USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume V > Part 40
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Until he was fourteen years of age, Mr. Petitti studied in the schools of his native com- munity in Italy. At that impressionable age he came for the first time to the United States
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with his parents. Then, again, when he was seventeen, he came once more, by himself. He landed in New York Harbor, remained for a time in New York City, went to Chicago, and in July, 1898, volunteered to serve this country in the war with Spain. This he did, and to the present time suffers from effects of his experi- ence in Cuba, where he contracted severe ill- ness. Upon his return from the war Mr. Petitti took residence in Boston, continued in the reading of law, which he had begun mean- while, and in 1908 passed the examination of the bar. His offices at No. 18 Tremont Street are known to a large and reliable clientele. Meanwhile also, soon after the war with Spain, Mr. Petitti became much interested in politics. From the beginning he has been loyal to the principles of the Republican party. In 1900 he was appointed sanitary inspector. Soon he was appointed chief clerk in the Brighton branch of the Sewers Department. He held this posi- tion two years, then became chairman of the old Ward Six Republican Committee, and acted as chairman about twelve years. He was member of the Republican State Committee for several years. Mr. Pettiti was elected Re- publican Presidential Elector, at one time, and was the first man it is said of Italian birth to be thus honored. He it was who took a dominant part in organizing Italian-born Americans for the Republican party. In the Progressive movement he held great power among these citizens, and his efforts were to good effect. Mr. Petitti is a member of the United States Spanish War Veterans, and has been Judge Advocate for the organization for several terms. He has been the Commander of the Major P. J. Grady Camp, No. 3, United States War Veterans. In 1923 he was appointed consul for the Republic of Paraguay in Massachusetts. He has been active in al- most every movement of civic interest, and to- ward charity Mr. Petitti deals with a large heart, without consideration of race or creed. He is president of the members of the Massa- chusetts bar of Italian descent; member of Sons of Italy of America; member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, No. 10, Boston. At Beverly, Massachusetts, November 10, 1910, Mr. Petitti was united in marriage with Mary Agnes Gorman, whose parents are de- ceased. They reside at No. 88 Donboy Street.
To Mr. Petitti's parents were born, besides himself, five other children: 1. Andrew, de- ceased. 2. Emma, wife of Chevalier S. R. Romano, prominent barrister of Boston (q. v.). 3. Ida, wife of John Crisafi. 4. Mary, widow of Joseph Privett, doctor of medicine. 5. Colum- bia, wife of S. di Persio.
ALBERT MEHLINGER-Resident in Bos- ton since 1890, when he came with his parents to the United States from Germany, and now (1929) a prominent lawyer of that city, Albert Mehlinger was born at Wachenheim, in the Rhine Valley (Rhine Bavaria), Germany, on May 6, 1876.
He is the son of Jacob Mehlinger who was born at the ancestral home in Wachenheim in the beautiful valley of the Rhine on June 4, 1827. He was educated in the schools of Wach- enheim, and upon reaching manhood he en- gaged in the grain business, which he con- ducted in connection with his agricultural interests. He enjoyed an excellent reputation for honesty, industry and uprightness. Ja- cob Mehlinger married Sophie Fischel, also a native of the Rhine Valley, who was born in the town of Ingenheim, Bavaria, De- cember 27, 1830. They were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living: Fer- dinand; Emma, widow of Nathan Hercules; Julius; Alvina, unmarried; Max, deceased; Emil; Louis, deceased; Lina, wife of Louis Pinksohn; Frances, unmarried; and Albert, of whom further. In 1890, believing that in the United States there would be greater advan- tages for their children, they immigrated to this country and established a home in Bos-
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ton. Both Jacob and his wife, Sophie (Fischel} Mehlinger, were industrious and frugal, and prospered in their new home. Jacob Mehlinger lived to the age of eighty-seven years. He died in Boston on January 31, 1914. His widow died at the age of eighty-five, February 23, 1915.
