Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II, Part 49

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 800

USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II > Part 49

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266

DENTISTRY.

these have been largely superseded by burrs and drills operated by dental engines. The first dentist in St. Louis was Dr. Paul, who came and opened an office in 1809. The next was Dr. D. T. Evans, in 1830. In 1837 there were ten dentists in the city, one of whom was Dr. Isaac Forbes, but in 1838 all were gone but three-Dr. Forbes, Dr. Edward Hale and Dr. B. B. Brown-who all became eminent in the profession and successful. Dr. Hale remained until the year 1864, when he went to New Jersey, and there died. Dr. Brown went to California in 1849, and never returned. Dr. Forbes re- mained in St. Louis all his life, taking an active interest in the cause of popular education, and being chosen for several terms a school director. In 1840 A. M. Les- lie, a trained gold-beater, established a dental depot in that city, which was afterward en- larged into a dental manufactory. In 1877 Alexander Hepburn established a dental de- pot, and not long afterward the two estab- lishments were consolidated into one of the largest in the West. Between 1840 and 1845 Drs. Aaron Blake, Isaac Comstock and J. B. Clark and Edgerly opened offices in the city, followed a little later by Drs. Potts, S. B. Fithian, H. J. McKellops, E. W. Spalding, H. E. Peebles, Dunham, Homer Judd, Bar- ron and Morrison, all of whom became suc- .cessful practitioners, and several of them distinguished for achievements in the pro- fession. Dr. Clark was one of the first den- tists in the country to use rolled cylinders of gold foil, and he gained an enviable reputa- tion also for his treatment of dead pulps to avoid inflammation. Forbes, at an early day in his practice, invented a chair which came into general use. Spalding was an early ad- vocate of the use of cylinders in filling teeth. He was professor in the Ohio Dental Col- lege of Cincinnati. In 1850 the St. Louis Dental Association was organized, and three years later the "Dental Review" was pub- lished, continuing as local organ of the pro- fession until 1863. In 1865 the Missouri State Dental Association was formed, and the following year the Missouri Dental Col- lege was opened, with Dr. Isaac Forbes for the first president ; Dr. Homer Judd, dean, and Dr. Frank White, secretary. In 1865 the "Dental Journal" was first published, with Dr. Judd as chief editor. The entire history of the profession in St. Louis has been

marked by the presence of practitioners of unusual ability and skill and devotion to the calling. A cordial feeling has prevailed, a high professional spirit maintained, and whatever gave a promise of elevating the art to a higher plane of influence and usefulness has always received the vigorous co-opera- tion of the dentists in the city.

D. M. GRISSOM.

It is not a half century ago that dentistry had its beginning in west- In Kansas City. ern Missouri. The pio- neers were men who had acquired their art in the offices of older prac- titioners, for there were no dental colleges. The only implements were excavators, burrs and pluggers, operated with the unaided hand. Bridge work was unknown. The plates were gold, silver and platinun1. Wax was usually used for impression, from which was made a plaster cast. From that, in turn, was made a zinc cast, upon which were moulded, in tea lead, counter- models, between which was made the plate. It is to the credit of some of the pioneer prac- titioners that there are yet living a few of their patients using contour filling produced by them when there were none to instruct them, when their only instruments were those used by hand pressure, and when they annealed gold leaf over a shovelful of live charcoal. Dr. John K. Stark, a proficient operator and a man of exemplary character, was the first dentist to locate in Jackson County, making his home in Independence about 1848. He left his home in Civil War times and resided in Mexico. While in that country, accident led to his discovery of the cohesive qualities of gold and its adaptability for filling. His little stock of leaf gold having become dampened, he laid it over a charcoal fire to dry, when the adherence of the leaves suggested its new use. It can not be deter- mined how this discovery related in point of time to that made by Dr. W. H. Atkinson, of New York, who brought the fact of gold cohesion to the attention of the profession; it is certain that the two events were not far apart, and that Dr. Stark's was entirely orig- inal, as his knowledge of Dr. Atkinson's dis- covery was impossible. Dr. Stark returned to the United States in 1865 and located in Kansas City, where he practiced until a few years before his death. He reared a son, Dr.

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DENVER.

