History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 79

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 79

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Franklin Insurance Co.

Fenby, Samuel.

Chase & Bro.

Cutter & Terrill.

Cooley & Tower.

Creveling, H. C.

Campbell, Robert & Co.

Comstock, J. F. & Co.

Conant, H. A.

Camman, Jacob.

Davis, Samuel C. & Co.

Blunden, Koenig & Co.

Booth, J. W. & Son.

Bowen, John H.

Baur & Bohle.

Eagle Foundry.

Ensel, G. S.

Barlow & Taylor, bankers. Collier White Lead Co.

Fisk, Clinton B.

Fisher, John A. & Co.

Chamberlain, F. B. & Co. Clarke, R. P.

Clarke, D. A.

1350

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

Fritchle, J. & Co. Fisk, Knight & Co.

Moreau, Alexander B. Mueller, A. C. .

Teasdale, M. C.

Willard & Co.

Teichman & Co. Toole, John.

Wattenberg, Busch & Co.

Fisse, G. H.

McKee & Fishback.

Waltman, Gustavus.

Fenby, R. D.

Meier, Adolphus & Co.

Thamer, Julius.

Whitmore, Charles.

Fenn, William P.

Meyer, Henry L. & Co. Mepham & Bro. Meyer & Meister.

Vansyckle, A.

Filley, Giles F.

McQueen, William N.

Woodward, H. M.

Whiteside, John.

Whittaker, Francis. Warne, Cheever & Co.

Wilson, William C.

Young, William & Co.

Wilson, James.

Yaeger, Eggers.

Goodwin & Anderson. Gaylord, Son & Co.

Obear, W. F.

Grecr, J. G. & Co.

Plant, George P. & Co.

Pompenay, Francis.

Pegram, George. Pearce, H. O. & Co.

Pottle & Bailey.

Pike & Kellogg. Partridge & Co.

Pomeroy & Benton.

Perret, A. L.

Holmes, S. & Son.

Prather, John G. & Co.

Hening & Woodruff. Holton & Capelle. How, John.

Pryor, Gilbert. Pulsifer, W. H. Patchin, L. W. & Co.

Pomeroy, C. W. Perry, John D.

Roe, John J. & Co.

Reevey, J. B. Rich & Co. Reuss, F. A. & Co.

Richardson, James.

Rosenfeld, Isaac, Jr., cashier State Savings Association.

Raphaelsky, M.

Sears, S. G.

Sexton, John A.

St. Louis Building and Sav- ings Association.

Seitz, Louis.

Sinnot, Nicholas Cullen. Standard, Gilbert & Co.

Jackson, Perry & Co. Jackson, Edward. Jacoby, S. Kendall, H. N. & Co. Kreickhaus & Co.

Stevens, N. Smith, W. H. & W.

Smith, F. & Co. Stobie, William.

Krafft, E. F.

Schaeffer, Anheuser & Co. .

Stoddard, A. S. & Co.

Kuhs & Mueller. Leonard, James D. Lemb, Adam.

" Resolved, That no member of any similar organization in the city of St. Louis shall be admitted to the membership of the Union Merchants' Exchange after the 1st of February next, except by ballot, and any applicant failing to receive two-thirds of the whole number of votes cast shall be rejected."

Action upon these resolutions was postponed to a subsequent meeting.

The new Exchange occupied quarters in the build- ing south of the post-office, on Third Street, belong-

1 " The Merchants' Exchange building is emphatically run- "ning under the Stars and Stripes. An old American flag which had seen service in the war of 1812 was unfurled to the breeze yesterday from the Exchange."-Republican, Jan. 14, 1862.

Greeley & Gale. Grassmuck, Peter. Goodrich, Willard & Co. Garrison, J. L.

Marks, Dennis. Northrup, A. K.

Nulsen & Mersmans.

Obear & Gates.

