USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 30
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 30
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Deposits
Date
Capital, Surplus Undivided Profits
$
490,264.40
December 31, 1933
$ 123,437.08
942,857.00
December 31, 1935
155,738.78
1,450,488.37
December 31, 1937
203,486.81
2,669,668.32
December 31, 1939 336,190.91
5,075,865.61
December 31, 1941
464,280.30
9,595,064.28
December
31, 1943
695,926.89
14,144,814.61
December 31, 1944 760,441.27
20,024,644.67
December 31, 1945 1,091,066.57
20,225,738.69
December 31, 1946
1,285,464.34
26,751,000.00
December 15, 1947
2,025,295.00
Directors, 1947: Walter A. Elson, George M. Esta- brook, George A. Heaney, Leo Laibach, Herbert Mir- schel, Arthur C. Phillips, Wendelin Rauch, Arthur T. Roth.
Officers, 1947: Arthur C. Phillips, chairman of the board; Arthur T. Roth, president; Paul E. Prosswim- mer, executive vice president; George A. Heaney, vice president, cashier; George M. Estabrook, vice presi- dent; Leo Laibach, vice president; C. W. Green, vice president, director of public relations; George H. Becht, comptroller; William J. Boyle, assistant vice president; Albert A. Sacco, assistant vice president; Charles H. Mount, assistant comptroller; P. J. Clif- ford, assistant cashier; William Conroy, assistant cashier; John Engle, assistant cashier; Grace Mc- Kenney, assistant cashier; William Cline, assistant mortgage officer; James G. Smith, assistant mortgage officer; Mildred Teed, assistant mortgage officer; Samuel Spitzbart, counsel.
In January, 1948, Paul E. Prosswimmer was elected a director and P. J. Clifford became assistant vice president.
ARTHUR T. ROTH-The history of modern banking in Nassau County is linked closely to the career of Arthur T. Roth, president of the Franklin Square National Bank. For since Mr. Roth came to Nassau County thirteen years ago, the institution. of which he has been an officer throughout that period, has steadily advanced in resources and service to its community.
Like many another American business man whose career has been marked by continuing success, Mr. Roth is the son of immigrant parents. His father and mother, Philip and Therese Roth, were born in Ger- many and came to America in 1888. Their son was educated in typical American fashion, being gradu- ated from the Townsend Harris High School in New York City. where he lived with his parents. His studies continued in the Walton School of Commerce and still later he completed the course of the Graduate School of Banking, sponsored by the American Bank- ers Association and Rutgers University. For the com- pletion of this latter course in 1946 he received his de- gree in banking.
In young manhood Mr. Roth chose banking as his career and has continued in that field. His first job was with the Columbia Bank of New York City, which institution later was merged with the Manufacturers Trust Company. He continued with the New York institution until 1934 when he was chosen as cashier of the Franklin Square National Bank.
At that time the bank had total deposits of $490,147, a sum which was destined to be multiplied more than fifty times during the thirteen years which followed and during which Mr. Roth has risen steadily through various executive ranks in the institution. He was
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Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Inc
Atom T. Roter
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
made vice president and cashier in 1941, executive vice president and cashier a year later, and since 1946 has been president of the institution.
At the time of the most recent report of the bank's condition its deposits were in excess of $27,000,000. The capital, surplus and undivided profits of the bank are more than ten times their total of 1934.
As the bank's resources increased, its service to the community was broadened under the progressive lead- ership of Mr. Roth. The modernization and expansion of the banking structure on Hempstead Turnpike has just been completed at a cost of approximately half a million dollars. Some of the many features of the in- stitution are described elsewhere in this edition. It is noteworthy that in addition to providing the most modern furnishings and business equipment for its staff the bank has made the entire building more at- tractive for its patrons.
Also included in the bank building are several rooms which are used for meeting places by community or- ganizations, as Mr. Roth feels that civic and patriotic groups should be encouraged to gather frequently in pleasant surroundings and discuss problems of local interest. As a member of the Rotary Club he has taken an active part in community leadership and has served on many fund raising committees for such or- ganizations as the Girl Scouts and others.
In January, 1930, Mr. Roth was married to Gene- vieve Kolczynski. They have two children: Carolyn Joan, born in August, 1934, and Donald, born in February, 1940.
He has been honored by election as a director of the New York State Bankers Retirement System and is a member of the Hempstead Country Club.
