USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri, vol. 2 > Part 10
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B. howard Smith
MODERN philosopher has said: "Opportunity is universal, A not local ; snecess depends not upon a map, but a time-table." It was a recognition of this fact that has led to the success- ful issue of the business interests of B. Howard Smith, who is now president of the Consumers Bread Company of Kansas City. From the outset of his career he has made the best possible use of his time and talents and each day in his career has marked off a full-faithed attempt to grow more and to know more.
Mr. Smith was born in Seott county, Indiana, February 5, 1848, and was early left an orphan, being thus thrown upon his own resources. His father, Rev. II. F. Smith, was a minister of the Baptist church and later in life became a wholesale dry goods merchant. Both he and his father were natives of Ohio and in Indiana H. F. Smith became a prominent citizen, serving as a member of the constitutional convention when the organic law of the state was formed. He passed away in 1861. In early manhood he had wedded Lucy Reeves and they became the parents of eleven children, only two of whom are yet living.
B. Howard Smith was a youth of seventeen years when in 1865 he removed from Indiana to Ohio, settling upon a farm near Cincinnati. Ile had previously pursued his education in the schools of his native state and for three years he devoted his attention to farm work in Ohio. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Stille, of Cincinnati, and they became the parents of five children : Mrs. Lillian Hartman, living in Kansas City ; Harry E., who is now superin- tendent of the Smith Bakery, owned by his father ; Bryce B., vice president of the Consumers Bread Company and a member of the upper house of the eity council of Kansas City ; Earl H., deceased; and Walter L., deceased.
After devoting three years to farming in Ohio, Mr. Smith went to Indianapo- lis, Indiana, where he began driving a bread wagon, being thus engaged from 1873 until 1884. In the meantime, however, through energy and ability he had steadily risen in business eireles of that city and had become the owner of a bakery in Indianapolis. He purchased the property for five hundred dollars and began business with three barrels of flour and nineteen dollars in cash. Hle continued in the business for four years in Indianapolis, after which he eame to Missouri, settling first at Springfield, where he established a cracker factory, which he conducted for a year and a half. llis plant was then destroyed by fire, eausing a total loss. In 1885 he came to Kansas City and was not only without capital but was in debt. However, he secured a small bakery and earried his loaves of bread in a basket to his customers. His determination and energy brought gratifying results and he continued to conduet the bakery sue- cessfully until 1909, when he organized the Consumers Bread Company, the consolidation of several bakeries, with a capital of one million dollars. The
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company now employs one hundred people in the parent plant and also operates three other bakeries, giving employment to two hundred and twenty-five people. The output of the company is a million three hundred thousand loaves of bread per week. Thus through individual effort Mr. Smith has built up a business of mammoth proportions. He seems to have grasped early the nature of his life task and decided to meet the problems of life and win. Ile considered it no handicap to his suceess that he must win honorably, therefore his business life has been of the highest type. In his ehosen line he has been a progressive, while in side issnes he is very cautious. His vision along the line of his regular business has been of the best and he has always been a leader. He was made president of the National Association of Master Bakers of the United States in 1905, his election to that position indieating his high standing among his busi- ness associates, colleagues and contemporaries. He is an indefatigable worker who keeps in close touch with every detail of the business while giving due importance to the major points in relation to the trade. Ile is a splendid execu- tive, a man of marked administrative power, and he is one of the leading bakers of the United States. Withal he is an extremely modest man and one must depend upon his friends for a characterization of his life rather than upon his own story.
Mr. Smith is a Mason, belonging to Southgate Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and also to Ararat Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has always been a lover of fine horses and has won many handsome eups and trophies in the races. At one time he owned Nancy Belle with a record of 2:1534 and he has been the owner of various other splendid representatives of racing stock but has no fast stoek at the present time. He belongs to the Kansas City Club and also to the Mid-Day Club. He is much interested in eivie affairs, was a generous supporter of the Red Cross and the Liberty Loan drives during the war and is a man of many philanthropies, of which, however, his friends know little, so quietly does he make use of his means to reduce want and suffering. He loves the best things of life, including musie and literature, and the results he has attained and the character which he has formulated indicate that he has made wise use of his time, talents and opportunities as the years have gone by. In polities Mr. Smith is a demoerat and his religious faith is that of the Christian church.
