USA > New York > New York City > Leslie's history of the greater New York, Volume III, Pt. 2 > Part 36
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BRADY, PATRICK, of P. Brady & Son, is now 55 years of age, and established in 1875 the trucking and forwarding business, of which he is now the head. The business was begun in a small way, in the Sec- ond Ward, two horses and four men being originally employed. At the present time more than two hundred horses and one hundred men are employed. A specialty has been made of carting live stock, all the work of this nature in New York City being practically in the hands of this firm. Mr. Brady received his early education in New York City, and when a young man became a member of the City Fire Depart- ment, connected with Hibernian Hose Company, No. 34, and Engine No. 1. He is now a member of the Veterans' Firemen's Association at Twenty-ninth street and Lexington avenue, as he is also of the Ex- empt Firemen's Association. Ile owns the old fire engine, known as the " Campaigner," which visited nearly every large city in the Union during the Grover Cleveland Presidential campaign.
WATTS, GEORGE TYLER, was born in Jamaica, L. L., August 19, 1874, and is the son of J. Tyler Watts and Nancy, daughter of James and Elizabeth Dawson, and is the grandson of Joseph and Susan Watts. He received his education in the Jamaica public schools, and at the University Grammar School, New York City. He has since been en- gaged in business at Jamaica, in the insurance and real estate lines. and as negotiator of loans on real estate. He is special agent in Queens County for the New York Underwriters' Agency. He is a member of the Jamaica Club. His father was a prominent citizen of Jamaica. For ten years he was President of the village, while for
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eight years he was one of its Trustees. Prior to the consolidation with New York City he was also Sewer Commissioner. For eighteen years he was superintendent of a gas company.
JANSSEN, FREDERICK WILLIAM, for two years was Deputy Internal Revenue Collector of Richmond County, New York; for two years was President of the Richmond County Fair and Horse Show Association; was a director of the Staten Island Athletic Club for eleven years; while during the twelve years, from 1881 to 1893, he in- augurated and managed all of the largest public entertainments of various sorts on Staten Island, as well as those under the auspices of the governing body of amateur athletics in this country. For five years he was a director of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, and was chiefly instrumental in inducing some eighteen of the largest and best athletic clubs throughout America to join and foster the interests of this organization. He has also been an official of the Richmond County Democratic organization during the past fifteen years, and for six years was Secretary of the National Democratie and Independent Democratic Executive Committee of Staten Island. He was one of five from Richmond County who, in the fall of 1897, joined in the nomination of Hon. Seth Low, candidate of the Citizens' move- ment for first Mayor of the Greater New York. For nine years he was. engaged with his father, Hon. Gerhard Janssen, in the export and im- port commission business in New York City. During the next two years he was manager of the well-known New York house of A. G. Spalding & Brothers, dealers in sporting goods. For one year he was engaged in the bicycle importing business on his own account. He then established the present firm of Creighton & Janssen, of New York and Staten Island, engaged in real estate business, fire and life insur- ance, and the promoting of various realty and railroad enterprises. He was born on Fifth avenue, New York City, April 9, 1860, and was" educated at Trinity School, New Brighton, Staten Island; at the Charlier Institute, New York City; studied French and German under private tutors, and was a member of the class of 1881, School of Mines. Columbia University. He is the son of Hon. Gerhard Janssen, of New York City, and Mary Ann, granddaughter of General Blancard, one of the distinguished officers under the first Napoleon. His paternal grandfather was Mayor of Emden, Germany. His father, a well- known importing merchant, was Consul-General at New York for Ol- denberg in 1866, and was Consul-General at New York for the Servian Government in 1880. King Milan decorated him with the Knight Commander's Cross in 1880, an order equal to the rank of Duke. Queen Nathalie also presented him with the decoration of the Servian Society of the Red Cross. Widely known, and highly regarded in Europe as well as the United States, he was frequently consulted in financial and diplomatie matters, European and American.
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DE BEVOISE, CHARLES RICHMOND, was born in Astoria, L. I .; June 23, 1862, the son of Charles De Bevoise and Sarah J. Pine, the grandson of Moses De Bevoise, and the great-grandson of Carl De Bevoise. He received his education in the High School of Mount Ver- non, N. Y. For six years he was a salesman with the Hodgman Rub- ber Company, subsequently becoming a salesman for the Warner Brothers Corset Company, for whom he sold to the New York and Brooklyn trade. In 1889 he began the manufacture of the " H. & W. Corset Waists," at Flushing. L. L., where he has since continued. His is next to the largest concern engaged in the manufacture of corset waists in the United States. His goods are now sold in every city in the . Union by eighteen salesmen, traveling from Maine to California.