Albert Mehlinger, son of Jacob and Sophie (Fischel) Mehlinger, first attended the schools of his birthplace, Wachenheim, and also a pri- vate school nearby, in Duerkheim, and after the removal of the family home to Boston at- tended school here, graduating from the Dwight Grammar School in the spring of 1892, at the age of sixteen years. This is noteworthy when it is recalled that Mr. Mehlinger took instruc- tion in a foreign language and thus was forced to duplicate courses already completed in Germany. Mr. Mehlinger has, however, been a lover of books since childhood, and learning the English language was a source of pleas- ure, for he was somewhat conversant with the grammar and pronunciation while in the early grades of the schools in Germany. He com- pleted the four-year high school course in three years, graduating in 1895. He then ma- triculated in Harvard College, at Cambridge, and in 1898 received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, then attending Harvard Law School for two years. In February, 1901, he was ad- mitted to the bar, and at once began a general practice in the office of the late Thomas Ri- ley. Since December 1, 1903, his offices have been in the Old South Building, and he is well and favorably known to his colleagues and clients. He engages in the general practice of the law, devoting considerable time to convey- ancing, being one of the official examiners of the Land Court. He is a member of the Bar Association of the City of Boston, the Royal Arcanum, the Loyal Association, and the Har- vard Club of Boston, and the New Century Club. He is active in the affairs of the New Century Club of Boston. He attends Temple Israel, Boston. Though he loves the country of his birth, Mr. Mehlinger is loyal and a faithful citizen of the country of his adoption,
and when the United States entered the World War, he served on the boards and committees, and, convinced of the justice of the cause of the United States, did everything in his power to further it.
Albert Mehlinger married, in Boston, March 23, 1926, Eva Aronson, a writer of fiction, who was born in Russia, daughter of Herman Aron- son, deceased. His mother, widow of Her- man Aronson, resides in Louisville, Kentucky.
ALEXANDER HAROLD LEWIS-Mu- sician, athlete, soldier and lawyer are the grades through which Alexander Harold Lew- is has risen to a position of importance at the bar of Massachusetts, during his practice of the profession in Boston. He was a baseball player at college and in the professional ranks, a pianist of ability, and he served his coun- try well in France during the participation of the United States in the World War. Of Polish and German extraction, he has inherited the efficient qualities of both races, which he has combined to produce a vital American, active in his profession as he was in his recreations prior to his entrance into the serious business of life.
Alexander Harold Lewis was born in New York City, November 25, 1894, and received his education in the public schools of that metropolis. This was followed by a term at Travis Preparatory School, at Syracuse, New York, from which he was graduated in 1914., He then took the course at Syracuse Univer- sity, was graduated in 1918, and one year la- ter was admitted, successively, to the bar in New York State, and in Massachusetts. He is a son of Israel Lewis, born in Leipsig, Ger- many, and Anna (Green) Lewis, born in Po- land. His father came to America when a boy of fourteen, his mother when she was an infant. Their home is now in the Borough of
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Brooklyn, New York City. Alexander H. Lewis played baseball with the Syracuse baseball team and afterward entered the professional ranks, playing with the Troy, New York, team, Interstate League. Not waiting for the draft, he enlisted in the army, February 28, 1918, was stationed for a time at Camp Dix, and then sent to France with the American Expedition- ary Forces, ranking as a private in the 348th Infantry. Returning to the United States, he was mustered out of the service, March 15, 1919, and at once established himself in the practice of law. He is a member of Mount Sinai Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, Syra- cuse, New York, and of the Omar Grotto, Bos- ton.
Alexander H. Lewis married, in New York City, July 5, 1923, Sylvia Irene Davison, of Boston, daughter of Philip Davison, a resi- dent of Brookline. The couple have one child, Howard Donald.
LOUIS BERMAN-One of the younger and more progressive of lawyers of Boston, Louis Berman was born in East Boston, April 5, 1898, son of Julius and Rebecca (Harrison) Berman. Julius Berman, who survives to the present time (1929), is a native of Russia, whence he came to this country as a boy, directly to Boston, where he has made his residence through the years that have succeeded. He is engaged in business as real estate opera- tor. Rebecca (Harrison) Berman was also born in Russia. In the family are seven children: Rose, wife of Robert Robinson; Arby, Libby, who lives at home; Jennie, wife of Jacob Freeman; Louis, of whom further; Harold, and Jacob.
From the Lyman Grammar School of East Boston, Louis Berman entered Dorchester High School, then matriculated at the Massachusetts Agricultural College. When the United States
declared existence of a state of warfare with Germany and the Central powers, he enlisted in the service of his country. First he was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, then elsewhere, as a seaman in the Navy, spending in all some fourteen months with the service before re- ceiving his honorable discharge. He returned to school, as a student in Boston University Law School, from which he graduated in 1922 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1923 he was admitted to the bar, and has been in practice, independently, with offices at No. 73 Tremont Street, ever since. His clientele is now quite extensive, and expands constantly as Mr. Berman attains to greater reputation. It is said of him by confreres in the law that high achievements are inevitably in store for him.
