USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri, vol. 1 > Part 7
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Mr. Overall uniform'y declined to be a candidate for any political office. He was strongly importuned in 1886 to accept the nomination for congress which was tendered him; but he felt constrained by the pressure of interests and professional engagements to forego any political ambition. In 1889 he was induced by the Honorable David R. Francis, then elected governor of the state, to accept membership and the presidency of the police board of St. Louis. He held this position for four years and distinguished himself as an upright and efficient officer, maintaining a high standard of discipline in the force.
In his personal relations, though undemonstrative, he was devoted to his friendships, never hesitating to champion the cause of a friend who had won his confidence. He enjoyed the universal respeet, as well as the warmest attach- ment, of those privileged to be his friends. It was impossible to know him without realizing that he was the embodiment of manliness, courage and fair dealing. Intellectually and physically, he possessed rare attractions. To a handsome and chivalrous personality he added mental gifts which shone with conspicuous lustre at the Bar of which he was one of Missouri's most distin- guished members. He stood in the front rank of St. Louis attorneys and made a record in his profession attained by few of his contemporaries.
Mr. Overall leaves surviving him his widow and four children, his eldest son, John H. Overall, JJr., a graduate of Yale University, being now a member of the senior elass of the St. Louis Law School.
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John 1). Ducrall
In his domestie life and in his tenderness and pride as a husband, and father, Mr. Overall exhibited these personal characteristics in their richest bloom. His home, wife and children were the centers of his pride and affection.
As his professional brethren we mourn his loss and tender his bereaved fam- ily our warmest sympathies in their affliction.
(Signed ) FREDERICK N. JUDSON, HENRY W. BOND, HENRY S. PRIEST, VALLE REYBURN, GEO. D. REYNOLDS, Committee. WELLS H. BLODGETT, Chairman.
FRANK K. RYAN, Secretary.
Mr. Judson : In moving the adoption of this memorial as an expression of the Bar, I cannot refrain from saying a few words of personal tribute to my part- ner of many years standing. As recited in the memorial, Mr. Overall and my- self, when we were young men, became partners, and in one form or another our professional association continued until his death. Our formal partner- ship terminated in 1890, but we were connected from time to time in litigation so that our intimate professional relations have been continuous since 1878. It was impossible for anyone to be associated with Mr. Overall without being impressed with the essentially moral qualities of the man. He was warm hearted, impulsive, devoted and loyal to his friends, and these characteristics were cou- spicuously shown in his professional life. His professional career is set forth necessarily with brevity in this memorial, but one cannot be but impressed, in reading this summary, with his great strength of character as a lawyer. lle seemed to have the power of grasping, almost by intuition, the essential points of a complicated case, perhaps the most distinguishing mark of a good lawyer. The quickness of his intuition, the thorough grasp which he acquired of a case, made him a most formidable advocate, and a most resourceful counselor. No one could be associated with him in professional life without being profoundly impressed with these exceptionally strong characteristics which would have placed him in the front rank at the Bar of any city. I cannot recall any pro- fessional career during my long connection with the legal profession which has been so marked in leaving on the jurisprudence of the state such a permanent record as that of Mr. Overall. It was because he had so thoroughly mastered the cases in which he was engaged that he speedily took the front rank on such questions as the issue of municipal bonds, contested elections and vondemna- tion proceedings. It is a matter familiar to all in the profession that his opinion has become authority on such matters,
Of his personal characteristics I feel compelled to speak in terms of warm commendation. Hle was a good and loyal friend, and possessed a high sense of honor in all his dealings with his fellow men. The memory of his career will be appreciated as long as any of us remain who were his associates at the St. Louis bar.
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No further remarks being made the question was put on the adoption of the memorial as read and it was adopted as being the unanimous expression of the sentiment of the meeting.
On motion of Col. George D. Reynolds, with amendments by F. N. Judson, R. F. Walker and H. S. Priest, that the chairman appoint a committee of rep- resentatives of the Bar to present the memorial adopted to the supreme court of the state, the St. Lonis court of appeals, the circuit court of City of St. Louis, the cirenit court of Boone county, the circuit court of Macon county and the circuit court of the United States for this circuit, the chairman made the following appointments :
United States circuit court : George D. Reynolds. St. Louis court of ap- peals: Henry W. Bond. Circuit court City of St. Louis: H. S. Priest. Circuit court of Boone county: Odon Guitar. Circuit court of Macon county: Webb M. Rubey. Supreme court of Missouri : Jacob Klein and F. N. Judson.
