USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 21
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During the late World War Mr. Deichsel was active in Red Cross work and i'n 'all of the local Liberty/ Loan committees. He is an active member of The Bronx
Nick & Healy m.l.
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Crippled Children's Committee, the Rotary Club, The Bronx Board of Trade, the Dunwoodie Golf Club, and the New, York Athletic Club. His relig- ious affiliation is given to St. Brennan's Roman Cath- olic Church, of which he is a regular attendant and a most liberal supporter. He also gives freely of his means towards the maintenance of many and vari- ous local charities and philanthropies.
Albert F. Deichsel was married in The Bronx, on September 10, 1905, to Mary E. Theiss, a daughter of John and Catherine (Wall) Theiss, both of whom are living (1926), the father being a fireman and an engineer. Albert F. and Mary E. (Theiss) Deich- sel are the parents of the following children: 1. Al- bert J. Deichsel, born on November 3, 1906. 2. Arthur J. Deichsel, born on December 12, 1907. 3. Ruth M. Deichsel, born on July 3, 1917. The family home is maintained at No. 3203 Kossuth Avenue, The Bronx.
MARK FRANCIS HEALY, M. D., for thirteen years, has been widely and favorably known as a general practitioner of ability and experience, with offices at No. 2315 Grand Concourse, The Bronx. Not only have his own humanitarian achievements brought him into prominence, but his father's real estate operations were of so constructive a nature in the upbuilding of The Bronx that the name is a symbol for leadership.
Mark Francis Healy was born July 13, 1885, in the house standing at No. 328 East Fourteenth Street, Manhattan, son of Mark Francis and Catherine Ann (O'Donnell) Healy. The father, born on the lower east side of New York City, in the Seventh Ward, in 1852, died in 1909. After many years of service on the New York City police force, he saw the great potentialities of The Bronx and entered the field of real estate, thus participating in the rapid growth of that section during the past generation.
Dr. Healy received a good education, attending the East Sixteenth Street Public School, which is located between Avenue A and First Avenue, and after the removal of the family to The Bronx when he was thirteen years old, was a student at old No. 64 Public School, under Principal Kennard. He then entered Fordham Preparatory School, com- pleted the academic course at Fordham College in his junior year, and studied medicine in the Medical College of the University, graduating in 1911 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Healy gained practical experience as an interne at St. Vincent's Hospital for two years after spending one at St. Gregory's Volunteer Hospital in the same capacity. He also accepted a position as ship's surgeon for the United Fruit Company, traveling on their steamers to Panama and South America for a year. It was thus with an admirable background of varied experience that Dr. Healy began his professional career in The Bronx in 1914. He occupies the same home in which he began as a general practitioner and enjoys a large clientele of the best people in The Bronx. He is also visiting physician to The Bronx General Hospital. During the war he served with the United States Ambulance Corps, and was with the 56th United States Army Engineers and
the 604th Engineers. He is a member of The Bronx Medical Society, The Bronx County Medical Society, the North Bronx Medical Society, and the American Medical Association; he is also a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. His fraternal affiliation is with Unity Council, No. 326, Knights of Columbus. A Democrat, he belongs to the North End Democratic Club.
In February, 1918, Dr. Mark Francis Healy married, in Alexandria, Virginia, Gertrude Ann Schultz, the ceremony being performed in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church by Rev. Father Winton. Mrs. Healy is the daughter of William Schultz, born in Berlin, Germany, now aged sixty-five, and Elizabeth (Mur- phy) Schultz, a native of Ireland. Dr. and Mrs. Healy have two children: 1. Mark William Healy, born March 27, 1920. 2. Elizabeth Gertrude Healy, born April 11, 1922.
SALVAT P. LASPERCHES-The material prog- ress of The Bronx, and no small proportion of The Bronx and Westchester counties, is due in a very considerable measure to the building and architec- tural activities of Salvat P. Lasperches, a pioneer in The Bronx residential and public building construc- tion, the substantial results of whose work continue to bear testimony to their permanent qualities. In his special lines he has an unrivalled place, and the building history of The Bronx and its neighborhood has no more highly valued name and accomplish- ment than that of Mr. Lasperches. He is a son of Pierre Lasperches, who was a civil engineer in the employ of the French Government, and Jeanne Las- perches, both of whom died in France.