COLLINS, MICHAEL J., was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., June 28, 1856, his father and mother being natives of Ireland. He received his educa- tion in public and parochial schools on Staten Island, where he has long resided. In 1884 he was appointed Secretary of the Board of Health, of the village of Edgewater, Richmond County. In 1886 he was made Clerk of the same village, while he held this position con- tinuously until Richmond County was consolidated with New York City. In February, 1898, he was appointed Deputy City Clerk for the Borough of Richmond, New York City. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Edgewater Co-operative Building and Loan Association. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Royal Arcanum, the Catholic Benevolent Legion, and the Foresters of America.
CLARK, ELIJAH D., was born near Little Falls, Herkimer County, N. Y., April 10, 1850, the son of Franklin Clark and Charlotte Timer- man. The Clarks came originally from England, and were among the early Puritan settlers of New England. They, as well as the John- sons, another paternal line. were of Revolutionary stock, some mem- bers of these families sacrificing their lives in the struggle for indepen- dence; while they subsequently removed from Massachusets and Con- necticut to Herkimer County, N. Y. The Timerman family early set- tled on the north side of the Mohawk River, about six miles east of Lit- tle Falls. This family came from Manheim, Germany, part of them settling in Pennsylvania, and the rest in Manheirn, Herkimer County, N. Y. Lieutenant Henry Timerman, great-great-grandfather of Mr. Clark, was with General Herkimer at the battle of Oriskany, and was wounded in that engagement. Mr. Clark received his early education in a district school in Oneida County, N. Y., attending subsequently the Vernon Academy, and still later the Clinton Liberal Institute. Clin- ton, N. Y. He taught school for one term, and then entered the State Normal College, at Albany, from which he was graduated in June. 1870. For nine years he taught school in New Brunswick. N. J., where
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HISTORY OF THE GREATER NEW YORK.
he had charge of the High School. Since 1879 he has taught in New York City, in Public Schools 35, 18, 61 and 60. Since 1889 he has been Principal of Public School No. 60, at College Avenue and 145th Street. He is a member of all associations of teachers in New York City. In 1897 and 1898 he was President of the New York City Teachers' As- sociation, an organization of about 3,000 teachers. Since 1884 he has lived in the Borough of The Bronx, where he has been active during this period in all matters of public interest except politics. For ten years he has been President of one of the largest Building and Loan Associations in New York City. He is a charter member of the North Side Board of Trade.
WILLIAMS, WILLIAM EDWARD, was born in New York City, April 18. 1848, and is the son of William Williams and Charlotte Ridge- way. Both parents were natives of Wales, who came to the United States when very young, and were married in Trinity Church, New York City. His father was a soldier in the Mexican War. Mr. Williams was edu- cated in the public schools of Brooklyn, and then learned the plumber's trade with his brother, and subsequently with a Mr. Atkinson, of Brooklyn, now deceased. He established himself in business in 1869, continuing for four or five years in Brooklyn, while for the next few years he retired from business. In 1876 he resumed business as a gen- eral plumber, and has continued since in the same line and at the same location. He is a member of the American Legion of Honor and of the National Provident Union. He married, in 1870, Anna Isabel Fenn, and has living four children-Alfred C., Ida May, Walter Edward, and Frederic Carlton Williams.
BRETT, JOHN HARRINGTON, was born in Mount Vernon, N. Y., August 4, 1854, and is the son of James Brett and Ann Harrington, both of whom came to the United States from England. Having been educated in the public schools of Mount Vernon, he engaged in driv- ing horses and other chore work, and then managed a coal and feed business for seven years. In 1889 he was elected Receiver of Taxes, which office he has held continuously since. In December, 1892, he embarked in the hay and feed business, and has successfully con- ducted this enterprise to the present time. He is a member of the City and Democratie clubs, the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Benevo- lent Legion, the Knights of St. John and Malta, the Ancient Order of Foresters, the Turn Verein, and the Quartette Club. He married, in 1884, Margaret Delaney, of Fordham, New York City.
