Yeatman High School - Yeatman Life Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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- --H .. 1 . n..i....g-.s.......: ....-w-F-L.: T -.....,.......-..........-.......-'-.,,.........-........ pu-.L ..JQ-6-vii-7-.-:Z.':-'S-Tf:3 3 f f fS.'23-'3ICL -:I:JQ:- ... 13 nothing more than a common sink-hole, but Mr. Y eatman drained it, and made a series of terraces with walks lying between. On these terraces he planted different species of flowers, and watered them by another of his inventions. In the meantime, Mr. Yeatman had been married twice. When Mrs. Yeatman this second wifej died, although she herself was a stepmother, she hated the thought of hav- ing a stepmother for her son. Therefore, Yeatman intrusted this son to Mrs. Mrs. Allen, a sister-in-law of Mr. Yeatman. Mrs. Allen earnestly entreated Mr. Yeatman to move with his family from Belmont to the Allen house. homestead, then only a small brick Mr. Yeatman, accustomed as he was to luxury and beautiful surroundings reluctantly complied with Mrs. Allen's re- quest, and moved to the brick house on the hill, known later in VV inston Churchill's Crisis as Bellegarde. The Allen homestead, standing at 1410 East Grand avenue, is now occupied by Mr. Sturgeon, whose wife was Mr. 'Yeatman's niece. It has few decorations on the ex- terior, the only noticeable one being an or- namental iron veranda on .the front. Al- though from a glance at the outside, one might think that this venerable house is ap- proaching the end of its usefulness, yet on the inside the spacious halls, stairs and rooms, still richly comfortable, recall vividly the artistic grandeur of fifty years ago. Here again Mr. Yeatman comes in for a share of the praise. W'hen he moved into the Allen house, he installed many improve- ments, among them the ornamental iron veranda mentioned before and also minor things, such as gas. But by far the most important of these improvements was the famous library, which he added to one side of the house, and in which he placed book- cases, extending from the floor to the ceil- ing. This old room has been changed to a certain extent, and the bookcases contain no books, for Mr. Yeatman at his death gave these to XN'ashington University, but Ten the large open fireplace, and even the carpet, remain unaltered. This library has in turn been the scene of joy and sorrow. It has seen evenings, when it was beautifully decorated for some ball given by Mr. Yeatman. It has seen many a happy young couple wedded. And it has also beheld many a sorrowful cere- mony at the funeral of some friend the family held dear. The series of weddings held here began with the marriage of Mr. Sturgeon to Miss Allen, which took place soon after the library had been completed by Mr. Yeatman, and the latest wedding was the marriage of Mr. Sturgeon's daughter to Mr. Green. VVinston Churchill was married here to Mabel Hallu. a niece of Mrs. Stur- geon. Then Mr. Yeatman himself was buried from this room, which had been so closely associated with so much that was happy and so much that was sad in his life. Mr. Yeatman practically lived at the Allen homestead after the death of his wife for the remainder of his life. It is true that he did live for a short time in Vandeventer Place, and then on Nifashington avenue, but he still continued his visits to the house on Grand avenue. He did not build houses for an investment, but for business purposes. Mr. Y eatman did build warehouses along the levee, for it will be remembered he was a commission merchant. When the Civil War broke out, he cast his lot with the North, for, although a Southerner by birth, he felt that the South was cutting its own throatu in such a war. And so to prove his loyalty he turned these warehouses over to the Union to be used for whatever was thought best. During a survey of the ground a short distance south of St. Louis by the Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., Mr. Yeatman noticed a tract of land which reminded him of the European Glencoe, and so he bought the land and named it after that beautiful valley in Scotland. It is erroneously thought by some that he built the house at Glencoe,

