Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/774

 674 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI of lumting aud tishiiig, being an adept at both. Theodore Lewis Bunte, Jr. A well known citizen aud enterprising business man of Saint Francois county is Theodore Lewis Bunte, Jr., cashier of the St. Louis Smelting & Refining Company, one of the important industrial concerns represented in this sec- tion. He was born September 27, 1874, at St. Louis, Missouri. He is of Teutonic ex- traction, his father, Theodore L. Bunte, Sr., having been born in Hanover, Germany, March 30, 1845, and the subject shares in those tine characteristics which have made the German one of our most valuable sources of immigration. The father came to America at the age of twenty-seven years and located in St. Louis, where he engaged in mercantile business. The year 1889 marks an era in his career, for in that year he abandoned the mercantile field and went into the smelting business with the St. Louis Smelting & Refin- ing Company, engag:ing in general smelting. In 1873, the year after his immigration to this country, the father married Miss Bertha May, also from Germany, and to their union have been born three children, namely : T. L. Bunte, Jr. ; Alma B., wife of W. H. Nance, and Lewis H. T4ie father remained asso- ciated with the St. Louis Smelting Company until 1904, in which year he went back to his old occupation, the mercantile business, and he is thus engaged in St. Louis at the pres- ent time. He is in harmony with the policies and principles of government for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and he is a member of the Lutheran church. Theodore L. Bunte. Jr., spent his early life amid the scenes of his birth — the city of St. Louis. He received his education in the ex- cellent public schools and was graduated from the high school. Very soon thereafter he entered business life and almost from the first he exhibited that fine executive capacity and acumen that has insured his success. He has been with the same company throughout the entire course of his career, first becoming as- sociated with them in 1892, the year he fin- ished school, and remaining with them in St. Louis until 1900. In that year Mr. Bunte came to Saint Francois county, representing the same company with which he now holds the office of cashier, headquarters being located at the lead mines. It is not to be gainsaid that much of the prosperity of the concern in this locality is due to the part he has played in its management. Mr. Bunte was married in 1898, Miss Louise A. Jacobi, of Kirkwood, Missouri, be- coming his wife and the mistress of his house- hold. Their union has been further cemented by the birth of two children, — Marie and Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. Bunte are valued mem- bers of the Presbyterian church and are active in the best social life of the community. In politics Mr. Bunte is an adherent of the Democratic party and his fraternal interests extend to the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Order of Columbian Knights, in which three organizations he is a prominent and popular member. Abneb Barrow. To owe one's success neither to chance nor to the happy circum- stance of the fortunate struggles of one's forebears, but to be able to look back over one's life and see success coming as the re- sult rather of innate talent, grit and manly persistence is a great thing. Few men are aft'orded this satisfaction, but Abner Barrow, now the honored and successful postmaster of Greenville, can recall the day when he came to Wappapello with the discouraging capital of thirty-five cents, from which small beginning he has wrought an ample compe- tence for himself and his family, as well as gained the sincere respect and hearty liking of the community where he nmkes his home. Abner Barrow was born in Jackson county, Illinois, June 29, 1858, a son of Marion and Elizabeth (Thomason) Barrow, both of whom were also natives of Jackson county. Be- sides the subject of this brief personal re- view they were the parents of the following children: Abner, John, James (deceased), George, Ed., Charles, Ellsworth, Frank, and Annie, the third child, is the wife of Ben F. Hill, of Hiram, ilissouri. With this large family of brothers and one sister he was reared among the homely but pleasant sur- roundings of the Illinois farmstead, and en- joyed the educational advantages of the neighboring schools. After his marriage in 1882, to Miss Lewella Jones, the yovmg cou- ple started life on a small farm, but in the year 1886 he and his wife and his parents felt the call to a newer country, and, migrat- ing to the state of Missouri, first settled in Wappapello, this state. From that time the elder Mr. Barrow worked as a tiller of the