Augustus Shapleigh
Augustus Frederick Shapleigh | |
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Born | |
Died | February 27, 1902 | (aged 92)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | President of the A. F. Shapleigh Hardware Company |
Years active | 1843–1901[3] |
Signature | |
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Augustus Frederick Shapleigh (1810–1902) was an American businessman and early pioneer of St. Louis during the Second Industrial Revolution.[4][5] He was president of the A. F. Shapleigh Hardware Company, which by the 1880s grew to be one of the largest wholesale hardware firms west of the Mississippi River.[5] He was also involved in a number of other business endeavors in the banking, mining, and insurance industry.
Life[]
Shapleigh was the son of Captain Richard Waldron Shapleigh and Dorothea Blaisdell Shapleigh.[6] His father was captain of the Granville.[6] In 1813, at the age of 37, Captain Richard Shapleigh died at sea with his ship, which was wrecked off Rye Beach, New York.[6]
In 1843, Shapleigh founded one of the first hardware stores in St. Louis on behalf of Rogers, Field & Company.[5] The following year the company was renamed Rogers, Shapleigh & Company.[5] The original store was a four-story building at 412-422 Main Street.[7] The site was chosen for its proximity to the Mississippi River, which was the main source of transportation for goods at the time.[7]
Aside from his connection with the hardware industry, Shapleigh was associated with various other business concerns all of which constitute elements in the development of St. Louis.[6] In 1859, he became identified with the State Bank of St. Louis and in 1862 was elected a director of the Merchant's National Bank, so continuing until 1890, when he resigned in favor of his son Alfred.[6] He was also president of the Phoenix Insurance Company, vice president of the Covenant Mutual Life Insurance Company.[6] He was also invested in the Hope Mining Company and the Granite Mountain Mining Company.[6] Shapleigh also served as a board director of the Hope Mining Company.[8]
Shapleigh died of natural causes at the age of 92.[5] He had been in failing health for many years, but retained his mental faculties.[5] He is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.[5]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Stevens, Walter Barlow (1911). St. Louis, the Fourth City, 1764-1911. St. Louis: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ White, James Terry (1894). The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. New York: James T. White & Company. p. 376. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Has Capital of $1,000,000: Norvell-Shapleigh Files Incorporation Papers". St. Louis Republic. St. Louis. June 30, 1901. p. 10. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ Denny, Jane. "Augustus Frederick "Fred" Shapleigh". Find A Grave. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g The Iron Age. Pennsylvania: Chilton Company. 1902. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g Stevens, Walter Barlow (1911). St. Louis, the Fourth City, 1764-1911. St. Louis: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ a b Henry, Virginia Anne (1947). The Sequent Occupance of Mill Creek Valley. St. Louis: Washington University in St. Louis. p. 49.
- ^ "Mining Notes". The New North-west. Deer Lodge, MT. February 14, 1890. p. 3. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
External links[]
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- 1810 births
- 1902 deaths
- People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Businesspeople from Missouri
- 19th-century American businesspeople