USA > New York > New York City > Leslie's history of the greater New York, Volume III, Pt. 2 > Part 35
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REID, RALPH HAROLD, was born in London, England, May 30, 1863, the son of James Reid, a veteran of the Crimean War, aud of his wife, Harriet Franklin, daughter of a Methodist minister of Suffolk, England. Mr. Reid was educated at Decatur, III., where his childhood was spent. and. coming to New York City. served an apprenticeship at plumbing and gasfitting. During the last twelve years he has been es- tablished in business on Amsterdam Avenue, having been engaged in the building business during a part of this time. He is a musician. playing the violin and mandolin. He has never used tobacco or stim- ulants. He is married, and has a son. thirteen years of age, who sings in the choir of St. Agnes's Episcopal Church.
PHELAN, JAMES J., was born in New York City, March 17, 1846. the son of John Phelan and Mary Ann Doyle, and the grandson of John Phelan. His grandfather came to the United States from Queen's County, Ireland, soon after the War of 1812, and engaged in the brewing business in Newark, N. J. He subsequently returned to Ireland, but after some years once more came to the United States with his sons. One of his sons, James Phelan, of San Francisco, was a well-known California pioneer, who became a millionaire, and was Mayor of San Francisco. Mr. James J. Phelan was educated in the New York public schools, and at St. Francis Xavier's College. At nineteen years of age he started in the grocery business, which he followed for seven years.
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From 1870, until he sold out his interest to his brother in 1888, he was a member of the firm of Duval & Phelan, wholesale whisky and wine dealers and importers. In 1884, with the Slaven Brothers, of San Francisco, and the late Eugene Kelly, the well-known New York banker, he organized the American Contracting and Dredging Com- pany, organized to do work on the Panama Canal. This company was very successful, but dissolved in 1891 on account of the abandonment of the project through the failure of the De Lesseps Company. Mr. Phelan was Commissioner and Treasurer of the Department of Docks, New York City, from 1891 to 1895. For several years he was a man- ager of the Catholic Orphan Asylum. He is a director of the Ameri- can Union Life Insurance Company, the Traders and Travelers' Acci- dent Company, the Kings County Refrigerator Company, and the Nar- ragansett Building Company, and is Treasurer of the Manhattan Re- frigerator Company. He is a member of the Democratic, Catholic, Fordham, Narragansett and Pontiac clubs, and of the Catholic Be- nevolent Legion.
RIPPERGER, GEORGE, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., February 6, 1861, the son of John Ripperger, a shipsmith, who came to the United States from Germany in 1847, and Margaret E. Seifurt. He received his education in the public schools of Long Island City, of which he has been a resident since he was three years of age, and then served as a grocer's clerk between the ages of thirteen and twenty. In 1879, when twenty years of age, he engaged in the wholesale provision business, which he has successfully followed since. He also became a wholesale dealer in pork, his business in this line now being of large proportions. He likewise conducts a business as a manufacturer of sheep fertilizer. He is a Republican, has been a delegate to four State Conventions, served two terms on the Republican County Committee of Queens County, for three years was Chairman of the Republican General Com- mittee, and was manager of the Republican Campaign Committee in 1895. On September 16. 1897, he was appointed Postmaster of Long Island City by President Mckinley. He is a Mason, an Exempt Fire- man, having served his term as a member of Hunter Engine Company. No. 4, and is a member of the Lincoln and Union League clubs, the German Order of Red Men. and the Second Dutch Reformed Church of Astoria, L. I. He married Mary E. Hamm, of Long Island City, and has had eleven children. of whom six are living. Those living are George, Jr., Alfred, Ethel, Wesley, Howard, and Clifton Ripperger.
WALTER, CHARLES, was born in Waterbury, Conn., August 18, 1848, the son of Charles and Frances Walter, both parents being na- tives of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. His father was a wire-drawer, and a patentee of hoop-skirts. Mr. Walter received his education in a school in Strasburg. Germany, and then learned the trade of watch-
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maker and jeweler, working with Mitchell, Vass & Company. He next worked in the mineral water business with Carl HI. Schultz, Bolen & Byrne, John Morgan, the New York Bottling Company, and others. In 1870 he engaged in this business on his own account, and later of he engaged in the manufacture of siphons, establishing one of the largest enterprises in this line. In 1893 he patented a siphon head. He is also the proprietor of the Walter's Express Company. He is a Mason, a member of Klopstock Lodge, a member of the Royal Arcanum, is a Knight of Honor, and a member of the Quartette, Political, and Staten Island Yacht Club. He married, December 13, 1870, Caroline Ernst, of New York City, and has five children-Charles, Dora, Carrie. Francis, and Tessie.