Elsworth Fayssoux Smith, Al. D.
3R. ELSWORTHI FAYSSOUX SMITH, of whom it has been D said: "He laid down his life in the exercise of the noble profession to which his energies had been devoted," was born in St. Louis, April 29, 1825, his parents being John B. and Louisa (MeDougal) Smith. The father was for many years a leading merchant of St. Louis during the first half of the nineteenth century and he also became the first president of the old State Bank of Missouri. Ite was likewise connected with the public life of the community, becoming the first collector of the port of St. Louis and county and state collector during the early history of Missouri. Ile married a daughter of Captain Alexander MeDougal of New York city and a descendant of General Alexander McDougal of Revolutionary war fame and also of Oliver Ellsworth, the renowned jurist, who was the author of the bill creating the United States judiciary and served as chief justice of the United States supreme court from 1796 until 1799, when he resigned.
Dr. Smith was reared in St. Louis and attended St. Charles College and the St. Louis University, being graduated from the latter in 1845 upon the comple- tion of a classical course. He at once began preparation for the practice of medicine and won his professional degree from the St. Louis Medical College, then the medical department of the St. Louis University. Almost immediately thereafter he became one of the first two internes of the City Hospital of St. Louis. In 1852 he went abroad for further medical and scientific study in Paris, where he continued until 1854, and in 1864-5 he again spent some time in study abroad, adding to his professional attainments through his intercourse with the most renowned physicians of that day and the superior clinical advantages afforded by the French hospitals. With the exception of these two periods spent in Europe he remained continuously in the practice of medieine in St. Louis and became recognized as one of the most eminent physicians in the city. lle won equal fame as a medical educator. Soon after entering upon his professional career he was made demonstrator of anatomy in the St. Louis Medical College and in 1868 he was appointed to the chair of physiology and medical jurispru- dence in the same institution. Two years later he was made professor of clinical medicine and pathologieal anatomy and so continued until 1886, when he resigned that chair. He was made emeritus professor of clinical medicine and pathologieal anatomy, however, in recognition of the valuable services which he had rendered in that connection to the institution and to the general public, his professorship having extended over a period of fifteen years. Of him it has been written: "As an educator he was no less distinguished than as physician and was known to the profession as an able teacher, having the happy faculty of entertaining and instructing at the same time those who came under his precep-
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torship. The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him in recognition of his scholarly attainments and his ability as a medical educator. As a consult- ing physician he was widely known throughout the country adjacent to St. Louis, and he enjoyed to the fullest extent the confidence both of the profession and of the general public."
His professional life was one of intense activity and he filled many important positions in St. Louis, rendering valuable service to his native city at various times. During the Civil war he was acting assistant surgeon of the United States army, having charge of the military smallpox hospital in this city and serving also as surgeon to Eliot General Hospital. From 1872 to 1875 he was surgeon to the United States Marine Hospital in St. Louis. His high courage in the face of great danger and his chivalrous devotion to his calling was made mani- fest during the epidemics of cholera and smallpox which prevailed in St. Louis while he was in the active practice of his profession, and on more than one occa- sion his heroic services called forth the warmest praise from his fellow citizens, many of whom still hold him in grateful remembrance. He was the first health officer of St. Louis, serving from 1857 to 1863, and was also a member of the first regular board of health created by act of the legislature, serving as third president of that board. Because of his spirit of helpfulness and broad philan- thropy he gave his professional aid without remuneration to the public and charitable institutions of the city for many years in the capacity of consulting physician.