Mr. Berman's extra-professional activities have been wide. In Boston University he rose to a place of distinction in the student body, having been a member of the Student Council there. He was captain of the university's basketball team, on which he played in 1920. He has also played professional basketball as well as semi-professional basketball. While his interest in sporting events has not slackened, his hobby of today lies in politics, to which he was no stranger while in school, on the side of the Democratic party. He has done con- siderable "stumping," and is well thought of for his ability as a speaker of force and per- suasion. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of B'rith Abraham, in which order he was the youngest District Deputy. He is a member of Question Association, of Ward Fourteen, in Dorchester, where he has a fair political fol- lowing, and of the Hebrew Progressive So- ciety.
In 1924, in Boston, Mr. Berman was united in marriage with Tillie Rita Levenson, daughter of Morris and Rose (Goldberg) Levenson, both of whom are living in Lawrence, the father being an attorney. Mr. and Mrs. Berman are the parents of a daughter, Virginia Beatrice, born August 25, 1924.
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HARRY EDWARD EHRLICH-Though a native of Russia, Harry Edward Ehrlich has spent nearly his entire life to the present time (1929) in this country, to which he was brought by his parents when he was but two years of age. Since 1910 he has been successfully engaged in legal practice in Boston, under his own name, and his offices are now located at No. 18 Tremont Street, in Boston. Mr. Ehrlich is a widely read man, and devotes a large amount of time to psychology.
Joseph Ehrlich, father of Mr. Ehrlich, was born in Austria and died in Russia at the early age of twenty-two years. He was a successful merchant in Kiev, Russia, an active and able man from whom his son inherited valuable traits of character and much ability. He married Lena Papush, who was born in Russia and died in Boston, Massachusetts, November 1, 1927, aged fifty-nine years, and they became the parents of one child, Harry Edward, of whom further.
Harry Edward Ehrlich, son of Joseph and Lena (Papush) Ehrlich, was born in Kiev, Russia, January 27, 1887, and was brought to Boston, Massachusetts, by his parents when he was an infant only two years of age. He at- tended the local public schools, graduating from Phillips Grammar School in Boston in 1903, and from Boston High School in 1906. In 1907 he began the study of law, and in 1910 he successfully passed the required examina- tions and was admitted to the bar. Since that time he has practiced in Boston under his own name and in the space of about twenty years has thoroughly established himself in his pro- fession. Mr. Ehrlich is a man of wide and varied interests and reads much, devoting many hours to the study of psychology. A scholar by nature, his inquiring mind finds interest in every possible subject, and his read- ing covers a very wide range. With character- istic wisdom, however, he limits his intensive reading to those subjects which he especially cares to master, reading widely in order that he may choose his fields for special and intensive work. He is interested and helpful in the Boy
Scout movement, and is public spirited in a gen- eral way as well, giving generously to all plans for the betterment of the city. He is a member of Boston Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; of the Boston City Club; also of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith. His religious affiliation is with Temple Israel, Commonwealth Avenue, in Boston.
Harry Edward Ehrlich was married, in Bos- ton, Massachusetts, November 18, 1910, to Net- tie Borofsky, who was born in Boston, daugh- ter of Meyer Borofsky, a retired business man of Boston, and of Gertrude (Quint) Borofsky, both of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Ehrlich have three children: 1. Dorothy Sylvia, born February 9, 1912. 2. Robert Joseph, born August 13, 1913. 3. Melvin, born February 3, 1916. The family home is located at No. 187 Babcock Street, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
HERBERT J. DENNER, of Boston, Massa- chusetts, one of the organizers and a partner in the leather manufacturing firm of Herbert J. Hill Leather Company, is a man of wide experience in his line of business and among the patriots who served this country in the late World War in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces. He is the son of Phillip J. Denner and Barbara (Boehm) Denner. His father was born in Heppenheim, Germany, and is by trade a baker. He has lived in Boston for many years where he is actively engaged in his trade. His mother was born at Helmbrecht, Germany, both parents still living.
