History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 56

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 56

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In 1855 there were fifty-six houses engaged in the wholesale grocery trade, with annual sales amounting to $22,783,505. Under the classification of groceries, dry-goods, boots and shoes there were five firms en- gaged, their annual sales aggregating $710,675.

The total number of wholesale grocery firms in St. Louis in 1881 was fifty-two; wholesale and retail groceries, nine ; dealers in fancy groceries, three,- making a total of sixty-four firms in the wholesale grocery business. The sales (exclusive of sugar, cof- fee, rice, etc.) are estimated at thirty millions of dol- lars per annum. During the same year (1881) there were one thousand and twenty-five retail groceries in St. Louis.

One of the largest grocery firms in the country, and

probably in the world, the Greeley-Burnham Grocer Company, is located in St. Louis. Its founder was Carlos S. Greeley (a sketch of whose active and beneficent career is printed elsewhere in this work in the history of the operations of the Western Sanitary Commission), who in 1838 established a wholesale grocery-house in St. Louis, the firm being composed at first of Messrs. Greeley & Sanborn, and afterwards of Greelcy & Gale. Business was commenced on the Levee on a very moderate scale, and one of the pecu- liarities of its management was that, contrary to the usual practice of the time and place, the firm sold no liquor. The enterprise prospered, and the partner- ship of Greeley & Gale continued in successful opera- tion until 1858, in which year C. B. Burnham was admitted to partnership, and the house took the name of C. B. Burnham & Co ..

Daniel B. Gale, who was associated with Mr. Gree- ley in the establishment of the original firm, was born in Salisbury, N. H., March 30, 1816. When he was but six years old his father, a prosperous far- mer, died, but his mother, a woman of rarc qualities of mind and heart, chcerfully assumed the added re- sponsibilities, and, watching over his childhood and youth with unceasing love, laid the foundations of a singularly fine and noble character. The lad worked on the farm until he was about fourteen years of age, and his early education was mostly received from the common country school, taught six months in the ycar; but he afterwards enjoyed for a time the ad- vantages of the academy in his native town, and then, with the intention of becoming a lawyer, entered Meriden Academy, in Plainfield, N. H., to prepare for college. Like many another New England stu- dent, he taught a country school during the winter, and at the same time prosecuted his studies ; but a change having come over his mind as to his life-work, he abandoned the idea of entering the legal profession, and became a clerk in the store of Samucl C. Bart- lett, a prominent and wealthy merchant of Salisbury.

A friend who knew him well at that period writes, " He was rather impulsive, very affectionate in his nature, and more delicate in his constitution than his brothers, and on that account was perhaps rather more the favorite of his mother. He was always, even in boyhood, perfectly correct in his deportment, was reliable in all that he said or did, and was never guilty of any of those boyish tricks and vices so common with young men, and by some considered almost necessary follies of youth. There was a small public library in Salisbury, from which he pro- cured books, and he early acquired the habit of filling up his leisure time in reading. This habit con-

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tinued ever after, and made him a man of great gen- eral information."

Very soon after becoming of age, at the earnest solicitation of his brother, a lawyer in Peoria, Ill., who was anxious for him to settle at that point, he determined to try his fortune in the West, and having some money from his father's estate at his disposal, he purchased a stock of goods in Boston, shipped them by way of New Orleans to Peoria, and proceeded without delay via Pittsburgh to that town, where he intended to reside. But having chanced, in March, 1838, to meet at Peoria a native of his birthplace, Carlos S. Greeley, who was establishing himself in St. Louis, and who urged upon his young townsman the superior advantages which St. Louis as a business centre offered to a stirring young man, he visited St. Louis, where he found Mr. Greeley just opening busi- ness, and suggested the formation of a partnership, offering to put into the capital of the firm the two thousand dollars' worth of goods then on the way up the river. Mr. Greeley accepted the proposition, and the two, who were destined to be from this moment lifelong friends and associates, repaired to a room in the National Hotel, corner of Third and Market Streets, and there arranged the basis of partnership and the general principles on which the business should be conducted.

A noteworthy feature of their agreement was that it was wholly verbal. When one proposed to reduce it to writing, the other remarked that were it put on paper it would be no more binding, for if people would not keep a verbal contract, they would surely find some way to break a written one. And so, on the 28th of March, 1838, the firm of Greeley & Gale was organized, without any written articles of copart- nership, and during the thirty-six years in which the principals were associated they never found it neces- sary to draw up any such articles, nor to commit to writing any agreement, either with each other or with those who were subsequently admitted to the firm.