On motion of Mr. Judson it was agreed that a copy of the memorial should be transmitted to the family, and the secretary of this meeting was designated to perform that service.
On motion the meeting adjourned.
John L. Overall, Ir.
J OIIN H. OVERALL, JR., who rendered distinguished service to his country as special agent for the war trade board and who is a leading lawyer of St. Louis, was born at Columbia, Missouri, August 28, 1881, and is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of the state. llis grandparents in the paternal line were Wilson Lee and Eliza Ann Overall, the former an officer of the American army in the War of 1812, while the latter was the first woman in America to own and edit a news- paper. The ancestral line is traced back to Bishop John Overall, who was dean of St. Paul's cathedral in London from 1602 until 1632 and was one of the principal translators of the bible under King James I. John Henry Overall, Sr .. son of Wilson L. Overall and father of J. Il. Overall of this review, was a distinguished citizen of Missouri and is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Ile wedded Mary E. Rollins, daughter of the Hon. James S. Rollins, a distin- guished citizen of the state and founder of the University of Missouri.
Fortunate is the man who has back of him an ancestry honorable and dis- tinguished and happy is he if his lines of life are cast in harmony therewith. In person, in talents and in character John Il. Overall, Jr .. is a worthy seion of his race. After attending the public schools of St. Louis he continued his education in Smith Academy, completing a preparatory course by graduation with the class of 1899. Ile then entered Yale University and won his Ph. B. degree in 1902. He afterward attended the St. Louis Law school, which con- ferred upon him the LL. B. degree in 1904, and he was honored with the class presidency. While at Yale he was prominent in athletics and established new intercollegiate records at the half mile and the mile. Prior to the completion of his law course he was admitted to the Missouri bar in 1903 and began practice in the office of his father, whose death occurred the same year. He then became associated with F. N. Judson, his father's former partner, with whom he con- tinued from 1903 until 1910 and since then has followed his profession inde- pendently, specializing in the law of municipal bonds and taxation. He has heeome widely recognized as an authority on the collection of defaulted mu- nicipal bonds, having successfully adjusted and refunded, as attorney for the bondholders, the old railroad debts of several Missouri counties as well as numerous other issues in other states. Mr. Overall is now practicing with offices in the Federal Reserve Bank building, and makes his home in St. Louis county. The war having made it necessary to control the exports and imports of the United States by a license system, the war trade board established a branch office at St. Louis, covering the surrounding territory of a dozen or more states. Mr. Overall accepted appointment as manager of the St. Louis office at one dollar a year. During his period of ineumbeney he issued licenses to the extent of two
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hundred million dollars and by authority of the railroad administration act and laws regulating the customs, in many important instances expedited the move- ment of shipment across country and at the outer ports. Numerous complicated (mestions also arose in connection with the trading with the enemy aet, which, on account of his legal training. Mr. Overall was able to solve with entire sat- isfaction, as will appear from the following :
WAR TRADE BOARD WASHINGTON, D. C.
RESOLUTIONS OF JUNE 3, 1919
Resolved that the War Trade Board hereby accept the resignation of Mr. Jolin II. Overall as special agent of the board at St. Louis, Missouri, said resig- nation to take effect as of May 10, 1919;
Further Resolved that the War Trade Board do hereby extend to Mr. Overall their thanks for the valuable services which he has rendered to the board as special agent of the board at St. Louis, Missouri, and the board further express to Mr. Overall their full appreciation of the able, conscientious and efficient manner in which he has discharged the duties of this office.