Salvat P. Lasperches was born March 17, 1868, at Dax, France, where he attended the public and high schools. He came to the United States, August 11, 1889, and he attended night schools in New York City. Early in life, Mr. Lasperches had given his attention to building projects, and while in France he had been a foreman of construction for the Eiffel Tower at Paris, in 1888. He perceived his large opportunities in this country, and became a pioneer builder in The Bronx and Westchester counties, and from 1890 to 1898 he was the leading man engaged in that business in those sections, his work being inclusive of large private homes, churches and synagogues; and since 1894 he has built fifteen apart- ments between Cypress and St. Ann's avenues in The Bronx. He started activities in the Chester Hill section of Mount Vernon, and has built many houses throughout New York and Staten Island.
A Democrat in his political views, Mr. Lasperches is a member of the Democratic Club. His business affiliations are those of the United Workingmen's Association; and he is an honorary member of the Paramount Business League, and the American Bus- iness Men's Protective Association. He is a com- municant of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church.
Salvat P. Lasperches married, in 1889, in Paris, France, Marie Magre. Their children: 1. Angele, married Frank Fawcett, and they have three sons and one daughter. 2. Blanche, married Fred Boehm, and they have one son and two daughters. 3. Andrée, married Walter Dunnigan, died February 4, 1926, and they were the parents of a son and a daughter.
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EDWIN B. NATHAN-Among the outstanding business enterprises of The Bronx is the Nathan Novelty Manufacturing Company, of which Edwin B. Nathan, son of the founder, is president. This prosperous and busy plant, as well as its progressive head, is a distinct asset to the community as a factor in general prosperity. Mr. Nathan was born in New York City, in the Borough of Manhattan, Sep- tember 14, 1888, son of Benjamin and Henrietta Nathan. His father, born in Germany in 1847, came to the United States at five years of age, and died in this country in 1910. He established the Nathan Novelty Manufacturing Company in the early days of the automobile, in 1900, after many years as proprietor of one of the largest of Sixth Avenue's retail shoe stores, and he began the policy of special- izing on the manufacture of automotive fabrics and accessories. The son, Edwin B. Nathan, completed his education at Public School No. 103 and at Gann's Business School.
All his business life, Mr. Nathan has been as- sociated with the company he now heads. He began in a humble capacity and learned every angle of the business as he won promotion by his ability and perseverance. The plant started on a small scale, including among its early products the Auto- mobile Storm Apron, which covered the entire car and was fitted with head openings which buttoned snugly round the passenger's neck. Before the prevalence of automobile tops, this apron was a distinct benefit to the riding public. Since Benjamin Nathan invented and patented the first Watershed Tire Cover with overlapping flaps, the company has originated many articles of value.
One of the greatest and most recent inventions, in the Nathan "All Weather" Enclosure for Ford and Chevrolet Tourings and Roadsters. This En- closure enables every Chevrolet and Ford open car owner to enjoy all the comforts of a Sedan. They have manufactured over 25,000 in one season.
In the large plant are employed some two hundred workers, together with a mail order department and a large force of traveling salesmen. Besides the main office at Nos. 2151 to 2157 Prospect Avenue, New York, there is a Chicago office and showroom. Cost reducing machinery and efficiency in equipment and management insure clients of the best wares at the most reasonable prices. Mr. Nathan is president, of the Nathan Anklet Support Company; M. Hesslein is secretary, and Seymour Ripin is treasurer. In 1922 the plant moved into its present quarters.
In spite of the demands of this large business, Mr. Nathan shares generously in all forms of com- munity progress. He is a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 447, Free and Accepted Masons, The Bronx Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce. He is also affiliated with the National Association of Manu- facturers.
In New York City, September 17, 1915, Edwin B. Nathan married Fay Dinkelspeil, daughter of Moe and Carrie Dinkelspeil. Her father, formerly partner of Eugene Woods and assemblyman from the lower east side for many years, died in 1917.
JOHN J. BEISIEGEL is well and widely known in the business circles of The Bronx as the super-
intendent of the Customers' Service Department of the Central Union Gas Company, and in this im- portant post he has taken advantage of the many opportunities to help others and thus to make friends for himself. The Beisiegel family has been continu- ously identified with the Central Union Gas Com- pany for more than sixty years, and it is an interest- ing fact well worth noting that when the first of the Beisiegel surname became connected with the company there were only eight employees-and now there are over eight hundred. Much of this steady growth and advancement has been due to the useful and constructive activities of members of the Bei- siegel family.