SMITH, GEORGE WASHINGTON, was born in Hempstead, L. I., February 22, 1840, the son of Benjamin T. Smith and Caroline Carmen, his ancestors having come to this country from Holland in 1680. His father was a lumber dealer at one time, a Justice of the Peace for a number of years, and for ten years Supervisor of the Town of Hemp- stead. Having been educated in the Hempstead free school, at the age of twenty-three Mr. Smith was elected Collector of Taxes for the Town of Hempstead, which office be held for two years. He then en- tered the grocery business, while during the last fifteen years he has been in the bathing business at Rockaway Beach. L. I .. as a member of the firm of Wainwright & Smith. Their establishment is the largest of its kind in the United States. In 1896 Mr. Smith was elected Super- visor of the Town of Hempstead, and served with credit for two years. He is a Mason. a member of Massepequa Lodge, and a member of the Royal Arcanum.
BERNHEIMER, SIMON E., was born in New York City, November 26, 1849, the son of the late Emanuel Bernheimer, a native of Germany, who for many years was a successful New York merchant and brewer. Mr. Bernheimer received his education in the public schools, and at a commercial college. He served a year in the drygoods business, an- other in the clothing trade, and in 1865 entered the Lion Brewery. con- ducted by his father and Joseph Schmid, under the firm style of Bern- heimer & Schmid. In 1878 the original proprietors were succeeded by their sons, Simon E. Bernheimer and August Schmid, under whose management the establishment has become one of the most extensive of the kind in New York City. Mr. Bernheimer is a member of various clubs and societies. He is unmarried.
FRIEDLEBEN, FRANK, was born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Ger- many, the son of a celebrated savant, who published many works treat- ing of mathematics, physics, and astronomy, and was a member of num- erous scientific bodies. Coming to America, Mr. Friedleben settled in the village of Wakefield, now a part of the Borough of The Bronx, New
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York City. Here he was active in securing public improvements, the most important of which was the location of a station of the New York and Harlem Railroad at Wakefield. For many years he has been con- nected with the Manhattan Storage and Warehouse Company, of New York City.
FISKE, EDWIN W., Mayor of the City of Mount Vernon, was born at Shamokin, Pa., in JJuly, 1861, and received his edneation in the pub- lie schools of Harrisburg, Pa. At the age of eighteen he was appren- ticed to learn the Bessemer Steel Manufacturing business, and served his time with the Pennsylvania Steel Company, at Steelton, Pa. Ile. then came to New York City, where for the past fourteen years he has been engaged in the steam and hot-water heating business. He made Mount Vernon his residence about eleven years ago, and immediately interested himself in public affairs. From 1889 to 1890 he served the old Second Ward in the Board of Village Trustees. In 1893 .he was elected Alderman from the present Second Ward. against a strong competitor. In 1894 he was the unanimous choice of the Democratic party for Mayor, and the election was so close that it required several months for the Courts to decide that his opponent was elected by one vote. In 1896 he was again the unanimous choice of the Democratic party for Mayor, and was elected. Shortly after his arrival in Mount Vernon he had interested himself in Steamer Company No. 3, of the Fire Department, and after a short period became its foreman. Three years later he was elected Chief Engineer of the Fire Department. He was serving his fourth term in this capacity when elected Mayor. He has been Vice-President, and a member of the Eecutive Committee, of the International Association of Fire Engineers of the World; has been President and Treasurer of the Fireman's Benevolent Association of Mount Vernon; is a member of Hiawatha Lodge, F. & A. M .; Mount Vernon Chapter, R. A. M .; Bethlehem Commandery, K. T .; Mecca Tem- ple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of New York City; of Lodge No. 1, B. P. O. Elks, of New York City; of Goldlen Rod Council, Royal Arcanum; of the Sons of the American Revolution; of Aque-a-Nonek Tribe, No. 369, 1. O. Red Men, and of the Old Guard. Colonial Wars, Chicago. He is also a mem- ber of the Mount Vernon Cycle Club, the Westchester County Wheel- men, the Fireman's Exempt Association, and is a sustaining member of the Y. M. C. A. He is a member of the City Club of Yonkers, and of the City Club of Mount Vernon: is a member of the Democratic Club, and Tammany Society of New York City; and is a member of the Mount Vernon Turn Verein, and of Sons of Veterans, Charles J. Nordquist Camp, No. 64, of Mount Vernon. "He is also a member of Vernon Con- clave, 510, I. O. IL., and of the American Spaniel Club, and the Ameri- can Kennel Club, of New York City. He was President of the Mount Vernon Board of Aldermen, and Chairman of the Committee of the Board of Aldermen on Streets and Sidewalks, which position he did
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much toward improving the streets and avenues. Renominated as Mayor at the Charter Election of May 17, 1898, by the unanimous vote of the nominating convention, he was re-elected by an increased ma- jority.