At a meeting of the Union Merchants' Exchange, held January 13th, the following resolution was adopted :

" Resolved, That all persons engaged in mercantile or manu- facturing pursuits, banks, bankers, and insurance companies who can subscribe to the following obligation are cordially in- vited to membership in the Union Merchants' Exchange in St. Louis, and that all the members heretofore enrolled shall be required to subscribe to said obligation :

"We, the undersigned, solemnly pledge our honor that we will bear true allegiance to the United States and to the pro- visional government of the State of Missouri, and support and sustain the Constitution and laws thereof; that we will main- tain the national sovereignty paramount to that of all State, county, or confederate powers; that we will discourage, dis- countenance, and forever oppose secession, rebellion, and disin- tegration of the Federal Union ; that we disclaim and denounce all faith and fellowship with the so-called Confederate authori- ties or armies, and pledge our honor to the sound performance of this our solemn obligation." 1

At a meeting of the Union Exchange, held Jan. 23, 1862, the committee appointed by the Union Merchants' Exchange to meet a similar committee from the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce reported that they had met, and after consultation in regard to the differences between the two organizations, were unable to effect any satisfactory adjustment, where- upon the following resolutions were offered :

" Resolved, That no member of the Union Merchants' Ex- change shall, after the 1st of February next, be a member of or transact business at the rooms of any similar organization in this city ; and the president of this association shall cause the name of any member violating this rule to be stricken from the roll of membership, and announce the same at the first meet- ing of the Exchange thereafter.

Lipman, Morris J. Loring, H. I. & Co. Lemcke Bros. Ludewig, Johannes. Moore, Henry J. . Mudd, Alexis. Merritt, J. & Bro. Mitchell, Rammelsberg & Co. McArthur & Fisher. Meyer & Blaun. McCartney, Samuel & Co. Morris, S. T. Manny, Drake & Downing. Martin, Henry & Co.

Stafford, E. Sumner, A. Simpkins, G. W. Stetkaulcr, G. Shidy & Loomis. Simpson, John H. Sweet, G. B. & Bro. Stedman, W. S. & Co. Slater & Virden. Stephens, R. & Co. Smith, Alexander H. Sickles, T. B. & Co. Schild, William & Co. Smith, Irwin Z. Seimers & Sersinghaus. Tucker, Charles L.

Totten, W. W. Whitmore, Henry. Wolff & Hoppe. Uhrig, Joseph. Wann, John.

Filley, E. A. & S. R. Forster, Marquard.

McCandless, William.

Green, J. & Co. Green, W. R. & Co. Gilderhaus & Co. Hazard, W. T. Heinrichshoffen, W. & R. Holmes, Charles. Hunike, William.

Holmes, Robert.

Holsman, George. Hall, Woodward & Co. Hoeber, Gustavus. Harlon & Wahl. Hammill, S. & J. Homeyer, Henry A. & Co. Hamilton, Mark. Humphreys, Terry & Co. Hancock, D. J. & Co.

Habe, William & Bro. Hammond & Co. Ham, James. Haseltine & Bent. Howland, Charles H. Illinois River Packet Co. James, P.

LINARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF A DEUS.

D. a. January.

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COMMERCIAL EXCHANGES.

ing to Mitchell, Rammellsburg & Co. Feb. 4, 1862, there were two rooms (about eighty by twenty-five feet) where the principal business was transacted, connecting with each other by three doors in each, opening into a hall nine feet in width, running nearly the full length of the building. Besides these there were two ample committee-rooms in the rear, and the secretary's office.

At the election for officers of the Chamber of Com- merce, held on Jan. 15, 1862, the following were chosen : President, William Matthews; First Vice- President, James Mackoy ; Second Vice-President, George Bayha ; Secretary and Treasurer, Robert H. Davis; Committee of Appeals, T. H. Larkin, John F. Tolle, John F. Baker, Mackot Thompson, N. Schaeffer, Willis J. Powell, Thomas Ferguson, Edward Ring, Samuel Johnson, Jr., G. L. Hughes, David Anderson, Charles L. Thompson ; Flour Inspectors, James L. Benson, William Stobie, Joseph Powell.