John J. Beisiegel was born in the family home on One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Street between Third and Washington avenues, The Bronx, October 16, 1869, a son of Jacob and Anna (Schiff) Beisiegel, both of whom are now deceased, the mother having passed away in February, 1893. The father, whose death oc- curred in March, 1898, was born and reared in Ger- many, and at the age of twenty-two years came to the United States after serving with distinction in the Franco-Prussian War, and settled in New York City, where he soon formed a business connection with the Central Union Gas Company, in whose employ he remained for more than thirty years.
John J. Beisiegel received his educational training in the public school at Courtlandt Avenue and One Hundred and Forty-eighth Street, and at College Avenue and One Hundred and Forty-fifth Street, following which he at once embarked upon his bus- iness career by entering the employ of Edward Callan in the year 1887, in the latter's establishment at Third Avenue and One Hundred and Twenty-first Street, where he remained for a period of five years. On January 18, 1892, he became associated with the Central Union Gas Company as clerk in the Shop De- partment, where he remained for one year, and was then made superintendent of the Customers' Service Department, in which capacity he is still serving at the present time (1926). To date Mr. Beisiegel has com- pleted nearly thirty-five years of continuous and unin- terrupted service with the Central Union Gas Com- pany, and in that long period of identification he has built up an enviable reputation for proved ability, great efficiency, high integrity, wide experience, and absolute and unquestioned honesty of thought, purpose and deed. Fraternally, Mr. Beisiegel is an active member of the local lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and also holds member- ship in the Old Timers' Club, the Schnorer Club, the Lions Club, the American Gas Association, The Bronx Grand Jurors' Association, and for a period of seven years served faithfully and ably as the sec- retary of the Schnorer Club.
John J. Beisiegel was married in The Bronx, on June 7, 1911, to Mae Hammell, a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Hammell, both of whom are still living in the family home in Newark, New Jersey (1926).
PETER ROEMER-The pioneer floral concern in The Bronx was that founded by Peter Roemer in 1870, and still run by his family under the old name. Mr. Roemer, who died in 1904, after a long business career, was well known throughout the
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vicinity and very highly regarded. He was a son of William and Christina (Geiser) Roemer, both of whom were born, lived and died in Germany, the father having been a baker there.
Peter Roemer was born in Germany, April 23, 1825, and came to the United States at the age of twenty-five, landing on St. Patrick's Day, in the year 1850, with eighty-eight cents in his pocket and his own future to make in the New World. He had, however, received a good education in his native country and was a graduate of Heidelberg Univer- sity, where he had specialized in botany. After vari- ous preliminary experiences, he came to Woodlawn on April 3, 1865, engaged for a time in truck garden- ing, and in 1870 opened up the first florist's business in this vicinity. This enterprise was a decided suc- cess and was run by the founder until his death, April 6, 1904, and continued by his widow, Matilda (Schwartz), Roemer, during the twenty years that she survived him. Since her death, in October, 1924, it is being run, still in the name of the original founder, by Louise S. Roemer, the daughter of Matilda (Schwartz) Roemer, and by Eva C. and Peter Roemer, the two younger children of the found- er. The original Peter Roemer was an active member of the Lutheran church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Peter Roemer married (first), in 1852, Katherine Barbara Rapp, who died August 28, 1880. By this marriage there were six children: Henry W., born June 21, 1853; Katherina, born in 1855; William, born in 1859; George, born in 1863; Anna, born in 1865; and Daniel, born in 1868. He married (second) Matilda Schwartz, who survived him for twenty years and carried on the business until her death, October 6, 1924. By this second marriage there were two children: Eva C., born in 1884; and Peter, born in 1889. Louise S. Roemer, who is now managing the business in association with Eva C. and Peter Roemer, is a daughter of Matilda (Schwartz) Roemer by a previous marriage.
Matilda (Schwartz) Roemer was a business woman of rare ability. At the time of Mr. Roemer's death the estate was at a low ebb, physically and financially, and she set to work and put in up-to-date systems of handling both the floral business and the real estate, and at her death had built up a wonderful floral business.
