Barksdale, then coming into prominence as a wholesale dry goods house. Here he became associated with very accomplished merchants, and it soon developed that the connection was mutually advantageous and agreeable. June 1, 1849, Mr. Hargadine and George D. Appleton were admitted to a partnership in the firm, the name of which was then changed to Crow, McCreery & Co., and under that name its business was conducted until 1875, although in the meantime some changes occurred in the personnel of the firm. Mr. Barksdale withdrew his interest in the house and was succeeded by Hugh McKittrick in 1854, and Mr. McCreery died in 1861, but his name was retained for several years after his estate ceased to have an interest in the business. George D. Appleton withdrew from the firm about 1862. In 1875 the firm name was changed to Crow, Hargadine & Co. In 1881 Edward J. Glasgow, Jr., became a member of the firm, and in 1885, after the death of Mr. Crow, its name was changed to Hargadine, McKittrick & Co. A corporation has since succeeded the copartnership, and the Hargadine-McKittrick Dry Goods Company perpetuates the name and fame of the honored merchant who contributed so largely to the upbuilding of this great commercial establishment. Mr. Hargadine's connection with the house, known all over the West and Southwest, and regarded everywhere as a commercial institution of the highest character and standing, covered a period of more than forty years, and during all that time he was a conspicuous figure in the commercial circles of St. Louis. He was a potential factor in building up the vast business interest with which he was directly connected, and was, in addition, a man whose operations were beneficial to the whole city. Commenting upon his life work and his usefulness as a citizen, a city paper had this to say the day after his death: "The commercial eminence this city has attained is due in no small degree to William A. Hargadine." That this was the feeling of the community with which he had been so long identified, and especially of his of his contemporaries among the merchants of St. Louis, was shown by their action on the day of his funeral, when every wholesale business house in the city was closed as a token of respect to the man and his mem

ory. His success as a business man was achieved by dint of persistent effort and close attention to his affairs, coupled with extraordinarily good judgment of both men and markets. He was an apt student of human nature, and in the vast dealings which brought him into contact with hundreds of people, he seldom made mistakes in his estimates of their characters and abilities. Born with the instincts of a merchant, he was fortunate in his early training and associations and in his later business connections, and developed into a man of broad views and superior qualifications for the business in which he was engaged. Outside of commercial affairs and in all the activities of life, he showed himself always the public-spirited citizen, interested in the welfare and happiness of his friends and neighbors, and solicitous for the prosperity of the city in which he lived. His good nature, unfailing courtesy and cordiality of manner left a pleasant impress upon those associated with him in the affairs of everyday life, lighted his own home with the sunshine of happiness, and attached to him, as with hooks of steel, the friends of a lifetime. As his wealth and resources increased, his activities were extended, and at the time of his death he was officially identified with the Boatmen's Bank, the Missouri State Mutual Insurance Company, the Venice & St. Louis Ferry Company, the St. Charles Car Company, of St. Charles, Missouri, and the Bellefontaine Cemetery Association. He had also been for many years a warm friend of the Missouri State militia, doing much to aid in perfecting that organization; and in earlier years he had been conspicuously identified with the St. Louis fire department. Numbered among the most helpful friends of Washington University, he contributed to the building up of that institution, and deserves to be classed among the popular benefactors of the city. His philanthropy knew no distinction of sect or creed, and his religious views were as broad and liberal as his philanthropy, his church affiliations being with the Unitarian "Church of the Messiah." His death occurred January 4, 1892, two days before the seventieth anniversary of his birth, and on the seventieth anniversary day his remains were laid to rest in Bellefontaine Cemetery. In 1850 he married Miss Acrata Davidge McCreery, daughter of Dr. Charles