D. A. January, the late president, in announcing the vote, took occasion to deliver a short valedictory, assuring the Chamber of his hearty co-operation, and indulging in hopes for its prosperity and usefulness in the future. The new president, on being introduced by Mr. January, made a few remarks, tendering his thanks for the honor conferred upon him, and in the name of the Chamber. complimenting the late incum- bent upon the fidelity and success of his administration.

Mr. Mackoy, the first vice-president, was next in- troduced. He alluded to the influence over the busi- ness of the West, and, indeed, over the commerce of the world, that had been exerted in the past by the Chamber, and said he trusted that, with the single purpose of developing the commercial interests of the country, knowing no North, no South, no East, no West, it would be enabled in the future to maintain its proud position.

Derrick A. January, whose retirement from the pres- idency of the Chamber of Commerce has been men- tioned, was born in Lexington, Ky., in August, 1814, and lived there until he was about sixteen years of age, when he removed with his widowed mother to Louisville, Ky., where he worked in an humble ca- pacity in the printing-office of the Advertiser news- paper. In 1832 he removed to Jacksonville, Ill., where in connection with his brother he opened a general store. The business grew and prospered, and was con- tinued without interruption until the winter of 1836- 37, when the family removed to St. Louis. Here Mr. January opened the wholesale grocery house of January, Stettinius & Co., on the Levee. The uni- form prosperity which had always attended his mer- cantile career received a new impetus in St. Louis,

and continued without interruption for nearly forty years. Although he was surrounded with younger associates, his name was the bulwark of the firm. During the existence of the house whose head he was it occupied a leading position, and remained un- shaken even in the disturbing period of the civil war. He retired from this business in 1875.

Mr. January was prominently instrumental in build- ing the first " Lindell Hotel," and subscribed largely for that purpose. In the movement for rebuilding that structure he took the same active part, and his subscriptions were equally munificent. He was one of the originators of the Merchants' Bank ; was president of the Chamber of Commerce, as we have seen, at the beginning of the war ; was for four years president of the St. Louis Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and was one of the founders of the United States Insurance Company. Many other prominent corporations had the benefit of his wise counsel in their boards of directors.

Mr. January died July 19, 1879. Upon his death the Merchants' Exchange adopted highly eulogistic resolutions, in which it was stated that " No man less ostentatious, less attracted by the allurements of per- sonal ambition, ever attained a position of more influ- ence or possessed a more commanding hold upon the affectionate regard of his fellow-citizens. With no desire for political place, he was far from indifferent to the cause of public affairs, and by all the means in his power he aided every movement designed to purify and elevate the government of city, State, and nation.

" In business he was the embodiment of the soul of honor and the spirit of enterprise. The growth and prosperity of our city and State, the extension of our commercial relations, the promotion of every ele- ment of progress, and the encouragement of all influ- ences tending towards culture and refinement seemed ever present in his brain and heart. Coming to St. Louis in 1837, he soon took a leading position among the merchants of the city, and his house became known all over the country as standing with the highest in the magnitude of its transactions and in point of honorable dealing. His manners were dig- nified, courteous, and elegant, and in social life, no less than in the walks of commerce, he was conspic- uous for his urbanity and modest bearing. At home he was considerate, kind, and cheerful ; at all times he was even-tempered, benevolent, and just. . . . In all relations of life the deceased was a true man."

Mr. January was twice married,-first in 1842 to Miss Mary Louisa Smith, step-daughter of the late Jesse G. Lindell, by whom he had three children, the first of whom died in infancy. In 1860 he was

1352

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

again married to Miss Julia C. Churchill, of Louis- ville, Ky., who, with five children, survives him.

At a special meeting of the Union Exchange, held on the 3d of April, 1862, the following communication was read and submitted to the members :

"OFFICE ST. LOUIS " MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE COMPANY, " April 2, 1862.

