Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/732

 642 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI period he was chosen to fill the office of judge of probate, and for another four years he tilled that office. He was then selected to represent his district in the legislature, and at the capital he worked zealously to carry out the views of his constituents. In 1898 Mr. Brasher was elected district judge of the county court, and in 1906 he was elected presiding judge. After four years in this office he was again selected as candidate for the position of probate judge and in Novem- ber, 1910, was elected for four- years. To those who are acquainted with Judge Brasher, this frequent selection for judicial positions is most natural, for he has all the qualities which are desirable for that calling. He is an excellent judge of evidence and also of human nature. He is fearless in the ren- dering of his decisions, and is scrupulously just and impartial in all cases. Personally he is a man of genial manners and possesses a large share of tlmt courtesy which we char- actenze as being of the old school. In the Judge's case, this manner is the expression of a truly kind and sympathetic nature, one which attracts and keeps friends wherever he meets them. In Caruthersville, the present home of the Brasher family, the Judge is prominent in fraternal circles. He holds membership in the ]Iasonic order, in the Woodmen and in the Red Men. The family attend the Meth- odist Episcopal church. South, of which Mrs. Brasher is a member, the Judge being a mem- ber of the Baptist church. Previous to her marriage to Mr. Brasher, Mrs. Brasher was Mrs. Mary S. Pate, of Cottonwood Point, whose father was Judge Jesse Huffman, of that city. Her union with llr. Brasher oc- curred in 1875 and they have a family of three daughters and one son. Edward A. Stierberger, M. D., of Union, Franklin county, IMissouri, represents the medical profession here and is supreme in this field as a practitioner. Rare, indeed, is the instance where a single physician holds in the palm of his hand the confidence and goodwill of an entire community, and when such a situation is encountered the solution must lie in the individual himself. It is not so far to seek. Acute in his perceptions, widely read in his profession and skillful in applying his acquirements to practical use, his value as a physician and surgeon is of the highest character. Dr. Stierberger is indigenous to the en- vironment of Union. Here his birth oc- curred on April 16, 1875, and the people to whom he now ministers so successfully have known him in every phase of life from baby- hood up. His childhood training was se- cured amidst the scenes in which he now lives and labors. His one-time playmates are now his patrons and the seniors of his childhood are now his social and business com- panions. These unbroken early attachments, coupled with his recognized proficiency in his profession, explain, perhaps, why Dr. Stierberger stands alone and without a col- league in Union. The family to which Dr. Stierberger be- longs was established in Franklin county by his father, Charles R. Stierberger, who came here from St. Louis about the year 1859. He w'as of German birth, his nativity having oc- curred in Prussia in 1824. He possessed those fine national characteristics which make the German nation one of America's most desirable sources of immigration and his business associations served to make him widely known. When he died in 1876 he was a man scarcely past his prime. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Elizabeth Giebler, of Union, and to them were born the following children: The late Charles R. Stierberger, of Union; John, who passed away unmarried; Mrs. Emile Szy- manski, of Union; Mrs. Amanda Brown, wife of Postmaster Clark C. Brown, of Union ; Mrs. Clara Allersmeyer, deceased ; and Miss Mattie Stierberger, for many years one of the teachers in the Union public schools. After the demise of his first wife Mr. Stierberger married iliss Lizzie Lind- ner, who survives him, making her residence at Union, Missouri. Her parents were Al- bert and Marie (Kline) Lindner, and she was born at Union, Missouri. Dr. Stierberger, immediate subject of this biographical record, is the only child of the second marriage. He received his prelim- inary education in the common schools and is one of the many strong practical men who have secured some of their most valuable early impressions in a printing office. When a young lad he secured a position in the office of the Tribune and spent the follow- ing five years in that field of activity, add- ing much of value to his fund of general information and leaving its portals better