USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 28
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
the line of duty, the clinic and hospital was rented for medical and surgical purposes from Dr. Keller by the United States Navy.
Dr. Keller was commissioned a lieutenant com- mander in the naval forces, and subsequently pro- moted to the rank of commander in the Medical Corps. For a year he served as chief of surgery of the United States Naval Hospital at St. Albans, New York, and later he was assigned to the cruiser U. S. S. "Concord," on which he saw active service in the Southeast and Northwest Pacific Theaters of Opera- tions. During that time he was present at eleven naval bombardments of Japanese territory, and in testimony of this service he received the decoration known as the engagement star. He received his hon- orable discharge from the navy on January 7, 1946.
Immediately resuming his private practice, Dr. Keller also re-opened his clinic and hospital on March 15, 1946, and continues to operate it at this writing. It is a twenty bed hospital, mainly used for surgery. Since reopening his hospital and clinic in 1946 there have been eight hundred hospital admissions and approximately twenty-eight thousand clinic patient calls.
Dr. Keller is a member of the Medical Society of the State of New York, Homeopathic, the Asso- ciation of Military Surgeons of the United States, and the Canadian Medical Association. He is a diplo- mate of the National Board of Medical Examiners. As a member of the New York Athletic Club in New York City, doubtless he often remembers the days at McGill Medical when he received his letter as intercollegiate light heavyweight boxing champion of Canada. His fraternal affiliation is with Alpha Kappa Kappa national medical fraternity. His politi- cal faith is indicated by his membership in the Suffolk County Republican Club.
At Brooklyn, New York, on March 31, 1938, Donald R. Keller married Frances Townley, a daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Frank M. Townley, who was the rector of St. Bartholomew's Church in Brooklyn, and his wife Ada (Pearson) Townley.
BOLLING RANDOLPH SHARP and LEWIS JONES SHARP-The electrical contracting firm of B. R. Sharp and Sons, now located at 1000 Central Avenue, Woodmere, was founded in 1898 at Far Rockaway. The founder was the late Bolling Ran- dolph Sharp, born in Buckingham County, Virginia, who, sensitive to business prospects as affected by events, moved the business to three different locations and each time guided it to wider operations. Today his sons, Bolling Randolph and Lewis Jones Sharp, operate the business in partnership. Both are well- known at Woodmere and Malverne, where they live.
Bolling Randolph Sharp was born in Far Rockaway on September 5, 1898. Lewis Jones Sharp was born in the same community on May 24, 1904. Their mother was Sarah Louise (Jones) Sharp, who was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in 1937.
Bolling Sharp was graudated from the Far Rock- away High School in 1916 and his brother, Lewis J. Sharp also attended there. Even before he left high school, the elder of the two brothers joined their father in the electrical contracting business, which was then still located at Far Rockaway. The year was 1915. Two years later, the United States having been precipitated into World War I, Bolling Ran- dolph Sharp, Sr., went to work in the shipyards at Hog Island; his son, Bolling Randolph, Jr., also
worked there. After the war, he resumed his electrical contracting work, assisted by his elder son, at Far Rockaway. They remained in that community until 1921, when Mr. Sharp, Sr., decided to transfer the business to Woodmere. It was in three different loca- tions before settling down at 1000 Central Avenue. In 1920, Lewis Jones Sharp joined his father and brother in the business. When the elder Bolling Ran- dolph Sharp died on November 13, 1939, the brothers formed a partnership and have continued the business jointly ever since, as B. R. Sharp & Sons.
Bolling R. Sharp is a member of the Knights of Columbus and a communicant of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church at Malverne. Lewis J. Sharp is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Malverne Presbyterian Church.
Bolling Randolph Sharp and Theresa Agnes Scott, daughter of John J. and Caroline (Zahn) Scott, were married in Corona on April 16, 1922. They are the parents of two children: Bolling Randolph, born June 8, 1929, and Theresa Louise, born October 31, 1923. The latter is now Mrs. Roger Hackett and the mother of a daughter, Veronica Hackett, born June 22, 1943.
Lewis Jones Sharp and Florence Mace, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Mace, were married at Pawling, New York, on October 28, 1928. They are the parents of two children: Peggy Lou, born March, 1930, and Lewis Jones, Jr., born April 1933.