ST. JOHN, ANDREW WARNER, was born in Jamestown, N. Y., February 29, 1840, the son of A. J. St. John and Eliza A., daughter of Ira Warner, and the grandson of Stephen St. John. He was educated in district schools, and the public schools at Burlington, Wis., and at seventeen years of age removed from Wisconsin to Minnesota. He was a Union soldier during the Civil War, between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five, while between the ages of twenty-five and twenty- seven (from 1866 to 1868), he held the office of Sheriff, of Freeborn County, Minn. He then removed to Southwestern Missouri, where for fourteen years he engaged in fruit-growing. In 1883 he became editor and proprietor of the Carthage ( Mo.) Press, which he successfully managed for fifteen years, making it the leading newspaper in that sec- tion of the State. In 1896 he removed to Mena, Ark., and established the Mena Star, also engaging in the real estate business. He is Secre- tary and Treasurer of the Southwestern Slate Company. He is a Uni- tarian, a Mason, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, having been four times a delegate to the National Encampment of the last-mentioned organization.
STONEBRIDGE, CHARLES H., was born in New York City, March 27, 1861, the son of Charles Stonebridge and Margaret Sayres. His father came to this country from Germany in 1845, when fourteen years of age. His mother was born in New York City, her parents having come from France. The ancestors on the paternal side in Ger- many for many generations were engaged in the shipping business, while many of them were owners and captains of sea vessels. Mr. Stonebridge was educated in the public schools of Mott Haven. New York City, and of Nevada City, Nevada County, Cal. He has always been in the insurance business, and is now Superintendent of the Mu -. tual Life Insurance Company, for the Borough of The Bronx. New York City. He is a member of the North Side Board of Trade. the Central Taxpayers. Alliance, the Fordham, Morris. Camp-fire, Berkeley, and Transit, Rod and Gun Clubs, and the Zoological Society of New York, the Sportsmen's Association, the League of American Sportsmen. and the Underwriters' Association.
DYCKMAN, ISAAC MICHAEL, was born in Yonkers, N. Y., Janu- uary 1. 1813. and died May 3, 1899. He was the last male representa- tive of the Dyekman family, bearing the name, in New York City. This family was prominent in the early history of New York City, their gene- alogy being given in Riker's " History of Harlem." This family
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at one time owned nearly all of Manhattan Island north of 194th Street, bounded by the Hudson River, the Harlem, and Spusten Duyvil Creek. Mr. Dyckman inherited a large part of this estate from two unmarried uncles, Isaac and Michael Dyckman, whose Christian names and sur- name he assumed as a condition of his inheritance. Prior to 1868 his name was James F. D. Smith, son of Caleb Smith and Hannah Dyck- man, of Yonkers. He was fifth in descent from Jan Dyckman, of Bent- heim, Westphalia, who came to this country about the middle of the seventeenth century. He was the grandson of Jacobus Dyckman and Hannah Brown, the great-grandson of William Dyckman and Mary Tourneur, the great-great-grandson of JJacobus Dyckman and Jan- netie Kiersen, and the great-great-great-grandson of Jan Dyekman, al- ready referred to, and his wife, Rebecca Waldron. Mr. Dyckman was prominent in the work of the New York Presbyterian Church for nearly fifty years, having been an elder in the Mount Washington Presbyterian Church for nearly thirty years.
EVERARD, JAMES, born in Dublin, Ireland, in August, 1829, early came to the United States, where he learned the trades of printing and stereotyping, as well as the art of mason work and building. He was a soldier under General Scott and General Taylor in the Mexican War, and as such participated in many of the principal battles of that war. After returning to New York City, he worked for some time on the police force. Subsequently, from 1857 to 1868, he was engaged in con- tracting and building. The New York Post Office Building was erected by him. He also engaged in the work of street paving and grading. In 1876 he purchased the Whitney Brewery for ales and porter, while in 1886 he erected the large brewery at 133d Street. In 1894 he also erected a new brewery for ales and porter. He erected a fourteen-story storage warehouse, for Government storage, at West, Washington and Tenth streets. In 1890 he also erected luxurious Turkish and Russian baths on West Twenty-eighth street. He is a di- rector of the Fifth National Bank and other financial institutions. He has a daughter, Olga Jule Everard.