The rapid rise and development of the firm has already been related. Of his associate in the years of toil that first ensued and of honorable and well- earned success that followed Mr. Greeley says, " Mr. Gale was a good, honest, working man, always ready to do his share of hard work,-and there was plenty of it for many long years. A more conscientious or correct man I never had the pleasure of knowing. I

never knew him to fail in any capacity. He was in every respect a good man, a thorough Christian."

Mr. Gale was pre-eminently a man of business, and attended strictly to details. He did not allow his time or capital to be squandered in outside invest-

ments and speculations, which allure from their legiti- mate callings so many merchants only to result in financial disaster, but to all public enterprises which promised good to St. Louis he gave hearty and ma- terial support. For many years he was a director in several of the banks, and was a liberal subscriber to the stock of the Kansas and Pacific Railroad. In com- pany with Messrs. Greeley, John D. Perry, Joseph O'Neil, and others, he rendered to that great enter- prise important financial aid at a most critical period of its history. For several years, too, he was the faithful and incorruptible representative of the Sev- enth Ward in the City Council,-a-service prompted not by love of applause or personal gain, for such motives were entirely foreign to his quiet and unsel- fish nature, but by a serious conviction of the duty he owed his fellow-citizens, whom he served in a strong and upright way, without compromise of their rights or loss of his own self-respect. Thus, though diligent in business, he found time and means to render substantial aid to the city of his residence and love, and his honorable, successful, and praise- worthy career as a merchant and citizen was truth- fully eulogized on the occasion of his death by the Union Merchants' Exchange, of which he was a member, in these words: " A gentleman of univer- sally modest deportment, yet widely known and beloved on account of the remarkable purity and be- nevolence of his character; a merchant of sterling integrity, about whose name the most pleasant mem- ories will forever cluster."

Mr. Gale was a thoroughly benevolent man, and for years he was an efficient worker in that noble charity the Provident Association. He was also trustee and counselor in various charitable organiza- tions, to the prosperity and usefulness of which his best energies were consecrated. He ever kept his heart fresh and warm by personal intercourse with the poor, listening patiently to tales of sorrow and want, and alleviating human suffering and wretched- ness with all the means at his command. He gave freely to the cause of education, especially to the training of young men for the Christian ministry, and at his death, which occurred on the 23d of Sep- tember, 1874, he left, among other liberal benefac- tions, a bequest of five thousand dollars to Shurtleff College, Upper Alton, Ill., and an equal sum to the Girls' Industrial Home in St. Louis. His modest nature shrank from publicity, and he literally did not let "his left hand know what his right hand" did.

On March 15, 1850, Mr. Gale was baptized by Rev. J. B. Jeter, D.D., into the fellowship of the Second Baptist Church of St. Louis. During those

OBGale

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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

Josiah Alkire

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TRADE, COMMERCE, AND MANUFACTURES.

times which tried men's souls, when the church, like every other institution of society, was passing through the shock of civil war, he accepted the responsible office of treasurer, and discharged its duties with fidelity and skill. The records of the church show that from four hundred dollars to two thousand four hundred dollars of his private funds were annually employed to preserve the credit of the church. Few men could have done this in the delicate and quiet way in which all now know that he did it. Until he was stricken down by ill health his service in the church was characterized by the most considerate wisdom and great generosity. He was one of the principal advocates of moving the location of the church edifice from Sixth and Locust to Locust and Beaumont Streets, and one of the largest contributors to the building fund of the present beautiful struc- ture. Even after sickness prevented active partici- pation in church work, he still rendered important aid to the church by his judicious counsels and liberal gifts.

On the 3d of February, 1842, Mr. Gale was mar- · ried to Miss Caroline E. Pettengill, a native of his birthplace, and an acquaintance of his youth and early manhood. From this union were born five children,-Charles, Theodore F., Ella R., Arthur H., and George. Charles and George died in early child- hood, and Theodore F. at the age of twenty-one. Ella R. is the wife of Charles W. Barstow, of St. Louis.

Into his home Mr. Gale brought his best thoughts and most sacred affections. Here, as nowhere else, were manifested the purity and sweetness of his gentle and affectionate disposition, the fragrance of which still lingers in the hearts of those who knew him best and loved him most. The memorial organ placed by his wife in the choir gallery of the Second Baptist Church of St. Louis was a just tribute to his life and character, and a fitting expression of the affection in which his memory is held.