In 1860 Dr. Smith was married to Miss Isabelle Chenie, a daughter of Antoine Leon and Julia (de Mun) Chenie. She passed away August 30, 1908, at Pointe anx Barques, Michigan, at the summer home of her son, Dr. Elsworth Smith, a distinguished St. Louis physician. The other members of the family are: J. de Mun, who was associated with William Schotten & Company and who died at the zenith of his .usefulness and success April 6, 1911; J. Sheppard Smith, vice president of the Missouri Valley Trust Company; Julia P., now the wife of Colonel William D. Crosby, a surgeon of the United States army; and Emilie de Mun Smith, the wife of J. D. Perry Francis, the eldest son of Hon. David R. Francis, ambassador to Russia. Through her father Mrs. Smith was a descendant of the founder of St. Louis, who was related also to the Chenie family of Canada, representatives of which achieved distinction in the Canadian rebellion of 1837.
The death of Dr. Smith occurred at Fort Missoula, Montana, August 19, 1896, as the result of severe burns which he sustained while visiting his daugh- ter, Mrs. Crosby. In a memorial of the St. Louis Medical College it was said : "To his contemporaries he has ever been known as an honest and earnest seeker after wisdom, highly respected for his unusual attainments; beloved for his gentle and kindly personality. With those who have been students under his teachings a feeling of loving reverence for the man mingles with the sentiment of high regard for the knowledge and talents of the true physician.
"The faculty of the St. Louis Medical College, of which he was for so many years an honored and illustrious member, recognizing the great loss to this body in the death of one so devoted to the interests of the college and the profession and realizing the far greater loss to his stricken family, wish hereby to extend to each and every member their deep and heartfelt sympathy and to express their sense of the great loss to the profession and the community in the death of such
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a man. Ilis life, pure, blameless, unselfish, will ever remain an inspiration to noble effort."
Fitting memorials were written by the City Hospital Medieal Society and other organizations, while the St. Louis Medical Society said in part: "Ile possessed, as a teacher, great ability and held the respeet and the love of his students. Dr. Smith while still a young man pursued his studies in the hospitals of Paris. He was in love with the study of medicine and put into the practice all his knowledge and skill with the loving kindness of an unselfish devotee. HEis love for humanity and his reverence for the office of the physician enabled him to sustain an increasing and a growing interest in his professional work. He was honored by his professional brothers with their confidence and their respect and was beloved by his patients for his skill in practice, for his kindly ministra- tions and for his interest in their personal welfare. Ile gave of himself to all who needed help and he worshipped at the shrine of truth ; truth in man, truth in scientifie medicine and truth in nature's laws. Duty and the love of truth hecame his watchwords, and even in the years of fullness that came to him with the lapse of time these watchwords held him to the chosen pathway of profes- sional work and his last effort was an exemplification of his devotion to the highest aim of our art-mitigation of human suffering."
Ekwants SSwith.
Elsworth Striker Smith, A. D.
NSPIRED by the example of his illustrious father, who was an honor and eredit to the profession, and imbued with a laudable I ambition and humanitarian principles, Dr. Elsworth Striker Smith has attained to a position of leadership among the physi- cians and surgeons of St. Louis, in which city he was born January 1, 1864, his parents being Elsworth Fayssoux and Isbelle (Chenie) Smith, the latter a daughter of Antoine Leon and Julia (de Mun) Chenie. He is a descendant of the Chenie family of Canada and also of Auguste Chouteau, the founder of St. Louis, and of Charles Gratiot, head of the distinguished American family of that name. The paternal great- grandfather of Dr. Smith was William Smith, who erected the second brick house in St. Louis. His grandfather was John Brady Smith, the first president of the old State Bank of Missouri, also state and county collector and United States surveyor of the port of St. Louis, and likewise an esteemed merchant and citizen. He was a gentleman of the old school and a close personal friend of Thomas II. Benton. The grandmother in the paternal line was Louisa A. MeDougal, daugh- ter of Alexander McDougal of the British navy and a descendant of Oliver Ells- worth, the renowned jurist and chief justice of the United States supreme court. The record of Dr. Smith's father is given on another page of this work.
