USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 93
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 93
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
During World War I, Dr. Cohen served in the Dental Department of the United States Army, at Fort Oglethorpe, and held a commission as first lieutenant. Professionally, he is affiliated with the American Dental Association, the New York State Dental Association, the Tenth District Dental Society, and the Nassau County Dental Society. He was in charge of the dental department of the Cardiac Home for Children at Mineola before that institution moved to Westchester. He is dentist to the Nassau Unit of the Speedwell Society, an organization which takes care of children suffering from the effects of rheu- matic fever and cardiac cases.
Dr. Cohen has always had the welfare of the village of Hempstead at heart, and was one of the men who
was instrumental in securing a lease of the first muni- cipal parking field which later was purchased by the village and is now known as Cohen Field. He was one of the organizers of the Hempstead Community Chest, and chairman of its board of trustees. Dr. Cohen is a member of the Hempstead Fire Depart- ment, a director and vice president of the Second National Bank and Trust Company, and was at one time a director of the Hempstead Building and Loan Association, now the First Federal. He has truly followed in his father's footsteps in his prominent connection with banking interests. He was one of the organizers of the Franklin Square National Bank. Dr. Cohen is a former trustee of the village of Hempstead.
In his fraternal associations, he is a member of the Morton Lodge No. 63, Free and Accepted Masons and of Lodge No. 141 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Rebekahs, and is a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and the Hempstead Republican Club. He is also a member of Hempstead Post No. 390 of the American Legion, and served this post as commander for one year. Of Jewish faith, Dr. Cohen was one of the organizers of the Central Synagogiie of Nassau County, at Rockville Centre, and served for a number of years on its board of directors. He is a member of B'nai B'rith.
In 1921, Dr. Clarence Cohen married Anna L. New- man, of Newark, New Jersey, and they are the parents of two children: I. Lois Betty, who married Mr. White, and is the mother of a son, Lewis An- drew White. 2. Maurice Louis. The family makes its home at 47 Cathedral Avenue in Hempstead.
LEON E. GIUFFREDA-Since he turned from his career of journalism, Leon E. Giuffreda has estab)- lished a thriving real estate and insurance brokerage at Centereach, one of Long Island's prospering towns in Suffolk County. Mr., Giuffreda was assigned to various departments during his fourteen years' asso- ciation with the "New York Sun."
Leon E. Giuffreda was born in Brooklyn on August I, 1913, a son of Joseph and Concetta (Daniels) Giuf- freda, and attended public schools there. Upon his graduation from Manual Training High School in Brooklyn, Mr. Giuffreda enrolled at the School of Commerce at New York University where he majored in journalism. His father, who is a retired builder and contractor, settled in Centereach in 1930.
The younger Giuffreda joined the staff of the "New York Sun" in 1929, and until 1941 engaged in various types of reporting. He wrote and edited the "School Query" column for three years before he resigned from the newspaper to establish himself as a real estate broker. He is now a land developer in the center of the island, and is the owner and developer of a large tract known as Selden Heights.
Prominent in Republican circles in Suffolk County, Mr. Giuffreda serves as vice president of the- 12th District Republican Club, and is now a member of the Suffolk County Republican Committee. He is also active in community affairs and is chairman of the Centereach School Board, and commissioner of the Centereach Fire District, former secretary, treasurer and director of the Long Island Poultry Association; a member of the Republican Club of Timber Point and the Central Brookhaven Republican Club; honorary
.
Leon Gufeda
L.I .- 41
-
David . De Friest
347
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
member of the Police Association of Suffolk County; member of the Parent Teacher Association. He is a member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, and is generous in his contributions to religious and hu- mane causes.
On January 27, 1934, Mr. Giuffreda married Rose M. Gazzano, a daughter of Salvatore and Frances (Genevese) Gazzano. The marriage was solemnized in Brooklyn. The Giuffredas are the parents of two children: I. Rosemary, born December 22, 1938, at the Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, New York. 2. Renee born on July 7, 1944, at John Mather Memorial Hospital, Port Jefferson, Long Island.
RAYMOND G. TERRY-The firm of Terry and Gibson, Inc., of Bayshore, dealers on a large scale in real estate and insurance, has been prominent in its field of operations for thirty years. Since the deaths of the two elder men who founded the business several years ago, it is now carried on by a son and a younger brother of the founders, Raymond G. Terry and Earle B. Gibson, both highly rated business men.