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g 1- .- 1. E -as -ta s, - .-',,, -1-'r'5'.i'.- -g.j.,.i :iii T, tif 52:1-2.2zzi.Ez1,?'i:.fc1i:fi, if as as - 1 . .4 , ,.. s . ., . .. ... - .. L , , V , . 4.-.aa -34.3, E. 7-that-:.,:., 5 .2225 -is i ,. 4-41 is A 1 rr' . , ,,,, . .,,., .. A J gi f t .. 7, f 6, ----2 . at a -ai... J ,- . , at 'Q 3 if, s l x ' 1 my -sa viz, - -i 't ' U Lit- f- wrazart . -,..,- 1 1, ,.,.. , ,,. .1 , . 1 - is 5 ,- 1, -W , . .i J il . l ,mins 1: .... .::-gif'--4 iE:3::.::..,...............,........,......-,.,....a- ....... .....,.....,........,..-..,.,,...,... ..... .,,,....a ,...... W--. ...,,. 5 g- , ' .,.........,...........,.............,,,.-..,............................a.,.....,...............,.......................--......... ......-........e ,JW :Q-.e. f.,--......,...... L W-, --51:1 -- - -, .,..,.Y..-,.------.W - -- .. .. . -. , 1 ----- ..... . - WHERE MR. YEATMAN LIVED W'1r.L.xno F.xRN1t.xM-June, 1908 INCE the facts of Mr. james E. Yeat1nan's life are pretty generally known, most people realize that he is best associated with our own city. St. Louis, although he was born in the South. Much has been written about his philanthropies and his good deeds, but when and where he has lived in St. Louis make just as interesting a story. Many of his houses. which he built after his own plans, are still standing with little or no alteration except the changes wrought by time. Mr. Yeatnian arrived in St. Louis from Nashville, Tennessee, in 1842, with a very large fortune in his possession. The first house where he took .up his residence was on Broadway, then.known as Fifth street, between Olive and Piiie. At that time, this was considered the most fashionable resi- dence section of town, and many of the old- est and most aristocratic families were living in that same block. However, Mr. Yeatman soon tired of liv- ing on Fifth street, and thought that he could build himself a better home. It was at this time that he undertook the building of three handsome stone houses, adjoining each other on Olive street between Eleventh and Twelfth. This affords a good illustration of how a city like St. Louis will grow in a few years, for then this situation was thought to be out in the country. These houses were known as Yeatrnan's Row, but they have long since been destroyed. To the center house of the Row, Mr. Yeatman moved his family from the house on Fifth street. This house was larger and better built than the other two, and had a fine parlor on the second floor with a large Hight of stairs leading up to it. There was also a peculiar thing about the yard of this house. He liked a large lawn and as living in Yeatman's Row would necessarily limit the yard, he annexed half of the back yard on each side of his own, thus making his lawn twice as large. VVith his large fortune he now proceeded to build and lit up one of the grandest resi- dences in St. Louis, his noted home, Bel- mont. When there were any distinguished visitors in St. Louis, they always wished to see Belmont. Since it was so widely noted, it merits considerable attention. It stands at 4111 North Eleventh street, then the old Bellefontaine Road, and is now occupied by Mrs. Eddy, who, although she is not related to the Yeatman family is on intimate terms with its members. It goes without saying that the house it- self was as beautiful as money and genius could make it. for Mr. Yeatman was famous for his open-handed use of money in build- ing his houses. But the way the surround- ings were arranged is interesting. The house is situated on a hill with a crescent-shaped driveway leading up to the front and out to the road again. VV hen visitors came to see Mr. Yeatman, they entered the first gate, pressing a bell which rang at the house. Wlieii they arrived at the house they were hospitably served with refreshments, and after their visit had been concluded, they d1'ove out by the other gate. The space bounded by the driveway and the road was a fine lawn shaded by a number of large old trees. Mr. Yeatman placed at intervals on the lawn pieces of Statuary which he had collected. Indeed, it is said that whenever he saw a fine piece of statu- ary, he could not resist buying it. The climax to this. beauty was the Hang- ing Gardens, an invention which Mr. Yeat- man worked out himself, and made possible by a natural depression in the land on one side of the property. This at first was ,Nine

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