DIERING, HENRY J., was born in Sulzburg, in Breisgau, Baden, Germany, October 24, 1828, the son of honest tradespeople. He was educated in the public schools, being graduated at the age of fifteen. HIe then served a three years' apprenticeship to learn the florist and landscape gardening business, receiving his diploma at the end of that period. In 1848 and 1849 he took part in the attempted revolution for freedom in Baden, under the patriots Hecker and Struve, and after the cause was lost took refuge in Switzerland. In May, 1851, he took passage for America from Havre, France, arriving in New York the following June. He worked at his profession on Long Island, at New Orleans, and in Connecticut. When Woodlawn Cemetery was estab-
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lished in 1864, he received an offer to assume charge of it as Superin- tendent, which he accepted. He has held this position continuously since.
FETHERSTON, JOHN J., was born in Ireland, April 30, 1844, and in 1850 was brought to the United States. Since 1851 he has been a resident of. Staten Island. He was educated in the public schools of Richmond County, and then found employment in the provision busi- ness, which he subsequently followed on his own account. He retired from business to accept the position of Village Treasurer, and when the consolidation with New York City abolished this office he was ap- pointed Deputy Collector of Taxes for Richmond Borough. He was for ten years a Trustee of the village of New Brighton, S. I., was for four years President of that village, and for five years was its Treas- urer. He is a member of the Democratic Club of Manhattan Borough.
FLOERSCH, PETER, was born on the Rhine, Germany, in 1860, and when but four years of age was brought to America with his parents. He has been a resident of Staten Island since 1874, while he has been a resident of Tottenville since 1877. He opened a barber-shop in Nelson's Hotel in 1881. In 1886 he leased the Sevenhard Block and opened the Excelsior Hotel, with restaurant and billiard rooms, which he has since conducted with success. For two years he was lessee of Bay Cliff Park. He has always been an active Republican, and was elected Excise Commissioner as the candidate of his party, and served in this office for three years.
GILL, WILLIAM, was born in Staten Island, January 13, 1858, the son of parents who were natives of the North of Ireland. He received his education in the public schools of New York City, and then learned the printer's trade. He followed this trade for some time, but latterly has been a hotel-keeper. He is a Volunteer Fireman and a Forester.
DEMAREST, PETER EDWARD, was born in Oakland, N. J., April 26, 1857, and lineally descends from David des Marest, a native of Beauchamp, Picardy, France, where he was born in 1620, and who came to New Amsterdam with his wife and four children in 1663. He first settled on Staten Island, in 1665 removed to Harlem, and on June 8, 1667, purchased lands on the Hackensack River from the Tappan Indians. Mr. Demarest attended the New York public schools, and was subsequently graduated from the School of Pedagogy, of the New York University, with the degree of doctor of pedagogy. He has been a teacher for twenty-one years, beginning with a graded school near Butler, N. J. He next became Principal of the graded schools at Hi- bernia, N. J. He resigned from this position to become Principal of the High School at Dover, N. J., while he subsequently became Super-
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intendent of the public schools of Dover. In 1887 he was elected Prin- cipal of the Steinway School, of Long Island City. He was Superintend- ent of the schools of Long Island City from June, 1897, to Febru- ary, 1898, when the consolidation with New York City took effect; while he has since been Principal of the High School, of Long Island City. For eight years he has been connected with speculative real estate and building enterprises in New York City, in association with John Mclaughlin, the Yorkville builder. He is an Odd Fellow, holds high rank in the Royal Arcanum, is one of the United Friends, and a Knight of Columbus.
GASS, FRANK, a native of Bavaria, Germany, where he had re- ceived a good common school education, came to the United States in 1872, at first following the trade of a confectioner in New York City. Hle soon took up house painting and decorating, becoming an expert, and a few years later established his own business along these lines just south of the Harlem River. He soon had a business enabling him to employ from twenty to thirty men, while he also made judicious real estate investments. In 1886 he became a resident of Unionport, now a part of New York City, and was one of the most active in developing that section, while he has been in the real estate business ever since. He was twice elected Assessor of the former Town of Westchester, and served five years as such. In the fall of 1897, under the new charter, he was elected an Alderman of the City of New York. He is a prominent Odd Fellow. and for three years was Deputy District Grand Master of the Fourteenth District. He was one of a committee which, in 1886. selected the site at Unionport for a home for the aged and infirm mem- bers of this order.
