louis, belonging to the Missouri Athletic Club, the Riverview Club, the Cedar Crest Country Club and the Liederkranz Club. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he keeps thoroughly informed concerning the vital questions and issues of the day but does not seek nor desire office owing to the extensive demands which his business affairs make upon his time and energies. Throughout his entire career each day with him has marked off a full-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more. He is continually broadening his knowledge concerning not only his specific business but business conditions in general and thus he has been able to direct the sales organizations of his companies in the best possible manner and seems to have accomplished at any one point in his career the possibility of successful accom- plishment at that point.
MILES B. TITTERINGTON, M. D.
Dr. Miles B. Titterington, a physician and surgeon who is specializing in X-ray work and is today widely known as a capable and expert Roentgenologist, was born at Rock Island, Illinois, July 13, 1870. His father, the Rev. J. M. Titterington, was a native of Illinois, where the family was established in pioneer times. The paternal grandfather was a native of England and was one of three brothers who came to America about 1810, thus founding the family in America. Rev. Mr. Titterington was reared and educated in Illinois, completing a course in Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois, and in Shurtleff College at Upper Alton. He was graduated from the latter on the completion of a theological course and became prominently known as a Baptist divine, continuing in the active work of the ministry until his death, which occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, May 30, 1912, when he was seventy-two years of age. He married Sophie Bronson, a native of India and a daughter of the Rev. Miles and Sophie Bronson, the former a Baptist missionary who spent forty-four years in India. . Mrs. Titterington, at the age of three years, was brought to America and reared by an aunt, Miss Hamilton. being educated in Monticello Seminary at Godfrey, Illinois, where she later taught for two years. It was in Chicago, in 1869, that she became the wife of Rev. J. M. Titterington and to them were born six children, four sons and two daughters, five of whom are living. Mrs. Titterington died at Red Lodge, Montana, in February, 1921, at the age of seventy-five.
Dr. Titterington, the eldest of the family, was educated in the public schools of Michigan and of Illinois and also in Shurtleff College at Upper Alton, Illinois, thus laying broad and deep the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional knowledge. Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work he matriculated in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of St. Louis, from which he was graduated in 1896, and immediately thereafter entered upon active practice, locating first in Hardin, Illinois, where he remained for two years and then removed to Jerseyville, Illinois, where he continued in practice for fourteen
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years. Since 1912 he has been located in St. Louis and has here specialized in X-ray work, displaying marked ability in this field. He is a member of the St. Louis Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Association, the American Med- Ical Association, the Radiological Society of North America and the American Roentgen Ray Society. He served as the second president of the Radiological Society of North America. He is also an instructor in X-ray work in the St. Louis University and his experience and study have carried him to a point of ability that enables him to speak with authority upon his specialty.
In Alton, Illinois, in 1894, Dr. Titterington was married to Miss Clara Webster, a native of that state and a daughter of Ezra and Sarah (Dye) Webster. They have become parents of one son, Dr. Paul F. Titterington, who was graduated in June, 1920, from the St. Louis University and is now an able young physician and surgeon.
Dr. Titterington votes with the republican party and fraternally is connected with the Masons, belonging to George Washington Lodge, No. 9, A. F. & A. M., also to the Knights Templar Commandery, to the Consistory and to the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, but while loyal to the teachings of these organizations and faithful to their high purposes, he makes everything subservient to his professional duties, which he discharges with a sense of conscientious obligation that makes his work of great professional value.
JOSEPH G. WILLIAMS.
