Adam Wiest, vice president and treasurer of the Nu-Back Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, belongs to that class of substantial young business men who have recognized that business opportunities equal to those to be secured in any section of the country are here offered. Mr. Wiest was born September 7, 1882, a son of Adam and Florence A. (Wandell) Wiest. The father was for many years prominent in connection with the cotton trade of St. Louis. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, March 20, 1854, and in 1877 came to St. Louis where he entered the employ of the Adler-Goldman Commission Company. At length he embarked in business on his own account as a cotton broker and continued active in that field of labor until his demise. In his closing years he was one of the few living men of the cotton exchange who were present at its formal opening. He served as one of the directors and as the vice president of the exchange and his aid was always sought 1n the arbitration of disputes, for it was well known that he was fair and impartial in his judgment, being swayed neither by passion nor prejudice in considering matters of dissention between others. For many years he was the St. Louis representative of the Patrons of Liverpool and other large cotton concerns, buying for factories in all parts of the country and was regarded as one of the most prominent representatives of the cotton trade in the entire Mississippi valley. He was married in St. Louis, February 10, 1881, to Miss Florence A. Wandell, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1858, a daughter of William A. and Mary E. (Brazee) Wandell and a granddaughter of H. P. Brazes, a distinguished jurist. Mr. and Mrs. Wiest had two children: Adam, who succeeded his father in business; and Mary F., now the wife of E. Van Wilkinson, general manager for the A. A. Eberson Paint Company.
Adam Wiest, Sr., was a member of Occidental Lodge, No. 163, A. F. & A. M. and also took the Chapter and Commandery degrees and was a noble of Moolah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belonged to the Legion of Honor, the Normandie Golf Club and the Missouri Athletic Club, and was one of the trustees of the Maple Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, of which he served as a director. A contemporary biographer has said, “Public-spirited, he was generous in support of movements for the welfare of the city and delighted in everything that promoted the growth and progress of St. Louis. He was one of the most substantial business men of the city, while his personal qualities gave him a strong hold on the affections of those with whom he came into contract. It was therefore a matter of deep and widespread regret when the final summons came for him and ties of friendship were severed. His memory, however, is yet enshrined by those who were his associates when he was an active factor in the world’s work. He passed away in St. Louis, May 18, 1905, soon after reaching the half century milepost on life’s journey.
Adam Wiest, whose name introduces this review, obtained a public school education in St. Louis and began learning the cotton business with the firm of Baker, Paton & Company, a Liverpool, England, concern. In 1906 he started in business on his own account as a cotton buyer, and in 1913 organized the Nu-Back Manufacturing Company, for the making of automobile accessories. He was elected vice president and treasurer of this firm and continues in this official connection with a business that is rapidly growing in volume and in importance. He is likewise the vice president of the Coverall Varnish Manufacturing Company, and both concerns are successful business enterprises of the city.
In St. Louis on the 11th of November, 1919, Mr. Wiest was united in marriage to Miss Edna McNally, a representative of one of the old families of this city. Politically his position is that of an independent democrat. Fraternally he is well known in Masonic circles, belonging to Tuscan Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; Missouri Chapter, R. A. M.; Ascalon Commandery, K. T.; and Moolah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a member of the Normandie Country Club and the rules which govern his actions in every relation of life are manifest in his connection with the Maple Avenue Methodist church. He is a man of genuine worth, whom to know is to esteem and honor and in all his course he has sustained the untarnished name and record bequeathed to him by his father.
