USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 50
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 50
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Mr. Kniffin was born at Kingston, Ulster County, New York, on October 29, 1873, son of William H. and Mary E. (Hillyer) Kniffin. Educated at local schools of his birth city and Kingston Academy, he entered upon his career in 1890 and found it one to which he could devote his complete activities. His first position was with the Rondout Bank of Kingston, New York, which he left in 1907 to become cashier of the Home Savings Bank of Brooklyn, New York. Five years later he accepted appointment as treas- urer of the Onondaga County Savings Bank, at Syracuse, New York, remaining from 1912 to 1914. Then until 1917 he was vice president of the First National Bank of Jamaica.
In 1917 the Bank of Rockville Centre Trust Com- pany underwent some reorganization and expansion. Noteworthy among the new men persuaded to head its activities was William H. Kniffin, who was elected its vice president on October 30, 1917. It is worthy of more than passing note that the Bank of Rock- ville Centre received its charter a few months after Mr. Kniffin secured his first job in the Kingston, New York, bank. The present name of the institution was assumed in 1926. The original capital was $25,- 000, and the deposits as of 1891, amounted to little more than $90,000. In 1917, the capital was raised to $100,000 and deposits at the end of that year to- talled slightly under one and one-quarter of a million dollars. In 1926 the capital was raised to $200,000; a decade later deposits were almost five million dol- lars, and resources were approaching six million dollars.
Mr. Kniffin became president of the bank in 1941. The resources are now over $15,000,000. He is one of the widely recognized authorities in his vocation; is a former president of the Nassau County Bankers As- sociation and a member of other allied organizations. Along other lines Mr. Kniffin is a director of the Seaboard Commercial Corporation and Long Island Bankers, Inc .; a director of the Nassau County Red Cross Society and for many years treasurer of the Nassau County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. His contributions to the literature and text books of banking have been numerous and important; he num-
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bers among his published works: "The Savings Bank and its Practical Work," 1912; "The Practical Work of a Bank," 1915; "Commercial Paper," 1917; "The Busi- ness Man and His Bank," 1919; "American Banking Practice," 1921; "Better Banking," 1934; and "How to Use Your Bank," 1937 together with innumerable magazine and newspaper articles. Mr. Kniffin is a Baptist and is liberal in his support of charitable and public service projects.
Mr. Kniffin married Gertrude Kniffin in 1918. She died in 1930. Mr. Kniffin has one son, William Vance Kniffin, with a war service record of three and one- half years in the Coast Guard, rising to the rank of lieutenant, and now is with Chemical Bank and Trust Company in New York City.
CLINTON MEDBURY FLINT-A member of the Nassau County bar for more than forty years, and rated among its leaders, Clinton Medbury Flint is better known to his fellow-citizens of the busy village of Freeport as a man who has been willing to assume the burdens, and has ably and faithfully discharged the duties, of a number of public offices.
Mr. Flint by nativity is an up-state man, born at New Berlin, Chenango County, New York, on Sep- tember 7, 1874, a son of the late Orthello E. Flint, a native of this state and by occupation an overseer of construction work, and the late Jennie (Medbury) Flint, who was born in New Berlin, and who died in 1880. After his early studies in public schools, includ- ing the Binghamton high school, from which he graduated with the class of 1894, Clinton Medbury Flint entered the University of Rochester, and re- ceived his Bachelor of Arts degree from that institu- tion in 1898. By this time he had decided upon law as a career, and accordingly enrolled in the Cornell College of Law, receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1901. On September third of that year he was admitted to the bar.
For ten months after his initiation into the ranks of legal practitioners, Mr. Flint was associated with J. and T. E. Courtney, attorneys at Cortland, Cortland County, New York. At that time he came to Long Island, which has continued to be his home and the scene of his professional successes and public services ever since. When he first came to the Island, he was associated with the law firm of Reeve and Bartlett in Riverhead, but after six months there he joined Judge Edgar Jackson, who later became county judge of Nassau County, and this association lasted until 1905. In that year Mr. Flint set up in independent practice in the village of Freeport, where he continues to this day.