WILLIAM A. DE BONO-Rich in historic asso- ciations is the Island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea, where once St. Paul was shipwrecked; where Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks and Italians fought and mingled through twenty centuries, and where the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem ruled from 1522 to 1798, thus becoming known as Knights of Malta. In comparison, Long Island's little more than three centuries of recorded history may seem prosaic, but Long Island and its old villages also have their romance, particularly the romance of the growth of industry and the achievement of individual success in business by enterprising and far-sighted men. One such man who contributes today to the modern romance of Long Island is William A. De Bono of Patchogue, who was born in distant Malta on May 15, 1898.
This son of Vincent and Mary Ann De Bono, after receiving his education in his insular birthplace, came to the United States as a young man in the year 1920. Settling at first in New York City, he found employ- ment with the firm of Ault and Wibourg, manufac- turers of printing inks. He became manager of one of the branches of this concern, and his association with them lasted from 1920 to 1928. In that year Mr. De Bono carried out a purpose which had taken form in his mind, to enter business independently as a manu- facturer of lamp shades, for which, he foresaw cor- rectly, a limitless market opened up by the increasing use of floor lamps, bridge lamps and table lamps in lieu of overhead illumination.
Mr. De Bono at first established his plant in the Borough of Queens, New York City, where he con- tinued his operations until 1940. At that time he removed his factory to Patchogue, one of Long Is- land's most charming sea-side villages. Here he con- tinues his operations with increasing success in a plant which employes about fifty people. Mr. De
104
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Bono quickly became an active factor in the business and civic life of his adopted village. He is a member of the Patchogue Rotary Club and of the fraternal or- der of the Knights of Columbus in the same village. A Roman Catholic in religion, he is a communicant of the Church of St. Francis de Sales. His recreations are hunting and fishing.
At Jersey City, New Jersey, William A. De Bono was married in January, 1922, to Mary Moore of that city, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Moore. Of this marriage there are four children: I. Mary, who was born in Jersey City on November 20, 1923. She is a graduate of Georgian Court College at Lakewood, New Jersey, and is now an assistant to her father in the office of the lamp shade company. 2. Ada, born at Maspeth in the Borough of Queens, New York City, on February 25, 1925. She is also a graduate of Georgian Court College, and having determined on a professional career in medicine, is now taking her pre-medical studies at Fordham University in New York City. 3. Vincent, born April 24, 1927, at Mas- peth. He is a graduate of the Patchogue high school, and during the second World War he served in the United States Coast Guard. 4. William A., Jr., born on July 10, 1930, at Maspeth, Queens. He is now studying at the La Salle Military Academy.
Mr. William A. De Bono, Sr., has become a factor in banking in his section of Long Island, holding a place on the board of directors of the Bank of Pat- chogue. He also gives time to public service as a member of the Patchogue Rationing Board.
ROBERT E. THORNHILL, an attorney whose professional abilities were proven during several years of practice in the exacting legal field of New York City, was interrupted in his career when he answered our country's call to the colors in World War II; and since his release from the armed service, he has en- tered public service, undertaking the duties of an important office for which his training and his qualities of mind eminently fit him.
Born at Sayville, in Suffolk County, on January 31, 1906, Mr. Thornhill is a son of the late Sewell Thorn- hill and his wife Louise (Edwards) Thornhill, who is still living. Sewell Thornhill was a native of Wap- pingers Falls, Dutchess County, New York, who came to Long Island and established a pharmacy in Sayville, which he conducted successfully until his death in 1931. The young Robert E. Thornill, gradu- ated from the Sayville High School, attended Wesleyan University, where he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy upon graduating with the class of 1928. Having chosen the law as a profession and a career, he entered the New York Law School, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Law in 1931, and was admitted to the New York State bar.
Mr. Thornhill was associated with the leading law firm of Bigham, Englar, Jones and Houston of 64 Wall Street, in New York City, from 1931 through I933. In 1934 he established his own law office in his native Sayville, where he practiced from 1934 until 1942, with marked success. In 1942 however he put aside his practice to enter the United States Coast Guard, in which he served until 1946, holding the rank of lieutenant commander.