Raymond G. Terry was born in Bay Shore, on August 26, 19II, son of the late Raymond H. and Aletta M. (Gibson) Terry. The mother was a Daughter of the American Revolution, member of such clubs as the Literary, and especially active in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Raymond H. Terry (father), was born at Riverhead, on October 25, 1878, and was variously connected with agriculture, utilities and banking prior to 1918, when he formed with John J. and Earle B. Gibson, the company that in January 1923 was incorporated as Terry and Gibson, operators in the Bay Shore section and contiguous regions. They represented a large num- ber of insurance companies of national standing, and handled insurance of all types. Real estate operations were mainly condensed to brokerage with some management. The elder Mr. Terry was a mem- ber of the Long Island Real Estate Board, the New York State Real Estate Board, and was fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and the local fire department, and was a director of the Community Association, and a leader in Boy Scout works. He married, on April 27, 1904, Aletta M. Gibson, of Bay Shore, and they became the parents of two children: Francis H. and Raymond G.
Raymond G. Terry was graduated from the Bay Shore High School, and matriculated at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Science, with the class of 1933. After years of experience with the office of Wallace Reid and Company, insurance company managers of New York City, Raymond G. Terry joined Terry and Gibson, Inc., of which he has been a member since 1939. As already mentioned, he and the brother of one of the founders now direct the activities of the concern, and operate along similar lines as since the beginning, although with an enlarged scope of deal- ings in realty and insurance.
Mr. Terry has been to the fore in many kinds of movements and organizations, civic, social and mili- tary, from young manhood. He is a member of the Rotary Club, vice president of the Bay Shore Lions Club, member of South Bay Country Club, the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania Club, of New York City, The Military Order of World Wars, the American Legion, and belongs to the Timber Point Club. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy
Reserves in the Atlantic theater of war from 1942 to 1945. His favorite sport and recreation is sail- ing. He is a communicant and a trustee of the Bay Shore Methodist Episcopal Church.
EARL BURR GIBSON-For more than forty years the firm of Terry and Gibson has stood for the best, most reliable and most ethical service in the field of real estate and insurance in Suffolk County, and Mr. Earl Burr Gibson, successor to his brother, the late John J. Gibson, is accounted one of the successful businessmen of Bay Shore, and a man of prominence in public life and in civic, re- ligious and social circles in that part of Long Island.
Mr. Gibson's father, the late Samuel B. Gibson, was a sea captain. He married Rhoda Reybert, who is now also deceased. To them the son they named Earl Burr was born at Bay Shore, where he grew up and received his education. During World War I, he joined the United States Army, and with the rank of captain saw active service overseas. After that war, in 1919, he joined the firm of Terry and Gibson, which had been established in 1916 by Ray- mond H. Terry and John J. Gibson. After the latter's death, Earl Burr Gibson became Mr. Terry's partner in the business, which throughout the years has be- come one of the most substantial of its kind in the eastern part of Long Island.
Mr. Gibson has long been a member of the Bay Shore Post of the American Legion and is command- ing officer in charge of the Bay Shore Brightwaters Unit of Minute Men (Home Guard) of Suffolk County, training in foot drill, firearms and maneuvers under the direct command of the sheriff of the County of Suffolk. He is also active in the Bay Shore Lions Club, and is a member of the South Bay Golf and Country Club. He serves on the board of commissioners of the Bay Shore Fire Department. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Church, and he belongs to the Timber Point Club.
Earl Burr Gibson is married, his wife being the former Helen R. Smith, a native of Bay Shore.
DAVID IRAD DE FRIEST-Widely known throughout Suffolk County as a funeral director whose notable success is directly linked with his mastery of mortuary technique, the ethical conduct of his busi- ness, and the tact and sympathy with which he eases the trying moments of those recently bereaved, David Irad De Friest is also valued in that part of Long Island as a good citizen, interested in civic works and popular in fraternal circles.