" To Henry J. Moore, Esq. :

"DEAR SIR,-I have the honor to present the following reso- lution of the company I represent, with an earnest request that the committee asked for will be granted, and that mutual concessions may lead to good results.

"I am, respectfully yours, " GEORGE R. TAYLOR, " President Merchants' Exchange Company.

""' Resolved, That the president be and he is hereby in- structed to request of the two Chambers of Commerce the ap pointing of a committee of five members of their respective bodies to meet this hoard on Friday next at 10 o'clock A.M., with a view of avoiding, if possible, the sacrifice of this com- pany's interests, and the adjustment of the present unfortunate difficulties.'"

A motion to comply with the request was adopted, and the president appointed the committee as follows : George Partridge, Thomas Richeson, Dennis Marks, Charles Holmes, Henry A. Homeyer.

The conference failed to procure an adjustment of the difficulties, but on the 27th of October another proposition was submitted. The letter of the president embodying this proposition was as follows :

" OFFICE OF THE ST. LOUIS MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE COMPANY.

"ST. LOUIS, Oct. 27, 1862.

"TO THE UNION MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE OF ST. LOUIS, MO. : " As president of the St. Louis Merchants' Exchange Com- pany, I have the honor to address your body, and sincerely hope that you will view with liberality, as well as equitably, the following proposition, the more especially as the stockholders of the Exchange Company are neither directly nor indirectly re- sponsible for the unfortunate division that has so seriously in- volved the company's interest, and proximate ruin of their pro- perty. And in this connection allow me to call your attention to the company's earliest history, and the great liberality that characterized the action of those having then, as at this time, the building and the company's interest in charge.

"The St. Louis Chamber of Commerce then occupied rooms, wholly unsuited for their purpose, over the drug store of Messrs. Charless & Blow, being contracted, dark, and ineligible in every particular. At this time the Chamber entered into an agree- ment with a few of their own members, proposing, among other things, that if a room sixteen feet in the clear, and not less than one hundred fect in front hy eighty feet in depth, with as few obstructions as practicable was prepared, the same would he leased for ten years, at an annual rent of two thousand five hun- dred dollars. Now, at this time the property represented by this company was vacant, and at the instance of a few persons an association was formed, the ground purchased, and the build- ing now the company's erected, the association subsequently obtaining a charter. Instead of a room of the dimensions speci- fied in the agreement referred to, the present building was

erected, and the most elegant apartments to he found in the whole range of commercial cities in the United States placed at the disposal of the Chamber of Commerce. The building is known to he complete in all its appointments, was occupied by the merchants for whom and at whose instance it was built, and continued to be occupied by them until the inauguration of this cruel war, when difficulties, in which this company was in no wise involved, arose, eventuating in a separation, and ultimately in the closing of the apartments so leased to the Chamber and parties for whom it was built.

" The foregoing is a plain statement of facts, with the addi- tional one that the company, in its liberality, desiring to serve the merchants, have wellnigh ruined their property, for it is almost useless for other purposes. Now, in view of all the cir- cumstances, and with the hope and reasonable expectation of harmonizing ultimately the unfortunate division between par- ties for whom the building was erected, the undersigned sub- mits the following proposition : We will place your honorable hody in peaceahle possession of all the original apartments occu- pied by the Chamber of Commerce, including the use of all the furniture, fixtures, and property on the premises, on the first day of the ensuing November, for the term of fourtcen months, at the same rental specificd in the lease to said Chamber, upon condition, first, that your honorable body admit such members of the old Chamher to your organization on their complying with all the requisites of your rules and organization ; or,

"Secondly, that, should you refuse them membership, then your honorable hody admit such of them as may choose to visit your meetings and participate in the sale and purchase of pro- duce, upon their paying the regular and customary fees pre- scrihed hy your rules,-not voting nor participating in the man- agement of your organization, but to conform in all particu- lars, in their intercourse with the members and each other, as is prescribed hy rules in the premises.'

