Peter Youree

Peter Youree
Member and president, Caddo Parish Police Jury in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
In office 1884–1900
Born	April 23, 1843 Lafayette County Missouri, USA
Died	July 13, 1914 Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Resting place	Scottsville/Youree Cemetery in Scottsville, Texas
Nationality	American
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Mary Elizabeth Scott Youree (married 1870)
Children	William Scott Youree Susie Rose Youree Lloyd Parents: P. E. and M. M. Zimmerman Youree
Occupation	Businessman Banker
Religion	Methodist

Youree Drive is one of the busiest thoroughfares in Shreveport.

Peter Youree (April 23, 1843 – July 13, 1914) was an American businessman and banker from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Biography

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 the bloody Battle of Shiloh 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.

Captain Youree was a member of the General Leroy Stafford Camp #3, United Confederate Veterans in Shreveport. He commissioned the Confederate monument at Greenwood Cemetery on Stoner Avenue in honor of his comrades who are interred there. Another longstanding monument in Shreveport, the Caddo Parish Confederate Monument, is being moved south to DeSoto Parish as a concession to political correctness.

After the war, he decided to settle in Shreveport, where 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, Youree 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. He served as president of the Louisiana Bankers Association from 1908 to 1909. In 1910, he directed the construction of Shreveport's first skyscraper, the ten-story Commercial National Bank Building, for its headquarters.

He also financed the construction of his massive Youree Hotel, later called the Washington Youree Hotel, in downtown Shreveport. In 1933, the hotel was operated by Niagara Falls businessman Frank A. Dudley and the United Hotels Company. In 1954, the top of the hotel became the headquarters of television station KSLA, the CBS affiliate in Shreveport established in 1954. The station was staffed by such local personalties as Al Bolton, Bob Griffin, and Don Owen. At the time of his passing, Youree's wealth was estimated at $2 million (nearly 54 million in 2020 dollars).

Youree's former bank became a part of AmSouth Bancorporation of Birmingham, Alabama, since merged with Regions Financial Corp., also of Birmingham.

Marriage and family

On June 24, 1870, he married Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Scott of Scottsville west of Shreveport in Harrison County, Texas She was the daughter of Colonel W. T. Scott, a member of the Texas State Senate, whose family founded Scottsville. The couple had a son, William Scott Youree (1872–1904), and a daughter, Susie Rose Youree Lloyd (1881–1974).

Political career

Youree was also active in local politics. A Democrat, he was a member from 1884 to 1900 of the Caddo Parish Police Jury (renamed in 1984 the Caddo Parish Commission), some of that tenure as the police jury president. His colleagues included for a time future mayor Andrew Querbes and later state Representative Perry Keith of Keithville, south of Shreveport.

Youree was a member of the First Methodist Church of Shreveport. His home on Fairfield Avenue, called "Youreeka," was a Shreveport showplace for many years.

He and his wife were interred at the Scottsville/Youree Cemetery in Scottsville, Texas. The cemetery is known for its replica of the acclaimed Weeping Angel or Angel of Grief statue, originally built by the Yourees to honor the grave of their son, William Scott Youree, who was killed in Monterrey, Mexico.

Honors

• Youree Drive, a major thoroughfare in Shreveport, was named for Captain Youree. Youree Middle School bears his name.

• His wife, Betty Youree, was a longtime president of the Shreveport Chapter #237, United Daughters of the Confederacy. A chapter of the Children of the Confederacy was named in her honor.