On the 25th of May, 1910, Mr. Overall was married to Miss Martha Cupples Seudder, granddaughter of Samnel Cupples, whose great philanthropy made him widely known. Mr. and Mrs. Overall have three children : Amelia Cupples, John H. (III) and Maude Cupples. The religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church and in political belief Mr. Overall is a democrat, serving as secretary of the Wilson Club in 1916. He belongs to the Delta Psi, a Yale Greek letter fraternity, and is well known in club circles, having mem- bership in the Racquet, Noonday. Sunset Hill and St. Louis Country Clubs of St. Louis, in the New York Racquet and Tennis Clubs, the Yale Club of New York, the St. Anthony (N. Y.) Club and the National Golf Links of America of New York. He has always been interested in athletics, to which he turns for recreation. Along professional lines he is a member of the St. Louis Bar Asso- ciation, the Missouri Bar Association and the American Bar Association and he is widely known through his contributions to the literature of the profession, being the author of "Overall on Municipal Bonds," published in 1912, and co- author in "Judson on Interstate Commerce," published in 1905. His practice has been extensive almost from his initial point in the profession. His record reflects credit upon a name long honored in the annals of Missouri.
Farmer Making
Colonel FF. Warner Karling
OLONEL F. WARNER KARLING, a veteran of two wars, a C prominent furniture dealer of Kansas City and a citizen who in days of peace is an untiring worker in behalf of progress in community, commonwealth and country, was born in Upsala, Sweden, July 30, 1879, his parents being August and Emma Sophia ( Wedding) Karling. The father was born near Stock- holm, Sweden, while the mother's birth ocenrred in Vermland. They came to the United States with their family when their son, Colonel Kar- ling, was but three months old, crossing the Atlantic in 1879 and settling in Boston, Massachusetts, where the father engaged in business as a cabinetmaker. In 1881 he went with his family to Chicago, where he resided for about five years, and in 1886 removed to Omaha, Nebraska, where he conducted a cabinet shop, turning ont handmade furniture of high grade. There he remained in business until 1898, when he came to Kansas City, Missouri, and is now assist- ing his son in the store of the F. Warner Karling Furniture Company.
Colonel Karling obtained a common school education, which he supplemented by study alone in the evening hours. In 1891, when but twelve years of age, he beeame an elevator boy, working at a wage of two dollars per week for the Charles Shiverick Furniture Company of Omaha. He was steady and faith- ful, however, and soon gained advancement, working his way upward until he beeame stock keeper. Patriotic devotion to his country, however, has ever been one of his paramount characteristics and on the 23d of May, 1898. he put aside all business and personal considerations in order to enlist as a member of Troop G of the Second United States Cavalry. He became a private of that command and was bugler of the regiment. He was mustered out in October, 1898, but reenlisted as a member of Battery O, Third Heavy Field Artillery, and later was transferred to the Thirty-sixth Coast Artillery Company. Ile served as corporal, sergeant and first sergeant, was with the China relief expe- dition of 1900 and was on active duty throughout the Philippine insurrection. Receiving his discharge on the 28th of JJune, 1903, he then came to Kansas City, where he has since made his home. He has a most wonderful and inter- esting collection of flags and souvenirs from the Philippines and from China and his retentive memory enables him to relate many an interesting tale con- cerning his possessions of this character. Upon taking up his abode in Kansas City, Colonel Karling accepted a position as salesman with the George B. Peck Dry Goods Company and later was employed at the Household Fair and subse- quently by the Emery Bird Thayer Dry Goods Company as a furniture sales- man, occupying the latter position until February, 1912, when he engaged in the furniture business on his own account, opening a store in a little room nineteen by fifty feet, at which time his eash capital consisted of seventy-five
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dollars and twelve cents. Ile possessed courage, determination, good credit and a well merited reputation as a reliable business man and successful fur- niture salesman. Square dealing, indefatigable energy and persistency of pur- pose have been the salient features in his growing success. Today he is at the head of one of the important furniture houses of Kansas City as president, treasurer and general manager of the F. Warner Karling Furniture Com- pany, which has its sales and show rooms at 2401-2411 East Fifteenth street. Ile there has forty thousand square feet of floor space, with one hundred and sixty feet of plate glass front, permitting of a splendid window display of fur- niture. In addition the company has a large warehouse on Chestnut street, with ten thousand square feet of floor space. The business, which was estab- lished February 2, 1912, was incorporated June 1, 1913, with a capital stock of forty thousand dollars. The company engages in a retail trade in furni- ture, stoves, carpets, rugs and office fixtures and has built up an extensive business among the best people of Kansas City.
