James N. Burnes Jr.

One of the two sons of Daniel D. Burnes and the former Miss Virginia Winn, he was born in Weston, Missouri, in 1852 and was sixteen years of age when adopted by his two uncles. Brought to St. Joseph in 1873 he completed his education at St. Louis University and in 1902 married Mrs. Margaret Carey of Dallas, Texas. They had two children: Mary Catherine and James, Jr.

His early business experience was at Atchison, Kansas, where he managed the Burnes family real estate. In 1879 he returned to St. Joseph and was publisher of the St. Joseph Gazette, another of the family investments. He operated a fire insurance agency and became a vice-president of the National Bank of St. Joseph.

Organizing the Empire Trust in 1905, he was its president until his death. He had substantial investments in other businesses and owned much real estate. In 1910 he built a home in California and began to divide his time between that and St. Joseph. In July 1913 he suffered an automobile accident in Santa Barbara, California, from which he did not recover. He died in Santa Barbara on August 21, 1913, at the age of sixty-one. The Empire Trust Company was merged with the Tootle-Lacy National Bank in 1960 and in 1963 became part of the American National Bank.