| Birth: | Feb. 28, 1853 | | Death: | Sep. 12, 1931 | 
Lawyer. Born in Prussia, Frederick's mother died when he was two years old. His father remarried and ruled with an iron hand. The boy ran away at age eight and at age ten left home permanently, never again seeing any of his family. Peddling newspapers and sleeping in vacant buildings, he spent the next seven years crossing the Middle West, working on farms, herding sheep, and getting an occasional term of school. At seventeen his earnestness was rewarded by Judge Epenetus Sears of Tabor, Iowa, who sent him to Tabor College. He received a degree of AB in 1873, and after a brief time in his benefactor's office, was admitted to the Iowa bar. Practicing first in Tabor and Sidney, Iowa, he later settled in Des Moines. He became the attorney for the Wabash Railroad ad was active in politics, being instrumental in the election of a Democratic governor, Horace Boise. His railroad practice let him to St. Louis in 1890. There, serving some causes without charge, refusing others at any price, he soon had a reputation for fair dealing such as he had enjoyed in Iowa. In 1908 he was president of the American Bar Association.Named solicitor-general by President Taft in 1910, he accepted the appointment through professional rather than political interest. He served for two years, handling the cases which established the government's right to tax corporation incomes. He then resigned to practice with his sons. In 1914 he represented the United States at the conference sponsored by Argentina, Brazil and Chile to mediate between the United States and Mexico. His most important cases in the course of private practice were those establishing the right of the Associated Press to news as property and securing for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company the right to earn upon valuation determined by reproduction cost less depreciation. In 1918 he was general counsel for the United States Railway Wage Commission. Republican one election and Democrat the next, he was politically independent and was frequently urged to seek office. He always refused, but in 1909 was appointed chairman of the Board of Freeholders which redrafted the St. Louis charter.He was a founder of the St. Louis Art Museum, president of the public library, a director of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and active in the Missouri Historical Society. He enjoyed public speaking and many of his addresses were published.
| | | Burial:
Bellefontaine Cemetery
Saint Louis
St. Louis city
Missouri, USA
Plot: Block 224 Lot 6187 |
Created by: Connie Nisinger
Record added: Aug 13, 2004
Find A Grave Memorial# 9313346 |
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You had a rough time in the beginning but pulled through it with flying colors. You are a great inspiration and hope that today's teenagers will follow your example. Rest in peace, good sir.
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Tania
Added: Aug. 19, 2004 |
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