The choice of Mr. Thornhill for the position of clerk of the Surrogate's Court of Suffolk County, in 1946, was striking evidence of the impression which his legal
attainments have made upon the bar of that county, for as all attorneys know, the clerk of the Surrogate's court must be equipped with more than an average grasp of the law as well as with marked administrative capacity.
Mr. Thornhill is active in the business and civic councils of his community, particularly as a member of the Sayville Rotary Club, of which he is a former president. He is a member of the Cornell Club and is affiliated with the Psi Upsilon fraternity and with Phi Delta Phi, a legal fraternity. He is a communi- cant of the Congregational Church and has served as chairman of the board of trustees. Mr. Thornhill is not married.
CHAUNCEY W. MATHEWS-The life of Chauncey W. Mathews typifies that of the well- rounded, cultured gentleman, who, prominent as he may become in business, never allows his life to get out of balance. No less important in Mr. Mathews' estimation were the services freely rendered to his country, his community and his fellow townsmen, the development of lasting friendships, and creative expression through the medium of well-chosen hob- bies. He did all these things well. As his business was always a conspicuous success, so also was his life.
Active in the real estate and insurance business in Sea Cliff over a number of years, Chauncey W. Mathews was a native of that place, and son of Wil- liam Morgan and Nellie (Combs) Mathews. Edu- cated in the local schools, he succeeded his grand- father, Chancy Combs, in the business which he was to make his life work. His first business connection had been in New York City, and on succeeeding Mr. Combs, the office which he occupied was a modest one. However, he grew rapidly in the esteem of the com- munity, and his business undertaking prospered ac- cordingly; so that the need for larger quarters neces- sitated his removal to No. 304 Sea Cliff Avenue, and he eventually erected his own office building, an at- tractive brick edifice well-known to residents of the community and located at No. 272 Sea Cliff Avenue.
An interruption in his career came at the time of World War I when, joining the Army, he became a captain, serving with the general superintendent of the Army Transport Service and the port utilities officer at the Port of Embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey, under Major General David C. Shanks and Colonel H. J. Hirsch, of the Quartermaster Corps. Having entered the service as an enlisted man in De- cember, 1917, he served until 1919, and was honorably discharged in October of that year, remaining a cap- tain in the Reserves. During World War II as well, his services were invaluable, and included the organiz- ing and maintaining of an air raid warning system in Sea Cliff.
Thereafter he resumed the operation of the Chaun- cey W. Mathews Agency. Never too preoccupied with his business responsibilities to be friendly, his gener- ous nature is revealed in these words written by a fellow townsman: "From his office, Mr. Mathews ex- tended many services appreciated by residents. At the proper season, calendars, tide tables, pencils and other useful items were given away." During the holiday season, Mr. Mathews was one to give full rein to the Christmas spirit, and the windows of his office at No. 272 Sea Cliff Avenue at that season spoke clearly his greetings to the community with an ap- propriate scene set against a background bright with plants and flowers.
Flowers and gardening, indeed, comprised one of
Charmey st. Mathews
105
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Mr. Mathew's loved hobbies. He had also developed an interesting collection of stamps. He likewise took great pride in his dogs, and owned, together with Mrs. Mathews, a splendid pair of Samoyedes, which were shown both in the Long Island and the Morris and Essex dog shows, winning blue ribbons at the former. He was on the board of governors of the Samoyede Club of America, and served as its delegate to the American Kennel Club. On numerous occasions he acted as steward at the Westminister Show at Madi- son Square Garden.
Always glad to serve his community, Chauncey W. Mathews became a member of the planning board of Sea Cliff at the time of its organization. At the time of his death he was vice president, and had formerly been president, of the Nassau County Association of Local Agents, as well as a member of the Long Island Real Estate Board. Interested in veterans' affairs since the period of his service in World War I, he was a member of the American Legion, and served on the advisory council of the James F. Brengel Post. He belonged also to the Sea Cliff Yacht Club. Of Roman Catholic faith, he was a communicant of the St. Boni- face Martyr Church, and was a member of the Holy Name Society.
On June 12, 1919, Chauncey W. Mathews married Agnes Long, daughter of John A. and Elizabeth (Bischoff) Long, old Brooklyn residents. Mrs. Mathews shared many of her husband's interests, is president of the Good of the Village Association and library board, and the organist at St. Boniface Martyr Church.
