Charles J. Sihler

CHARLES J. SIHLER. - Whether it is that the pick of the Canadians leave their native country and come to the States or whether the Canucks really do possess more sterling qualities than the men of United States birth is a mooted question, but it is a fact that there have been many men who have crossed the border and have made their mark not only in Kansas City but all over the United States. Charles J. Sihler belongs to this class.

Charles Sihler, father of Charles J., came to Canada from Germany when he was a young man, as did also his mother. They were blessed with ten children, five sons and five daughters. The father of this large family was a dealer in livestock up to the year 1901, when he retired from active business and settled down in Simcoe, Ontario, to a life of quiet and ease among the friends he had known practically all his life. He is living now (1911) in Simcoe, with his wife, where their golden wedding was celebrated August 6, 1911, and the couple are well known and respected.

Charles J. Sihler was the second son of his parents. He was born March 31, 1864, at Simcoe, Norfolk county, Ontario. His preliminary general education was received in the public schools of Simcoe and he then attended a Veterinary College in Canada, graduating in the class of 1888 at the age of twenty-four. Soon after his graduation he came west to Atchison, Kansas, and in September, 1891, he removed to Kansas City, Kansas, having received the appointment of inspector of meat and stock with the United States Department of Agriculture. This position he held up to the year 1900, when he invested in a livery and undertaking business, the firm name being Whisner & Sihler. Mr. Sihler also practiced as a veterinary surgeon. Not caring for the livery and undertaking trade, he sold his share in the firm, after which he engaged in the manufacture of Hog Cholera Serum.

While Mr. Sihler was living in Atchison he married Miss Augusta Oswald on September 18, 1889. Miss Oswald was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and was the daughter of August and Catherine Oswald, both of whom were born in Germany. They had come to this country soon after they were married, and both died while their children were young. Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Sihler have two children, Albert C., born in Atchison, Kansas, now attending the Kansas University at Lawrence; and Dorothy, born in Kansas City, is now in a Kansas City high school.

Mr. Sihler is a member of the Kansas City Blue Lodge, No. 272, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Caswell Consistory, being a thirty-second degree Mason. He is also a member of the Wyandotte Lodge, No. 440, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Sihler's interests are varied, being divided between his family, his business, his fraternal orders and politics. He is a Republican. He is very well known and liked by the Masons and Elks, and his business experiences have been so varied that he has a wide acquaintance among the business men of Kansas City and indeed all over the county.