In the public schools of his native city Dr. Elsworth S. Smith pursued his early education, and entering the St. Louis University was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1884, while in 1888 his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. Determining to follow in his father's professional footsteps, he won his M. D. degree upon graduation from the St. Louis Medical College in 1887. Following the tendency of the age toward specialization, his practice has been limited to internal medicine and diagnosis and largely to dis- eases of the heart, blood vessels and kidneys. Like his father, he has won dis- tinetion in the educational field, having been demonstrator of anatomy, instructor in physical diagnosis and assistant physician to the medical clinic of St. Louis Medical College from 1890 until 1899. He is physician to St. Luke's Hospital, consulting physician to St. John's Hospital, the Jewish Hospital, the Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospitals, the Frisco Hospital and the St. Louis Maternity Hospital. He is also assistant physician to the Barnes Hospital and clinical professor of medicine in the Washington University Medical School. In 1887 he was made junior assistant physician and later assistant superintendent of the St. Louis City Hospital and so continued until 1890. He is an ex-president of the Medical Society of the City Hospital Alumni; was a member of the advisory committee to the health commissioner during the influenza epidemie in the winter of 1918-19; is an ex-president of the St. Louis Medical Society, having been its chief officer in 1917-18; is an ex-president of the St. Louis Society of Internal
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Medicine and became the first president of the St. Louis Clinies, just organized as a section of the St. Louis Medical Society.
On the 21st of February, 1900, in St. Louis, Dr. Smith was married to Miss Grace Platt, who passed away November 27, 1912. She was a daughter of Henry S. and Elizabeth (Barnes) Platt, the former president of the Platt-Thornburg Paint Company and a much respected and prominent merchant of St. Louis. On the 25th of October, 1916, Dr. Smith wedded Fannie Louise Carr, a daughter of C. Bent and Louise (Achison) Carr. Her father was one of the leading real estate men of St. Louis and was also prominent socially. His father, Judge William Charles Carr, served as circuit judge. The children of Dr. Smith, all born of his first marriage, are Elizabeth Platt, E. A. MeDougal, Isabelle Chenie and Phillip Platt. The family is one of social prominence and the elder daugh- ter was recently chosen one of the special maids of honor at the Veiled Prophet's ball.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church and in his political belief Dr. Smith is a democrat. He belongs to the St. Louis Country, Racquet and University Clubs and possesses those qualities which make for popularity in social circles, yet the greater part of his time and attention have been concentrated upon his professional interests, and aside from his practice and his work in the educational field he has written various articles which have been regarded as valuable contributions to medical literature. Keeping ever abreast with scientific research and discovery and holding to the highest stand- ards and ideals of his profession, he has become an acknowledged leader among the physicians and surgeons of St. Louis.
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Colonel Coward Al. Stayton
PROMINENT in engineering circles and widely known because P of his military activity, Colonel Edward M. Stayton ranks with the leading and honored residents of Independence. Moreover, he is a representative of one of the old and distin- gnished pioneer families of western Missouri and his birth oe- curred September 4, 1874, upon what is known as the old Thomas Stayton farm two miles southeast of Independence, his parents being Thomas and Louisa Matilda (Corn) Stayton, both of whom were natives of Missouri. The paternal grandfather came to this state about 1820, bringing his slaves with him, after which he employed them in hewing a home out of the wilderness and in the manufacture of brick and lime used in the construction of the brick house on the old homestead. He was one of the first settlers of Jackson county and here he reared his family of ten children. His household was a very large one by reason of the number of slaves he owned and as the years passed he acquired a very extensive tract of land. In the early days his home was well known as a very hospitable one, always open for the reception of travelers. Martin Rice, who came to western Missouri in 1836 from Indiana, was entertained by John Stayton and makes mention of the family in his writings. John Stayton was also a very religious man, holding firmly to the faith of the Baptist church, and he never allowed anything to interfere with his religious duties. Thomas Stayton, father of Colonel Stayton, was the owner of four hundred acres of rich and valuable land and in addition to developing his property was very active in public affairs but never sought or held publie office.