FRANCIS M. GAYNOR-Primarily through the efforts of Francis M. Gaynor, Glen Head now has a beautiful twenty-two acre memorial park, donated to the town in 1946 by the Post Brick Company of which Mr. Gaynor is president. Conscious always of community welfare, and civic minded throughout his career in business, Mr. Gaynor has continued his work in this enterprise as chairman of the memorial park and building committee.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1894. Francis Gaynor is the son of Hugh and Jane (Pritchard) Gaynor, both natives of Philadelphia Hugh Gaynor, who died in 1909, was a brick manufac turer by trade; Jane Gaynor died in 1904.
Francis M. Gaynor was educated in the public and high schools of Philadelphia. After attending Temple University for one year, he apprenticed with his uncle, James Gaynor, in the brick manufacturing business in Philadelphia and remained there until 1917. With the advent of World War I, Mr. Gaynor entered the armed services and for twenty-two months was assigned to the Air Corps at Hazelhurst (now Roosevelt) Field. In March, 1919, he received an honorable discharge. Upon his return to civilian life Mr. Gaynor became associated with Jotham Post, a brick manufacturer of Glen Head. Here his work was so successful and his progress so marked that he received a partnership in the Post Brick Company in 1924. Four years later, when Mr. Post died, Francis M. Gaynor took over the complete managership of the company and continued in this capacity until 1942. In 1936, the present plant was purchased at Farming- dale, the business was re-named the Nassau Brick Company, and Mr. Gaynor enlarged his managerial staff. Townsend B. Pettit. Sr., is vice president and L.I .- 10
Townsend B. Pettit, Jr., is secretary and treasurer. The only company of its kind in this area, the Nas- sau Brick Company employs fifty-five people and has a yearly manufacturing capacity of twenty-five million bricks. Through the years, Mr. Gaynor's lead- ership has been unparalleled and his constantly grow- ing experience has made his company sound finan- cially and noted for its fine products.
Mr. Gaynor uses his financial skill as a director of the First National Bank of Glen Head. He is also a director of E. T. Hoebick, Inc., of Glen Head. Recog- nized as a sound businessman with an understanding of the needs for children, as exemplified by the estab- lishment of the memorial park, Mr. Gaynor has served on the Glen Head Board of Education since 1936. He attends the St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church at Sea Cliff.
In June, 1920, Francis M. Gaynor married Made- line (Mettauer) Gaynor, of Queens Village. She is the daughter of August and Emma Mettauer. Mr. and Mrs. Gaynor are the parents of three children. I. James J., married to Patricia (Helwig) Gaynor. 2. Madeleine, married to John Moulder. They have one child, Ellen. 3. Eleanor, now a student at Cornell University.
FREDERICK P. J. CLARK-The descendant of families which have been notable in Long Island and New York for many years, the late Frederick P. J. Clark was a resident of Hempstead, New York, and operated a real estate, insurance and travel agency business there. In line with his interest in public affairs he took an active part in all civic activities, particularly as a member of the Republican party.
Frederick P. J. Clark was born in Hempstead, February 16, 1881, the son of Charles Sidney and Mary Alice (James) Clark. His father was born in New York City, was an attorney there, and died February 22, 1931. His mother was born in Brooklyn and died March 17, 1886. One of his great-grand- fathers, Hiram Whitaker, was a cabinetmaker in Hempstead, while another great-grandfather, Jacob A. Westervelt, was a mayor of New York City from 1853 to 1855 and a well-known shipbuilder.
After attending the public schools of his birthplace, Frederick P. J. Clark took a position with the Metro- politan Life Insurance Company in Hempstead for eleven years. Later he was engaged in the real estate and insurance business for himself for three years. The next four years were spent in the employ of the First National Bank of Hempstead. Then he again opened in business for himself in the real estate and insurance field and in 1927 added a travel agency to his business. His offices were located in the Hemp- stead Bank Building on 292 Fulton Avenue.
For years Mr. Clark was the secretary of the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, having been elected January I, 1942. He was also a life member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Morton Lodge, No. 63, and a member of the American Society of Travel Agents. A Republican, he was district leader for thirteen years, and he was a member of the Methodist Church. His main hobbies were stamp collecting and sports, particularly baseball.
On July 25. 1915. Frederick P. J. Clark married Pearl I. Dade. of Gloversville, New York, and they became the parents of two children: 1. Elinor May. wife of Donald W. Brown. They have two children.