William T. Stark, who proved a worthy suc- cessor. Dr. George W. Tindall, yet in prac- tice, was the first dentist to locate in Kansas City, in 1855. Dr. J. S. Stockton removed from Hannibal about 1860, but, after practic- ing about one year, returned to his former home, where he died. In 1861 Dr. J. N. Wiley, a student of Dr. J. F. Hassell, of Lex- ington, entered upon practice, but his office was soon closed by the military authorities on account of his Southern proclivities, and he removed to California. Dr. C. Prevost came in 1865 and went away in 1870. A son, Dr. S. B. Prevost, now in practice, began with hin, and succeeded to his business. With the restoration of peace, and the con- sequent influx of population, came many practitioners, some of whom remain to the present time. Many were useful in forward- ing the interests of the profession through semi-public services. In 1868 the Kansas City Dental Society was organized, with Dr. Tindall as first president. The society lapsed after a few years. It had various suc- cessors, conspicuous among which was the Odontograph Society, organized about 1889, with Dr. William T. Stark as the first presi- dent. It lapsed about 1895, since which time there has been no organized body of den- tists. The Kansas City Dental College, and the Western Dental College, are noted under their respective heads. In April, 1883, J. L. Brewster, Jr., proprietor of a local dental depot, purchased and removed to Kansas City the "Missouri Dental Journal," pub- lished in St. Louis, where it was founded, in 1869. Mr. Brewster engaged R. I. Pearson as managing editor, and J. D. Patterson and C. L. Hungerford as associate editors. The dental depot and the "Journal" were pur- chased in 1887 by Mr. Pearson, who contin- ued the publication, changing the name to the "Western Dental Journal." The edito- rial management was committed to J. D. Pat- terson and C. L. Hungerford, of Kansas City, and A. H. Thompson, of Topeka, Kan- sas. Dr. Thompson retired after about three years, and Dr. Hungerford in 1892, although he had really performed no editorial work for more than a year previously. Dr. Patterson has been sole editor since the retirement of the last named gentleman, and his publica- tion ranks with the best of its class in the country. In Kansas City the ratio of dental practitioners to population is phenomenally

high, being one to about every one thousand inhabitants, while in most large cities it is one to two thousand or more inhabitants. In personnel the profession ranks exception- ally well, and includes many men of broad general knowledge, and some who are ac- complished in art and science. Several have made important contributions to the cause of dental science. The high development of bridge work, one of the greatest boons to humanity in the abolishment of rubber plates, is more largely due to Dr. J. G. Hollings- worth than to any other in the country. He was the originator of dies made from natural teeth for supplying artificial substitutes. In the field of original investigation of pyor- rhoea alveolaris (pus from diseased teeth), and its treatment, Dr. J. D. Patterson is an acknowledged leader.

C. B. HEWITT.

Denver .- An incorporated village in Worth County, on the eastern bank of Grand River, eight miles southeast of Grant City, and twelve miles from Albany, in Gentry County. It has a flouring mill, woolen fac- tory, brick factory, a weekly paper, the "Tribune," and about eighteen miscellaneous stores and shops. Population, 1899 (esti- mated), 350.

Denver, James W., an early citizen of Platte County, who achieved national distinc- tion, was born at Winchester, Virginia, in 1818, and removed while a child with his parents to Ohio, and, in 1841, to Missouri, lo- cating in Platte County, where he wrote, as deputy clerk, in the office of the circuit clerk, and acted as editor of the "Platte Argus." When the Mexican War began, in 1846, he raised a company in Platte and the adjoining counties, and was appointed captain in the Twelfth Infantry and ordered to report to General Scott. He took part in the final bat- tles that led to the capture of the City of Mexico, and remained in the army until the war was ended. In 1850 he went to Califor- nia, and was appointed on the relief commit- tee organized to protect immigrants. In 1852 he was chosen State Senator, and while serv- ing as such became involved in a dispute with Edward Gilbert, member of Congress, which brought a challenge from Gilbert. It was accepted and they fought with rifles, and Gilbert was killed at the second fire. In 1853 Denver was appointed Secretary of

268

DES ARC-DE SMET.

State of California, and in 1855 was elected to Congress from that State, serving to the end of the term. In 1857 he was appointed commissioner of Indian affairs, but after holding the place a short time he resigned and was appointed Secretary of the Territory of Kansas, and, shortly afterward, Governor of the Territory. After serving in this posi- tion for a time he resigned and was again appointed commissioner of Indian affairs. In 1861 he espoused the Union cause and was appointed brigadier general, and served in the West. He was in Colorado for a time, taking part in the organization of the Terri- tory, and the chief city in Colorado took his name. During the latter years of his life his home was in Ohio.

