USA > Missouri > Centennial history of Missouri, vol. 2 > Part 12
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Don. Robert Alexander Campbell
house about the same time that his brother Robert was serving in a like ca- pacity in Missouri. He was later appointed by President Cleveland to the con- sulship at Auckland, New Zealand, and afterward at Foochow, China.
Robert Alexander Campbell was reared in Bowling Green and began his education as a public school pupil there. Ile afterward attended the Spring River Academy of Missouri and for three years studied in the Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illinois, leaving that institution in his senior year in 1852. In 1908, however, the trustees of the college voted unanimously to graduate him and conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree, while in 1914 they further honored him by conferring upon him the Master of Arts degree. After leaving college he taught school for one term and then went with his father to Califor- nia, where for two years he engaged in ranching and mining. In the fall of 1854 he again became a resident of Missonri and secured a clerkship in the store of I. N. Bryson & Company of Louisiana. A year was thus passed and he then entered the office of Hon. James O. Broadhead of Bowling Green as a law student and was admitted to the bar in 1860 before Judge Carty Wells. Within a brief period, however, the Civil war was inaugurated and in the open- ing year he joined the forces under General J. B. Henderson. In 1862 he was mustered out but reenlisted in the Forty-ninth Missouri Infantry, was com- missioned major and served intermittently until the end of hostilities. When not in the field with his command he performed the duties of secretary of the convention of 1861 on "The Relation of the State of Missouri to the Union."
With the close of the war Mr. Campbell took up the practice of law in Bowl- ing Green and in Louisiana, thus continuing until 1869. A recognition of what railroad building was accomplishing in the way of Missouri's development led him to become an active factor in the establishment of transportation facilities of that character. IIe became the president of the Louisiana & Missouri River Railway Company and remained as chief executive of the corporation until the road was leased to the Chicago & Alton system. He was afterward associated with others in the building of the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad, raising the funds for construction work through Pike county. He continued as president of this road until 1877, at which time it was sold to the Burlington interests. In 1874 he had removed to St. Louis, where he made his home in order to be in close touch with the railroad's headquarters, which had been moved to that city. He terminated his active connection with railway ownership and management in 1877, at which time he became secretary of the corporation hav- ing charge of the Ames estate. Nor did he confine his business activities to this, for he supervised the construction of the Lindell Hotel at the same time. The soundness of his business judgment was everywhere recognized and his keen sagacity and enterprise contributed to the success of many important interests.
So varied and far-reaching have been the efforts of Mr. Campbell that it is with difficulty that one points out that which has been the most important work of his life. No history of Missouri would be complete without mention of the part which he has played in shaping the political annals of the state. In 1856 he supported Fillmore for the presidency and in 1860 cast his ballot for Bell and Everett but following the close of the Civil war became a stanch advocate of the democratic party and from that time forward had much to do
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with direeting its policy in Missouri. Long prior to this time, however, he had become well known in a politieal way. In 1855 he had been made eurolling elerk of the seventeenth general assembly of Missouri and in the succeeding year was appointed journal elerk of the house of representatives, while in 1857 he was made the first committee clerk ever appointed in Missouri and became the secretary of the joint committee of the two houses on banks, banking and internal improvements and was instrumental in drawing up the charters for leading banking institutions of the state. In 1861, although competing with men of great politieal prominence, he was elected secretary of the convention called to consider the relations of Missouri to the Union. ITis attitude during that eritieal period in the history of the country has been previously indicated. Then came his allegiance to the democratic party and in 1864 he was a dele- gate to the democratie national convention which nominated General MeClellan for the presideney and again attended the national convention of 1868, when he gave his support to Seymour and Blair. In 1868 he was chosen to represent Pike county in the general assembly and following his removal to St. Louis was elected to the state legislature from that distriet and again in 1878, serving as speaker pro tem during the thirtieth general assembly. The importance of his legislative service is indicated in the fact that he was made chairman of the committee on banks and corporations, of eleemosynary institutions and of in- ternal improvements and was also a member of the judiciary committee. In 1880 Mr. Campbell was elected lieutenant governor of Missouri and discharged the duties of that position in a most creditable and satisfactory manner, his entire course reflecting honor upon the state and upon those who had thus honored him. In 1885 he was elected comptroller of St. Louis, occupying the position until 1889, when he was appointed by Governor D. R. Francis as judge of the criminal court of St. Louis. With the expiration of his service upon the crim- inal court bench he retired from public life but remains an interested witness of all that has to do with shaping the history of commonwealth and country.