Shortly after returning from a motor trip through New England and the Adirondacks, Mr. Mathews died unexpectedly on June 5. 1947, to the great shock of the entire community which realized in his passing the loss of one of its most prominent business leaders, a tireless worker for its welfare, and above all, one its citizens' staunchest friends. Editorial comment thus summarized his place in the community:
Mr. Mathews won the high esteem of all who knew him. His unassuming manner, and completely honest business methods drew the confidence and respect of everyone.
JULIEN DEAN, M.D .- Born in France, Dr. Julien Dean of Freeport, Nassau County, nevertheless has had a typically American career of useful and success- ful achievement, attaining a reputation in a specialized field.
Dr. Dean's father, the late James Dean, who died in August, 1918, was a native of Dumfries in Scotland, who was brought to the United States in his boyhood days, and served his adopted country as a soldier in the Union armies during the Civil War of 1861-1865. He became a florist with a flourishing business in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, operating under his own name, before removing to Freeport, where he spent his later years and became one of the leading citizens of that village, serving as its mayor from 1902 to 1904. James Dean married a French girl, Louise La Brousse, who was born in Perigveux in that Re- public. She passed away in 1928. Of this marriage the son, christened Julien, was born in Perigveux, France, on August 27, 1880.
Brought to this country in childhood, Julien Dean graduated from high school in Babylon, Long Island, and, with his youthful ambition already fixed upon a career in medicine, attended the Long Island College of Medicine and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine from the institution in 1904. His internship was passed at the Old Eastern District Hospital in
the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, where he re- mained one year. Originally he set up his practice in the Borough of Brooklyn, where he studied particu- larly the diseases of the ear, nose and throat. In 191I Dr. Dean established his office in Freeport, where he became the first full time ear, nose and throat spe- cialist to practice in that village and in that vicinity of Nassau County. Here he continues to practice, with an office at II Whaley Street, the recipient of the gratitude of a host of patients whom he has bene- fited, and widely respected for his other services and his part in the life of the community.
Since the opening of the Nassau Communities Hos- pital at Oceanside, Nassau County, Dr. Dean has been chief of staff at that institution. He is a con- sulting physician of the Meadowbrook Hospital. From 1913 to 1933 Dr. Dean served as medical inspector of the public schools of the Village of Freeport. He is vice president of The Freeport Bank, Freeport, New York, and an active member of the Republican Party. In religion he is a supporter of the Presbyterian Church. His fraternal interests are centered in Spar- tan Lodge, Number 856 of the Free and Accepted Masons.
In the Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York, on June 1, 1908, Julien Dean was married to Marion MacDonald, a native of Brooklyn.
HERBERT S. P. HILTON-Banking was Herbert S. P. Hilton's first choice of a business career, and after some years of employment in one of the major financial institutions of New York City, he became associated with the North Shore Bank Trust Company of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, where for twenty years he has been an important figure in Long Island banking circles.
A native Long Islander, in the sense that he was born in Brooklyn on April 22, 1896, shortly before that city became a Borough of Greater New York, Mr. Hilton traces his ancestry back to several families that were among the pioneers and early settlers of Long Island. Among his forbears was the renowned Bishop Samuel Seabury, the first bishop of the Episco- pal Church on Long Island. Mr. Hilton's own father, the late John P. Hilton, was an interior decorator with a prosperous business in New York City. He married Emma A. Skidmore, who is now also deceased.
Receiving his preliminary education at St. Paul's School in Garden City, Nassau County, the young Herbert S. P. Hilton enrolled at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, but after a year and a half there he transferred to Princeton University at Princeton, New Jersey, where he remained two years, before entering the American Institute of Banking to prepare specifically for his chosen work. His career was in- terrupted by the entrance of this country into World War I, when he answered the call to the colors by enlisting in the United States Navy, in which he served for four years with the rank of ensign.
For ten years Mr. Hilton was employed with the Corn Exchange Bank in New York City, acquiring invaluable experience. It was in 1926 that he became associated with the North Shore Bank Trust Company at Oyster Bay, as trust officer and vice president. Since 1940 Mr. Hilton has been vice president and chairman of the board of directors of this trust com- pany. He also serves on the board of directors of the North Shore Safe Deposit Company of Oyster
106
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Bay. Mr. Hilton is a member of the Nassau County Planning Commission.