Des Arc .- An incorporated village in Union Township, Iron County, twenty-nine miles south of Ironton, on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. It has a hotel, a flouring mill-two miles east-and two general stores. Its population is 200.

Desloge, Firmin, mine-operator, was born in Potosi, Washington County, Mis- souri, son of Firmin and Cynthiana Desloge. His father, who was born in Nantes, France, immigrated to the United States at an early age and settled in the lead-mining region of eastern Missouri. Thereafter he did a large mercantile business at Potosi, and was identi- fied with mining interests up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1856. His wife, the mother of the younger Firmin Desloge, was a native of Washington County, Mis- souri. The son received his early education in the public schools at Potosi, afterward at- tended St. Louis University, at St. Louis, and still later took a course at the commer- cial school of Bryant & Stratton, in that city. He was trained to mercantile pursuits, be- ginning at an early age as a clerk for the firm of John B. Valle & Co. of St. Louis. In 1867 he began mining operations near Po- tosi, Missouri, and has since been identified with that great industry. When lead-mining was in its infancy in St. Francois County, he prospected lands in that county adjacent to those of the St. Joseph 'Lead Company, and finally purchased and erected smelting works for the corporation known as the Desloge Lead Company. The interests of this cor- poration were consolidated with those of the

St. Joseph Lead Company, in 1887, and are now a part of the holdings of what is prob- ably the greatest lead-mining and smelting company in the world. While managing the affairs of the Desloge Lead Company, Mr. Desloge built-in connection with the St. Jo- seph Lead Company-the first railroad which penetrated the disseminated lead field of St. Francois County. In 1889 he acquired what was known as one of the oldest mining prop- erties in Missouri, a property which had pre- viously belonged to the Bogy Lead Mining Company. This he added to the properties of the St. Francois Mining Company, and, after demonstrating that there were valuable deposits of disseminated lead on these lands, he organized the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company, which became the owner of these and other properties. The operations of this company were very successful, and in 1893 the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Rail- road was extended so as to give necessary transportation facilities, thereby enabling the business to be operated on a scale commen- surate with the extent of the lead field and its importance. These operations have since been continued and the mines are now large producers of lead ore. In this connection it is of interest to note the fact that the dia- mond drill made possible the prospecting of these properties and the subsequent develop- ment of their mineral wealth. From 1870 to 1872 Mr. Desloge served as treasurer of Washington County, and on different oc- casions he aided the advancement of educa- tional interests in that and St. Francois County by serving as a public school direc- tor. He was reared in the faith of the Catholic Church, and has adhered steadfastly to its tenents. October 24, 1877, Mr. Des- loge married Miss Lydia Davis, of Lexing- ton, Missouri, whose father, Colonel Joseph Davis, was one of the pioneer settlers in this State. Colonel Davis served on the staff of General Sterling Price during the Civil War.

De Smet, Peter JJohn, renowned as a missionary among the Western Indians, was born in Termonde, Belgium, in 1801, and died in St. Louis in 1872. "He studied in the Episcopal Seminary of Mechlin, and while there he felt called to devote himself to the conversion of the Indians. When Bishop Nerinckx visited Belgium in search of mis- sionaries, De Smet, with five other students,

Firmin Desloge

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DE SMET.