The consensus of public opinion places as one of the important aets in the career of Governor Campbell the fact that he was instrumental in securing a verdiet from the United States supreme court which led to the restoration of franchise to several thousand citizens of the state. The war convention of 1865 in the Drake constitution disfranchised all southern sympathizers and passed a law requiring certain electors to take and subseribe to a "test oath" which forced everyone who desired to vote to make oath that they never had active, sympathetic or other connection with the movement to dissolve the Union. Sev- eral suits were instituted in order to test the validity of this act, but in each instanee the law was sustained. In the case of Father Cummings, however, a ease conducted by Governor Campbell as another "test ease," he presented phases of the question hitherto omitted, and when the ease reached the United States supreme court, the law was deelared unconstitutional and void, and thus several thousand were restored to their full rights of eitizenship.
On the 7th of November, 1866, in Bowling Green, Governor Campbell was married to Miss Margaret Blain, a daughter of William W. and Ann M. (Turner) Blain, the former at one time a planter of Albemarle county, Virginia, and later one of the pioneer residents of Missouri. Governor and Mrs. Campbell beeame parents of two children. Maleolm Henry, who is a Pullman conductor
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Don. Robert Alexander Campbell
on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, married Miss Ella Robinson and they have two children, James W. and Ruth Gladys. Ida, the only danghter of Governor Campbell, became the wife of William T. Chamberlain and died on their farm near Bowling Green, March 30, 1910. The religions faith of the family has always been that of the Presbyterian church and its teachings have guided the activities of Governor Campbell in every relation of life. For a period of twenty-two intermittent years Governor Campbell was serving the commonwealth at the state capitol. For forty years he was a resident of St. Louis and through- out his entire life has made his home in Missonri. There seems to have been no point in the career of Governor Campbell at which he has not reached the utmost in the way of accomplishment at that point for the interests, benefit and upbuilding of the state. Constantly alert to the opportunities for im- provement, he reached out along ever broadening lines for the welfare and ben- cfit of Missouri and there is no citizen of the commonwealth who has not ben- efited directly or indirectly by his labors. Amid pleasant and congenial sur- roundings he is now spending the evening of life, his entire record having been a credit and honor to the state that has honored him.
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Best Wishes
Holand & Bruner,
Roland Edward Bruner
3T is under the stimulus of opposition and the pressure of ad- I versity that the strongest and best in men is brought out and developed-a statement which finds its verification in the life record of Roland Edward Bruner, who for many years has been a prominent figure in mining circles in the west and is now at the head of the firm of R. E. Bruner & Company and of the Bruner Realty & Investment Company of Kansas City. The story of his life in its unfolding presents many a picturesque and romantic phase and the entire record has the alluring fascination of success. Mr. Bruner was born in Montoursville, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1860, and while he comes of German ancestry, he is of the fourth generation of the family in America. His parents were John and Margaret A. (Bastian ) Bruner, of Montoursville, where the father provided for his family through the conduct of a mercantile enterprise. Through the exigencies of the Civil war the financial resources of the father were largely dissipated and in fact he gave all to his country save life, and by reason of his shattered fortunes he determined to start anew in the west.