The firm of C. B. Burnham & Co. continued as such until 1876, when the title was changed to Grecley, Burnham & Co. In 1879 the firm was in- corporated as the Greeley-Burnham Grocer Company, with C. S. Greeley, president ; C. B. Burnham, vice- president; Dwight Tredway, secretary; C. B. Greeley, treasurer, and A. H. Gale, assistant secretary. These gentlemen still constitute the board of officers. The house has passed through many crises in the com- mercial affairs of the country, but its carecr has been one of great and uniform prosperity. It now occupies a large, convenient, and finely-equipped building at the corner of Christy Avenue and Second Street, and

transacts an immense business, with ramifications covering a wide extent of territory.

Another leading grocery firm is that of Alkire & Co. Josiah Alkire, the senior member, has been identified with the business for thirty years, having founded the house in 1852. Associated with him as members of the present firm are Frederick H. Beimes and William D. Scott. Mr. Alkire was born at Williamsport, Ohio, in 1818. The early years of his life were spent in farming in that State and in Illinois, whither he removed with his father's family in 1840. In 1852 he arrived in St. Louis and engaged in the grocery busi- ness, in which he has continued without interruption ever since. He began in a moderate way, but the business grew rapidly, and the house now occupies five floors, 160 by 70 feet each, of the building em- bracing Nos. 514, 516, 518, and 520 North Second Srteet, St. Louis. The firm stands well in commer- cial circles, and its career has been one of uniform and constantly increasing success.

Mr. Alkire is a modest and unassuming business man, and his prosperity is due to prudent and careful management. His judgment is clear and accurate, and he can probably point to as good an average suc- cess as any of his contemporaries. In business mat- . ters he is watchful without being parsimonious, for he believes that, frequently, liberal expenditures bring the most liberal results. Perhaps his most distinguishing characteristic is the thoroughness with which he ap- plies himself to every detail of his business. Perso- nally, he is easily approached, and to his employés is kind-hearted and considerate to a remarkable degree. Such a nature readily responds to the appeals of the distressed, and Mr. Alkire is liberal almost to a fault.

In 1864, Mr. Alkire was married to Lydia Tomlin. They have two sons living,-Francis Alkire, born Dec. 27, 1865, and George Alkire, born April 28, 1871. His tastes are domestic, and he has ample means to gratify them at his beautiful home on the West End Narrow-Gauge Railroad.

Among the men with whom Mr. Alkire has been closely connected in business was the late C. P. Shepard. He regards the partnership with Mr. Shepard as having been a most advantageous one for the house, and personally a most delightful one to himself, and he takes a sad pleasure now in paying this loving tribute to a good man's memory.

The firm of Brookmire & Ranken has long occupied a prominent position in the wholesale grocery trade of St. Louis. James H. Brookmire, the founder of the house, was born Jan. 8, 1837, in Hestonville, then one of the suburbs of Philadelphia, but now a portion of that city. He is of Irish lincage, the son

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

of a mechanic, from whom he inherited sturdy common sense and valuable mechanical gifts. The family were in moderate circumstances, and he enjoyed only the ordinary country school privileges of that period. His boyhood was passed uneventfully, and at the age of seventeen he found employment in a retail grocery in Philadelphia, an engagement which lasted about one year.

In February, 1855, he removed to St. Louis and took a position as shipping clerk in the wholesale grocery establishment of his uncles, S. & J. Hamill, tlien doing business on the Levee. The house was a leading one in its line of trade, and the engagement was an extremely beneficial one to young Brookmire. He served the establishment so faithfully that after successive promotions the young man, who landed in St. Louis with no capital but an indomitable will and faith in himself, was admitted in five years to an active partnership in the house, which then (in 1860) took the name of Joseph Hamill & Co. In 1868 the senior partner, Mr. Hamill, retired, and the firm-name then became Brookmire & Ranken, under which title it has continued to flourish until the present day. Of the career of this firm and of its present standing it . is only necessary to remark that it is not only a lead- ing house in its particular line, but may fairly be re- garded as representative of the general trade of St. Louis in its stability and its capacity for expansion. The scene of its operations has been at the great dis- tributing point for the mighty Mississippi valley, in- viting operations on a large scale, and not only in- volving the use of large capital, but imperatively demanding the employment of decision, judgment, and nerve. The house has also had to pass through many stormy seasons of trade, when success depended upon close and accurate observation and clear and speedy judgment; but its uninterrupted progress through wars and panics and its present prosperity may be taken as conclusive evidence that its managers (at whose head has stood Mr. Brookmire for nearly fifteen years) possessed those necessary qualities in a marked degree.