ALICE (SERBER) PETLUCK-An active and successful member of the bar for more than twenty- five years, Mrs. Petluck has established two records in connection with her professional work. She was the first woman to practice law in the State of Mas- sachusetts, and also the first woman of Russian descent ever to have been admitted to the bar in the United States. She was born in Bar, a small city of Podolia, Russia, July 23, 1873, a daughter of
Charles and Annie (Stock) Serber, both natives of Bar, Russia. Her father, a merchant, brought his family to the United States in 1891, and died in New York City, September 17, 1902, at the age of sixty-two, having been pre-deceased by his wife, who died, aged fifty-seven years, in The Bronx, Septem- per 21, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Serber were the parents of fourteen children, all of whom are engaged suc-
cessfully in various professions as teachers, physi- cians, lawyers and engineers.
Alice (Serber) Petluck was educated in her native city by private tutors, and upon coming to this coun- try with her parents in 1891, attended public night schools. In 1894 she entered New York University to study law, being graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1896. She was admitted to the New York Bar in 1898, and later, in 1904, to the Massachusetts Bar. For some time she practiced law in New Bedford, 'Massachusetts, but later re- turned to New York City, where she continued her professional work at No. 1360 Washington Avenue, The Bronx. She is a member of the Parents' As- sociation and since 1920 its president; she is also president of the Mothers' Welfare League of The Bronx, and a member of The Bronx Hospital and its Ladies' Auxiliary; a member of the Day Nursery and the Hebrew Parochial School. Even her recrea- tion is found in useful and constructive work, her principal hobby being welfare work of all kinds for the benefit of the community in which she lives. During the summer of 1926, Mrs. Petluck and her daughter, Anna S. Petluck, went to Europe, Mrs. Petluck to study, specializing in the problems of delinquent children; and her daughter to take up the study of German in Munich.
Her marriage occurred in New York City, Febru- ary 9, 1904, to Joseph Petluck, M. D., a graduate of Tufts College Medical School, Boston, Massa- chusetts, class of 1898, and now a practicing physi- cian at No. 1360 Washington Avenue, The Bronx. Dr. and Mrs. Petluck are the parents of three chil- dren, all of whom look to continuing their parents' and their mother's family traditions in respect to engaging in professional work: 1. Charles A., gradu- ated and passed the bar examinations from New York Law School with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1925. 2. Anna S., graduated from Morris. High School, The Bronx, in 1924, with honors, now a student at New York University, class of 1928. 3. Robert, graduated from Morris High School, The Bronx, in 1924, now a student at the College of the City of New York, class of 1927.
CURTIS JAMES BEARD-Prominent in banking circles in Harlem is Curtis James Beard, first vice- president of the Empire City Savings Bank. He is the son of James Clark and Watie A. (Vail) Beard, his father a bookkeeper, and at one time served as school director in Du Bois, Pennsylvania, in the early '70's.
Curtis James Beard was born in Waverly, Tioga County, New York, January 23, 1869, and received his elementary education in the schools of his native town, graduating from the high school in 1885, and from Packard Commercial School in 1890. Imme- diately upon leaving school he began his business career as a clerk in the Fifth Avenue Bank, where he remained until 1902. He then became associated with the Thirty-fourth Street National Bank in the capacity of cashier, remaining with this bank and its successor, the New Netherland Bank of New York, from 1902 until 1923, when he became first vice- president of the Empire City Savings Bank, No. 231 West One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street, and
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where he still continues, having reached this high re- sponsible position solely through his own efforts. In connection with his many duties in this bank, he is also a trustee of Empire City Savings Bank, a director of the New Netherland Bank, and a director of the Thirty-fourth Street Safe Deposit Company. In poli- tics he is a Republican, although he has never held public office. He is a member of The Bronx County Grand Jurors' Association; The Bronx Board of Trade; a director of the Harlem Board of Commerce; a member of the West Side Young Men's Christian Association; Red Cross; Anti-Saloon League, and the Metropolitan Automobile Association.
Curtis James Beard married, October 8, 1891, at Arnot, Chemung County, New York, Rose May Sin- coe, daughter of George W. and Martha (West) Simcoe. Mr. and Mrs. Beard are the parents of one daughter, Dorothy Muriel, born July 15, 1895, now Mrs. Little. Mr. and Mrs. Beard are members of the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, on Univer- sity Avenue, The Bronx.