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LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Judith Alice and Louise Dade. 2. Judith Cornelia, wife of Adrian H. Courtenay, Jr., and they have three children, Adrian H. III, Mary James and Elizabeth Ann.
Mr. Clark died suddenly of a heart attack March 17, 1948, at his home, 489 Front Street, Hempstead; the house in which he was born.
I. GEORGE BERKMAN, as an attorney, has not only developed a large private practice but achieved leadership in the Nassau County Bar Association and the Nassau County Democratic Committee. He is former attorney for the Home Owners Loan Corpo- ration and has served the Village of Hempstead, where he lives and practices, as special counsel.
Mr. Berkman was born in New York City on August 10, 1906, the son of Abraham and Esther (Goldstein) Berkman. Both his parents were born in Poland. The father, who for many years was a contractor in New York City, died some years ago, survived by his widow.
The lawyer obtained his early education in the public schools of New York City. He was graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1922, after which he took his pre-legal studies at Columbia University. In 1927 he was graduated from the New York Univer- sity School of Law with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Admitted to the New York State bar in December, 1928, Mr. Berkman began his practice in New York City soon afterward. At the same time he opened an office in Hempstead. Later, he gave up his practice in Manhattan and concentrated on his Hempstead clientele. He has since been admitted to practice be- fore the Federal courts.
Mr. Berkman soon won such prominence that when in 1941, 1942 and 1943 the Village of Hempstead was obliged to bring condemnation proceedings against various property owners, he was the attorney selected to serve as special counsel. Active in Democratic politics from the outset of his career, Mr. Berkman was elected a member of the Nassau County Demo- cratic Committee. In the Nassau County Bar Associa- tion he has held a variety of important nosts, including the chairmanship of the Legal Aid Committee. Mr. Berkman is also on the board of trustees of Temple Beth Israel at Hempstead. He is a member of Sunrise Lodge, No. 1069, Free and Accepted Masons, Hemp- stead. Mr. Berkman's favorite recreations are fishing, swimming and golf.
He married Alice Barrasch, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Barrasch, in Brooklyn on June 19, 1938. She is a graduate of Adelphi College. They are the parents of two sons and a daughter: Barry, born September 4, 1940, Andrew, born April 7, 1944, and Deborah born March 25, 1948.
REGINALD HUNTTING TUTHILL-Born in the old city of Brooklyn, on March 24, 1895, Regi- nald H. Tuthill was brought to Suffolk County in his childhood, received his education there, and there has found his successful business career, becoming at the same time one of the best-known and most popular men in civic and fraternal circles in the village of Riverhead.
Mr. Tuthill's father, Alexander Huntting Tuthill, was a native of Orient, far out toward the eastern
tip of Suffolk County. He engaged in the oyster business as the Peconic Bay Oyster Company, and was very active in church affairs, singing in various choirs for many years. He died in 1936. His wife and the mother of Reginald H. Tuthill, was the former Estelle M. Potter, who was born in Brooklyn.
The young Reginald H. Tuthill attended public grade and high schools in Greenport, Suffolk County, where he graduated from high school in 1913. The funeral business early attracted his study, and re- solving to enter it, he served his apprenticeship with the famous Fairchild organization in Brooklyn. On March 10, 1924, he purchased the funeral business and establishment of Frank H. Hill and Brother at Riverhead, which he has owned and conducted to the present time with great success, a success based alike on his skill as embalmer, his ability as a businessman, his strict adherence to high ethical standards, and the modern character of his services. Mr. Tuthill established the first private ambulance service in eastern Suffolk County, and to this he has added an oxygen and hospital bed service.
During the first World War Mr. Tuthill enlisted in the United States Army and was a member of Company H of the 106th Infantry, a unit of the 27th Division. During the "big push" on the Hindenburg Line on October 17, 1918, he was wounded in bat- tle. During the second World War he served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, holding the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. He is one of the most active members of the American Legion in Suffolk County, and is a past commander and a trustee of Riverhead Post No. 273. He is now a division commander in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. In business and civic circles Mr. Tuthill is known as an enthusiastic member of the Riverhead Rotary Club. His fraternal associations are with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the Riverhead Yacht Club, and his favorite recreation is golf. In religion he is a member of the Riverhead Methodist Church.