Mr. Flint, as a Republican in political alignment, entered into politics and public affairs in Freeport from an early date, but was in no hurry to seek public office. In 1913 he was first called to serve as police justice of the village, and this post he held until 1920. As early as 1910, however, he had been appointed counsel to the Freeport board of education, and served as such until 1922. In 1920 he was appointed counsel to the Village of Freeport, holding that post also until 1922. In 1927 Mr. Flint was elected presi- dent of the village government, serving for two years, and he was also the first mayor of the village, for a term of two and a half years. In 1943 he was again elected to the mayoralty. serving two years.
Mr. Flint is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association. and of the Freeport Kiwanis Club. One of his great interests is Masonry. He is a member, and in 1913 served as master, of Morton
Lodge No. 63, of the Free and Accepted Masons, of Hempstead. He also belongs to the Freeport Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, of which he was high priest in 1914. He is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, having been a patron of the order from 1927 to 1929 and in 1933 and again in 1945. In religion Mr. Flint is a Baptist. His hobby is gar- dening.
On September 17, 1898, Clinton Medbury Flint was married to Carrie Ruth Stevens, a native of Etna, New York, and a daughter of Smith and Cynthia (Fay) Stevens. Mrs. Flint died on August 3, 1944. Of this marriage there is one child, a son, Gilbert S., who is a mechanical engineer. He is married to the former Ethel Johnston, and they have three children, namely Judith Carman, James Clinton and Jere Clifford.
HERBERT MIRSCHEL-A native of West Hempstead, Nassau County, Herbert Mirschel while achieving notable business success, has also taken an active and useful part in the civic and political affairs of his birthplace, and has been entrusted by his fellow-citizens with responsible public offices.
Born on March 28, 1897, Herbert Mirschel was a son of Carl Mirschel, a native of Germany who came to the United States in 1876, and his wife Caroline (Vogel) Mirschel, who was born at New Hyde Park in Nassau County. Carl Mirschel died in 1939 and his widow passed away in 1941.
The young Herbert Mirschel attended the public grade schools of his native place and graduated from the Hempstead High School with the class of 1914. His father was a carpenter and builder, and the son early learned the carpenter's trade and after leav- ing school, became associated with the building busi- ness. At that time the areas of Long Island adjacent to New York City were rapidly being developed into the beautiful home suburbs which now ring the metropolis to the East, and the Mirschels did not lack business. In 1924 Herbert Mirschel established the Mirschel Lumber and Supply Corporation, with offices at 611 Hempstead Turnpike, West Hempstead. This corporation, of which Herbert Mirschel is presi- dent, and which operates with about twenty em- ployees, has enjoyed continual success and has been a large factor in the building up of that section of suburban Long Island, with every prospect of being kept busier than ever in the post-war period.
Mr. Mirschel, a Republican in politics, has long taken an active and useful part in public affairs. After serving as a trustee of Hempstead Village from 1937 to 1941, he was in the latter year elected mayor of Hempstead. The approval with which the electorate regard his administrative services and integrity in office, was shown by his re-election in 1943 and again in 1945.
Apart from the Mirschel Lumber and Supply Cor- poration, Mr. Mirschel's principal business interest is in the Franklin Square National Bank, at Franklin Square, of which he is a member of the board of directors. A Lutheran by religion, he is a council- man of the Epiphany Church of that denomination. Of a sociable nature, Mr. Mirschel enjoys fraternal life. and is affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
. On May 15, 1931, Herbert Mirschel was married to Ida Grodzki of Garden City. They are the parents of one child. John Herbert, who was born on Septem- ber 22, 1932.
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FRANK JOSEPH WETTSTEIN-Lawyer and village counsel for the village of Hempstead, Frank Joseph Wettstein is known throughout Nassau County.
Mr. Wettstein was born in Hempstead on March 16, 1898, the son of Frank E. and Teresa (Shinkel) Wettstein. His father, born in Germany in 1870, came to the United States in 1884, when he was fourteen years old. In later years he was the owner of the West End Hotel. He died on December 4, 1941. His mother was born in Austria in February, 1880, and now resides in Hempstead.
Mr. Wettstein first attended the public schools of Hempstead and was graduated from high school there i11 1917. At the high school he was on the base- ball and basketball teams. These sports, together with traveling, are his hobbies today. The United States entered World War I several months before he completed high school. Enlisting, he served in the Army and was honorably discharged December 20, 1918. After the war, he decided to become a lawyer and, consequently, studied at the Brooklyn Law School and St. Lawrence University. In 1924 he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws from the University. In 1926 he was admitted to the bar of the state of New York. In 1932, he was admitted to practice in the United States District Federal Court, eastern district of New York. Since 1926 he has been conducting a general private practice of law, with offices at 250 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead. Since 1944, he has been Hempstead's village counsel. He is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association. Among Mr. Wettstein's activities in the community affairs of his birthplace is his membership in the Hempstead Fire Department and Volunteer and Ex- empt Firemen's Benevolent Association.
