USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 79
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 79
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Mr. Nahas takes part in the general business and civic councils of his adopted community as a member of the Floral Park Club. A Roman Catholic in re- ligion, and a communicant of the Church of Our Lady of Victory, Mr. Nahas is particularly active and interested in the work of the Holy Name Society
and the charitable Society of St. Vincent de Paul con- nected with that parish.
In the borough of the Bronx, New York City, on March 30, 1940, George Albert Nahas married Pauline Migliore. This marriage has been blessed by three children: 1. Ronald George, who was born on Febru- ary 16, 1941. 2. Joseph John, born on September 22, 1942. 3. Paul Richard, born December 7, 1944.
MARTIN LAWRENCE BROWNE-Actively en- gaged for more than fifteen years in every phase of real estate operations, Martin Lawrence Browne has specialized in appraising, and is widely recognized in the world's most active real estate market, which is Long Island, as an authority in that field.
Born at Ronkonkoma on August 10, 1902, a son of Thomas and Annie Browne, Martin Lawrence Browne acquired familiarity with the real estate business as he grew up, for his family were active in the real estate business. After graduating from Manual Train- ing high school in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City, he attended Lehigh University at Bethle- hem, Pennsylvania, where he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts with the class of 1928. Since 1931 Mr. Browne has been engaged in buying, selling, man- aging and appraising real estate and in mortgage financing, in the borough of Manhattan and the bor- ough of Brooklyn, New York City, and on Long Island. His busy office is now at 228 Jericho Turn- pike in Floral Park, Nassau County. He was for five years connected with the liquidation bureau of the New York State Department of Insurance. In 1940 and 1941 Mr. Browne studied at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and Columbia University in the city of New York, taking courses in real estate appraising.
During World War II, Martin Lawrence Browne served with the United States Army Engineers, North Atlantic Division, as manager of the New York project office. In this post his work was concerned with the appraising and buying of real estate for camps, airports, and other military uses. These duties occupied him from 1941 through 1943. Mr. Browne is qualified as a real estate expert in the Federal: Court for the Eastern District. He is a mem- ber of the American Institute of Real Estate Apprais- ers, of the Long Island Society of Real Estate Ap- praisers, and of the Long Island Real Estate Board.
Mr. Browne participates in the business and civic councils of his adopted community as a member of the Lions Club of Floral Park and the Floral Park Board of Trade. His fraternal affiliation is with Beta Theta Pi. Another of his interests is his mem- bership in the Squadron C Club of the National Guard of the state of New York. He is a Roman Catholic in religion.
At Brooklyn, New York, on April 12, 1944, Martin Lawrence Browne married Elizabeth Urell. They are the parents of two children: Lisbeth Mary, born May 23, 1946, and Mary Ann, born February 4, 1948.
CHARLES RICHARD THOM-A younger mem- ber of the Suffolk County bar whose well-grounded legal knowledge is recognized in the circles of his profession and has brought him many clients and a busy and lucrative practice, Charles R. Thom also enters into the civic and business life of the village of Port Jefferson, which he has chosen as his resi- dence and the scene of his professional career.
Mr. Thom's father, Dr. Charles Thom, is a native of Illinois, a graduate of Lake Forest College, and a retired consulting scientist whose career and attain-
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ments are well known. Dr. Charles Thom married Ethel W. Slater, who was born at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and was a graduate of the New England Con- servatory of Music. Mrs. Thom, who was for a time a teacher in the high school at Port Jefferson, died in 1942. To Charles and Ethel W. (Slater) Thom, the son whom they named Charles Richard was born, at Storrs, Connecticut, on April 17, 1913. Taken as a young boy to Washington, D. C., he attended the public schools in the nation's Capital and the Western High School, from which he graduated in 1930. He entered George Washington University in the same city, where he took his Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1934, and having chosen the law as his profession, he continued at the George Washington University Law School, receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree from that institution in 1936. In the following year he was admitted to the bar in New York State.
Coming to Long Island, the young attorney served his clerkship with Wells R. Ritch, of Port Jefferson, and before the end of 1938, set up in practice in the village, where he continues to the present time with success and credit.
