Peter Youree

Peter Youree (April 23, 1843 -- July 13, 1914) was a Shreveport, Louisiana, businessman and banker who built his city's first skyscraper, the ten-story Commercial National Bank Building in 1910. He also financed the construction of his massive Youree Hotel -- later called the Washington Youree Hotel -- in downtown Shreveport.

Youree was born in Lafayette County in north central Missouri, to P. E. Youree and the former M. M. Zimmerman. He was locally educated and received mercantile training in his father's store. He served with Missouri Confederate forces during the American Civil War and was wounded at Shiloh, a bloody battle fought near the Tennessee River in southern Tennessee. He rose to the rank of captain of Slayback's Missouri Rifles and surrendered his company at Shreveport.

He decided to settle in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, and became a mercantile clerk. He opened a mercantile and real estate business. For a time he owned the Shreveport Street Railway and was president of the Shreveport Waterworks Company. In 1888, he was elected president of the Merchants and Farmers Bank, and in 1891, he became president of the Commercial National Bank, a position which he held until his death. Youree's former bank is now a part of AmSouth Bancorporation of Birmingham, Alabama. At the time of his passing, Youree's wealth was estimated at $2 million.

On June 24, 1870, he married the former Mary Elizabeth Scott of Scottsville in Harrison County, Texas, east of Marshall and west of Shreveport. She was the daughter of Colonel W. T. Scott, a Texas state senator, whose family founded Scottsville. They had a son, William Scott Youree (1872-1904), and a daughter, Susie Rose Youree.

Youree was also active in local politics. A Democrat, he was a member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury (county commission in most other states) for twenty-four years. He was a member of the First Methodist Church of Shreveport. Youree Drive in Shreveport is named after him. His home on Fairfield Avenue called "Youreeka" was a Shreveport showplace for many years.

Youree is interred in the Scottsville/Youree Cemetery in Scottsville. The cemetery is known for its acclaimed "Weeping Angel" statue, originally built to watch over the grave of son William Scott Youree, who was killed in Monterrey, Mexico.

References

*"Peter Youree", "A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography", Vol. 2 (1988) p. 868
* [http://www.cardcow.com/36251/washington-youree-hotel-shreveport-us-state-town-views-louisiana-shreveport/ Washington Youree Hotel Shreveport, LA ] at www.cardcow.com
* [http://www.texasescapes.com/Cemeteries/Three-Weeping-Angels.htm Weeping Angel Statues Houston Scottsville and Denison Texas. ] at www.texasescapes.com
* [http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/Scottsville-Texas-and-Scottsville-Cemetery.htm Scottsville Texas and Scottsville Cemetery. ] at www.texasescapes.com