Also, he is affiliated with the Morton Lodge, No. 63, Free and Accepted Masons; Hempstead Post, No. 390, of the American Legion; Hempstead Lodge, No. 141, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and the Republican Club of Hempstead, the Nassau County Republican Committee and St. George's Episcopal Church.
Mr. Wettstein married Irma Meredith Bates, daughter of Dr. Sherman W. and Hallie (Parker) Bates of Richmond Hill, on June 28, 1941. Mr. and Mrs. Wettstein have a son, Daril F., born June 20, 1942.
ARTHUR AITKENHEAD-Arthur Aitkenhead is mayor of Glen Cove and representative of that com- munity and the surrounding area on the Nassau County board of supervisors. Before entering politics he was a builder, and such structures as the Women's National Golf Club and the Locust Valley Fire House, as well as numerous beautiful homes and other public and semi-public buildings, stand as a tribute to his skill and energy. He is one of the outstanding leaders in Masonic and other fraternal organizations in Nassau County. At one time he was a banker.
Mayor Aitkenhead was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on December 5, 1880, son of the late William and Janet (Brash) Aitkenhead, both also natives of that country. The future American public official's father was a carpenter and from him the boy learned the trade. He worked with his father until he was twenty-five years old. meantime obtaining an edu- cation equivalent to that of American public schools, and then migrated to the United States. Arriving here in April, 1906, he worked as a carpenter for four
years. In 1915, he established himself as a building contractor in Glen Cove, forming a partnership called Aitkenhead and Murchison. Mr. Aitkenhead had an active and fruitful career as a builder until he re- tired twenty-six years later. Aside from public build- ings, club houses and homes, he and his partner erected numerous estate structures on Long Island.
In 1942 Mr. Aitkenhead was appointed assessor of the city of Glen Cove and in this office he served two years, being elected mayor in 1944. After a two-year term in the city's highest office, he was re-elected for another biennium in 1945. He be- came a county supervisor at the time he was first elected mayor, which office continued during his term of office as mayor. Before he became assessor, Mayor Aitkenhead was for several years a vice presi- dent of the First National Bank of Glen Cove. He is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Glen Cove; past master of the Glen Cove Lodge, No. 580, Free and Accepted Masons, and in 1930 was a member of the Masonic Grand Lodge. He is also past high priest of Melchizedek Chapter, No. 273, at Glen Cove, of the Royal Arch Masons, and past chief and past royal deputy of the Order of Scottish Clans. He is a member of the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Glen Cove.
On May 30, 1907, Mayor Aitkenhead married Miss Janet Gordon of Glasgow, Scotland. She is the daughter of John and Ellen (Marshall) Gordon. Mayor and Mrs. Aitkenhead have three daughters -- Isabel, Lillian Gordon and Arlyne. Isabel Aitkenhead is now the wife of Charles A. Beaujon of Canaan, Con- necticut, and the mother of two sons and a daughter, Charles A. III, Janet and David Arthur. Lillian Gordon Aitkenhead was married to Dr. William A. Simington of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and is the mother of two sons, Arthur and David. In World War II and for some time afterward, Arlyne Aitkenhead was a yeoman, first class, in the United States Navy's WAVES.
RAYMOND L. DAVIS-In the town of his birth, Port Jefferson, Raymond L. Davis has found oppor- tunity and ways of life that have enlisted his best energies. Born here on December 18, 1895, he was educated in Suffolk County schools, the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Business College, and pursued engi- neering courses in Springfield, Vermont. On both sides of his family he belongs to pioneers of Suffolk County, where his father, Lester H. Davis, was born on a farm in Mt. Sinai, and the mother, Eloise Ran- dall, was of the same place.