ZELTNER, WILLIAM IL., a director and the Treasurer and Man- ager of the Henry Zeltner Brewing Company, is a native of New York City, the son of Henry Zeltner. His parents were married in New York, September 20, 1857, his father having arrived in this country
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NEW YORK BIOGRAPHY.
from Germany in 1854, and his mother in 1849. His paternal grand- father, George Zeltner, was a hop grower and brewer, while his great- grandfather, John George Zeltner, was also a hop grower. The latter died at the age of ninety-two. Mr. Zeltner's mother was born at Dom- fessel, Department of Strasburg, Alsace-Lorraine, the daughter of Christian William Schurch and Eva Margareta Tiellmann. Henry Zeltner first worked with Erhardt Richter, on Forsyth Street, New York, and subsequently with the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company, and Franz Ruppert, father of Jacob Ruppert. During the summer time he also worked on the farm of Spencer Lorillard, now a part of Pelham Bay Park. In 1860 he purchased the small brewery of William Jaeger, with lots, on Eighth Street and Third Avenue, Morrisania, now the Borough of the Bronx. The brewery was gradually enlarged as its business increased until the present buildings were erected in 1891, on the site of the original brewery. In 1893 the business was incorporated, since which time Henry Zeltner has been President of the Company, and his son, William H. Zeltner, Treasurer and Business Manager. The latter has various other business connections, and is a member of a number of clubs and other organizations.
MACE, LEVI HAMILTON, founder of the firm of L. H. Mace & Com- pany, and long its head, was born at Rye, N. Y., January 26, 1825, and died at his home in Williamsbridge, N. Y., October 20, 1895. His father, Henry Mace, was a farmer. At seven years of age he began to work with a neighbor and to attend school. Removing to Salem, Mass., at the age of fifteen, during the next five years he was engaged in the grocery business, while for two years following he conducted a restau- rant at Salem. Coming to New York City, he formed a partnership with John M. Smith, and engaged in the manufacture of refrigerators. In 1850 he continued in the same line alone, establishing the large man- nfacturing and importing establishment of L. H. Mace & Company, Houston Street, New York City. For more than thirty-two years a resident of Williamsburg, during twenty-six years of this period he was President of the Board of Education of District No. 2. He was an ex- tensive and successful operator in real estate in Williamsburg, and erected the church edifice which was originally acquired by the Metho- dist Episcopal denomination, and subsequently sold to the Baptist denomination. He was a director of the Bowery Bank from the date of its organization until a short time before his death. His son, Arthur J. Maee, is his successor in the house of L. II. Mace & Company. The latter is a director of the Lafayette Fire Insurance Company and a member of various clubs.
THOMPSON, GEORGE KRAMER, is a descendant of one of the oldest families in this country, his ancestry in the United States being traceable in a direct line to the earliest days of the colonies. Thomas
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Minor, the first American progenitor, was born in England, in 160s. and came to this country in 1630, here marrying Frances Palmer. From his second son. Thomas, through Clement, to William, to Stephen Minor, of Worcester, Virginia, and through his son, John, who was the father of Abia, whose daughter, Sophia, married John H. Thompson. the subject of this review traces his family.
At the age of fifteen Mr. Thompson entered Chattock Military cad- emy, about this time making up his mind to prepare himself for the architectural profession, pursuing such studies as would be most valna- ble in his chosen walk of life. In 1876 he entered Franklin and Mar- shall Academy, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and there followed lines of research necessary in the architectural profession. Ju 1879 Mr. Thomp- son came to New York and entered the office of Frederick C. Withers, Esq. He remained with Mr. Withers until 1882, during which time much important work was put under his supervision.
In the fall of 1882 he accepted a salaried position in the office of Messrs. Kimball & Wisedell, remaining with them for about a year; after which, for a short time, he was again connected with Mr. Withers. besides attending to some work on his own account.
In 1883 Mr. Thompson formed a partnership with C. P. II. Gilbert, with offices at 40 Broadway, the union lasting about eighteen months, when our subject bought out the interests of his partner and con- tinued the business alone. a portion of the time with offices in New York and a branch establishment in St. Louis. During this period. Mr. Thompson had a large and varied practice in both places. In 1890 he carried out some work for the Manhattan Life Insurance Company, and through the acquaintance thus formed with the officers of that in- stitution was invited to compete for their proposed new building, at 66 Broadway. The partnership of Kimball & Thompson was formed in 1892, the first work undertaken by them being the Manhattan Life Building, which was the pioneer building of its class and construction. After the designs for the Manhattan Life Building had been settled upon, the problem of sustaining its immense weight on a small area of ground which comprised the site was found to be a serious matter, and the architects' investigations soon showed the necessity of creating a stronger foundation than piles, concrete, or grillage would sustain. Then it occurred that if bedrock could be reached by some process such as the pneumatic caisson work, which had hitherto only been used for bridge work, which would sustain the pressure of the sur- -rounding soil, the problem would be solved. Accordingly, a firm who did this class of work was empowered to perfect the system, which was then used for the first time in building operations on dry land. The idea was thoroughly original, and was first employed in the foundation of the Manhattan Life Building, but has since been used on many other large structures which have been erected not only by this firm but by other architects. The Manhattan Building completed, Kimball &
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Thompson erected stores for Altman & Company, at Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets and Sixth Avenue, followed by extensive altera- tions and additions to the Standard Block for the Standard Oil Com- pany.