The Civil war was inaugurated when Roland E. Bruner was but a few months old. A few years later the family removed to Kansas and he had the opportunity to some extent of attending the public schools of Franklin county, but his educational privileges as well as his chances in other directions were extremely limited, and when quite young he began providing for his own sup- port by working as a farm hand. A little later he took up the task of herding cattle on the plains at a period when the west was an open range. The outdoor life not only gave him possibilities for physical development but also brought to him the chance of becoming a self-reliant young man. As a herder on the plains he had to depend upon his own judgment as to what was best in caring for the stock and he learned to form his opinions quickly, yet never without that careful judgment which must always discriminate in order to determine the true value or possibilities of any situation. At length, believing that mercantile life would offer him greater opportunities, Mr. Bruner began clerking in a country store and was thus employed from 1875 until 1880. He then accepted a clerkship in the office of the superintendent of the motor power and machinery department of the old Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railway, and later eame the chance to see something of the country as a traveling salesman and for five years he was upon the road, traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacifie and from the lakes to the gulf. This brought him intimate knowledge of the country and he was keenly interested in studying the resources of different sections. His next position was that of manager of the wholesale house of Phillips Brothers in Seattle, Washington, and after a year thus spent he became manager
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Roland Coward Bruner
and auctioneer of the Kansas City Fruit Auction and Cold Storage Company, following that business for three years.
From early life he was keenly interested in the mineral resources of the country, and while the route was a devious one his path at length led him to the mines with which he has been connected in every position from that of prospector to the presidency of most important mining companies. For a quarter of a century he has given much of his time and energies to the develop- ment of mining properties in the west, becoming president of the Anaconda- Arizona Mining Company, the R. E. Bruner Copper Company, the Missouri Lithograph, Marble & Mining Company and secretary of the Big Niangua De- velopment & Realty Company. In this connection a contemporary biographer has written: "Mr. Bruner's experience has been varied and spectacular. His mining operations have given him a familiarity with every phase and sensation of the miner's life, from prospector to president, and his promotions include some of the richest finds in the central range. The road he traveled was not always smooth ; there were bumps and pitfalls at frequent intervals. He was gouged and squeezed and cruelly betrayed by quondam summer friends, but he always accepted his fate philosophically and charged it all to experience. Not- withstanding many drawbacks, Roland E. Bruner has made and lost fortunes, helped a thousand men to success, and he has frequently borne the loads and losses of other men-and the attendant knocks-with a peculiar patience and stout-hearted fortitude that is the admiration of all who know him intimately. Mr. Bruner is of the Tom Lawson type of man-a veritable human dynamo. Ile never exhausts and rarely wearies under pressure; a man of indomitable will, of tremendous energy and never flagging industry, and withal a gentle, kindly sympathetic nature. Always possessed of an optimism that never per- mitted him to fear defeat or confess failure, he accepted fortune as it came, and confidently relied upon the belief that the 'turn in the road' must come to the man who honestly and intelligently follows a fixed course with determina- tion. This faith never deserted him."
Another writer has said: "His investments in mining properties have been judiciously placed, and the control of his interests of this character shows him to be a man of remarkable ability. He understands mining not only from its financial side, but from the scientific standpoint as well, and is the possessor of a most magnificent collection of minerals, composed of some of the rarest kinds, including pearls, amethysts, garnets, rubies, turquoise, opals, coral and dia- mond rock. This collection also contains a fine specimen of pitch blende, from which radium is made; a quartz crystal weighing four hundred and eighty pounds and numberless valuable specimens, each the best of its kind. These are all systematically and attractively arranged in seven large cases, and his generosity has prompted him to make this collection public in that he permits all who are interested to visit his museum."
Aside from his connection with mining interests Mr. Bruner has conducted important business affairs under the name of the Bruner Realty & Investment Company, and under the firm style of R. E. Bruner & Company.