Lester H. Davis left the farin in his youth and located in Port Jefferson where he dealt in garden products and became a butcher. While operating his own market he also started, at the turn of the century, the Port Jefferson Ice Company. It was to this plant, in the main, that his son returned to assume charge of the business. The older man, now past four score years, has long since retired from active direction of the ice concern, but continues as a director of the present corporation, and serves likewise on the board of directors of the Bank of Port Jefferson. In Florida, he owns some acreage of citrus fruits, and it is with his trees and Southern home that he enjoys his well- earned leisure.
With the above mentioned ice company and its suc- cessor, Raymond L. Davis has been identified as an executive over a relatively long period. He first took over full management of the enterprise. and when it merged with the Long Island Ice Company, in 1929, he became district sales manager of the Port Jeffer-
Raymond L. Davis
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son Division and a director of the corporation which also deals in fuel oil for heating purposes. He like- wise is treasurer and director of the John Mather Memorial Hospital, of Port Jefferson; a member of the Port Jefferson School Board for the past twelve years; past president of the Port Jefferson Rotary Club, being its fifth president, past chief and former commissioner of the Port Jefferson Fire Department, past president of the North Shore Firemen Associa- tion and past president of Brookhaven School Boards Association. Formerly Mr. Davis was commander of the Wilson Ritch Post No. 432, of the American Legion, in Port Jefferson. He attends the First Pres- byterian Church, serves as treasurer of its board of trustees, and is liberal in his contribution to religious and charitable works. Mr. Davis served in World War I in the 213th Aero Squadron as a sergeant, serving sixteen months in Europe. In World War II he was vice commander of Flotilla No. 1208, Coast Guard Reserve, with a rating of chief boatswain's mate.
On October 25, 1921, Raymond L. Davis married Gladys Butterfield, of Springfield, Vermont, daughter of Frederick and Jennie (Shannon) Butterfield. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of three children: I. Roger L., born at Port Jefferson, March 10, 1923; he attended local schools and is now engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. He served two years in the United States Army during World War II, approximately one year of which was spent overseas with Patton's Third Army in field artillery and infantry and he served through the Battle of the Bulge. 2. Gordon F. (twin), born at Port Jefferson, August 10, 1926; graduate of Port Jefferson High School; he enlisted for service with the United States Navy, World War II, at the age of eighteen, served with the Amphibious Forces in the Pacific, and is now (1947) attending the Uni- versity of Missouri, where he is majoring in engineer- ing courses. 3. Katherine J. (twin), born at Port Jefferson, August 10, 1926; graduate of the local high school, attended Syracuse University, now (1947) at the Presbyterian School for Nurses, of Columbia University, New York City.
JACOB J. PINCUS-Now city attorney of Glen Cove, Jacob J. Pincus is that community's former deputy commissioner of accounts. He has been in practice at Glen Cove since 1931, except for the period in World War II when he was with the United States Navy.
Mr. Pincus was born in Brooklyn on November 13, 1907, the son of Abraham and Dora Pincus, the former a merchant in Glen Cove. The city attorney received his early education in the elementary schools of Brooklyn and was graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1924. In 1928, he received the de- gree of Bachelor of Science from New York Uni- versity and a year later that of Bachelor of Laws. In March, 1931, he was admitted to the bar, and soon thereafter he established himself in practice at Glen Cove. He has been devoting himself tirelessly to his practice and public duties ever since, except for the period he spent in the service in World War II. He was in the United States Navy from July, 1944, to January, 1946. Mr. Pincus became city attorney in January, 1942. From January, 1934, to January, 1940, he was deputy commissioner of accounts. He is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association and the Republican Club. With his family he worships at Temple Tifereth Israel.
Mr. Pincus married Eva Kantor. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sevel Kantor of Brooklyn, on May 14. L.I .- 19
1933. They have two children; Janet Frances, born January 20, 1935, and Robert, born July 17, 1939, both in Glen Cove.
Mr. Pincus' hobbies are stamp collecting and golf.
CAPT. GEORGE HIRAM MONSELL-As a mariner, who first transported soldiers to Cuba dur- ing the Spanish-American War, Capt. George Hiram Monsell has seen some interesting and significant changes in the field of navigation over the best part of nearly half a century. The call of the sea is still strong within him, and since 1918 he has been the sailing master for Harold S. Vanderbilt.
Captain Monsell, a native Long Islander, was born on September 22, 1881, at Greenport, the son of James M. and Sarah Elizabeth (Meyers) Monsell. He re- ceived his early education in public and high schools in Greenport and later became a sailor on transport. Even when Captain Monsell is on land, he must feel that he is at sea, and to this end he had his home built like a ship, which is located at Cutchogue.
