USA > Missouri > St Charles County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 43
USA > Missouri > Montgomery County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 43
USA > Missouri > Warren County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 43
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
worthy of consideration from the standpoint of fixed and general prin- ciples, and that can not in any circumstances be influenced from the course of right and justice. Clear, logical and penetrating, he exam- ines every question that comes under his attention with care and delib- eration, and when once he is satisfied as to the correctness of the premises assumed or the principles involved, his reason is forcible, without sophistry and convincing, and the result reached is conclusive from the proposition stated. Few men have more just and logical minds than he, more deliberate and penetrating, or more impossible to be influ- enced by anything aside from the real merits of the questions in issue. Coming of an old and highly respected family in North-east Mis- souri, a family prominently represented in State affairs and in com- fortable circumstances, Judge McDearmon had good opportunities in youth and early manhood for mental culture and to prepare himself for a successful and honorable future at the bar- oppor- tunities which he did not fail to improve to the best advantage. He received a college education, and afterwards took a thorough course of preparatory study for the legal profession under Judge W. W. Ed- wards, one of the prominent lawyers of the circuit at that time. Industrious, energetic and of studious habits, favored with a good constitution and a vigorous, active mind ; ambitious to succeed, of popular manners and irreproachable character; gifted with much natural eloquence, which was improved by culture and afterwards by practice at the bar, his rise in the legal profession could not have been a question of doubt from the first. Born and reared in this county, those among whom he was reared are the witnesses to his steady ad- vancement as a lawyer in their midst, and to them his career is not less gratifying than it is creditable and honorable to him. For years Judge McDearmon has stood at the head of the bar in his native county and among the first lawyers of his circuit ; and he has been justly non- inated for a position on the bench of the Court of Appeals, a court that has won an honorable distinction in the judicial annals of the State for its dignity, wisdom and incorruptability, and for the high character of its decisions. Judge McDearmon would have made a worthy and honorable member of that tribunal, but it is safe to predict that in the future his career will be not less creditable to himself and to the judiciary of the State than as a lawyer it has been to himself and to the bar. Judge McDearmon was a son of Hon. James R. McDearmon, State Auditor in 1845, and an early settler of St. Charles county, from Prince Edward county, Va. State Auditor McDearmon was of an old and well known Virginia family, and was a man of culture. His general education was received at St. Mary's College in Virginia, from which he graduated with distinction. Soon afterwards he was married to Miss Martha A. Gannaway, a daughter of Edmond Gannaway, of Buckingham county, Va. In 1831, with his wife and one child, he removed to Missouri, and purchased land in Femme Osage township, St. Charles county, where he opened an excellent farm. In a short time, however, he became quite active and prominent in politics. He was a man of many excellent qualities as a neighbor and citizen, and
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
in every relation of life. He was very popular in the county, and although he was an uncompromising Democrat, whilst St. Charles county was largely Whig in politics, he was repeatedly elected to im- portant local positions, including the office of county judge. After his appointment as State Auditor by Gov. John C. Edwards he continued to serve in that office until his death, which occurred in 1848. He and his excellent wife, who was a lady of education and refinement, reared a family of eight children, seven of whom were sons. Judge T. F. McDearmon, the subject of this sketch, was the fifth in his parents' family of children, and was born at St. Charles, June 14, 1840. His college education was received at the St. Charles College, from which he retired when in the senior class for the purpose of entering upon the study of law. He read law under Judge Edwards for some- thing over two years, and was then admitted to the bar. Prior to placing himself under the instruction of Judge Edwards, however, he had studied for some time at home for the legal profession. Ad- mitted to practice in 1862 times soon became so unsettled in this part of the country on account of the war that the practice was virtually broken up, and he decided to go further West where the effects of the war were not so disastrous. He accordingly went to Idaho in 1863. There his superior qualifications for the practice and his ability as a lawyer soon became recognized, and he was not long in building up a good practice. In a short time he was appointed probate judge of the county, a position he filled with great satisfaction to he public as long as he remained in the county.