GEIGER, HENRY, was born in Saint Louis, Mo., September 30. 1866, the son of Albert Geiger and. Rose Romer. He received his edu- cation in the New York public schools, and the High School of Saint John, New Brunswick. Starting in the retail grocery business, in what is now the Borough of the Bronx when twenty-two years of age, he has established one of the largest retail houses in that line in that borough of the city. He is a Mason, and a member of the Royal Ar- cammin, a member of the Schnorer Club of Morrisania, and of the Tax- pavers' Alliance.
WARDE, JOHN SEYMOUR, was born in Westchester County, . N. Y., January 25, 1840, and is the son of William D. Warde and Mary J. Calhoun. Having been educated in the public schools of Tarrytown and Yonkers, he accepted a position in the General Post Office, New York City. He subsequently became receiving clerk for the Erie Rail- road, Pier 8, East River. Still later he was in the employ of the City Works Department, of the City of Brooklyn. Since 1881 he has been
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Superintendent of the Staten Island Water Supply Company. He is a member of the Board of Representatives of the North Shore Fire De- partment; is a life member of the New York State Firemen's Associa- tion; is a member of the Staten Island Athletic Club, and the Kill von Kull Yacht Club; is a member of the New England Water Works As- sociation, and of the American Water Works Association; is a member of Richmond Post, No. 524, Grand Army of the Republic; of Staten Island Lodge, No. 346, Knights of Pythias; of Staten Island Council, No. 1.145, Royal Arcanum; of Richmond Lodge, No. 66, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; of Tyrian Chapter, No. 219, Royal Arch Masons; of Vork Commandery, No. 55, Knights Templars; of Mecca Temple, Mystic Shrine, and of Beacon Light Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star.
BRINCKERHOFF, JOHN HENRY, was born in Jamaica, L. I., No- . vember 24, 1829, and is the son of Abraham Brinckerhoff and Jane E. Wright, is the grandson of John Brinckerhoff and Rebecca Lotte, is the great-grandson of Abraham Brinckerhoff and Sarah Onderdonck, and is in the eighth generation in descent from Joris Dereksen Brincker- hoff, who came to New Amsterdam from Holland in 1638, while in 1646 he settled in Brooklyn. The family is of Flemish extraction, of the City of Ghent, Andries Brinckerhoff, Senator and Syndic, being mentioned in 1307. Mr. Brinckerhoff was educated in the public schools of Jamaica, L. L., and was apprenticed to the Long Island Rail- road Company as a machinist in 1845, became a locomotive engineer in 1847, and in 1854 became foreman of the railroad machine shop at Jamaica. In 1855 he became an engineer on the New York Central, while from 1856 to 1857 he served on the Michigan Southern. Since 1857 he has been successfully engaged in mercantile business at Ja- maica. He has been a trustee of the Jamaica Savings Bank since 1870, and its Treasurer since 1892. He is a director of the Glen Cove Mutual Insurance Company. He was a member of the Board of Education at Jamaica, is Treasurer of the Board of Trustees, of Union Hall Semi- mary, and is Secretary of the Board of Local Managers of the State Nor- mal School at Jamaica. For five years he was a Trustee of the village of Jamaica, for three years was a Justice of the Peace, and for thirteen years was Supervisor of the Town of Jamaica. He represented Queens County on the first Greater New York Commission. He is a Mason, a member of the Veteran Firemen's Association of Jamaica, and a mem- ber of the Holland Society of New York City. He married, in 1853, Laura Edwards, and has three children -- Laura E., Starr, and Irene. Mrs. Brinckerhoff died in 1891.
BOWEN, WILLIAM, was born in Ireland, December 15, 1840, the son of Owen Bowen and Mary Flynn, and was early brought by his parents to the United States. He was educated in the Boston public schools, including the Quincy Grammar School, and then learned the
M
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printing business, at which he worked in New York City. He sub- sequently became a shipping clerk in a New York wine and liquor house. In 1865 he started on his own account as one of the pioneers in the California wine business, under the style of William Bowen & Company. This business he disposed of to advantage in 1876, and then bought the New York Hotel, at Clifton, S. I., which he conducted for twelve years, and then retired. By the Board of Supervisors he . was appointed Superintendent of the Poor for Richmond County, and by successive re-elections continued in this office for seventeen years, until it was abolished by the Legislature. During the past seven years he has been engaged in the real estate business. He was twice Repub- lican candidate for Supervisor, but was defeated by narrow margins in a strong Democratic district. He was formerly a member of Hope Hose Company, No. 50, and is a member of the Pleasure Club, of New York City. At one time he was Secretary of the General George B. McClelland Club of the Sixth Ward, New York City. Two of his brothers were Union soldiers during the Civil War. He is a nephew of Father Tom McGuire, the famous Irish agitator.
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