Herbert J. Denner was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 10, 1893. He was educated in the public schools of Cambridge and finished his course in the Rindge Technical High School. When he had finished his school work in 1907, at the age of fourteen years, he began his work in the leather business in the employ of
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Louis Beebe and Sons of Boston. He con- tinued with this firm until 1917 when he en- tered the army for service overseas. He enlisted in April, 1917, with the 101st Regiment Engi- neers Corps of the 26th Division. He was in active service in France, taking part in the battles with the American Expeditionary Forces at Meuse-Argonne; St. Mihiel; Chateau-Thierry; wounded in action at Beaumont, in the St. Mihiel sector and again at Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry. He was discharged in March, 1919, with the rank of sergeant.
In 1921, Mr. Denner in association with Herbert J. Hill formed the Herbert J. Hill Leather Company, with offices at No. 99 South Street, Boston, Massachusetts. He is one of the members of the firm, which has been incorporated and is engaged in the manufacture of upper leather which consists of calfskins, split and side leathers. The capacity of this factory is three hundred sides and skins a day. Although young, as a manufacturing busi- ness, this business is conducted by men who have long had experience in this line and its growing trade indicates a bright future in front of it. Mr. Denner is a member of the Boston Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the American Legion and the Y. D. Club of Boston. In politics, he is a Republican and he attends the Baptist church. His hob- bies are bridge and baseball.
In 1923, Herbert J. Denner married Bertha Carlson, who was born in Clinton, Iowa.
MAURICE NOEL ABRAHAMSON-Well- known in Boston legal circles, Maurice Noel Abrahamson occupies offices at No. 11 Beacon Street, and devotes his attention to the ex- tensive practice which he has built up solely through his own energy and ability. Mr. Abra- hamson is otherwise active in various phases of the civic and social life of the city in
whose growth and welfare he has always dis- played keen interest.
Mr. Abrahamson was born in Sheffield, Eng- land, on October 16, 1890, a son of Paul Wil- liam Abrahamson, born in Latvia, then part of Russia, and now living retired in Boston, and of Minnie E. (Shear) Abrahamson, who was born in Moscow, Russia, and is also now living in Boston.
Maurice Noel Abrahamson was graduated from the Netherthorpe Board School in Shef- field, at which time he was awarded the school board merit certificate, and also attended Crookesmoor school in that city. When he was only eleven years old, he received a short- hand certificate from the Isaac Pitman school in England. Coming to Boston with his par- ents at the age of twelve on June 13, 1903, he later attended Central Evening High School and the Thomas Hickok Commercial School, and began his business career in the employ of the United Drug Company, one of its first thirty employees, for whom he made a trip around the world. Thereafter he attended
Suffolk Law School, from which he was grad- uated in 1920, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and also undertook the full course of study in the Boston University Law School, 1921- 1924. Beginning the practice of law soon after- wards, he was immediately successful, winning the confidence of his clients in an unusual de- gree, and gradually building up the prosperous practice to which he has since devoted himself.
During the period of the World War, Mr. Abrahamson was a member of the Medical De- partment of the United States Army, serving as a private and promoted to hospital sergeant, serving until the conclusion of hostilities. He is affiliated, fraternally, with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which organiaztion he is a member and now Junior Warden of Temple Lodge, at Boston. Mr. Abrahamson is also a member of several clubs, including the Boston City Club and the University Club of Boston. He is a charter member of the Boston University Lodge, and vice-president of the Boston University Square and Compass
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Club. He is also a member of B'nai Brith. In his leisure time, he finds rest and recrea- tion in country life and fishing.
On March 27, 1921, in Brooklyn, New York, Maurice Noel Abrahamson married Alice Davis Isaacs, born at St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, daughter of Israel Isaacs, now de- ceased, a pioneer cigar manufacturer of Canada, and of Caroline (Hart) Isaacs, who was a daughter of the first Jewish settler in New Brunswick. Mr. Abrahamson has three brothers and sisters, all living: 1. Harriet, who mar- ried Robert Sachs. 2. Nathan G., who was graduated from Harvard University in 1925, and served as a member of the American Ex- peditionary Forces in France, during the World War. 3. Sarah.
GEORGE NAUM PRIFTI-Numbered among the more progressive of barristers of Boston is George Naum Prifti, whose offices are at No. 6 Beacon Street, and whose clien- tele is extended and responsible. Native of a foreign country, he has made his career in the United States.
Mr. Prifti was born near Korcha, Albania, June 24, 1896, son of Naum and Marina (Xholo) Prifti. His father was born at Ka- menica, Albania, and in Albania died, a man of large position, having been for many years a manufacturer of lye. His mother, likewise a native of Albania, died there in 1916. In the family were nine children, of whom four sur- vive: 1. Kostantina, wife of Kosta Botka, of Albania. 2. Theodore, of Southwick, Massa- chusetts. 3. Peter, of Roumania. 4. George Naum, of whom follows.