In 1866, the war being over, he returned to his old home at St. Charles and resumed the practice of his profession in the courts of this and adjoining counties. Here he was not less successful than he had been in Idaho. In 1870 he was appointed city attorney, and for eight years following he continued to hold that office by consecutive reappointments. He has long held a leading position at the bar, not only in St. Charles, but in the courts of neighboring counties, includ- ing the Court of Appeals, and in the State Supreme Court. There has scarcely been a case of any importance tried in this county in the last 10 years in which he has not been interested as attorney on one side or the other. His practice has been general, including all classes of cases before the courts, so that he is far better fitted for the posi- tion to which he has been nominated than any specialist in the pro- fession. Having had a large and varied practice, and having given the whole of his time for the last 20 years to his profession, it goes without saying that in view of his success and well known ability, his qualifications for any office, are of a very high order and are such as to recommend him to the hearty support of the public. Now in the very prime of life, and in the meridian of mental activity and physical vigor, Judge McDearmon has every promise of a bright future in the judiciary of the State.
October 10, 1876, Judge McDearmon was married to Miss Fannie H. Fielding, a daughter of Edward Fielding, deceased, an early
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
settler and highly respected citizen of St. Charles county. Mrs. McDearmon's father was a first cousin to Gen. U. S. Grant. Mr. Fielding held several local offices in the county. Her grandfather, Rev. Fielding, was the first Presbyterian minister to make his home in this county. Mrs. McD. was educated at Patapsco Female Insti- tute, Maryland, from which she was graduated. The Judge and Mrs. McDearmon have three children : Madge, Theo. and Patti. Judge McDearmon is a member of the Catholic Knights of America and of the A. O. U. W.
JOHN K. McDEARMON
(Clerk of the County Court, St. Charles).
For 25 years, and for the last 14 years continuously, Mr. McDear- mon, by the vote of the people of St. Charles county, has held the office he now occupies. This fact is shown to have more than ordinary significance when it is considered that although he has always been a Democrat, he has nevertheless been elected in a county which, since the war, has generally been Republican. His repeated re-elections, therefore, are highly complimentary to his personal popularity, aside from his recognized qualifications for the office and his faithfulness and integrety as a public servant. His father, James R. McDearmon, was an early settler in this county from Virginia. He became a prominent citizen of the county and was frequently made the custo- dian of important trusts. He served acceptably as county judge, and such were his prominence and recognized integrity as well as business qualifications, that in 1845 he was appointed to the office of State Audi- tor by Gov. John C. Edwards, an office he held until his death. The McDearmon family came to America prior to the Revolution. Three brothers came over under Col. Braddock and were with him at the time of his unfortunate defeat at Ft. Duquesne, on the 8th of July, 1755, when every officer on the British or American side was killed except George Washington, afterwards the "Father of his Country." Mr. McDearmon is a lineal descendant of one of these brothers, who settled in Virginia. John K. McDearmon was born in Prince Edward county, Va., November 24, 1829. His father removing to St. Charles county, Mo., when John K. was quite young, the latter was princi- pally reared in the county. His father gave him good educational advantages, for James R. McDearmon was himself a man of culture, having received a collegiate education (a graduate of Hampden Sid- ney College, Virginia ), and appreciated at its full value the advan- tage of a thorough education. Young McDearmon took a course in the preparatory schools and then matriculated at the State University. But his course was broken off there on account of the death of his father, so that he did not continue until he graduated. After his father's death the family returned to St. Charles. In the meantime, however, John K. had obtained a position as assistant in the county and circuit clerk's offices at Jefferson City, under Gen. G. A. Parsons, and father of Gen. Monroe M. Parsons, who was killed since the Civil
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
War in Mexico by Mexican soldiers ; and young McDearmon continued at Jefferson City two years after the family returned to St. Charles. In 1850, however, he came back to St. Charles and began the study of law under Robert H. Parks, Esq. After a due course of study he was admitted to the bar and thereupon engaged in the practice of his profession at this place. Meanwhile, his brother, Thomas H. Mc- Dearmon, had been elected to the office of county clerk of this county, but died before entering upon the duties of his office. Thereupon the people elected John K. for the term for which his brother had been elected, and which he filled out with such efficiency and so much to the satisfaction of the public that he was elected for a second term. Afterwards he was continuously re-elected and he held the office until 1865, when he was removed by operation of the " Ousting Ordi- nance," presumably adopted to place the official position under the State government and the different counties in the hands of loyal men, but really to secure a general " divide " of all the offices among those who were making a profit, as well as a virtue of loyalty. Mr. McDearmon was an earnest, consistent, unswerving Union man all during the war, but had to give way, nevertheless, to influences that were interested in making it appear that he was disloyal. Though out of office from 1865 to 1870, he never for a moment lost the confi- dence of the people of the county, and in 1870 he was again elected to the position, largely by Republican votes. He has ever since con-
tinued to hold the office. A writer in the " United States Biographical Dictionary " says of him : " In all his official relations and as a man and citizen, Mr. McDearmon stands high in the estimation of all par- ties in the county who entertain the earnest hope that he may be left to serve them many years ; and his robust health preserved by tem- perate habits would seem to indicate that their hope is well founded." In 1854 he was married to Miss Lucy A. Orrick, a daughter of Capt. John and Urilla Orrick, old and respected residents of this county, originally from Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. McD. have six children.
