Biographical Sketch of Charles H. Heer, Springfield, Greene County, MO

>From "History of Greene County, Missouri," St. Louis: Western
Historical Company, 1883.

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Charles Henry Heer is the son of Gerhard W. and Mary E. (Klecker) Heer,
and was born in the parish of Ostercappeln, province of Osnabruck, Han-
over, upon the 30th of April, 1820.  His father died in January, 1820,
and Mr. Heer is consequently a posthumous child.  He was educated in
Germany at the common schools, and in company with his mother and step
father, Lewis Schneider, emigrated to America; landed at Baltimore, in
December, 1835.  From there they went to Wheeling, West Virginia, and
stayed a short time, and then went to St. Louis, Mo., in January, 1836.
He soon found employment in the wholesale china and glassware house of
R. D. Watson, where he remained six or seven years.  In October, 1842,
he in partnership with an old schoolmate, Rudolph Hiltkamp, started a
general grocery store, but sold out in 1843, and with Bernard L. Meyer,
went into business on the corner of Eighth and Franklin streets.  His
health failing in 1844, he bought a farm in Monroe county, Illinois,
where he lived two years, when he returned to St. Louis and remained
there until 1847, when he again went to Illinois and opened a general
store at Waterloo, and continued to sell goods until the war, when he
again moved upon the farm.  In March, 1868, he came to Springfield, 
Missouri, and purchased the lot where his fine store now stands, upon
Boonville street.  The building was completed in 1869 and in 1871 the
firm changed to C. H. Heer & Co., C. H., Jr. being the other member of
the firm.  They have one of the largest wholesale and retail dry goods
and boot and shoe houses in Southwest Missouri, having two traveling
salesmen and about fifteen clerks in the store.  C. H. Heer is manager
of the wholesale department, and W. C. Hornbeak, of the retail depart-
ment.  Mr. Heer was married January 6, 1846 to Miss E. Beneneman, of
St. Charles county, Missouri.  They had seven children, four boys and
three girls, viz.: C. H., Henry L. (died April, 1882), Mary E. (widow
of William Crodus), Agnes (a sister of the Sacred Heart, St. Louis),
Lewis H. (died April 30, 1863 at Waterloo, Ill.), and Celia Ann.  Mrs.
Heer died December 25, 1881 and is buried in the Catholic cemetery at
Springfield.  She was a member of the Catholic church for twenty-four
years, and all the family are of the same faith and belong to that 
church.  Mr. Heer was chairman of the financial committee in the city
council in 1875, and has been urged to run for mayor, but declined.

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