In the public schools of Boboshtica, Al- bania, Mr. Prifti secured his earliest academic education, completing grammar school and continuing with the study of Greek and French in the same school for one year. When twelve
years of age he came with friends to the Uni- ted States, and took quarters with his brother Theodore at Springfield, Massachusetts, where he lived twelve years. He graduated from Springfield High School, then spent two and one-half years at Central High School, Spring- field, and in 1919 entered Boston University School of Law, from which he was graduated in 1922, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in that year, March, and has engaged in a lu- crative and important practice under the style of his own name in an independent firm through the years succeeding to the present time (1928). In 1926 he was appointed consul for Albania, and still holds this post. His princi- pal hobby is the growing of flowers, and his home in Watertown, at No. 349 School Street, gives evidence of his horticultural ability. As a gardener, too, he is skilled. During the World War he did Red Cross work for the Albanian Government, having been very active in this undertaking. Fraternally, he is affilia- ted with the Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he is a member of the Watertown Victory Lodge. He is a member of the Pan Albanian Federation of America, Vatra (mean- ing the "Hearth"), and attends the Orthodox Church, of Boston.
Mr. Prifti married, September 16, 1923, in Jamestown, New York, Theo Ford, who was born at Korcha, Albania, daughter of Elias and Urania Ford, both of whom are living in Jamestown, the father in retirement. Of this union have been born two children: 1. Mel- vin George, born February 23, 1926. 2. Basil, born October 11, 1927.
MICHAEL A. PENNACCHIO-One of Boston's prominent citizens, Michael A. Pen- nacchio was a member of the firm of Pennac- chio and Russo, leading undertakers of this
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city up to March 1, 1929, when the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Pennacchio removed to No. 36 South Margin Street, where he has since been engaged in business. During the World War he was in the service of the Italian Army and participated in many famous battles.
He was born in Naples, Italy, March 3, 1890, and received his early education in the schools of that city. Intending to study for the priest- hood, he spent six years at the Seminary at Capua, from 1900 to 1906. From 1906 to 1908, he attended the Augustine Niffo College, in the city of Sessa Aurunca, near Naples, and later entered the Vanvitelli College, near Naples, where he remained a year. In 1909, he came to the United States, locating at Providence, Rhode Island, where, until 1912, he was asso- ciated with his father in the fruit business, after which he removed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, engaging independently in the fruit business in that city. In the spring of 1914, he visited Italy and during his stay, the World War be- gan and he was compelled to remain in the country and enter the Italian Army, although Italy had not at that time declared war but was prepared. On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war against the Central Powers, after ten months of watchful preparation, and the same day, Austria was invaded, with General Cador- na at the head of the Italian Army. Mr. Pen- nacchio was a member of the force which pen- etrated directly north into Austria into the land of Gorz and Gradisca, fronting the Isonzo River. Gorz was the main strategic position and during the great offensive, King Victor Emanuel rode through the lines, encouraging the troops, and Gorz was surrendered to the Italian Army, August 9, 1916. In one of the many drives, Mr. Pennacchio was made a pris- oner of war and sent to an Austrian prison camp in Northern Bohemia, to the town of Leitmeritz, where he was confined until July, 1919. At the time he was made a prisoner, he was a sergeant in Company 4, Regiment 37, Fourth Division Infantry of the Italian Army, and just three days before his capture, had qualified to take the examination for second lieutenant. After his release in July, 1919, he
returned to the United States and located in Lawrence where he purchased a bakery bus- iness which he conducted successfully until 1922. He then moved to Boston and estab- lished a fruit business on Chauncey Street. For five years, his enterprise flourished steadily. Always ambitious to advance, in his spare time he learned the undertaking business from his uncle, Frank Decessare, and later formed a partnership with Joseph Russo, which was highly successful, and this continued until March, 1929, when Mr. Pennacchio withdrew and opened his present establishment. as above noted. Mr. Pennacchio takes a deep interest in civil affairs of the city, and is a prominent figure in all movements for its welfare and im- provement. He is a member of the Hendricks Club, the Sons of Italy, the Victor Emanuel Society and the Figli D'Italia e Dintorni of Boston. In 1920, he became a citizen of the United States.
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