HENRY E. MACHENS (Dealer in Lumber, St. Charles).
Mr. Machens has by industry and good management risen to a posi- tion of enviable prominence in the business affairs of St. Charles, a position he has long and worthily held. He commenced for himself a young man without capital or other means except his own brawn and brain, and has made all he is worth by his own exertions and business intelligence. He has one of the leading lumber yards of the county, and sells about 1,500,000 feet of lumber per year. Mr. Machens is a native of Germany, born in Hanover, in 1829. He was the third in the family of children of Henry and Catharine Machens. Henry E. came to the United States at the age of 19 and located in St. Charles county, when he went to work as a farm hand. In 1849 he began teaming at St. Charles, and in 1850 started a bus line to St. Louis, which he ran with success. In 1854 he engaged in the hotel
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
business at St. Charles, and four years later he had control of the transfer business for the railroad, continuing this up to 1861. He then enlisted in Co. A, St. Charles Home Guards in which he served for five months. From this time on, until the close of the war, Mr. Machens was in the State militia. He served as lieutenant and quarter- master. Meanwhile, however, in 1863, he was appointed deputy sheriff, and he served in that capacity for four years. He was then elected to the office of sheriff which he continued to hold by subse- quent re-elections until 1871. He then engaged in his present busi- ness. Mr. Machens aggregate sales amount to over $30,000 a year. In 1854 he was married to Miss Mary Pieper, a daughter of Henry and Ger- trude Pieper, formerly of Hanover. They have four children : Hen- rietta, Laura, Kate and Agnes. Two are deceased - Missouri, who died the wife of Frederick Baumer, and Henry, who died at the age of two years. Mr. and Mrs. M. are members of the Catholic Church.
PROF. AUGUSTUS F. MACK
(Professor of Emmanuel's Lutheran School, St. Charles).
Though a native of this country Prof. Mack is of German-American parentage, and was born soon after his parents left the home of their nativity in das land von der Nibelungen Lied. His father, Friederich Mack, was from Wurtemberg, but his mother, who was a Miss Regina Baumann before her marriage, was from Bavaria. They came to America in 1849, and settled at first in Cleveland, Ohio. Finally, however, they made their permanent home at New Haven, Ind. Prof. Augustus F. Mack was born at Cleveland, Ohio, March 12, 1851. He was the second in his parents' family of 15 children, and was prin- cipally reared at Cleveland. From the age of 14 up to 1870 he attended the Lutheran German Teachers' Seminary, at Addison, Ill., where he took a complete normal course, and at the end of his five years' term he graduated with high honor. After this Prof. Mack taught for two years at Beardstown, Ill., and then three years at Aurora, Ill. In 1874 he was installed as principal of the Lutheran school, at Proviso, Ill., where he taught for four years. At the expiration of this time he came to St. Charles, where he accepted a call to take charge of the Emmanuel Lutheran school at this place. Prof. Mack is a gentleman of thorough education, a teacher of ample and successful experience, and a man of unquestionable moral pulchritude and worth. Thoroughly devoted to his profession, he gives it all his best energies and takes that extreme pride in the advancement and moral training of his pupils which every specialist should in the success of his work. He is popular both in the school-room and among the patrons of the school, as well as in the community at large, for he is a man whose purpose is manifest to do right and that which is for the best inter- ests to all. In 1872 he was married to Miss Sophie, a daughter of Caspar Moorman, formerly of Prussia. They have five children : Sarah, Mary, Louis, Henry and Hannah. He and wife are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
W. HENRY MAERTENS
(Manufacturer of and Dealer in Cigars, St. Charles) .