The secrets of Mr. Brookmire's success have been thoroughness and system. Such were the qualities which led to his remarkably speedy promotion to a partnership, and they have proved to be the founda- tion stones of his subsequent fortune. Upon assum- ing the obligations of a partner, he aspired to be a leader among men of his particular line of business, not only in those routine matters which every grocer is supposed to master, but in those particulars which perhaps a majority neglect. In such matters as the chemistry of his trade, for instance, he is especially

well informed, and his knowledge has greatly con- tributed to the judicious and successful management of the firm's large business. His mechanical tastes are strong, and he figures as the inventor of several patents of special ingenuity and in general use among the trade, by whom Mr. Brookmire's inventive genius is properly appreciated.

Mr. Brookmire has often been solicited to serve the public in various official capacities, but has always declined, having no taste for the excitements of such a life, although deeply appreciating the honor his fellow-citizens sought to pay him. He is, however, a close observer of public affairs, and his influence as a citizen has ever been exerted on the side of economy and honesty in the management of the city, State, and national governments.

Outside of his own business, Mr. Brookmire has not cared greatly to interest himself; his reputation (by which he hopes hereafter to be best remembered) is that of one of the most successful grocers of St. Louis. Nevertheless his name is associated with some enterprises of considerable importance. Hc is also a valued member of several boards and societies, including the popular St. Louis Legion of Honor ; and the possession of considerable real estate in various parts of the city still further identifies him with St. Louis. Without a particle of pretense or affectation, he is one of the best representatives of tlie self-con- tained and aggressive class of business men who have made St. Louis known and respected throughout the great Mississippi valley.

In January, 1867, Mr. Brookmire married Miss Anna Forbes, daughter of Dr. Isaiah Forbes, an old and well-known citizen.

One of the important branches of the grocery busi- ness is the sugar trade. In 1881 the receipts were 58,535 hogsheads, 128,393 barrels, 320 boxes, and 15,108 sacks. The receipts of coffee during 1881 amounted to 243,239 sacks, and the annual value of this trade is set down at over $500,000. The pre-eminence of St. Louis as the largest interior coffee market in the world is still maintained. Her shipments of coffee arc about twenty-five per cent. greater than those of Chicago, Cincinnati, or New Orleans. The receipts of butter during 1881 ag- gregated 8,247,401 pounds, and the receipts of cheese to 109,272 boxes, the total value of the trade being estimated at $1,500,000. Several firms are engaged in the dircct importation of tea, their busi- ness aggregating over $500,000. The trade of St. Louis in oysters and fish is estimated at about the same amount, and the trade in fruits and nuts aggregated in 1881 the sum of $800,000.

las It/ graphmine

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TRADE, COMMERCE, AND MANUFACTURES.

The trade in molasses, coffee, rice, and tea is shown in the following tables :

RECEIPTS AND EXPORTS . OF MOLASSES, COFFEE, AND RICE FOR EIGHTEEN YEARS.

MOLASSES.

COFFEE.

RICE. .

YEARS.

Receipts.

Exports.

Receipts.

Exports.

Receipts.

Exports.

Bbls.

Kegs.

Hhds.

Bbls.

Kegs.

Bags.

Sks. & Bbls.

Pkgs.

1882

57,608

68,833

74,060

117,573

255,880

254,842

49,305

48,797

1881

52,750

83,419

67,655

125,747

245,239

233,616

48,661

50,281

1880

26,243

14,555

40,707

37,299

303,649

277,184

39,399

34,608

1879

21,234

3,562

30,035

36,342

267,533

207,938

34,213

28,154

1878

16,426

528

32,990

39,240

201,080

196,950

25,600

20,467

1877

13,285

1,894

26,524

27,755

197,099

180,696

22,386

26,563

1876

13,270

2,870

390

26,202

37,682

191,543

179,025

20,379

24,665

1875

19,679

13,568

2,495

40,393

65,207

166,914

202,192

17,991

24,465

1874

24,726

15,472

1,489

36,136

37,151

153,919

179,548

18,115

24,553

1873

15,962

6,548

1,111

22,269

20,472

142,863

142,778

10,997

12,019

1872

12,263

9,463

24,209

18,528

135,792

141,970

7,649

10,764

1871

17,449

5,238

42,758

31,204

169,058

159,730

6,620

15,148

1870

14,166

5,221

27,891

21,361

113,950

112,621

6,448

10,971

1869

27,465

5,053

25,857

20,365

135,491

107,853

9,593

10,804

1868

16,568

4,189

19,862

17,596

92,669

91,615

9,020

9,781

1867

8,802

996

14,789

14,763

98,617

80,344

6,069

7,560

1866

6,616

761

12,072

11,132

90,367

65,985

3,977

5,344

1865

10,589

1,461

10,444

11,095

60,106

56,963

2,035

RECEIPTS OF TEA.