During World War II, Charles Richard Thom served in the United States Army as a captain of infantry in the 96th Division of the Army of the United States and was promoted to the rank of major before his honorable discharge. He saw much action in the Pacific Theater of Operations and received two bronze stars with oak leaf clusters. He is an active member of the Wilson Ritch Post Number 432 of the American Legion, at Port Jefferson, and holds the office of first vice president in that organization. Mr. Thom is a director of the Bank of Port Jefferson and a director of the John T. Mather Hospital at Port Jefferson.
Mr. Thom belongs to the Port Jefferson Rotary Club, of which he is vice president and a member of the board of directors. In the Presbyterian Church he serves as a deacon. He is affiliated with the Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. His favorite recreation is yachting.
At Port Jefferson, New York, on June 27, 1941, Charles Richard Thom married Dorothy Lee of that village, a daughter of Holmes and Ida (Mott) Lee. Of this marriage there are two daughters, Kathryn, who was born at Port Jefferson on September 14, 1944, and Margaret, born October 29, 1947.
LOUIS H. HENGSTENBERG-Long associated with his father Theodore Hengstenberg and with his brother Theodore Hengstenberg, Jr. (q.v.), in the successful development of an extensive and lu- crative florist business, Louis H. Hengstenberg is rated one of the substantial and much respected busi- nessmen of Hempstead in Nassau County.
The elder Theodore Hengstenberg, who was born in Germany in 1871 and came to the United States while a young man, perceived the suitability of Nassau County, close to the tremendous market provided by the wealthy city of New York, as a location for a florist business, and in 1904 he established the enter- prise which has been such a notable success under his own and his sons' able management. Theodore Hengstenberg married German-born Elizabeth Wag- ner, who died in 1938. Of this marriage Louis H. Hengstenberg was born at Millburn, New Jersey, on October 6, 1896, and Theodore Hengstenberg, Jr., at Queens Village, Long Island, on January 13, 1901.
Louis H. Hengstenberg, upon the completion of
his completion of his education at the public grade and high schools of Hempstead, became associated with his father in the growing florist business, and has so continued, contributing much to its success by his industry and business ability, to the present time.
Mr. Hengstenberg is a member of the New York Florist Club, and participates in the business and civic councils of his community as a member of the Hempstead Lions Club. He is also an active member of Lodge No. 1485, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Among his chief interests are the af- fairs of Sergeant William A. Kimball Post, Number 783, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Hempstead Post, Number 390, of the American Legion, to both of which he belongs by virtue of his term of service, during the first World War, in the United States Army. He was a member of the Tenth New York regiment and of the 5Ist Pioneers and served over- seas in France with the Army of Occupation, holding the rank of first sergeant. Mr. Hengstenberg is a member of the Lutheran church and of the Republican party. His hobby is stamp collecting.
On June II, 1925, Louis H. Hengstenberg was mar- ried to Josephine J. Feldis, a native of Hempstead and a daughter of the late Joseph Feldis and his wife the former Antonie Pfister. To Louis H. and Josephine J. (Feldis) Hengstenberg, a son was born on November 20, 1926, and named Richard L. After passing through the Hempstead public schools, Richard L. Hengstenberg entered the LaSalle Mili- tary Academy at Oakdale, and studied there for three yeears before entering the United States Army, in which he is still serving, being stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and holding the rank of sergeant. He has been engaged in giving basic instruction in the operations of the tank corps.
THEODORE HENGSTENBERG, JR .- The fer- tile farms which once comprised the landscape of Nassau County have for the most part given way to the ever-expanding suburbs of New York City, but that part of Long Island is still one of the great flower growing and flower marketing centers of the country. One of the largest and best-known florist businesses thereabouts is the enterprise begun in 1904 by Theodore Hengstenberg, who was born in Ger- many in 1871 and came to the United States as a young man. Theodore Hengstenberg married Eliza- beth Wagner, also a native of Germany, who died in 1938. Of this marriage Theodore Hengstenberg, Jr., was born in Queens Village, on January 13, 1901.
After completing his schooling in the public schools of Hempstead, Theodore Hengstenberg, Jr., joined his father in the management and expansion of the florist business, with which he is still associated, his brother Louis Hengstenberg also being a member of the part- nership. The Hengstenberg today employ an average of twelve people and their greenhouses have fifty thousand square feet of glass.