Throughout his entire life Colonel Karling has been keenly interested in military affairs and has continuously been active in military organizations In 1906 he became a captain of the Missouri National Guard in Company B of the Third Regiment, was afterward promoted to the rank of major and from 1908 until 1912 served on Governor Hadley's staff with the rank of colonel. When America entered the World war he was again ready for duty, and in July, 1917, was commissioned captain. He became commanding officer of Company B, Fifth Separate Battalion of the Motor Transcript Corps, and was promoted to the rank of major in August, 1917, serving until July, 1919, when he resigned. Ile has long been a prominent figure in the organizations among military men and in May, 1904, was instrumental in founding Louis A. Craig Post, No. 18, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, of which he served as com- mander for six and a half years and as adjutant for one year. He has at- tended every national encampment of the organization save three since 1901. Hle was made adjutant general of the national organization under Commander in Chief General Wilder S. Metcalf, thus serving in 1904 and 1905, and in 1907 he became junior vice commander in chief. In 1909 he was elected quarter- master general and in 1911 he was elected commander in chief of the Army of the Philippines at Detroit, while in 1912 he was unanimously reelected at Lincoln, Nebraska. Ile was responsible for the consolidation and amalgama- tion that was brought about at Denver when the Army of the Philippines and the American Veterans of Foreign Service merged and became the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Hle aeted on the council of administration several terms and 1918 was elected commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, to which position he was reelected in 1919 but refused to again accept an election in 1920. Ile was presented with a diamond studded past commander in chief badge and a gold inlaid sword by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which has a membership of a quarter of a million men who have seen foreign service from Mexico in 1846 to the World war. He is now senior mem- ber of the council of administration of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. When America was active with the allied forces in the successful effort to suppress German militarism and promote world democracy, Colonel Karling took a most active part in advancing all Liberty loans and other phases of war work. He
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was one of the five men who acted as personal escort to General Pershing when he was presented a ten thousand dollar sword at the Convention Ilall in Kansas City. He is a member of the Army & Navy Club of Chicago and has been an honorary member of Battery B, Missouri National Guard, since 1908. He be- longs to the Imperial Order of the Dragon, a Chinese organization, through reason of his serviee in the Chinese Boxer campaign, and he has membership as well with the United States Spanish-American War Veterans. He is a mem- ber of the Kansas City Liberty Memorial Committee and his was the original suggestion printed in the Kansas City Star, February 15, 1919, proposing a building to be used as a meeting place for military organizations as a memo- rial to both the living and the fallen heroes rather than the erection of a monn- ment to only those who made the supreme sacrifice. The plan was accepted beeause of its feasibility and at his suggestion the Station Plaza was chosen as the location. The Chamber of Commerce made him its chairman of the com- mittee which represented the organization at the burial of overseas returned dead and a member of its reception committee to meet all returning troops passing through Kansas City, in which connection he had charge of all parades.
While no interest outside of business elaims as much of Colonel Karling's attention as military matters, he is nevertheless widely and prominently known in Masonie eircles, belonging to Ivanhoe Lodge, No. 446, A. F. & A. M .; Kansas City Chapter, No. 28, R. A. M .; Shekinah Council, No. 24, R. & S. M .; and Kansas City Commandery, No. 10, K. T., which has a very active drill team. He is likewise identified with the Scottish Rite bodies, becoming a mem- ber of the Consistory, and he has membership with the Mystie Shrine and the Eastern Star. He also belongs to North Light Lodge, No. 193, K. P., in which he has filled all of the offiees; to the Ivanhoe Masonic Club, the Kansas City Club, the Hill Crest Club and the Triangle Club, while his religious faith is indicated in his connection with the Second Church of Christ, Scientist. The Edward White Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, named in honor of Ed- ward White of Spanish-American war fame and situated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, has named its bugle and drum corps the F. Warner Karling Drum and Bugle Corps.