Year.

Pkgs.

. Year.

Pkgs.

1882

35,641

1878

37,702

1881

35,518

1877

65,189

1880

34,908

1876.

26,008

The importation of sugar at St. Louis from 1865 to 1882 is presented in the following table, as well as the shipments to the interior :

RECEIPTS AND EXPORTS OF SUGAR FOR EIGHTEEN YEARS.

Year.

Receipts.

Exports.

Hhds.

Bbls.

Boxes.

Bags.

Hhds.

Bbls.

Bags.

1882

42,867

179,900

102

84,672

1,921

319,034

19,581

1881.

58,535

128.393

320

15,108

2,853

294,796

12,171

1880

68,182

126,061

225

779

4,150

331,014

19,426

1879

65,235

89,993

1,224

595

6,615

256,544

33,008

1878

65,004

75,028

7,735

20,792

4,059

250,240

48,013

1877.

51 049

66,103

30,494

6,400

5,816

238,090

46,901

1876

49,415

54,311

60,985

12,908

7,691

236,276

53,755

1875

36,389

51,680

40,690

8,031

7,424

252,770

41,458

1874.

36,647

56,068

80,836

39,774

6,292

223,641

21,144

1873

33,532

35,314

50,656

19,735

3,566

152,198

25,168

1872

30,024

36,275

60,762

5,057

7,006

150,175

18,797

1871.

35,532

31,353

38,050

9,390)

138,675

10,053

1870.

23,289

10,597

56,255

114

5,160

98,243

10,870

1869

23,742

24,529

61,041

409

4,648

96,9:0

21,125

1868

16,628

15,973

44,196

516

3,374

80,268

22,735

1867

19,730

19,819

29,924

2,142

2,855

67,670

24,849

1866

14,686

12,119

43,607

1,649

1,985

57,548

17,960

1865

17,889

8,189

29,410

......

1,852

53,069

David Nicholson, one of the representative men in the grocery trade of St. Louis, was born in the vil- lage of Fowlis Wester, in the county of Perth, Scot- land, on Dec. 9, 1814. His parents were in only moderate circumstances, and he was reared in the sharp and rigorous school of comparative poverty. He received in early youth such education as the Scottish rural schools then afforded, but being fond of books and of ready intellect and more than ordi- nary aptness, he was a promising scholar. His parents

were of the most rigid integrity, and instilled early into his mind and being the principles of the strictest uprightness and honesty.

After his school-days his first employment was the toilsome service of a grocer's apprentice in the city of Glasgow. An apprenticeship in Scotland in those days meant thorough instruction in all the details of the trade to be learned, and when young Nicholson had served his time he had an all but perfect knowl- edge of the business as then conducted. Afterwards he went to the town of Oban, in the West Highlands of Scotland, and there entered the service of a mer- chant who had been attracted by his activity and energy thus early developed in the store at Glasgow.

While yet in his eighteenth year he came to Amer- ica, landing at Montreal, and afterwards proceeded to Ottawa, but finding no employment in the business to which he had been disciplined and educated, he engaged as tutor to the children of the postmaster, where he remained until learning that his employer had withheld his letters, apparently for fear of losing his services as a teacher, he gave up his position. He then learned the trade of a carpenter, and worked as such at Hamilton and other Canadian towns, also at Erie, Pa., and Chicago, and in 1838 removed to St. Louis, where he continued to follow that occupa- tion. Physically strong and mentally quick, he was noted above many of his fellow-craftsmen for rapid and superior workmanship. Some of the finest orna- mental woodwork in St. Xavier's Church, St. Louis, was done by him, and he often referred to it with pride in later years.

In 1843 he relinquished the trade of a carpenter to

1879

52,799

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

embark in the grocery business, and formed a part- nership with William Strachan, who was at that time a wine merchant of St. Louis. The title of the firm was Strachan & Nicholson. Mr. Strachan became surcty for the obligations incurred in establishing the business, but no cash capital was invested. Mr. Nich- olson was the sole manager and director of the new interest thus created, which was originally estab- lished at Fourth and Market Streets. His thorough business training now asserted itself, and under his direction the business prospered and soon attained large proportions. After a number of removals in the passing years, necessitated by the steady growth of its trade, the house finally in 1870 settled in the present commodious building, Nos. 13 and 15 North Sixth Street, between Market and Chestnut Streets, a structure erected by Mr. Nicholson himself to meet the modern requirements of a continually increasing business. The house contains five floors, each fifty by one hundred and thirty-five feet, and at the pres- ent time employs a force of fifty assistants.

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 56

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358