Theodore Hengstenberg, Jr., takes an active part in the civic, political and fraternal affairs of Hemp- stead, as a member of the Hempstead Rotary Club and of Lodge 1485 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, as well as through participation in the affairs of the Republican party, of which he is a com- mitteeman for the 154th election district. He is a communicant of the Lutheran Church. In line with his business interests, Mr. Hengstenberg holds mem- bership in the New York Florist Club.
On June 27, 1934, Theodore Hengstenberg, Jr., was married to Ruth Murray of Williamstown, Ver- mont, a daughter of Norman and Anne Murray. Of
J. EDWARD BREUER
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this marriage there are three children: 1. Anne E., who was born on September 15, 1936. 2. Mary R., born on April 25, 1939. Theodore III, born January 26, 1943.
ALFRED ROTHSCHILD LEVY-In the year of the birth of Alfred Rothschild Levy, 1904, his father, Leo, founded Levy's Market, one of the most modern meat, grocery and vegetable establishments at Floral Park. Today the son is in charge of the business. He is also one of Floral Park's and Nassau County's most active citizens. He has been steward of the Republican Club of Floral Park, is a member of the Citizens Party of that community and during World War II, and afterward, was county zone chairman for the Foods Division of the Commodity Surplus Administration.
Mr. Levy was born in Floral Park on June 5, 1904, the son of Leo and Clara Levy. He was educated in Floral Park's schools, which he attended both day and night. Early in life, he joined his father in the operation of the market, which is located at 76 Tyson Avenue, Floral Park. Leo Levy, an enterprising and progressive business man, had early established a reputation for the market. He was one of the first merchants on Long Island to install mechanical re- frigerating equipment, this being in 1912. In the same year, also, he used automobiles for delivery pur- poses, thus becoming the first to adopt this modern device. Today the mechanical equipment of Levy's is unsurpassed on the island. The firm has served such leading families as C. V. Whitney, F. R. Brad- ley, W. R. Coe, Samuel Payson, Max Hirsch, Joseph E. Widener and Elizabeth Arden. It supplies clubs, race tracks, including the Belmont track, and nunier- ous institutions with all varieties of food.
In addition to his public and quasi-public activities, Mr. Levy is a member of the Floral Park Board of Trade, being active on several important committees; of the Nassau Athletic Club, of which he was presi- dent for two years; of the Floral Park Masonic Temple and the Rockville Center Consistory, Ancient, Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he holds the thirty- second degree. He is also past president of the Floral Park Lions Club. His father is a life member of Mor- ton Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at Hemp- stead. Mr. Levy is a member of the Floral Park Jewish Center also.
He married Dorothy Wesp, at Buffalo on July 25, 1939. Mrs. Levy, who is the daughter of Gertrude and Arthur P. Wesp, has been the head of the home economics department of the Sewanhaka High School since 1935.
J. EDWARD BREUER-Over a long period J. Edward Breuer, of Great Neck and New York City, has been prominently identified with the real estate business. Born at Great Neck, on February 20, 1894. he is the son of Joseph and Helena (Millang) Breuer.
After attending the Kyle Military Academy, of Flushing, and De LaSalle Institute, New York City, he began making a livelihood in the real estate field as an employee of the McKnight Realty Company, of New York City, and rose high in this business. He established his own real estate concern in 1914 under his own name in Great Neck with branches in White Plains and New York City. They deal in suburban estates and properties. Mr. Breuer is a great believer in contacts and co-operation with men in his own field of interests and operations, and is an active member of the Real Estate Board of New York. Fraternally he is affiliated with Lodge No. 878 Ben-
evolent and Protective Order of Elks, and belongs to the New York Athletic Club. An athlete of note in youth, he was a very good friend of the famous Mul- doon, "conditioner of presidents and millionaires" with an establishment on the Hudson River north of New York City and Bill Brown who also maintained a large place at Cold Spring, New York. Mr. Breuer was a protegé of Michael Donovan.
On November 2, 1915, at Brooklyn, New York, J. Edward Breuer married Ethel Nanon Bartels, daugh- ter of Harry and Elizabeth (Finnigan) Bartels. Mr. and Mrs. Breuer are the parents of three children: I. Gloria, born March 26, 1917, who married Dr. William E. Coverly, D.D.S., of New York City and they have two children, William Scott and Cheryl. 2. Patricia, born March 20, 1926. 3. J. Edward Breuer, Jr., born September 12, 1929.