For twenty-seven years Joseph G. Williams has been a representative of the Missouri bar, having graduated in 1893 from the Missouri State University with the LL. B. degree. He is now senior partner in the firm of Williams & Rollins, enjoying an extensive clientage with offices in the Wainwright building. He was born in Hills- boro, Jefferson county, Missouri, October 1, 1870, and is a son of the late F. H. Williams, who was also a native of Jefferson county, his parents being Silas and Elizabeth Wil- liams who had settled there in pioneer times. The Williams family early settled in Virginia and comes of Scotch and Welsh ancestry. The grandfather of Joseph G. Williams took up his abode in Jefferson county prior to Missouri's admission to the Union and his descendants have since been represented in that locality. Both the grandfather and the father of Joseph G. Williams followed agricultural pursuits as a lifework. The latter volunteered for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of the Third Missouri Volunteer Regiment of Infantry under Governor Fletcher. He was honorably discharged on account of illness in 1863. He remained throughout his life a stanch supporter of the republican party and took an active interest in local politics and in the support of those activities and interests which are a matter of clvic virtue, civic pride and advancement. He was also keenly interested in the work of the Baptist church of which he was long a devoted member. He passed away August 19, 1904, at the age of seventy-four years and is still survived by his widow who makes her home in St. Louis. In her maidenhood she was Fannie C. Frazier, a native of Jefferson county, Missouri, and a daughter of Sullivan Frazier, a noted Baptist minister of southeast Missouri, who was a member of one of the prominent old families of Jefferson county of Scotch lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Williams became parents of six sons and three daughters of whom three have passed away.
Joseph G. Williams, the third of the family, was educated in the grade and high schools of Hillsboro and in the State University in which latter he pursued his pro- fessional course, winning his LL. B. degree in 1893. In the meantime he had attended the Barnes Commercial College of St. Louis and his early life to the age of twenty- one years had been spent on the home farm, where he aided in the work of the fields from the time of early spring planting until time for harvesting in the late autumn. On leaving home he was apprenticed to the blacksmith's trade and was afterwards employed along commercial lines, becoming manager of the Farmer's Mutual Store at Sandy, Missouri. He entered upon the practice of law in June, 1893, in Jefferson county, and there continued until 1894 in general practice, when he was elected prose- cuting attorney of the county and occupied the office for two years. He then removed to De Soto, Missouri, where he followed his profession for two years and in 1898 was re-elected prosecuting attorney serving for another two-year period. Once more he took up the private practice of law in De Soto, where he continued until 1904
JOSEPH G. WILLIAMS
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when he was appointed assistant United States district attorney of the eastern divi- sion of eastern district of Missouri, with headquarters in St. Louis. He served during the entire term of Hon. D. P. Dyer and was then appointed assistant circuit attorney by Arthur Sagers, serving in that position for several years. In 1907 he entered upon the private practice of law in St. Louis and in 1909 became senior partner in the law firm of Williams & Rollins which has always continued in general practice, but specializes to a considerable extent in criminal law and damage suits. For four- teen years Mr. Williams was associated with the late Hon. Charles P. Johnson, former lieutenant governor of Missouri. He belongs to the St. Louis, Missouri State, Ameri- can and Southeastern Missouri Bar Associations.
While at De Soto, Missouri, Mr. Williams was married on Christmas day of 1905 to Miss Alice S. Bell, a native of Jefferson county and a daughter of William and Bessie (Snowdeli) Bell, who were natives of England, and settled in New York on coming to the new world but afterward removed to Missouri.
Politically Mr. Williams is a republican and for the past fourteen years has taken an active part in politics, stanchly supporting the principles in which he believes. He belongs to Hillsboro Lodge, No. 164, A. F. & A. M .; is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge of De Soto, also the Elks Lodge of De Soto and the Loyal Order of Moose in St. Louis. His religious affiliation is with the Third Baptist church of which he is a generous supporter. During the World war he was a member of the legal advisory board of the thirteenth ward. What he has accomplished has been the direct result of his labors and laudable ambition. He worked on a farm and in a sawmill during the summer months in order to make money to pay his tuition in school and has ever been actuated by commendable purpose in all that he has undertaken and accomplished. His developing powers have brought him to the front in his branch of the profession and much important litigation has been conducted under his charge.
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