Outdoor activities appeal strongly to him, and when he is not out sailing, Captain Monsell can be seen at the East End Surf and Fishing Club at Riverhead where he retains membership. He is also a member of the Shelter Island Yacht Club and the Sequan Club of Peconic, Mattituck Gun Club, Cut- chogue Men's Club and the Riverhead Men's Club. Aside from his interests in yachting and fishing, Captain Monsell is active in measures for the control of tuberculosis and Public Health Association and a member of the County Board of Health. Socially active, he holds membership in the Peconic Lodge 3496, Free and Accepted Order of Masons. He is a member of Custer Institute. By faith he is a Metho- dist, and is generous in his contributions to religious and humanitarian projects.
On November 28, 1907, at Greenport, Long Island, Captain Monsell married Eva M. Fordham who passed on May 1, 1925. He later married Hattie E. Kline of Front Royal, Virginia, on September 21, 1927.
HAROLD C. SORENSON-Judge Harold C. Sorenson, who is serving his fourth term as justice of the peace of the town of Brookhaven, has practiced law in Suffolk County since 1921.
He was born in New York City May 20, 1895, son of William A. and Annie B. (Snyder) Sorenson, both natives of New York City, the former of whom is retired from the poultry industry. After complet- ing his education in the elementary schools of his native city, Harold Sorenson attended the Dwight Preparatory School, graduated from New York Law School, and in 1921, attained his Bachelor of Laws degree from there. Admitted to the New York State bar in that year, he started practicing law in New York as a member of the firm of Dryfus and Sorenson, continuing in this association until 1925. Since 1925 through the present, he has continued in his profession at Lake Grove and Lake Ronkon- koma, and is a member of the Suffolk County and New York State Bar associations. He was elected justice of the peace of the town of Brookhaven in 1936, has been re-elected four times, and is serving at present his term which expires in 1951. Judge Sorenson. a veteran of World War I, served with the 305th Field Artillery, 77th Division of the United States Army as a private, with thirteen months over- seas service. A member of the Episcopal Church, the Suffolk County Republican Club, and a charter mem- ber of the Timber Point Club, he is a past commander
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of the American Legion, past county adjutant of the organization, and belongs to the William Merritt Hal- lock Post No. 155 of Lake Ronkonkoma. His fraternal affiliations include the Free and Accepted Masons, Connequot Lodge No. 793 of Sayville, and he is an enthusiastic devotee of the outdoor sports of boating, swimming, and golf.
Harold C. Sorenson married at New York City, June 26, 1923, Marion Wille, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wille, and their children are: I. Doris, born in 1924 at Brooklyn, a graduate of Sayville High School, and of Madison College, of which she is now a member of the faculty. 2. Harold C., Jr., born at Bay Shore Hospital June 27, 1928, a graduate of Sayville High School and now attending Mohawk University, at Utica, New York. The Sorenson family reside at Lake Grove, New York.
RUFUS H. SMITH-In his youth Rufus H. Smith was attracted, like so many young men, to the pro- fession of the law; but destiny and circumstances decided otherwise, and by chance or by choice his energies and talents were turned to various fields of business and finally to banking, in which he was to achieve a notable career.
Born at Oceanside, New York, Rufus H. Smith was a true Long Islander by inheritance. His father the late Charles D. M. Smith was born in Rockville Centre, Nassau County, in 1853, and his mother the late Adella (Davison) Smith was a native of Ocean- side, where she was born in 1854. Charles D. M. Smith was an enterprising and successful farmer and dairyman whose days were terminated untimely by his death by drowning on December 3, 1888. His widow, characterized by many who knew her as a "rather remarkable woman," certainly an able and indomitable woman, carried on her husband's busi- ness after his death and raised a family of three chil- dren. She was a daughter of Henry and Sally Davison, members of one of the pioneer families of that part of Long Island, who settled in what was originally known as Christian Hook and later became Ocean- side. In addition to conducting a successful business and raising three children, Mrs. Adella (Davison) Smith was an active participant in many civic move- ments in Oceanside.
Of the late Charles D. M. Smith's grandfather, Mordecai Smith, the great-grandfather of Rufus H. Smith, it is recorded that he made the first map of Rockville Centre Village which is considered authentic.
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