On the 31st of May, 1883, was celebrated the marriage of Roland E. Bruner and Miss Hannah M. Melain, the wedding taking place at Wellsville, Franklin county, Kansas. They have become the parents of five children : Rea M., Glen
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Roland coward Bruner
L., Carey, Roland E. and Ilannah M. The eldest son is an oil broker and married Miss Edna Wilson, of Kansas City. The son, Glen L., is a practicing attorney and married Miss Annie Wood, and they have two sons, Glen, Jr., and William. The daughter, Hannah M., is treasurer of the Bruner Realty & In- vestment Company and is an artist of note. The son, Roland E., Jr., is the active manager of the Roaring River Hotel. Before America's entrance into the World war he enlisted in 1916 in the Foreign Legion, paying his own ex- penses even to his own uniform. He became an ambulance and ammunition driver and was attached to the Mallet Reserve, being with the French army until discharged in Paris for disability, after which he returned to the United States in 1917. Ile is now giving his attention to the management of the Roaring River Hotel, which is situated in a very picturesque country among the Ozarks, about eight miles from Cassville, Barry county, Missouri. In this district is found the famous rock formation, a limestone which is three and a half times as strong as Bedford granite. There are springs furnishing an unfailing sup- ply of water that is only eight degrees above freezing point. The hotel is thoroughly modern in every particular and in connection there are most at- tractive modern bungalows, which one may rent if he desires greater privacy and quiet. The hotel company has its own swimming pools, for many find the waters of Roaring river too cool for bathing. The hotel maintains its own gar- dens, raising everything for its table. There is a fish hatchery in which trout are kept, there is a dancing pavilion and tennis courts, while garages furnish ears for those who enjoy motoring. A hydro-electric plant has been built and the resort comprises a tract of thirty-six hundred and forty aeres, on which the only thing for sale is service. The grounds are owned by the company and are not on the market for sale. Many who have traveled all over the world pronounce this resort almost incomparable. It is condneted by the Bruner Realty & Investment Company, of which Roland E. Bruner, Jr., is the secretary, acting as manager of the hotel and farms. He is a Mason in his fraternal relations and he married Miss Esther Ross, of Kansas City.
Mr. Bruner belongs to Westport Lodge, No. 340, A. F. & A. M., of which all of his sons are also members, and he is likewise a Consistory Mason and a mem- ber of several of the best clubs of Kansas City. The Bruner home is one of gracious hospitality and charm, the family occupying a most prominent social position in Kansas City, while of Mr. Bruner it has been said : "He is widely recognized as a man of wide philanthropy and Christian spirit, regarding fully the responsibilities of wealth and doing much service for his fellowmen, not from a sense of duty, but from a sincere and abiding interest in humanity. He is widely known in scientifie eireles as a geologist and collector of fine speci- mens; and in mining circles as a most successful business man, while in the city of his residenee he is counted among those whose labors have been effective and far-reaching in behalf of public progress, while his personal traits of char- acter are such as win him warm friendships and popularity."
Wafayuan
Waldo Arnold Lapman
ALDO ARNOLD LAYMAN, a St. Louis business man, clean-cut, W decisive, determined, and yet with that understanding of and sympathy for the human being that enables him to win co- operation in contradistinction to the development of opposi- tion, is now at the head of the Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company, with its forty-five hundred employes rendering to him allegiance and efficient service. While a native of Mis- souri, his birth having occurred at Smithton, October 27. 1869, Mr. Layman spent practically the entire period of his youth in Illinois and Indiana, having removed with his parents, Morgan and Rhoda (Arnold) Layman, to the former state in 1874 and to Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1876. There he remained until September, 1892, when he returned to Missouri, and has since been identified with the industrial development of St. Louis.