volunteered to accompany him. The govern- ment gave orders to stop them, but they escaped from the officers and sailed from Amsterdam in 1821 .. After a short stay in Philadelphia De Smet entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Whitemarsh, Maryland. Here he took the Jesuit habit, but after two years the house was dissolved, and he was about to return to Belgium when he was invited by Bishop Dubourg to Florissant, where he completed his education and took his vows. In 1828 he went to St. Louis and took part in establishing the University of St. Louis, in which he was afterward professor. In 1838 he was sent to establish a mission among the Pottawottomies, on Sugar Creek. He built a chapel, and beside it the log huts of himself, Father Varreydt, and a lay brother. He erected a school, which was soon crowded with pupils, and in a short time converted most of the tribe. In 1840 he begged the bishop of St. Louis to permit him to labor among the Flatheads of the Rocky Moun- tains. When it was represented to him that there was no money for such an expedition he said that sufficient means would assuredly come from Europe, and set out on April 30, 1840, from Westport with the annual caravan of the American Fur Company, whose destination was Green River. He arrived on July 14th in the camp of Peter Valley, where about 1,600 Indians had assembled to meet him. They had retained traditions of the French missionaries of two centuries before, and De Smet found it easy to convert them. With the aid of an interpreter he translated the Lord's prayer, the creed and the com- mandments into their language, and in a fortnight all the Flatheads knew these prayers and commandments, which were afterward explained to them. During his journey back to St. Louis he was on several occasions sur- rounded by war parties of the Blackfeet, but as soon as they recognized his black gown and crucifix they showed the greatest venera- tion for him. He thus laid the foundation of the extraordinary influence that he after- ward exercised over the Indians. In the spring of 1841 he set out again, with two other missionaries and three lay brothers, all expert mechanics, and after passing through several tribes crossed the Platte and met at Fort Hall a body of Flatheads, who had come 800 miles to escort the missionaries. On September 24th the party reached Bitter

Root River, where it was decided to form a permanent settlement. A plan for a mission village was drawn up, a cross planted, and the Mission of St. Mary's begun. The lay brothers built a church and residence, while De Smet went to Colville to obtain provisions. On his return the Blackfeet warriors went on the winter chase, and he remained in the vil- lage, familiarizing himself with the language, into which he translated the catechism. He then resolved to visit Fort Vancouver, hoping to find there the supplies necessary to make St. Mary's a fixed mission. On his way he visited several tribes and taught them the ordinary prayers and rudiments of religion. After a narrow escape from drowning he reached Fort Vancouver, but was deceived in his hope of finding supplies, and on his return to St. Mary's resolved to cross the wilderness again to St. Louis. There he laid the condi- tion of his mission before his superiors, who directed him to go to Europe and appeal for aid to the people of Belgium and France. He excited great enthusiasm for his work in those countries, several priests of his order asked permission to join him, and the sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady volun- teered to undertake the instruction of the Flathead children. He sailed from Antwerp in December, 1843, with five Jesuits and six sisters, and reached Fort Vancouver in August, 1844. He was offered land on the Williamette River for a central mission, and at once began to clear ground and erect build- ings. The work advanced so rapidly that in October the sisters, who had already begun their school in the open air, were able to enter their convent. In 1845 he began a series of missions among the Zingomenes, Sinpoils, Okenaganes, Flatbows and Koot- enais, which extended to the watershed of the Saskatchewan and Columbia, the camps of the wandering Assiniboins and Creeks, and the stations of Fort St. Anne and Bourassa. He visited Europe several times in search of aid for his missions. Indeed, he calculated that his journeys up to 1853, by land and water, must have been more than five times the circumference of the earth. The ability and influence of Father De Smet were cordially acknowledged by the government of the United States, and his aid was often sought in preventing Indian wars. Thus he put an end to the Sioux war, and in Oregon he induced the Yahamas and other tribes un-

270

DES MOINES RIVER-DE SOTO.

der Kamiakim to cease hostilities. He was chaplain in the expedition to Utah, and opened new missions among the tribes in that Territory. During his last visit to Europe he met with a severe accident, in which several of his ribs were broken, and on his return to St. Louis he wasted slowly away. Father De Smet was made a knight of the Order of Leopold by the king of the Belgians. His best-known works, which have been translated into English, are 'The Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains,' 'Indian Letters and Sketches,' 'Western Missions and Missionaries' and 'New Indian Sketches.' "-(Appleton's Cyclo- pedia of American Biography.)

Des Moines River .- The Des Moines is an Iowa river, but for twenty miles it forms the northeastern boundary of Missouri, and of Clark County.

De Soto .- The largest city in Jefferson County, on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, and a division of the Mis- souri Pacific Railway, forty-two miles south of St. Louis. It is beautifully located, partly on the heights overlooking Joachim Creek, and partly in the valley. The first buildings on this site were a residence and sawmill built by Colonel John W. Fletcher in 1855. The town was laid out by Thomas C. Fletch- er (afterward governor) and Louis J. Rankin, in 1857. Immediately afterward a post- office was established, with C. B. Fletcher, father of Thomas C. Fletcher, as first post- master. E. M. Boli opened the first store the same year, and the first brick house was built by D. Cohen. In 1861 the population did not exceed 200, but in 1865 it began to increase rapidly, and in 1869 the town was incorporated. In 1872 the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company located their car works and machine shops here, conditioned on donation by the town of necessary ground, and continued tax ex- emption. In order to comply with these requirements, the town organization was abandoned, and in 1872 reincorporation was effected with inclusion of the donation tract. In 1878 it became a city of the fourth-class under the general law. In 1882 the courts held this organization to be illegal by reason of irregularities in the donation matter, and a valid reincorporation as a city of the same