Dietrich Maertens, the father of the subject of this sketch, came from Sulingen, Hanover, with his family, including Henry, in 1846. He stopped for about a year at New Orleans and then for about four years in St. Louis, coming to St. Charles in 1852. He was a cabinet maker by trade, and followed that principally until his death, which occurred in 1865. His wife, who was a Miss Elizabeth Wieddey before her marriage, died in St. Charles in 1858. Henry was in his seventeenth year when he came over. He commenced working at the cigar maker's trade in New Orleans, and afterwards followed it at St. Louis and St. Charles. Here, however, he started in business for himself, manufacturing cigars, and has ever since followed it. He now works several hands and has established an enviable reputation for his brands of cigars. He was one of the organizers of the St. Charles Savings Bank, and is a stockholder in the St. Charles Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he was one of the first directors. Mr. Maertens has served for twenty years as a member of the school board. He has also served as postmaster at this place. He was ap- pointed in 1869 and was afterwards reappointed, but was euchered out of the office by political skullduggery more successful than right- eous. He has also held some other local offices, but has never given `any time to office seeking. August 27, 1863, Mr. Maertens was mar- ried to Miss Emma Clauss, a daughter of William Clauss, formerly cf Wolfenbuettel, Brunswick, Germany, where Mrs. M. was born and partly reared.
FRANCIS MARTEN (Grain Dealer, St. Charles).
The name that heads this sketch is another one that has been added to the large list of German-American citizens of St. Charles county, who have achieved abundant success in life without any means to start on and by their own industry and good business management. Mr. Marten is probably the leading grain dealer of the county, and ships now about 75,000 bushels per annum. He has accumulated a good property and is in easy circumstances. Mr. Marten was born in Prussia, May 28, 1824, and was a son of John H. and Eliza (Kastien) Marten, both of old Prussian families. Francis was reared in his native country and received a good general education. His father was a merchant and distiller, and young Marten learned these pursuits. He also learned the machinist's trade and of course served in the army a regular term of two years. He held the position of corporal in the army, and after his term expired was engaged in mechanical work until he was 23 years of age. He then came to America and worked at his trade in St. Louis for about two years. In 1849 he came to St. Charles, where he built a business house, where he is still engaged in
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
business and engaged in merchandising. He continued merchandising up to 1865, and also bought.and shipped grain during this time. He then closed out his store and bought a half interest in the flouring mills, and assisted to carry on the mills for about seven years, continuing in the grain business all the time. Selling out his interest in the mills, he has ever since that time given his whole time and attention to the grain business exclusively. In this he has had marked success, as already stated. May 8, 1848, Mr. Marten was married to Miss Cath- erine Weeke. She died in 1851, leaving a son, August, now in San Jose, Cal. To his present wife Mr. Marten was married over 30 years ago. She was a Miss Adeline Becker, a daughter of Philip Becker, and was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, in St. Charles. They have five children : Edward, now a druggist of St. Louis ; Matilda, now the wife of Franklin Becker ; Louis and Lena. Mr. Marten has represented his city ward in the city council several years, also served one term as school director of the public school, and during the war was provost marshal of this city, and at the beginning of the war was appointed captain of the Home Guard.
STEPHEN HENRY MERTEN
(Of S. H. Merten & Co., Proprietors of the Central Mills, St. Charles, Mo.).
