Springfield-Greene
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DANIEL MARTIN NEE. One of the most promising of the younger members of the Greene county bar is Daniel Martin Nee, a member of the firm of De Vorss & Nee. He seems to be the possessor of the necessary qualification for a success in the legal field and has most carefully prepared himself for his chosen calling, taking a great deal more pains in this respect than many of the older lawyer's. By wise and judicious legislation, a barrier has been interposed against an easy and miscellaneous invasion of the legal profession, and those who propose to enter it must submit to the rigid requirements of the laws of the present time. The prescribed course of study must be observed, the ordeal of examination must be borne, and fixed grades and standards must be touched before the applicant can cross the statutory line that separates him from the bar. The result is, the profession draws its nutriment from a better, cleaner, stronger and more intellectual class--men fitted for the profession and who will sustain its high character. Our subject is of this class.
Mr. Nee was born at Thayer, Oregon county, Missouri, April 1, 1888, but most of his life has been spent in Springfield, Greene county, whither the family removed when he was a child. He is a son of Coleman C. and Mary (Foley) Nee, both natives of Ireland, and from his progenitors our subject seems to have inherited many characteristics of the Celtic race which will be of inestimable benefit to him as a lawyer. These parents spent their earlier years in the Emerald Isle, from which they emigrated to the United States when young. The Foley ancestry were mostly tillers of the soil. Coleman C. Nee received his education in the common schools of his native locality and when eighteen years of age emigrated to our shores. Finally penetrating into the Middle West, he took up his residence at Thayer, Missouri, where he engaged in business. Seeking a larger field for his operations, he removed to Springfield twenty years ago and has been a successful business man here ever since, well known about town and highly respected. Patrick Nee, the paternal grandfather, was born in Ireland, lived and died there, following the sea for a livelihood; in fact, most of the Nee progenitors were sailors by profession, and noted for their ability and bravery in this line.
Daniel M. Nee grew to manhood in Springfield and here he received his education, first attending the parochial schools, later was graduated from the public schools and high school and attended Drury College for a time. In 1906 he entered the law department of the University of Missouri, where he made a splendid record and from which he was graduated with the class of 1912. In July of that year he commenced practicing in Springfield in partnership with J. T. De Vorss, and notwithstanding the fact that the firm is a new one, the are doing a very satisfactory volume of business, with very bright prospects, their auspicious start auguring well for the future.
Mr. Nee has for some time been well known locally as an athlete and has devoted considerable attention to athletics, of which he has been a successful teacher, and has coached many baseball and football teams with gratifying results, and at this writing he is in charge of the athletic teams at Drury College. He was a professional baseball player, and by his excellent work during vacation periods as a member of some good team he earned money to defray his expenses in college, thus being enabled to obtain his professional education.
Mr. Nee is unmarried. He is a Democrat politically, and in religious matters is a Catholic. He is a member of the University Club and the Sigma Chi. He was popular among the students while in school in Springfield and at the University.
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