Rufus J Lackland was long prominent in commercial affairs. He became a clerk on the steamer Clyde, plying the Mississippi River between St. Louis and New Orleans, and subsequently served on the Chester, Oregon, Eclipse and Caroline. In 1847 he became a partner in the wholesale grocery house of William Morrison & Co. -dissolved in 1861, he continued the business under the firm name of Lackland & Christopher. Later became R J Lackland & sons. It was in 1871 that Mr. Lackland became President of the Boatmen’s Bank.
Lackland was unostentatious, reserved and methodical. He usually reached the bank before the clerks did and remained there until 4 ‘p.m. , occasionally walking through the cages to inspect their work. So accurate and retentive was his memory that he rarely had to consult the books to learn what balance the chief depositors had. At 4 p.m. He went home, had dinner and read until 10 p.m. He almost invariably slept eight hours.
He also owned business interests in other significant holdings such as Iron Mountain Railroad, the Oakdale Iron Works, and the Belchar Sugar Refining Co. These firms manufactured the first large water mains laid down in the city of St. Louis and also created foundries and gas-works for the city, eventually running the St. Louis Gas Light Company, which became the Laclede Gas Company, and is today known as Spire.