On July 14, 1917, Reginald H. Tuthill was mar- ried to Alice G. Golding, a daughter of Holliday and Ada A. (Alexander) Golding. Of this union there are two children: I. Alexander Huntting, who was born on December 26, 1918. A graduate of Riverhead High School and of St. Lawrence Uni- versity, he joined our country's armed forces during the second World War, serving from March, 1942, to November, 1945, as a master sergeant attached to the 305th Station Hospital, in the United States and in England. Alexander H. Tuthill, who is now employed with the Prudential Life Insurance Com- pany, is married to the former Eleanor Kenyon, who was a school teacher and served as super- visor of music in the schools of New York State. Of this marriage there is one daughter, Judy Lou, who was born at Greenport, Suffolk County, on February 14, 1944 and a son, Kenyon Huntting Tuthill, born September 13, 1946. 2. Beverly Louise, born on September 22, 1923; graduated from River- head High School and attended St. Lawrence Uni- versity. She was married August 13, 1945 to Fre- derick J. Alexander of Riverhead, New York and they have one son, Frederick J., born June 6, 1946. Frederick J. Alexander served four years with the United States Army, in Graves Registration Service and is now associated with Mr. Tuthill in the funeral directing business.
C
Reginald H. Tuthill
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MELVILLE H. STURTEVANT first became as- sociated with the lumber and millwork industry as a lad of eighteen years, fresh from high school, and his entire business career has been in this field. Long employed by some of the leading concerns in this line in New York and New Jersey, he shrewdly chose Hicksville and later Bethpage, Nassau County, cen- trally located to serve the ever-growing suburban areas of Long Island, as the ideal place to establish a business of his own, which has been notably successful.
Mr. Sturtevant' father, the late William P. Sturte- vant, was a native of Portsmouth, Virginia, and was for many years in the employment of the United States Government as chief engineer of the United States coast survey. He married Laura Virginia Howell, likewise a native of Portsmouth, who is now also deceased. Of this union Melville H. Sturtevant was born at Portsmouth on September 5, 1880. Brought in childhood to Brooklyn, New York, then a separate city, he attended the Brooklyn public schools and the Manual Training high school, then recently estab- lished. He was a member of the first class to gradu- ate from that institution, in 1897.
In 1898 the young Melville Sturtevant took em- ployment with S. and G. Loomis, dealers in lumber, sash and doors, located on Butler Street in the section known as South Brooklyn. After eight years with the Loomis concern, in 1906, Mr. Sturtevant went with the C. R. Macauley Company, another Brooklyn firm, dealing in wholesale millwork, and remained with them for two years. His next employment was with Reeb and Dinkins, also a wholesale millwork company, located in the Borough of Manhattan, New York City.
His association with Reeb and Dinkins continued until 1916, when Mr. Sturtevant accepted the position of sales manager for the Barnes Manufacturing Com- pany, a wholesale millwork concern, in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1923 he became vice president of Octavius Leon, Inc., a company which maintained yards at Yonkers in Westchester County and at Hicksville in Nassau County, and this association continued until 1936, when Mr. Sturtevant became sales manager of the Cameron Lumber Company of Newburg, Orange County, New York.
After he had been with the Cameron Lumber Com- pany for two years, an opportunity arose, which Mr. Sturtevant availed himself of, to purchase the Hicks- ville interests of his former employers, Octavius Leon, Inc. Upon taking over this business, of which he became president, he re-named it the Sturtevant Mill- work and Lumber Corporation, under which style it continues to this time. Its office and yard were lo- cated on Old Country Road in Hicksville until January 15, 1947, when he moved to the present location in Bethpage. The extent of its operations is indicated by the fact that the Sturtevant Millwork and Lum- ber Corporation employs as many as seventy-eight people. It is an important factor in the construction situation in Long Island, where the post-war resump- tion of building operations is expected to lead to activity surpassing everything hitherto known in the amazing development of the world's greatest suburban area.
During his years in Orange County Mr. Sturtevant became, and still remains, affiliated with Woodbury Lodge Number 993 of the Free and Accepted Masons, at Central Valley, New York. He also enjoys mem- bership in New York City's famous Mecca Temple of
the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. A Republican in politics, he belongs to the National Republican Club of New York City. His religious affiliation is with the Cathedral in Garden City, Nassau County.
On July 21, 1910, Melville H. Sturtevant was mar- ried to Alice E. Goff, who was born in New York City and is a daughter of Hiram and Vina (Davis) Goff.
