Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Who's Who in Jefferson County, 1931 William Samuel Cromer

"The Fairfield Daily Ledger"
Wednesday, August 26, 1931
Front Page

Who's Who In Jefferson County
By Herbert F. McDougal

WILLIAM S. CROMER

W. S. Cromer has had a varied business career that has led him from expertness in stenography and bookkeeping, through a retail men's furnishing store to his present ownership of a tire shop and service station, located in his own building remodeled to his taste and notions of efficiency, even to a motor actuated door that responds to the touch of a button.

He was born near Palmyra, Indiana, December 3, 1874 and attended the rural schools. He aspired to competency in bookkeeping, and attended the New Albany Business College to that end. He supplemented his courses there with study in Draughan's Business college in Nashville, Tennessee, where he acquired deftness in shorthand and typewriting, graduating in 1893. His first position was with the Southern Express company in Nashville. Then he went to the N. D. Thompson Publishing company in St. Louis as a stenographer and remained there until 1900. For two years he was with the Laclede Firebrick company in St. Louis, and then went to the Monmouth Pottery company at Monmouth, Illinois, where he remained six years, the latter half of that time being in charge of collections. In 1910 he went to Unionville, Missouri, and engaged in the shoes and men's furnishing business for eight years. Then he came to Fairfield and opened a tire shop just across the street from his present location. He was for a time on West Burlington street, and a year ago bought the building at 117 East Burlington which he remodeled making it attractive and convenient for his business.

He had relatives living on a farm near Gallatin, Missouri, and in the early nineties went to visit them. He became acquainted with Miss Dora Henderson, daughter of a neighbor, and married her October 1, 1902. They have three children--Mary, who is claim adjuster for the Michigan department of the Farmers Mutual Life Insurance company at Bloomngton, Illinois; William, who is employed in his father's business, and Lois, still in school.

Mr. Cromer is active in business and civic affairs, a member of the Rotary club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Merchants association.