class was made in 1883, when Herman Hamel became mayor. Since that time it has con- tinued to develop and prosper. Education has always been held in high regard, and all its agencies cordially and liberally supported. Soon after the town was established, Pro- fessor Trumble instituted the De Soto Academy, for which a large building was erected. He moved away about 1868, and the school closed soon afterward. The building was used at times for private school purposes until 1886, when it burned down. In 1882 a stone and brick public school build- ing, an ornament in an architectural way, was erected on the Heights, at a cost of $15,000, with a seating capacity of 700. The curriculum includes a complete high-school course, worthy of an academy. There are five other fine public school buildings, one of which is for colored children. A deep-seated regard for religion finds evidence in the un- usual number of churches, and the liberality with which they are sustained. The Baptists, Methodists, Southern Methodists, Presby- terians, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, German Methodists, Evan- gelicals, and two bodies of colored Method- ists, have separate houses of worship. Secret societies and fraternal bodies are numerous, testifying to the liberal and cosmopolitan character of the people. They comprise Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, Grand Army of the Republic, United Workmen, Chosen Friends, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, Woman's Christian Temperance Union and numerous other orders. Several of these organizations meet in the upper rooms of the fine operahouse. The leading industry is that of the car works and machine shops, of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, principally engaged in re- pair work on locomotives and cars, employ- ing 400 men, on a monthly pay roll of $22,000. Additional to these is a force of about 150 men engaged on the road in various capaci- ties, who make their home in the city. Other large industries are two flourmills, a large ice plant, a planing mill and school-desk factory, corn-shredder factory, a wagon fac- tory, marble works and bottling works. All departments of mercantile business are well represented. There are two excellent hotels. The Jefferson County Bank, and the People's Bank of De Soto, both organ-

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DE SOTO ACADEMY-DE SOTO.

ized in 1835, and the German-American Bank, organized in 1898, have ample capital and reserve, and are conducted with liberality and at the same time on safe business prin- ciples. The local newspapers, the "Press," Democratic, and the "Facts," Republican, are able and creditable exponents of the business interests of the city, as well as of the parties which they advocate. More than a score of artesian wells furnish an excellent water sup- ply. The Consumers' Electric Light and Power Co. gives efficient light service, and there is a well conducted telephone system, and long distance telephone to St. Louis and Eastern cities. The people are conspicuous for business enterprise, culture, refinement and hospitality. The residence portions of the city are handsomely built up and beautifully shaded, and there is a noticeable absence of the ill-kept houses which mar so many towns. In 1900 the population was 5,611.

De Soto Academy .- See "De Soto."

De Soto, Hernando, discoverer of the lower Mississippi River, was born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Estremadura, Spain, about the year 1496, and died on the banks of the Mis- sissippi, June 20, 1542. In 1519 he accompa- nied Davila, who had been made governor of Darien, on his second expedition to America, and served on the expedition to Nicaragua under Hernandez in 1527. In 1528 he ex- plored the coasts of Guatemala and Yucatan in search of a strait which was supposed to connect the two oceans. At a later date he joined Pizarro on his expedition to Peru, and in 1533 explored the islands of that country and discovered the great national road which led to the Peruvian capital. He was promi- nent in, the engagements that completed the conquest of Peru, and subsequently returned to Spain with a fortune of $500,000, which en- abled him to marry the daughter of his old patron, Davila. Ambitious to excel Cortez and Pizarro in glory and wealth, he obtained permission from Charles V to conquer Florida at his own expense. Sailing with a force of 600 men, twenty-four ecclesiastics and twenty officers, he landed his fleet at Havana in 1539, and on the 25th of May fol- lowing anchored in Tampa Bay. Landing his soldiers De Soto sent his ships back to Cuba, and at the head of his followers began the long search for gold and other treasures

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Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II, Part 49

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n Publication date: 1901 Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors Number of Pages: 800

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 800