DAVID S. HILL, JR .- An able attorney, a per- suasive speaker and a man with the gift of popularity, David S. Hill, Jr., from the early days of his legal practice interested himself in civic affairs and in politics, with the result that presently he was drafted for public service, in which he is making an excellent record as a member of the Assembly of the New York State Legislature.
A son of David S. and Edith (Drew) Hill, David S. Hill, Jr., was born at Liberty, Sullivan County, New York, on July 11, 1905. He attended the public schools of his native village and graduated from the Liberty High School in June, 1922. With his youthful ambition already fixed upon a legal career, he entered Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, in 1922, where he pursued his pre-legal studies until 1924. In the following year he enrolled in the Cornell Law School, from which in 1928 he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws. During his college days he was an outstanding member of the formidable Cornell varsity football team, and during his final year at the university he became assistant varsity football coach. Loath to lose his services, the athletic authori- ties at Cornell induced him to continue as assistant coach through 1929, after his graduation.
In 1930 Mr. Hill was admitted to the bar of the state of New York. Having chosen Long Island as a place of residence and of practice, the young attorney organized the firm of Huntington and Hill, his partner being Philip Huntington, assistant district attorney of Nassau County. This firm engages in the general practice of the law but specializes in trial work. It has achieved an enviable success and built up a lucra- tive practice, including many clients of importance. David S. Hill, Jr., is a member of the Nassau County and the New York State bar associations.
Participating in the life of his adopted community to the full, Mr. Hill acquired membership in the Glen- wood Hook and Ladder, Engine and Hose Company and in the North Shore Fire Council, and also for a time served as a member of the board of education of Union free school district number one of the Town of Oyster Bay. He is also an active member of the Presbyterian church. College days are recalled by his affiliation with the Cornell Club of Nassau County. He indulges in two hobbies, fishing and agriculture. As previously mentioned, Mr. Hill is now a member of the Assembly of the New York State Legislature, representing the Fourth Assembly District of Nassau County. He took office in 1944 and was re-elected in 1946.
HERMAN J. SWITZER-Native of Brooklyn and trained at Cooper Union Institute as an engineer, Herman J. Switzer spent many years working in the West and Southwest and in serving in the United States Army during World War I before settling in Glen Cove. Today he is one of that community's most
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LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
prominent citizens. He was vice president and secretary of Edward M. Underhill and Son, Inc., con- tracting and engineering firm in which he was a member. Mr. Switzer is a director of the Nassau Union Bank and is treasurer, secretary and a director of the Brookville Syndicate, Inc.
Mr. Switzer was born in Brooklyn on June 15, 1886. His parents were Herman F. and Alice (Beck- mann) Switzer. The elder Mr. Switzer, a native of Berne, Switzerland, came to the United States in 1856. He was a machinist and draftsman. He died in 1926. His wife, born in Brooklyn, died ten years later.
Herman J. Switzer began his education in the Brooklyn elementary schools. In June, 1903, he was graduated from the Boys' High School of that borough. He then studied engineering at night at Cooper Union Institute. On completing his training, he went into the far American West where for a dozen years he worked as an engineer, moving about from project to project. When the United States en- tered World War I, he enlisted in the United States Army Corps of Engineers and, attached as a first lieutenant to the Headquarters, Twenty-ninth En- gineers, Second Army, served in France for a year. In May, 1919, he was honorably discharged. Return- ing to the West, he worked on various projects there as an engineer until he became general superintendent in Texas on dam and road construction.
In 1922 Mr. Switzer returned East and to his native area. Until 1923 he was a surveyor and engineer for William H. Bowne in Glen Cove. Then he joined Herbert L. Underhill in the Edward M. Underhill and Son, Inc., contracting firm. In 1928 he became vice president and secretary of the company. When Mr. Underhill retired from active business in October, 1947, Mr. Switzer took over the business and changed the name to Switzer Contracting Company, Inc., of which Mr. Switzer is president and treasurer. He has long been, with Mr. Underhill, a director of the Nassau Union Bank. More recently he became secretary and a director of the Brookville Syndicate, Inc. Mr. Switzer is also a member of the Brookville Country Club, the American Society of Civil Engineers; the Rotary Club of Glen Cove; Glen Cove Lodge, No. 580, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Glen Cove Post of the American Legion. In political leanings he is a Republican.
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