"I honestly entreat your honorable body, on behalf of the interests of all parties involved, so detrimental to this company, and the interests directly and most injuriously affected, to ac- cept the within and foregoing proposition, thus harmonizing all conflicting opinions without sacrificing principle, and avoiding the injury, if not ultimate destruction, of this company's prop- erty.

"I am, very respectfully, "G. R. TAYLOR, President.

At a meeting of the Union Exchange, held on the 18th of November, 1862, the directors were author- rized by a unanimous vote to make a proposition to George R. Taylor, president of the Exchange Com- pany, to lease the Chamber of Commerce building for five years, at two thousand five hundred dollars per annum, and make no conditions as to member- ship. The terms suggested were accepted, and on the 26th the Union Exchange removed from the rooms near the post-office which it had occupied to the old quarters in the Chamber of Commerce build- ing. At an election held on the 7th of January, 1863, the following officers of the Union Exchange were chosen :

President, George Partridge ; Vice-Presidents, C. S. Greeley, A. W. Fagin ; Directors, N. Schaeffer, John J. Roe, E. O. Stan- ard, S. M. Edgell, Barton Ahle, George P. Plant, William D'Oench, Thomas Richeson, J. O. Pierce, H. A. Homcyer ; Committee of Appeals, J. W. Booth, Nathan Cole, C. L.

1353

COMMERCIAL EXCHANGES.

Tucker, Samuel McCartney, John C. Rust, F. A. Reuss, Rohert C. Greer, C. O. Dutcher, M. C. Teasdale, George H. Rea, G. W. Chadhourne, G. Woltman; Committee of Arbitration, S. Jac- oby, T. A. Buckland, J. G. Nulsen, G. W. Banker, A. L. Holmes, W. Heinrichshofen, A. B. Marean, Charles F. Meyer, N. Stevens, W. H. Pulsifer.

On the 4th of March, 1863, the Exchange was chartered, the incorporators being all the members of the association.

In the spring of 1871 the question of obtaining more spacious accommodations presented itself, and at a meeting of the directors held on the 12th of June, 1871, Gerard B. Allen presiding, the following propositions were submitted :

" Third and Chestnut Proposition.

"ST. LOUIS, June 12, 1871. " GERARD B. ALLEN, EsQ.,

" President of the Union Merchants' Exchange :

" Dear Sir,-The undersigned have agreed to form a company with ample capital for the purpose of erecting an Exchange huilding, fronting two hundred and forty-three fect on the west side of Third Street, between Chestnut and Pine Streets, with a depth of one hundred and fifty feet on Chestnut Street, be- tween Third and Fourth Streets, and desire to lease to your as- sociation suitahle accommodations therein.

" The location, in reference to the business of this city, and to the positions of the custom-house, post-office, court-house, banking-houses, and hotels, is one of the most central that can be secured, and is likely to remain so for a number of years to come. We design to erect a first-class edifice, which will be, architecturally, an ornament to the city, and fit up the second story for an Exchange, with its reading-rooms, secretary's and directors' rooms. Tho details of arrangements of the rooms will be made to suit the views of your association, as it is the design of the company to devote the entire front on the western side of Third Street, if required, to the purposes of the Ex- change, and not only to construct an edifice ample for the pres- ent wants of trade, hut also to provide for extending it so as to accommodate the manufacturing, mechanical, and hanking in- terests as well as the commercial. It is also intended to set the huilding sufficiently hack so as to widen the adjoining streets.

" The style of the edifice will accord with the present Euro- pean taste, and it will have all the necessary accommodations for the purposes of your association ; a room will he furnished on the second floor, douhle the size of the present Exchange room, with the privilege of making it nearly four times as large ; it will he from forty-five to fifty feet in height, with acoustic advantages unsurpassed. The construction of the huilding will he such that light and ventilation will be obtained on the four sides or points, with the principal points south and east, these heing the most sought after, even in our domestic huildings. Another grand feature of the arrangement is that a summer Exchange can he had on the ground floor, on the west side of the huilding, covering it over with glass sustained hy iron-work, flagging it with marble tiles, forming an arcade from Chestnut to Pine Streets, with brokers', hankers', real estate, and insur- ance offices on both sides of it. Those who have traveled ahroad can readily see the effect and importance of this feature in the arrangement of an Exchange huilding, and the ready facilities it would give for the transaction of business would he unequaled on this continent.