During the second World War he served as a member of the Office of Price Administration. He belongs to the Quentin Roosevelt Post Number Four of the American Legion, at Oyster Bay, and served for five years as treasurer. Deeply interested, and always ready to serve in civic causes as well as in promotion of the business progress of his community, Mr. Hilton is an active member of the Oyster Bay Rotary Club, and is secretary, treasurer and a men- ber of the board of directors of the General Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Library, Inc., a group formed to establish a suitable memorial to the late General Roosevelt, who during his lifetime was a patron of literature and a valued friend of many writers, and who gave his life in the service of our country during the second World War, dying as a result of fatigue arising from his exertions during the operations of his brigade in the European invasion area,
Herbert S. P. Hilton is an influential member of the Republican party in Oyster Bay and the North Shore area of Nassau County, and is unmarried.
GEORGE H. DOWNING-As president of Titus, Bowne and Downing, Inc., of Glen Cove, George H. Downing is widely known in the retail coal and lum- ber business on Long Island. Active in the civic affairs of Glen Cove and Floral Park, his residence, he has held important public and semi-public posts. He was president of the village of Floral Park for three years and for a long period was a village trustee. Also, he is a former member of the Floral Park board of Education. Mr. Downing's partners in Titus, Bowne and Downing include his brother, Benjamin W. Downing, and his nephew, William Kirk Downing, who is a stockholder and also a director of the Glen Cove Trust Company.
George H. Downing was born in Glen Head on March 25, 1878, the son of Henry and Sara S. (Hurd) Downing. His father, a farmer, was born at Little- worth, now Sea Cliff, and his mother was born at Oxford, Massachusetts. Both parents died many years ago.
Mr. Downing was educated in the public schools of Glen Head and at the Friends Academy in Locust Valley. From 1896 to 1910, a period of fourteen years, Mr. Downing was with the Floral Park post office. In 1910, he entered the retail lumber and coal business at Locust Valley, forming a partnership with his brother that was called Downing Brothers. Thi prosperous business was sold in 1928 to the Nassau- Suffolk Lumber and Supply Corporation.
The two brothers in 1936 purchased the old estab- lished firm of Titus and Bowne and, forming a new corporation called Titus, Bowne and Downing, have continued under this banner to the present time, with constantly expanding operations. George H. Downing is president and Benjamin W. Downing is secretary and treasurer. Benjamin Downing's son, William, who was with Downing Brothers at Locust Valley has been with the present corporation since its first days. He holds responsible executive offices.
George H. Downing was president of the village of Floral Park from 1917 to 1920. His service as a village trustee preceded the presidency. He was on the school board for six years. He is Democratic in his politics. He is a past master of Floral Park
Lodge, No. 1016, Free and Accepted Masons, and worships at the Methodist Church in Floral Park.
Mr. Downing married Ella L. Ives of Middle Granville, New York, on June 22, 1904. They have two children: Helen, now the wife of Harry Sinester and living at Madison, New Jersey, and the mother of a son, George A. Sinester; and George H. Downing, Jr., who wounded three times in action in World War II, was still at Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D. C., late in 1946. George Downing, Jr., was a first lieutenant with the Forty-fifth Division in the European Theater of Operations. His wife is the former Doris Mayhew of Charlotte, North Carolina.
George H. Downing, Sr., indulges his favorite hobby whenever he has time-hunting.
MARY ANNE REGELMANN-Not a few astute and able women have had a part in the growth and development of the great belt of beautiful suburbs which has grown up in recent decades in that part of Nassau County, which is adjacent to New York City. Notable among these is Mrs. Mary Anne Regelmann, realtor.
Brought up in New York City Mrs. Regelmann is a daughter of Michael and Theresa (Englert) Red- ling. After graduating from the Washington Irving High School in New York City with the class of 1922, Mary Anne Redling attended Hofstra College where she studied real estate. In 1941 she entered the real estate business in Williston Park, where she has con- tinued with great success. She is operating a very active real estate office with four sales people at 149 Hillside Avenue, Williston Park. She is a member of the Republican Club, the National Real Estate Board, the Long Island Real Estate Board, and the Women's Council, United States of America. To 1946 she was active in the work of the American Red Cross. She attends St. Aidan's Church at Williston Park.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.