CROME BIOGRAPHIES, Henry County, Missouri ==================================================================== CROME, William F. - b: 1853 Germany source: 1919 History of Henry Co MO, Uel W. Lamkin, Historical Publishing Co - page: 290 residence: Clinton, Clinton Twp William F. Crome. Personal achievement of moment and consequence to the community in which the individual under review has succeeded in his life work is deserving of more than casual mention. The late William F. Crome, founder of the William F. Crome and Company, wholesale grocery company, of Clinton, Missouri, was a pioneer in his line of endeavor, and succeeded in establishing a wholesale business in Clinton when the undertaking was looked upon as of doubtful success by others of the business world. He established one of the first wholesale grocery concerns in western Missouri and did more than any other Clinton citizen in placing Clinton in the front rank of Missouri commercial towns. For a quarter of a century he contributed to the commercial development of Clinton and western Missouri. As far back as 1887, at a time when it was generally considered impracticable, if not impossible, to establish a wholesale grocery house in Clinton, Mr. Crome came here and placed in operation a branch house of the Fink and Nasse Wholesale Grocery Company of St. Louis. He began the business here under the name of William F. Crome and Company and his sons are at this day proprietors of the business which he founded and are operating successfully under the original title of the concern. Nearly a third of a century of square dealing has made the name of William F. Crome and Company the leading one in the wholesale grocery world of this section of Missouri. William F. Crome was born in Germany in 1853. When sixteen years of age he immigrated to America, without money or even influential friends to assist him in the upward climb to prosperous well being which became his after years of patient endeavor. He came to this country imbued with the idea of making his fortune and was able and willing to perform any honest labor of which he was capable. He first located in Kentucky and from there went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he obtained employment in an eating place - a position which was no sinecure in those early days and requiring the hardest kind of labor. From Nashville he went to Decatur, an inland Missouri town, where he was employed as general assistant in a flouring mill and a general store. It was here that he secured his first experience in handling retail merchandise and gained an experience in business which was valuable to him in later years. His next move was to Bunker Hill, Kansas, where he operated a general store. Not long afterward he went to St. Louis and was married, shortly afterward returning to Bunker Hill with the intention of remaining there in business for himself. He soon sold out his interests in Kansas and, going to St. Louis, became connected with the firm of Fink and Nasse. Attaining a partnership in this concern, he remained in St. Louis until 1887, when he came to Clinton and established the wholesale grocery business which still bears his name and is operated by his sons. This was the first wholesale grocery business established in Henry County and is the leading one, covering a broad scope of territory in western Missouri. The trade of this establishment covers a radius of about fifty miles of prosperous territory around Clinton, and everything usually found in a first-class, well-equipped wholesale grocery house can be had at short notice from the William F. Crome and Company. The reputation and high standing of this institution has been builded upon the twin precepts of success - quality and service. William F. Crome departed this life January 12, 1910 at his home in Clinton. He was in active management of his immense business until his health began to fail him. During his long years of residence in Clinton he took an active part in the upbuilding of the city and its development, contributing probably more than any other citizen of his day to the development of this city and through his business, giving the city a wide advertisement as a trade center. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and lived a clean and upright life, being ever ready to contribute liberally to worthy religious and charitable enterprises. For a number of years he was a member of the Clinton school board and took an active and influential interest in educational matters until compelled to resign from the board on account of failing health. Mr. Crome was married in 1882 to Miss Julia Fink, of St. Louis. Mrs. Julia (Fink) Crome is the daughter of Conrad Fink, a man who had a remarkable business career and during his time was one of the captains of industry of St. Louis. Mr. Fink began his career as a steamboat captain on the Mississippi River and became the owner of a fleet of boats plying that waterway in the days when the Mississippi was the great artery of commerce through the western and central sections of the country. He commanded the first boat to reach Memphis, flying the Union flag during the Civil War. After the war he engaged in the milling business in St. Louis and amassed a fortune. Later, he engaged in the wholesale grocery business there and amassed another fortune. Mr. Fink died at Ashville, North Carolina, while sojourning there for his health. To William F. and Julia (Fink) Crome were born five children: Carl A., William F., Robert, Conrad E., and Alice. William F., Conrad E., and Carl A., are now the owners and active managers of the business founded by their father, and which is carried on under the name of William F. Crome and Company. All are well educated and received a thorough training in the business under their capable and successful father and are enterprising and worthy citizens of the city of their birth and rearing. The sons of William F. Crome were all educated in the Culver Military Academy of Indiana, and are affiliated fraternally with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and are Knights Templars and members of the Mystic Shrine. The Crome Brothers represent a high type of progressive business men and good citizenship, being ever ready and liberal in their contributions and support of worthy local enterprises. Carl A. Crome married Miss Helen Mitchell of Clinton, and has one child, Helen Elizabeth. Miss Alice Crome resides with her mother in Clinton. William F. Crome was married in July, 1918, to Miss Cory McConnell of Clinton. Conrad F. Crome was born August 5, 1892, is an enlisted officer in the National Army of the United States, was graduated from the Second Officers' Training Camp at Fort Sheridan, August 28, 1917, and is now serving as captain with the 305th Supply Train, with the American Field Army at the western front in France. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. 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