John Baptiste O'Meara
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John Baptiste O'Meara (born St. Louis, Missouri, June 4, 1850; died July 22, 1926) was an Irish-American politician, soldier, and businessman. Elected as a Democrat, he served as the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1893 to 1897.
O'Meara's parents, Patrick (1808–1876) and Mary (Dunn) O'Meara (d. 1895), came to Missouri from Ireland in 1835.[1] O'Meara was educated in the St. Louis public schools and at St. Louis University, where he earned a B.A. He later got a degree in accounting at Jones Commercial College in St. Louis.
Business career
O'Meara started his career as a bank teller and then worked for a stock and bond firm, P. F. Kelleher & Co. In 1880 he joined his late father's quarrying and construction firm. His firm became Hill-O'Meara Construction after the addition of Scottish immigrant John Hill.[2] Their firm built many roads in the St. Louis area and a number of Missouri buildings, including the Second Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, the Missouri Supreme Court building in Jefferson City, and the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904.[3][4] Hill-O'Meara built many buildings for architect Theodore Link. The firm also operated at least three limestone quarries in the area.[5]