Doubtless one of the youngest men to own an exten- sive funeral business, David Irad De Friest was born at Riverhead, Suffolk County, on September I, 1916, a son of Irad Becker and Elizabeth (Glover) De Friest. His father is a foreman in the New York Telephone Company. Brought to Bay Shore as a boy, David Irad De Friest attended the high school at that Long Island village before going to the Mount Hermon Preparatory School in Mount Hermon, Mas- sachusetts. Attracted to the possibilities of the mod- ern funeral business even as a youth, he prepared himself at the Renouard Training School for Embalm- ers and Undertakers in New York City, and in June, 1935, took his first employment in his chosen line as an apprentice in the Simpson Community Funeral Home at Bay Shore. This position he held until February, 1936, when he left Bay Shore for the nearby South Shore community of Babylon, where in April,
348
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
1936, he became an employee of the Edward Daily Funeral Service. With this firm he continued his apprenticeship until June, 1937.
In that year he joined the organization of Edward J. Devlin, Inc., at 404 West Fifty-first Street in New York City. The Devlin organization, being also the owners of Walter B. Cooke, Inc., the largest funeral business in the world, offered unsurpassed facilities for acquiring experience. Here Mr. De Friest worked as an apprentice, an embalmer and a funeral director, and during this period he secured his embalmer's and undertaker's licenses. Leaving the Devlin con- cern in January, 1938, Mr. De Friest, in April of that year, became associated as an embalmer with the White Funeral Home, owned and managed by George C. White at Bay Shore. A year later, in April, 1939, he accepted the position of manager of the Elm- hurst Funeral Home, owned by Harrigan and Devlin, at Elmhurst, Queensboro, New York City. In Sep- tember of that year of 1939, Mr. De Friest opened his own establishment, known as De Friest Funeral Home, David I. De Friest, manager, at Southold in Suffolk County.
In January, 1946, while continuing to operate the Southold establishment, Mr. De Friest bought out the Beebe funeral business in the Suffolk County village of Cutchogue, and today his business is known as the De Friest Funeral Homes, Southold and Cutch- ogue.
Mr. De Friest is an active member of the Southold Grange, and also belongs to the Southold Volunteer Fire Department. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to Peconic Lodge No. 349, and is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Church.
On January 28, 1938, David Irad De Friest was mar- ried at the Central Methodist Church on Hanson Place in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City, to Marguerite Albertson, a daughter of Edward Hill and Maude Estelle (Russell) Albertson. Mrs. De Friest is a registered nurse and a licensed funeral director. She belongs to the Rebekahs, and is active in the work of the Women's Society of Christian Service of the Methodist church. She also holds membership in the Southold Grange. To David Irad and Mar- guerite (Albertson) De Friest a daughter, whom they named Shirley Elizabeth, was born on June 26, 1941.
HANS L. STEINER, M.D .- For more than ten years a prominent physician of Lindenhurst, Dr. Hans L. Steiner has done much to relieve suffering and maintain the health and welfare of this region of Long Island.
Dr. Steiner was born November 26, 1900, at Muen- singen, in southern Germany, son of Dr. Julius and Sarah (Steiner) Steiner. His father was a prominent physician (country doctor for forty-three years), and his mother died at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
Hans Steiner received the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of Heidelberg in 1925. He served his internship in the hospitals of Stutt- gart, Germany, and acted as a resident physician in these hospitals. He also served as a resident physician at the Sanitorium at Rottweil, in the Black Forest, altogether in both places from 1926 until 1934.
The following year Dr. Steiner came to this coun- try and settled in Lindenhurst. Since 1935 he has served as a member of the staff of the Southside Hos- pital at Bay Shore. Professionally, he is a member of the American Medical Association and the Suffolk
County Medical Society. His hobby is stamp collect- ing, and for recreation he enjoys reading.
On March 27, 1932, in Germany, Hans L. Steiner married Bridget Marquard, daughter of Dr. Alfred Marquard. Mrs. Steiner is a prominent artist with studios in New York City. Dr. and Mrs. Steiner became the parents of the following children: I. Ursula, who was born March 3, 1933, and is now at- tending the Dalton School for Girls, of New York City. 2. Nicholas, who was born October II, 1934, and is a student at the Lincoln School in New York City.
DAVID R. SIEGEL-At the bar of Long Island, which is noted for its many exceptionally able at- torneys, David R. Siegel has long held a high place, greatly respected by his colleagues of the legal pro- fession and by a wide circle of important clients.
Mr. Siegel is a native Long Islander, having been born on June 15, 1907, at Glen Cove on the North Shore, a son of Louis Siegel and his wife, the late Yetta (Marcus) Siegel. Louis Siegel has been in the grocery and fruit business at Glen Cove and at Sea Cliff for forty years, and "Siegel's" is the synonym for choice groceries and fruits among the house- holders and estate owners of those select suburbs.