The Empire Building, like the Manhattan Life Building, is one that reflects the greatest credit on its designers, for these two buildings are most chaste and magnificent piles. Mr. Thompson has also erected warehouse and office buildings for ex-Postmaster C. W. Dayton, resi- dences for Francis Wilson and Augustus Thomas, and a great number of country houses throughout the United States.
In addition to his prominent position among the greatest architects of the nation, Mr. Thompson is well known in the social life of the metropolis, being a member of the Lotos Club, Knollwood Country Club, Republican Club of the City of New York, Twilight Club, Na- tional Sculptors' Society, American Art Society, Royal Arcanum. Huguenot Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, Mount Vernon Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and Bethlehem Commandery, Knights Tem- plar.
ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING IN NEW YORK.
BY THE LATE BENSON J. LOSSING.
RCHITECTURE is a child of necessity and minister of utility. It was the art first practiced among the primitive inhabit- ants of the earth, for the sole purpose of providing shelter from the elements. When man emerged from his cave dwellings, fashioned by the hand of nature, he built shelters as substi- tutes, as simple in form as the conical pole and bark wigwam of the North American Indian, or the ice-dune of the Polar Eskimo. 2
To build appears to be as much a human instinct as it is that of the beaver, the ant, and the bird, but guided by reason and forethoughi. For ages, perhaps, the construction of a dwelling was a work of neces- sity only, and ornamentation of symmetry were not desired. Architecture under such a con- dition could not be dignified with the title of a fine art. which it has held for centuries in an eminent degree, being regarded as an almost unerring measure of the progress of civil- 7 ization among the nations of the earth. The date of the origin of the builder's art, like that of other arts, and of its HARLEM POLICE AND DISTRICT COURT-HOUSE, 121ST STREET AND SYLVAN PLACE. HENRY ANDERSEN, AARCHITECT. development into a fine art, can not be discovered. One nation dates the birth of its arts long centuries ago; another is looking for their nativity in the future.
The architectural structures of Egypt are the oldest extant records of the art. It is now believed that the great pyramid of Ghizeh is fully five thousand years old. It exhibits evidence of the existence of exact knowledge of mathematical and other sciences at that very remote period; and recent researches indicate that the most ancient structures now seen on the surface of the land of the Nile are young in comparison with others which have been exhumed far below that surface. The
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844 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.
ADJOINING THE ASTOR MANSION, CORNER OF 65TH STREET.
R. NAPIER ANDERSON, ARCHITECT, 63 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NEW YORK BIOGRAPHY.
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE ATONEMENT, 140TH STREET AND EDGECOMBE AVENUE. HENRY ANDERSEN, ARCHITECT.
INTERIOR FOR THE LUTHERN CHURCH OF THE ATONE- MENT., 140TH ST. AND EDGECOMBE AVENUE. HENRY ANDERSEN, ARCHITECT.
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" DON CARLOS " APARTMENTS, MADISON AVENUE AND 77TH STREET. HENRY ANDERSEN, ARCHITECT.
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ACADIA APARTMENT HOUSE, 115TH ST. AND 7TH AND ST. NICHOLAS AVES. HENRY ANDERSEN, ARCHITECT.
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HISTORY OF THE GREATER NEW YORK.
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SANS SOUCI APARTMENT HOUSE, NOS. 30-32 WEST 124TH ST. HENRY ANDERSEN, ARCHITECT.
Egyptians built " not for a day, but for all time." A spirit of sym- metry, grandeur, and solidity reigns throughout all the Egyp- tian temples.