EDWARD JAMES BRADY, is one of those at- torneys who find the busy, prosperous and growing suburban communities of Nassau County an excellent field for the development of a lucrative legal practice, and have accordingly established their offices close to their homes; thus by-passing, as it were, the strains and stresses of metropolitan New York City and of daily travel to and from that all too crowded center.
A native of the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City, where he was born at 205 Ross Street on April 20, 1907, Mr. Brady is the son of James and Florence (Johnson) Brady, his father being a former officer of the New York City police department, now retired. After passing through public grade and high schools in Brooklyn, the young Edward James Brady, with his ambition already set upon a career in the law, took his pre-law collegiate studies and his law studies also at Fordham University Law School, where he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws with the class of 1932. On February 21, 1934, he was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of his profession in Jamaica, which is the administrative and judicial cen- ter of Queens County and the Borough of Queens, New York City.
Doubtless to afford a growing family the pleasanter living conditions of Freeport, Mr. Brady took up resi- dence in that lovely Nassau County village, and in 194I removed his practice thither. He is now one of the members of the firm of Brady and Kane, engaged in general practice of the law with offices at 82 West Sunrise Highway in Freeport, representing many im- portant clients and enjoying high standing at the Long Island bar.
Mr. Brady is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, and is an active member of the Bishop Mol- loy Council, of Freeport, of the national Catholic fra- ternal order, the Knights of Columbus, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge No. I253 at Freeport, New York.
On November 18, 1934, Edward James Brady mar- ried Irma A. Heiser, a daughter of Herman and Louise (Ambach) Heiser. Of marriage there are three children: I. James E., who was born on Janu- ary 26, 1936. 2. John T., born on April 24, 1941. 3. Daniel O., born on November 25, 1945.
THOMAS GERALD KANE-One of the distinct- ly younger members of the Long Island bar, Thomas Gerald Kane has nevertheless a background that in- cludes an excellent schooling in the principles of the law and a period of practice affording invaluable ex- perience at the bar of Kings County before he took up his residence and established his office in Free- port, Nassau County.
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Born in the Borough of Brooklyn, New York City, on January 7, 1915, Thomas Gerald is a son of Thomas Joseph and Mary (Malone) Kane. His father is now retired. Beginning his education in parochial schools of his native Brooklyn, Thomas Gerald Kane graduated from high school in 1932 and at once entered St. John's College, in the same borough, from which he received his degree of Bache- lor of Arts upon graduation with the class of 1936. Having before this decided upon the law as his voca- tion and career, he continued his studies at St. John's Law School, where he received his Bachelor of Laws degree in June, 1938. One year later, in June of 1939, Mr. Kane was admitted to the bar of Kings County.
There from 1939 to 1946, Mr. Kane practiced his profession. In April of the latter year he formed an association with Edward J. Brady (q. v.) under the firm name of Brady and Kane, with offices in Free- port. This young firm is already making its mark in service to important clients, and commanding the re- spect of Mr. Brady's and Mr. Kane's colleagues in Nassau County legal circles.
Mr. Kane and his family are communicants of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Redeemer, and he is a member of the Catholic fraternal order of the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks No. 1253 at Freeport, New York.
In the Borough of Brooklyn, New York City, on June 15, 1940, Thomas Gerald Kane married Veronica McCue, a daughter of James and Ellen McCue. Of this marriage there are three children: I. Margaret Ann, who was born on April 7, 1941. 2. Mary Ellen, born on February 16, 1943. 3. Patricia, born Febru- ary 25, 1946.
WILLIS B. CARMAN-The career of Willis B. Carman, prominent lawyer and business leader in Farmingdale, has been associated with Long Island since his birth in Amityville, March 6, 1901. He is the son of Fred W. Carman, long known as a farmer and retail merchant of Amityville, and Nettie (Burk- hard) Carman, a native of Bethpage. Both parents are now deceased.
The public schools of Farmingdale provided his early formal education and he completed high school in the year of 1917. His study of law was made at the Fordham University School of Law where he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1926, and in 1928 he was admitted to the bar. Since that date he has maintained an office in Farmingdale where he continues the general practice of law and has established his reputation as an excellent legal advisor.