The young David R. Siegel attended high school at Glen Cove, the Cascadilla Preparatory School at Ithaca, New York, and Muhlenberg College at Allen- town, Pennsylvania, before enrolling at New York University in New York City. Having decided upon the law as a career, he enrolled at New York Univer- sity Law School, from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws upon graduation with the class of 1936. He entered the office of Thomas R. Fay at Mineola, Nassau County, New York as a clerk in 1936, and after being admitted to the bar in 1937, be- came associated with Mr. Fay, who is one of the leading attorneys on Long Island. In 1939, Mr. Fay and Mr. Siegel became associated with the late Hon. Charles R. Weeks, former District Attorney of Nas- sau County. This association continued until the death of Mr. Weeks on July 5, 1948. Mr. Siegel re- mains associated with Mr. Fay.
Mr. Siegel is a member and director of the Bar Association of Nassau County. He is village attorney for the Incorporated Village of Sea Cliff, and attorney for the Board of Education of Union Free School Dis- trict No. 24 of the town of Oyster Bay. He has been active in all civilian war drives and other campaigns associated with the national war effort in Nassau County.
In September 1929, David R. Siegel was married in New York City to Eleanor Martin, daughter of Gerald Martin, of Foster, Canada. Of this union there are two children: 1. Jay Martin, born on August 27, 1937. 2. Richard Allen, born on June 25, 1942.
MARTIN PATRICK O'LEARY-The branch of the O'Leary family to which Martin Patrick O'Leary of Manhasset traces his ancestry, has been settled in that Nassau County village for more than a century, for it was about 1840 when Patrick O'Leary took up his abode there. Patrick O'Leary's son William has been throughout his lifetime a successful farmer at Manhasset. William O'Leary married Honora Harrington, and to them the son they named Martin Patrick was born at Manhasset on April 20, 1897.
The young Martin Patrick O'Leary received his early education in the public schools of his birthplace,
martin Rote any
349
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
and graduated from high school in the adjoining village of Port Washington with the class of 1914. During these formative years his ambition became fixed upon a career in the legal profession, to which end he enrolled at Fordham University Law School in the city of New York, receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws from that renowned institution in 1918. The beginning of his career was deferred by the first World War, in which the United States was a participant at the time of his graduation. He joined the United States Army, and was stationed at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, and assigned to the field artillery. He received his honorable discharge at Camp Upton, Long Island, in January, 1919.
Upon his return to civilian life, Mr. O'Leary was admitted to the bar of the state of New York, and on June 17, 1919, he became an associate of Charles S. Colden, at that time also a rising young attorney. In January, 1920, Mr. O'Leary became a partner with Mr. Colden in the firm of Colden and O'Leary, with offices in Whitestone and in Flushing, Queens County. The Flushing office was at 114 Amity Street. The firm amassed a lucrative and successful practice, with many important clients, and the association of these two able attorneys continued until Mr. Colden was elected to the office of Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, in the Second District. In 1926 Mr. O'Leary established his office in Manhasset, at 139 Plandome Road.
In 1931 Mr. O'Leary became assistant attorney general of the state of New York, with headquarters in the New York City office of that division of the state government. This position he filled with dis- tinction and with advantage to the state until 1942. He is a member of the Nassau County Bar Associa- tion. An active member of the Democratic party and influential in its councils, he is a member of that party's county committee. He belongs to the Man- hasset Civic Association, and of Manhasset Post No. 304 of the American Legion he is a charter member, and was the post's first adjutant. A Roman Catholic in religion, he is a communicant of St. Mary's Church at Manhasset, and is one of the two lay members of the board of trustees of that church. He belongs to the Great Neck Council, No. 2122, of the Knights of Columbus, and is Past Grand Knight of that council, as well as former district deputy of that order. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In the last-named fraternal order he is a member of Great Neck Lodge No. 1543. Able in his profession, influential in politics, with a record of long and faithful service in public office, unselfishly active in civic matters and popular in fraternal circles, Martin Patrick O'Leary is held in high respect in Manhasset and by his colleagues at the bar of Long Island.
Mr. O'Leary married January 22, 1947, Miss Eileen M. Fahey of Bayside. New York, daughter of Patrick Fahey and Ellen Hally.
