Following is a bio on James E. Kaime, father of Edwin F. Kaime, grandfather of Clifford A. Kaime, great grandfather of Edwin H. Kaime.

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KAIME, JAMES EDWIN, the well-known real estate man of this city, and the senior member of the firm of J. E. & D. F. Kaime, was born in Chichester, New Hampshire, June 3, 1828. He is the son of Benjamin .and Sally (Watson) Kaime, and comes from very old families on both sides of the house—families that helped to make the history of New England, their ancestors having come to America in the seventeenth century, and being among the earliest colonists who settled this country.

James was given a good education at the High Schools at Pittsfield and Gilmington, New Hampshire. As he intended to fit himself as a teacher, he finished his education by taking a year's course at the Normal School of Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Part of his education was also obtained from a private tutor—Rev. Wells—at Pittsfield. After his education had been completed he procured a position as teacher in the academy at Effingham, New Hampshire, next going to take charge of a school at Springfield, Massachusetts, this being about 1852, following his engagement here by a six months' term as teacher of the Grammar School at Greenfield, New Hampshire.

At the end of this engagement he followed the great tide of young men setting westward, and was borne along by it until he reached Providence, a small town in Illinois, where he secured charge of a school and again assumed the duties of the profession of the teacher, being made the principal of the Providence Academy. During the three years he directed its affairs he brought the academy to a high state of efficiency, and demonstrated his thorough ability as a teacher. The trustees of the school would have been pleased to continue him in his position, but his shrewd and well-balanced judgment led him to the conclusion that at that time the “Future Great” certainly contained all the elements of greatness, and was filled with opportunities for the young and ambitious, and he resigned his chair of instruction and came to St. Louis in July, 1853.

Shortly after his arrival, the school board needed an assistant to Prof. J. D. Low, principal of the High School, and so high did Mr. Kaime's examination show him to stand in the science of pedagogics that he was the successful applicant of a list of thirty-three. This appointment was the beginning of a seven years' term of service in this school, during part of which time he was instructor in mathematics, and for one year was the principal of the school. Becoming interested in the lumber business, he left the school to go to Ironton, Missouri, which place, however, he remained only six months, and for a year following his departure from Ironton, traveled with his wife and child throughout New England, visiting relatives and friends in his native State as well as in Illinois.

Eighteen hundred and sixty found the family back home in St. Louis, and that year marked Mr. Kaime's introduction to the real estate business. A partnership was formed with Wm. H. Merritt, and an office was opened at Third and Pine. Two months after the partnership was formed Mr. Kaime bought out Mr. Merritt’s interest, and ran the business alone until late in the succeeding fall, when a partnership was formed with W. J. Webb, under the firm style of Webb & Kaime. On January 1, 1861, the headquarters of the firm were removed from Pine and Third to Washington avenue between Third and Fourth, remaining there until the building of the bridge approach made another removal necessary. In 1865 Mr. Webb sold his interest in the business to D. F. Kaime, the younger brother of Jas. E., who had come to St. Louis from New Hampshire in 1857, the firm becoming J. E. Kaime & Brother. Under such an arrangement the firm continued until July 1, 1892, when E. F. Kaime, son of the subject of this sketch was taken into partnership and the style changed to J. E. Kaime & Company. The firm is one of the oldest and most substantial real estate organizations in the city, and its high standing is so generally known that nothing further need be said on that point.

Mr. Kaime is a devout and prominent churchman, being one of the most liberal members of the Pilgrim Congregational Church, one of the largest and most influential religious bodies in the city. He was one of the organizers of this church, and he, together with A. M. Edgell, purchased the lots on which the building now stands and donated them. He also gave in cash for the construction of the church, and has been one of its most liberal contributors ever since. He is likewise a member of both the St. Louis and Mercantile clubs.

While yet a struggling school-teacher in New England, Mr. Kaime fell in love with and married Miss Laura L. Sherburne, of Chichester; the wedding occurred May 25, 1852. Miss Sherburne was the daughter of Squire Sherburne. The marriage was a most fortunate one, the wife proving a genuine helpmate to her husband, until her death, on December 22, 1882.

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