Colonel Karling was united in marriage to Miss Anna Graham Kelly, who was born in Ellsworth, Kansas, a daughter of Ora and Agnes (Greer) Kelly, the former a native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and the latter of Chester. Penn- sylvania. Removing to Kansas, Mr. Kelly engaged in farming near Ellsworth in an early day and later took up his abode in Kansas City, where he became a representative of Bradstreet. Here his death occurred in 1886. His daugh- ter, Mrs. Karling, was very active in war work, being president of the Woman's Auxiliary, and is now president of the auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Colonel Karling has always been very active as a supporter of republican principles, but has never been an office seeker. He feels that he can best serve the interests of his country in other connections and there is no man who is more stanehly a champion of Kansas City's upbuilding and her welfare than he. His strong purpose and his qualities of leadership have made him an influential factor in connection with publie welfare and progress and he heads every move- ment to advance his community along patriotie lines. The Freemason, in a long
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article concerning him, said: "He can do more big things, cover a larger territory and do things with a greater degree of pleasure and less worry, than most any man we know of. Always gallant, courteous, generous, broad-minded and publie-spirited wherever you meet him, whether in the store, in the lodge, in the soldier's camp or on a vacation trip, truly Mr. Karling is more than an ordinary man."
Derman Louis Rietert, A.D.
R. HERMAN LOUIS NIETERT, an able surgeon of St. Louis, was born in Edwardsville, Ilinois, February 22, 1866. His D father, Frederick Nietert, was a native of Germany and came to America in 1845, when twenty years of age, originally set- tling in Cincinnati, while during the '50s he removed to Edwardsville, Illinois. Ile was a farmer and stock raiser, conducting his business very successfully. Hle passed away in September, 1919. at the notable age of ninety-four years, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Minnie Sheter, passed away in 1910, at the age of eighty- six years. She, too, was a native of Germany and came to the United States prior to the Civil war. By her marriage she became the mother of twelve chil- dren, seven sons and five daughters.
Herman L. Nietert, who was the sixth in order of birth, was educated in the public schools of Edwardsville and at Shurtleff College at Alton, Ilinois. His early life to the age of sixteen years was spent on the home farm, and after completing his studies in the local schools, he entered the St. Louis Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1889. After winning his degree he served for one year as interne in the St. Louis City Hospital and then spent two years abroad, studying in Heidelberg and in Vienna. Returning to St. Louis he entered upon the private practice of his profession, in which he has since continued but for some time has specialized in surgery. In 1902 he was superintendent and surgeon in charge of the St. Louis City Hospital, continuing in that position from 1899 until 1902, a period of four years. He was also post mortem physician for four years or until 1899. Ile belongs to the St. Louis, Missouri State, and American Medical Associations. Ile is now surgeon for the Deaconess Hospital and the Lutheran Hospital, and he has an extensive private practice which is indicative of the confidence reposed in his professional skill and ability. During the war he served as a member of the Medical Reserve Corps and was commissioned captain.
On the 30th of November, 1902, Dr. Nietert was married in St. Louis to Miss Katherine Ziegenhein, a native of St. Louis and a daughter of Henry and Katherine (Ilinkel) Ziegenhein. Fraternally Dr. Nietert is a Mason, belong- ing to Meridian Lodge, A. F. & A. M. and to Asealon Commandery, K. T. of St. Louis. He also has membership in the Sunset Inn Country Club. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, and he keeps thoroughly in touch with the questions and issues of the day but has never had ambition for office outside of the strict path of his profession. The thoroughness with which he has devoted his attention to his practice has led to the attainment of the enviable position which he now occupies as one of the leading surgeons of St. Louis.
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Must Grabe
William Henry Grabe
ILLIAM HENRY GRABE, secretary and treasurer of the W Glancy-Watson Hotel Company, proprietors of the Marquette Hotel at St. Louis, was born January 12, 1862, in Enger, Ger- many. His father, Henry Grabe, was also a native of that place and came to St. Louis with his family in May, 1864. Loyal to his adopted land he promptly enlisted in the Union army, but too late to see active service. He became a stock raiser and farmer, a pursuit which his father had previously followed, and in fact the family had for many generations given their attention to agricultural pursuits near Enger. The death of Henry Grabe occurred in 1891, after a residenee of more than a quarter of a century in Missouri. Ilis wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Katherine Niehaus, was also born in Enger, Germany, and passed away in 1884. Her father, as well as her brother Wil- liam Niehaus, was a cabinetmaker, doing the finest and most artistic work of that character, both father and son ranking as experts in the business.
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