Following the completion of his public school education by graduation from the Terre llaute high school in 1887, he entered the Rose Polytechnic Institute of that eity, but in the meantime had initiated his business career through the establishment of a monthly publication for the high school while he was a member of the sophomore class. He continued the publication as a private enterprise until he had completed his course, and the ability thus developed eaused him to be offered a position on the editorial staff of the Terre Haute Daily Express and to work of that character he devoted the vacation period between his junior and senior high school work. Following his graduation he returned to the Terre Haute Daily Express and from June, 1887, until Septem- ber, 1888, was assistant to the city editor, after which he became editor of the Saturday Evening Mail, a weekly family paper of Terre Haute, which enjoyed an extensive patronage. He accepted the position upon the death of the former owner and editor and continued thus to act until he decided to enter the engi- neering school of the Rose Polytechnic Institute, being influenced to this step by the president, Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, with whom he enjoyed a very delight- ful acquaintance, growing out of his weekly visits to the school in the interests of his newspaper work. Through the friendship of Dr. Mendenhall he was granted great latitude in his hours of attendance at school and this permitted him to continue his connection with the Saturday Evening Mail for about two years and later to fill a position on the Terre Haute Daily Express until about the middle of his senior year at Rose, so that for three and a half years during his college course his newspaper work provided him with a fairly comfortable income. As in his high school days, he again established and edited a school monthly publication while attending the Polytechnic Institute, and The Modu- lus, the college year book, published first in the spring of 1892, with Mr. Lay- man as the first editor, has since been continued regularly. Mr. Layman has
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Caldo Arnold Lapman
never ceased to feel the deepest interest in his alma mater, from which he has received the degrees of B. S., M. S. and E. E., and for four terms of two years each served as one of the two alumni representatives on the board of managers of Rose Polytechnic Institute.
Mr. Layman's connection with the Wagner Electric Manufacturing Com- pany has been continuous sinee his graduation from the Rose Polytechnie Insti- tute and dates from September, 1892, the time of his return to Missouri. He entered the employ of the company as an electrical engineer and draftsman and his eourse has since been marked by a steady progression that indicates the natural development of his powers through exercise and experience prompted by a landable ambition to advanee. Successive promotions at length brought him to official position and he has served as assistant manager, as treasurer, as general manager and as vice president, ultimately winning election to the presi- deney. He made all the drawings for the Wagner Company's first line of trans- formers and direct current motors and immediately beeame identified with all work leading up to the development of a successful form of single phase alter- nating eurrent electric motor. The recognition of his ability and loyalty to the eoneern brought him to the position of assistant superintendent in 1894 and in 1898 he was made assistant general manager, while in 1902 he was ehosen general manager and treasurer. After six years in that position he was elected vice president and general manager in 1908, and sinee January, 1912, has occupied the presideney, concentrating his attention upon constructive effort, administrative direction and executive control. He has been a member of the board of directors since 1902 and since that date has had full charge of the financial, engineering and manufacturing interests of the business. Not all days in the history of the enterprise have been equally bright. In fact he has seen the storm elouds gather but has been able to turn threatened failures into victories and so organize and coordinate the various phases of the business that there has been developed a most systematized and unified whole, whereby the labors of forty-five hundred employes, under direction of capable foremen and efficient officers, have developed one of the largest enterprises of the kind in the country. No history of the Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company would be complete without reference to their war activities, all of which work was done under the personal direction of Mr. Layman. The most signal service of the company perhaps was the supply of depth bombs to the navy depart- ment, and Mr. Layman devoted much of his time to directing the war service of the company and in facilitating the development of the industrial resources of the Mississippi valley into war service for the government. Even before Ameriea entered the war, work of this eharaeter was taken up. As early as 1914, in order to avoid laying off many employes and shortening hours of work for others, thus necessitating the reduction of pay, the company began making two war devices- eight inch high explosive shells for the British gov- ernment and detonating fuses, which were manufactured indirectly for the Russian government. When America entered the war, the Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company was one of the first in the entire country to make actual deliveries of the devices the government required for the winning of the war. Their output for the country ineluded the depth charge, four inch naval guns, three inch gun mounts, one-ponnder guns and dummy naval shells
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