Peter Youree Peter Youree ( April 23 , 1843 - July 13 , 1914 ) was an American businessman and banker from Shreveport , Louisiana . In 1910 he directed the construction of his city ' s first skyscraper , the ten - story Commercial National Bank Building . He also financed the construction of his massive Youree Hotel — later called the Washington Youree Hotel — in downtown Shreveport . He was president of the Louisiana Bankers Association from 1908 - 1909 . Biography . Youree was born in 1843 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 Shiloh , a bloody battle 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 . After the war , he decided to settle in Shreveport , the seat of Caddo Parish , and became a mercantile clerk . 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 . In 1910 he directed the construction of Shreveport ' s first skyscraper , the ten - story Commercial National Bank Building , for its headquarters . He served as president of the Louisiana Bankers Association from 1908 - 1909 . He also financed the construction of his massive Youree Hotel , later called the Washington Youree Hotel , in downtown Shreveport . At the time of his passing , Youree ' s wealth was estimated at $ 2 million . Youree ' s former bank became a part of AmSouth Bancorporation of Birmingham , Alabama , which has now merged with Regions Financial Corp . , also of Birmingham . 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 . Marriage and family . On June 24 , 1870 , he married Mary Elizabeth " Betty " Scott of Scottsville in Harrison County , Texas , west of Shreveport . She was the daughter of Colonel W . T . Scott , a member of the Texas State Senate , whose family founded Scottsville . They had a son , William Scott Youree ( 1872 – 1904 ) , and a daughter , Susie Rose Youree ( 1881 – 1974 ) ( she later married a Mr . Lloyd ) . 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 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 P . Keith . 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 to honor the grave of their son William Scott Youree , who was killed in Monterrey , Mexico .