JOHN ADAM STEINMETZ-By his very com- prehensive and thoroughgoing methods, which in- cludes a practical knowledge of real estate values and desirable locations throughout The Bronx, John Adam Steinmetz has secured his merited position among the leading men in the real estate and in- surance business in this part of the State, and he is a factor in the general business development of The Bronx. This community has found in him a faithful official in the mercantile organizations with which he has from time to time been associated in executive capacity. His parents were both natives of Ger- many, his father, Adam Steinmetz, dying when his son was only twelve years old, and his mother, who was Catherine (Spanard) Steinmetz, dying when he was eighteen years old; they had ten children, six of whom survive: George; Catherine; John Adam, of whom further; Henry, secretary and treasurer of the company of which John Adam is the head; Bertha; Anna Marie.
John Adam Steinmetz was born January 11, 1875, at West Farms, where he attended the public schools, after which he was given charge of a bakery that was owned by his father. He engaged for about eight years in the wholesale flour business, and in 1905 he opened a real estate office at Tremont Avenue and Bronx Street. Mr. Steinmetz established his present offices at No. 1005 East One Hundred and Eightieth Street in 1910, where he conducts a success- ful real estate and insurance headquarters, making a specialty of small mortgages. Mr. Steinmetz is a prom- inent member of the Property Owners' Association; president of the East Tremont Taxpayers' Association; and vice-president of The Bronx Board of Trade. Fra- ternally, he is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, having attained the thirty-second degree, and is a member of Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Arthur Murphy Club, the One Hundred and Eightieth Street Business Men's Association, and the Tax- payers' Alliance; and president of the Tatonia Bowl- ing Club, of The Bronx. He is a most enthusiastic sportsman and hunter of big game, and among the
trophies of his Canadian trips he has on the walls of his office a moose head with a spread of fifty- three inches. His religious faith is that of the Christian Science church.
Mr. Steinmetz married, August 25, 1903, Elizabeth Borger, daughter of Andrew Borger, a retired mat- tress manufacturer, and Minnie (Kuhn) Borger.
WILLIAM MORAGNE HUSSON-A native of Florida, but a member of an old Bronx family, Mr. Husson settled in The Bronx in December, 1918, after his discharge from the United States Army, with which he had served for some two years. In recent years he has maintained offices under his own name at No. 1068 East Tremont Avenue, The Bronx, where he is engaged in the various kinds of work usually handled by a civil engineer, specializing, however, as a surveyor and architectural engineer. He has met with marked success from the beginning, and his business is enjoying a steady and extensive growth. He was born in Palatka, Florida, March 5, 1891, a son of William Moseley and Margaret Blanton (Moragne) Husson. His father, a son of Joseph and Susan Hill (Moseley) Husson, was born in The Bronx, and has been a resident for many years of the Clason Point section of The Bronx, the Hus- son estate being an old landmark of Clason Point. On his grandmother's side he was a descendant of Governor William D. Moseley, first governor of Florida. He was a civil engineer by profession and assisted in laying out many streets and roads in The Bronx, including Sound View Avenue. He mar- ried Margaret Blanton Moragne, a native of Florida, and a granddaughter of Governor Moseley, of Flor- ida, and, therefore, a cousin of her husband.
William Moragne Husson was educated in the public schools of Washington, District of Columbia, until he was nine years old. Later he became a student at the Georgia Military Academy and, having graduated there in 1909, at the Virginia Military Institute, from which latter institution he graduated in 1914 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in civil engineering. He then returned to his native State and at first worked in Jacksonville, Florida, where he remained for two years, after which he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of cavalry in the Regular Army with which he served in various cavalry regiments until he received his honorable discharge in December, 1918. At that time he went to Pensacola, Florida, as assistant engineer with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and in July, 1919, he came to New York and there accepted a position as chief engineer with J. C. Lyons Son Company, contractors and builders. He remained with this concern until he opened his own offices in The Bronx, where he has continued since then as a city surveyor, architectural engineer, licensed professional engineer and land surveyor, specializing in surveys, building plans, steel design and the planning of retaining walls, sewers, and drainage. He is an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, and of the Chippewa Democratic Club. His religious affiliations are with the Protestant Episcopal Church.
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