Many centuries younger, but far more refined than that of Egypt, was the ancient architec- ture of Greece. It was notable for grace, beauty, and perfect sym- metry in its earlier development. On that peninsula the three per- fected orders of architecture (which, it is said, have not been, and can not be, improved) were fostered, and their beauties dis- played in temple-building. These orders are the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. Most of the temples were built in the Doric style.
The Roman architecture had very little that was original. Its Tus- can and Composite orders were only modifications in form of the Greek orders. The Greeks were exquisite architects, but were not great build- ers. Their skill was ex- pended in the construction of temples. The houses of the people were mere huts. A whole city would some- times be rebuilt in a few weeks. The Romans were great builders, but un- skillful architects. The round arch, the distinctive feature of the Romanesque style, they inherited from - the Etruscans. Their do- mestic architecture and fine buildings for secular purposes were numerous and often elegant. The Roman buildings of every kind were imposing and magnificent in their mass. Their ornamentation was the work of Greek artists.
RANGELY APARTMENT HOUSE, 137TH ST. AND 7TH AVE. HENRY ANDERSEN, ARCHITECT.
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. LAMB & RICH . ' ARCHITECTS .
GERMAN-AMERICAN BUILDING, 35 NASSAU STREET. LAMB & RICH, ARCHITECTS.
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HISTORY OF THE GREATER NEW YORK.
The zeal and taste of the Romans for buildings spread over Europe after the downfall of the Em- pire, and during the Mid- dle Ages magnificent temples for Christian wor- 1 ship were constructed. Of these edifices the Roman Basilica was the suggestion. What is de- nominated Christian Sacred Architecture was a development having its origin in pagan Rome. At that time domestic architecture was very crude: The people were miserably housed. They very seldom had dwellings equal in comfort to an ordinary loghouse in the wilds of our Western coun- try. Occasionally a man of wealth would have an "ele- gant " house. The usual form of such a house -- the manor house of one of the English gen- try four hundred years ago, for example-consisted of a central passage running through the house, with a hall on one side, a parlor beyond, and one or two chambers above; and, on the other side, a kitchen, pantry, and other offices. France made no greater progress in domestic architecture than England.
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SUBURBAN HOUSE. DEHLI & HOWARD, ARCHITECTS.
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BONFILS BUILDING, FIFTH AVENUE AND TWENTY- FIRST STREET.
JARDINE, KENT & JARDINE, ARCHITECTS.
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The pointed arch in church architecture, known as the Gothic, was only a new step in the march of Romanesque building. It reached its culmi- nation in the thirteenth con- tury, when the most beautiful edifices ever seen were erected in France, where, as in Eng- land, the Gothic style may still be seen in its greatest purity.
STORE BUILDING, 714 BROADWAY, BUCHMAN & DEISLER, ARCHITECTS,
SHERRY HOTEL, NEW YORK. MCKIM, MEAD & WHITE, ARCHITECTS. PLUMBING WORK EXECUTED BY W. H. SPELMAN & CO.
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THE GROLIER CLUB BUILDING, 31ST STREET. CHAS. W. ROMEYN, ARCHITECT.
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HISTORY OF THE GREATER NEW YORK.
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THE " WILBRAHAM," FIFTH AVENUE AND THIR- TIETH STREET. JARDINE, KENT & JARDINE, ARCHITECTS.
It filled Europe with structures which impress beholders with wonder and admiration.
When the Age of Faith gave way to the Age of Reason, and vital social changes appeared : when Feudalism began to relax its iron grasp upon commerce, industries, and the freedom of individuals, zeal for the erection of magnificent temples of wor- ship, like the great cathedrals of Milan, Cologne, and Salis- bury, began to cool. After a considerable pause a revolution was effected. The " Renais- sauce," or the classical revival, under the influence of awak- ened enthusiasm for classical literature and art, in the first half of the fifteenth century. caused a return to the so-called classical style of building -- the Romanesque and the Grecian -- which wholly superseded the Gothic style all over Europe in
INTERIOR BAPTIST TEMPLE, BROOKLYN, N. Y. GEO. W. KRAMER, ARCHITECT.
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STORE BUILDING, 592-596 BROADWAY. BUCHMAN & DEISLER, ARCHITECTS.
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sacred architecture. The most notable structure of this revival period is the Church of St. Peter, at Rome.
From the Renaissance on till now the Roman and the Gothic styles in church architecture have been equal favorites in the erection of moderate structures, while in the building of common places of wor-
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EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE BUILDING, 252 WEST 138TH STREET. JARDINE, KENT & JARDINE, ARCHITECTS.
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