" We respectfully request the appointment of a committee to confer, on the part of your association, with Messrs. George

Knapp, James H. Lucas, B. W. Alexander, R. J. Lackland, and H. L. Patterson, a committee on our part, respecting the terms and other arrangements which would be acceptable to it in re- gard to the proposed Exchange.

" We remain, dear sir, yours respectfully,

"James H. Lucas, J. G. Weld, George Knapp & Co., B. W. Alexander, Ann L. Hunt, Eras- tus Wells, Thomas Allen, Joseph Brown, Adolphus Meier, Franklin O. Day, George R. Taylor, R. J. Lackland, Henry Blaksley, J. H. McLean, Joseph Weil, John Finn, James J. O'Fallon, Elois P. Kayser, William C. Tay- lor, R. W. Mitchell, William Keiler, Frederick Hill, John H. Gay, Edward J. Gay, William T. Gay, J. R. Pullis & Brother, Z. F. Wetzell & Co."

Third and Locust Proposition.

"ST. LOUIS, June 12, 1871. "TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS:

"For myself and associates, I propose to erect a Merchants' Exchange huilding in Block 64 of the city of St. Louis, at the northeast corner of Locust and Third Streets, the building to be two hundred hy one hundred and eight feet; the Exchange room to be one hundred hy one hundred and seventy feet in the clear and forty-six feet high, to have entrances from Third Street and Exchange Street. The large room will leave committee-room, secretary's room, reading-room, directors' room, and ample ac- commodation for washing, etc. For particulars, see plans.

" We propose to lease to the Chamber of Commerce for thirty years, the first ten years thereof for fifteen thousand dollars, the second ten for twenty thousand dollars, and the third ten years for twenty-five thousand dollars.

"For myself and associates,

"P. B. GERHART."

A plan for erecting a similar building at Sixth Street and Washington Avenue was also submitted by John A. Scudder, Catherine Ames, and William H. Scudder.

Architectural drawings of the proposed buildings accompanied the first two propositions.

The board, after an informal consultation, ordered the propositions to be laid upon the table for one week, and directed the secretary to request the par- ties to amend their propositions by including in them all particulars respecting the locations, dimensions, prices of rent, and the time at which they would obligate themselves to have the building ready for occupancy in the event of the acceptance of any of the propositions.

At a meeting of the directors on the 19th of June the following amended propositions were submitted by the same parties :

Third and Chestnut Location.

"ST. Louis, June 19, 1871.

"GERARD B. ALLEN, President Union Merchants' Exchange :

"DEAR SIR,-We propose to furnish the Union Merchants' Exchange with suitable apartments for all the purposes of an Exchange building, including large chamber, reading- and com- mittee-rooms, offices, etc., located on Third Street, hetween Chestnut and Pine Streets. The size contemplated for the

1354

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

large chamber is one hundred and seventy-nine feet in length, eighty feet in width, and from forty-five to fifty feet in height, with light and ventilation from three sides, and unsurpassed acoustic properties.

"Should a larger room or different dimensions be required, we hold ourselves in readiness to make the alterations, with a view to meeting the reasonable views of the directory and mem- bers. Full and complete arrangements have been made for the purchase and possession of the ground, and ample guaranty will be given for the completion of the building, which will be on an elegant scale of architectural beauty, on or before the 25th of November, 1872, the time of the expiration of your present lease. We propose a lease to the Exchange for twenty- five years on the following terms : For a term of five years, $12,000 per annum ; for a second term of five years, $15,000 per annum; for a third term of five years, $18,000 per annum ; for a fourth term of five years, $21,000 per annum ; and for the fifth term of five years, $24,000 per annum.

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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 79

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