Upon the old family homestead Colonel Stayton of this review spent the period of his boyhood and youth, acquiring his early education in the rural school near his father's home and afterward continuing his studies in the high school at Independence. In 1892 he became a student in the Missouri State University, in which he pursued a special course in civil engineering, and he also took an active and helpful interest in the military department of the uni- versity. Throughout his life he has been keenly interested in military affairs. On the 9th of February, 1891, he enlisted as a member of Company F of the Third Missouri Infantry and received considerable preliminary training in the company. After becoming a university student he was given an opportunity to show his ability in handling a squad of recruits and within a brief period had won promotion to the rank of first sergeant and in the middle of the year became sergeant major of the battalion. In the fall of 1894 he was advanced to the first lieutenancy of Company A and during the absence of its captain served as commander of the company. When a vacancy occurred among the captains in December of that year he was promoted in recognition of the ability he had shown.
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Colonel Coward . Stayton
In the meantime Colonel Stayton was preparing for, the practice of eivil engineering and was making wise use of his time in preparation for the profes- sion. His first important engineering work was in connection with the Kansas City Southern Railway, which task he undertook in January, 1895. Although his first position was that of rod-man, he was soon promoted to instrument man and later became resident engineer. At a subsequent period he was engaged on the construction of a branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in Oklahoma, also on a part of the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway in Oklahoma and Texas and on the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway in Oklahoma. His operations have covered a very wide territory and have been of a most important character. In December, 1904, he went to the Spanish Honduras, where he built some industrial railroads for the handling of the products of several banana plantations and also for the handling of some heavy mahogany timber. In 1907 he entered the service of the Harriman syndicate to make surveys for some proposed railways in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and afterward his attention was given to investigation for the betterment of the Central Georgia Railway in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Much time was devoted to the investigation of the possibilities of a system of interurban railways out of Kansas City and he took part in the final location and construc- tion of the existing interurbans from Kansas City to St. Joseph and to Excelsior Springs, Missouri, in 1911. Through the succeeding five years he was engaged in general consultation work, specializing in highways and railways. In 1916, through appointment of Governor Major, he was made highway engineer of Jackson county, filling that position for only a few months, however, when he was called into military service for duty on the Mexican border. This was followed by overseas service and a few days after his return to his home he was offered by the county court of Clay county the position of consulting engineer for their system of two hundred miles of paved road. Ile accepted and also took np the general practice of his profession with headquarters at Liberty.
Aside from Colonel Stayton's profession nothing has so greatly claimed his time, attention and energies as military affairs. In 1907 he gave his services as commandant of cadets to the Independence high school and so aeted for two years. On the 15th of June, 1910, he was made captain of Company F of the Third Missouri Infantry and was transferred to the Missouri Artillery Bat- talion with his company on the 24th of November, 1914, while on the 7th of March, 1915, he was made major of artillery. On the 19th of June, 1916, Colonel Stayton was called into the federal service and took his battalion to the Mexican border, where he remained on duty at Laredo until December 24, when his battalion was returned to its home station. On the 20th of July, 1917, he was transferred from the artillery to the Missouri Engineers Corps and organized a battalion of engineers, with which he entered the federal service on the 5th of August, 1917, for active duty in connection with the World war. The battalion went to Camp Doniphan for training and there became a part of the One Hundred and Tenth Engineers. This regiment arrived in France with the Thirty-fifth Division on the 10th of May, 1918, and was sent immediately to the front, participating in the Amiens oceupation with the British, later the Vosges occupation with the French, also in the St. Mihiel offensive, the Argonne offensive, the Verdun occupation, and following the signing of the armistice
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