Philip Medart, inventor and manufacturer, was born July 8, 1838, in St. Louis, son of Philip Medart (Sr.). Both his parents were natives of Germany, who came to this country in 1832 and settled first in St. Louis. Later the family removed to Belleville, Illinois, and there the elder Medart was engaged in business for many years, his large family of children growing up mainly in that city. The younger Philip Medart was educated in the schools of Belleville and trained to mechanical pursuits. Becoming an expert mechanic, he also evidenced his inventive genius in early life by the construction of numerous ingenious contrivances to improve and facilitate the operation of various kinds of machinery. Finally, one of his inventions, known as the Medart pulley, began to attract much attention, and its manifest utility soon created a large demand for it. This caused him to establish, in 1879, a plant for the manufacture of his now famous pulley, and this plant, a modest institution at first, has grown to large proportions, and is one of the most widely known manufactories in St. Louis. Mr. Medart is the inventor and patentee also of many other appliances used in connection with machinery, and his manufacturing operations have brought him both fame and fortune. During the Civil War he gained enviable distinction as a Union soldier, and was in active service throughout the war. He was a member of one of the first three companies organized in St. Louis to aid in the suppression of the Southern uprising, his company becoming a part of the regiment taken into the field for three months' service by General Francis P. Blair. Afterward he enlisted for three years in the Third Missouri Infantry Regiment, and when he was finally mustered out of the service at Atlanta, Georgia, he had attained the rank of captain. Since the war he has been prominently identified with the organizations of Union veterans, and is one of the honored members of Missouri Commandery of the Loyal Legion. When he resumed the duties of civil life he had little capital other than brains and energy, but the splendid results which he has achieved bear testimony to the fact that he used this capital to the best advantage. An eminently successful man, he is at the same time a self-made man, and one of the worthiest and most distinguished representatives of that class in St. Louis. Politically he has been all his life identified with the Republican party, and is known as a firm believer in the wisdom of its principles and policies, although not an active partisan. He married, October 17, 1864, Miss Elise Stange, and has two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom are now married.
Information Sources
- Encyclopedia of the History of St. Louis, V3, 1899, pg. 1413