John Baptiste O'Meara

John Baptiste O'Meara (born St. Louis, Missouri, June 4, 1850; died July 22, 1926) was an Irish-American politician, soldier, and businessman.

O'Meara started his career as a bank teller and then worked for a stock and bond firm, P. F. Kelleher & Co.

[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.

He was prominent in encouraging Congress to pass the National Defense Act of 1916, which among other provisions included the first federal grants for improving state guards.

[6] Without holding previous political office, O'Meara was nominated for lieutenant governor as a Democrat in 1892, on a ticket with former Congressman William J.