ALBERT W. ALBERTSON-Like his father be- fore him, Albert W. Albertson was a native of South- hold, Suffolk County, and spent his whole life there, successful in business, active in political, religious and social life, honored by public trust and faithful in the discharge of office.
The late William Conklin Albertson established a grocery business in Southold about seventy-five years ago and became one of the substantial merchants of that village. He also participated in banking affairs,
and for much of his lifetime he was a trustee of the Southold Savings Bank. By force of character no less than by virtue of his reputation as a successful busi- ness man, William Conklin Albertson became one of the leading men and most respected citizens of his community. He married Jennie Wells, and they were the parents of Albert W. Albertson, born at Southold on September 7, 1882.
Educated in the public grade and high schools of Southold, Albert W. Albertson completed his studies at Hudson River Institute before entering business in his native town, as a painting contractor. From 1900 to 1916, this was his occupation, but in the latter year he established a grocery and provision business, which he owned and managed with eminent success for upwards of thirty years. Like his father he was a trustee of the Southold Savings Bank, and was vice president and a member of the board of directors of the Bank of Southold. Mr. Albertson also had an interest in the Suffolk County Mutual Insurance Company, and was a member of its board of directors.
In politics a member of the Republican party, and a member of the Suffolk County Republican Com- mittee for more than a quarter of a century, Albert W. Albertson accepted the responsibilities of public office, serving for more than seventeen years as wel- fare officer of the town of Southold, and also holding the position of chairman of the board of education of the Southold public school. If in business, in politics and in public service the Albertsons were accustomed to sticking for a long while to whatever they under- took or to whatever they gave their allegiance, the same thing held true in matters of religion and in fraternal affairs. Albert W. Albertson had been a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church; and fraternally was affiliated for forty-two years with the Southold Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he was a Past Noble Grand.
On September 14, 1904, Albert W. Albertson mar- ried Genevieve Phillips Merwin, at Cutchogue. Gen- evieve (Merwin) Albertson is a daughter of James Cannon Merwin, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, and of his wife, Florence (Jennings) Merwin, who was born at Aquebogue, Suffolk County. Mr. and Mrs. Albertson became the parents of seven children: I. Jennie Wells, born July I, 1905, at Southold; mar- ried LeRoy Hammond, of Greenport, Suffolk County. 2. Marion Merwin, born October 16, 1906; married Harold Daniel Winters, of Southampton, and has three children: Harold Daniel, Richard Albertson, and Gary Thomas Winters; a fourth child, Peter Rogers, is deceased. 3. Flora Evelyn, born April 22, 1908; married (first) Russell P. Silleck, who died February 22, 1938; married (second), June 20, 1942, Walter F. Luce. By her first marriage, she is the mother of Betty Albertson, Barbara Ann, and Walter Russell Silleck. 4. William Corey, born August 25, 1909; married Elizabeth Havens Tasker, of Green- port, and they have two children: Joan Ethel and Chester Rich. 5. Pauline Alberta, born October 22, 1913; married, June 5, 1937, Charles F. Guilloz, of Southampton, and they have two children: Charles F., V, and Gerard Albertson Guilloz. During World War II, Mr. Guilloz enlisted in the United States Navy, saw service in the Aleutian Islands, and held the rank of chief warrant officer. 6. Lester Merwin, born September 17, 1918; for five years, including World War II, he was a member of the United States Army, holding the rank of master sergeant; served overseas for one year and was awarded the Bronze Star for gallantry in action; married Hope L. Mere- dith, of Peconic, Suffolk County, and they have a
350
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
daughter, Nan Elizabeth. 7. Albert Wells, Jr., born October 8, 1928; he enlisted in the United States Navy, in February 1946, and since his honorable discharge is now at home.
BENJAMIN WINANS DOWNING-The late Benjamin Winans Downing, who at the time of his death on April 20, 1948 made his home in Mun- sey Park, was a lifelong resident of Long Island's North Shore and was intimately identified with the development of Nassau County. For many years he was active as a carpenter and contractor and later he operated a lumber yard at Locust Valley in partnership with his brother and served as treasurer of the coal and lumber firm of Titus, Bowne & Downing of Glen Cove. Mr. Downing had outstand- ing energy and ability and a keen interest in civic affairs. Through the years he filled numerous posts of responsibility in Glen Cove, Locust Valley and Nassau County. His genial nature had made for him a host of friends and he will be greatly missed in the life of the community.
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.