Mr. Merten's parents, Philip and Margaret ( Priggemeier ) Merten, were early settlers of St. Charles county. They came here from Prussia as far back as 1833, and settled three miles west of St. Charles. There the father bought land and improved a farm; he be- came a well-to-do farmer and well respected citizen of the county and died in St. Charles (as he had moved with S. H. Merten to St. Charles in 1856), in 1862. Stephen H. was eight years of age when the family came to America ; he was born December 23, 1825, and was therefore principally reared in St. Charles county. He grew up on the farm and continued at home engaged in farming until he was 26 years of age. In the spring of 1852 he was married to Miss Catherine A. Freize and shortly afterwards he came to St. Charles, where he was engaged in teaming for about a year. He then rented the old family homestead and followed farming until about 1856, when he returned to St. Charles and resumed teaming. Three years later he became clerk and salesman in Asa N. Overall's lumber yard and continued in that for about five years. In January, 1865, Mr. Merten began buying, shipping and dealing in wheat, having formed a part- nership for that purpose with his present partners, William and J. F. Hackman. Continuing this business, the following year these gentle- men and several others formed a company and bought the old stone church building, which they repaired and built to and converted into the present Central Mills. Mr. Merten has ever since been at the head of this company in running and managing the mills. He has also continued to buy and ship grain, and altogether has been quite successful. He was one of the organizers of the Union Savings Bank and is a prominent stockholder in that institution ; he is also a
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
stockholder and director in the car works, and a stockholder in the tobacco factory and the First National Bank. He has served as city councilman and as mayor, and is a man of recognized standing and influence in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Merten have five children : George H., now farming three miles west of town ; H. F., an enter- prising grocer of St. Charles ; Caroline, who is the wife of J. F. Dinkmeyer, a teacher in St. John's school ; Mata, a young lady still at home ; Theodore, and an infant. They have lost five children, all at tender years. Mr. and Mrs. Merten are members of St. John's Evangelical Church. The Central Mills is one of the leading mills of the county and is supplied with a full and complete plant of the latest and best machinery, including the patent roller process. It has a capacity for 200 barrels of flour a day, and its flour has a wide and enviable reputation in the markets. Mr. Merten is a pleasant, agree- able gentleman in personal bearing and is held in high esteem at St. Charles. He is one of the representative, enterprising, public- spirited citizens of the place, and does his full share for the growth and prosperity of the city.
AUGUSTUS A. MEYER (Merchant Jeweler, St. Charles).
All old residents of St. Charles well remember Mr. Meyer's father, Ludwig Meyer, who settled here from Hanover over half a century ago. He was a jeweler by trade, and also an organ builder - of pipe organs for churches, etc., on the same order that we now have them. He carried on the jeweler business mainly, however, and was fairly successful, always providing well for his family and leaving at his death a good business and some property. He died in 1874 ; he was a man much thought of by his neighbors and all who knew him, and served in the office of alderman. Augustus A., the subject of this sketch, was about six years of age when the family came over, hav- ing been born June 19, 1828. He learned the jeweler's trade under his father and attended the schools at St. Charles. Having a great taste for music and a marked gift in that direction, his talent was encouraged by his parents and he early became a fine musician, par- ticularly an accomplished organist. At the age of 15 he was employed as organist at the St. Charles Borromeo Church, and he filled that position continuously for over 15 years. All his life he has made the study of music a specialty, and understands it thor- oughly according to the teachings of the greatest and best masters. On attaining his majority he became his father's partner in the jewelry store, and afterwards a younger brother, Louis E., became a member of the firm. The latter, however, is now also retired. Since then Augustus A. has carried on the business alone, or rather until 1883, when Edward L. became his partner in business. They have a full line of jewelry, clocks, watches, musical instruments, etc., and command an excellent trade. May 2, 1854, Mr. Meyer was married to Miss Lizzie C., a daughter of A. Steinbruegge, for-
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
merly of Hanover. Mr. and Mrs. M. have five children : Katie, Annie, Mary M., Edward L. and Martha. Edward L., the eldest in the family of children, is his partner in business. Mr. and Mrs. M. are members of the Catholic Church.
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