Among his professional affiliations is his member- ship in the Nassau County Bar Association. In public service Mr. Carman has distinguished himself as police justice of the village of Farmingdale having been elected to that position continuously from 1928 to the present time with the exception of one and one-half years. He serves also as a director of the Bethpage Federal Savings and Loan Association of Farmingdale.
Mr. Carman interests himself in community life through his membership in Rotary Club, and the Free and Accepted Masons, Bethpage Lodge No. 975. He worships at the Episcopal Church and serves on the vestry; in political life he is a Republican. In his leisure time, Mr. Carman pursues many sports, participating in tennis, hunting, fishing, and skeet shooting.
In June 1926, Willis B. Carman married Mar- jorie Wright Sosa, daughter of Grey and Lenora
(Wright) Sosa of Farmingdale. Mr. and Mrs. Car- man have three children: I. Marcia Joan, born June 10, 1928. 2. Willis B., Jr., born December 24, 1931. 3. Gregory, born January 21, 1937.
WILLIAM E. TITUS-The name of Titus has long been renowned on Long Island, for generation after generation of the family has distinguished itself in public, social and political affairs, especially in Suf- folk County, and Huntington Township specifically. William E. Titus, attorney and World War II veteran, follows the family tradition. For aside from his leader- ship in numerous fields of interest, he is now justice of the peace of the township.
Judge Titus was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on December 6, 1911. His father is Herman A. Titus, deputy sheriff of Suffolk County, and his mother is the former Anna M. Enderby, a native of Long Island. The original Titus in America was Robert Titus, who came from England in 1635, landing at Brookline, Massachusetts, but settling at Huntington in 1654. Joseph Titus' paternal grandfather was Stephen Andrew Titus, prominent in the town as well as in New York City. He represented the town of Babylon on the Suffolk County Board of Supervisors in days when Huntington was part of Babylon. In Manhattan, on its famous old Park Row, he was renowned as the city editor of the New York "World."
William E. Titus was graduated from the Hunting- ton High School, after which he attended the Pratt Institute School of Architecture and the Brooklyn Law School. He was graduated from the last-named in 1938, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Since then he has been in general practice in Huntington, as well as active in the Republican organization and a variety of civic, professional and fraternal phases of communal life.
When the United States was forced into World War II, the future justice of the peace enlisted as a private, but his training and skill soon brought him promotion and he eventually attained the rank of captain. Altogether he spent four years in the Army, attached to Military Intelligence. He had returned from his service only a short time when the Hunting- ton Township Republican Committee endorsed his ap- pointment as justice of the peace. The endorsement went to the Town Board, which at a subsequent meeting appointed him to the bench, succeeding Thomas A. Hackett and in the November election of 1947 Judge Titus was elected to this office for the unexpired term of two years.
Judge Titus is a member of the Huntington Post of the American Legion; Ellsworth Lodge, No. 449, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Huntington; Suffolk County Republican Club; the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Lawyers Club of Hunting- ton. He is also affiliated with the Huntington Cham- ber of Commerce, and worships at the Central Pres- byterian Church in the town.
Judge Titus and Margaret Hendrie of Huntington were married there in December, 1940. Mrs. Titus is the daughter of William E. and Mary J. (McCulley) Hendrie. Judge and Mrs. Titus are the parents of a son, Jonathan, born in November, 1945.
FRANK G. GREGORY-Lending his talents to the field of journalism for nearly a quarter of a cen- tury, Frank G. Gregory has not only made his mark here in the East, but previously operated and managed for ten years a flourishing concern in Cleveland, Ohio, known there as the Blue Ribbon Circulation
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and Newspaper Promotion. During the comparatively short time he has been in Baldwin, Mr. Gregory has made as many friends here as he did in the Midwest and his popularity is reflected in the success he has attained as publisher and managing editor of the "Baldwin Citizen."
Mr. Gregory was born in Creston, Iowa, on January 14, 1882, son of Frank Henry and Emma Florence Gregory, and was educated in the Colorado State Preparatory School, Pawnee High School, in the town of the same name in Nebraska. Afterward he studied at the Armour Institute, Chicago, Illinois.
While residing in Baldwin since 1934, Mr. Gregory has met, as a newspaperman, the various people in the community; the merchants, the clergymen, the school teachers, the housewives, the politicians and the local officials.
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