USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 24
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near City Island, The Bronx, so called because a Revolutionary spy was hung on a limb of an old white oak tree that stood on the opposite side of the road from his father's farm. He is the son of Conrad and Sophia Maria (Petote) Buhre, of New York.
Mr. Buhre received what might be correctly termed an "ardent" if not a "consecutive" education by at- tending the public school during the winter months only, and working hard on his father's farm during all the crop-bearing months of early spring, summer, and up until late fall when the last of the hay was brought in. This farm, a rather extensive acreage, was located on the old Pelham Bridge Road, in The Bronx. Mr. Buhre had just passed his twenty-first birthday when the Civil War was declared, and he at once offered himself to his country. He succeeded in obtaining enlistment on July 10, 1861, at the Army Headquarters, which were then located tem- porarily in the old Bowery Theater. He was assigned to duty with Company A, 25th Regiment, New York Volunteers, and he fought in the first battle of Hanover Court House-for there was but a small period of preliminary military training given to the men of those days. A man was given his full equip- ment, told, more or less briefly, how to handle his rifle and how to stand erect and obey orders; for the rest he was supposed to have common sense enough to "get by." It is to be clearly understood that this statement is not made in a derogatory tone, for the soldiers on both sides of that terrible conflict proved some of the most valiant fighters in the his- tory of war. Certainly Mr. Buhre was given little time for rest between engagements, for, with his regiment, he saw action almost immediately after- wards in the Seven Days Battle that was waged from Chicahominy Swamp to Harrison's Landing. He next was under fire in the battle of Bull Run, and there he received his first wound and was in- valided back to the Point Lookout Hospital. He was soon reassigned to active duty, however, and made his way back to Chicahominy Swamp and Bull Run. He stopped, at one time, near Lee's home on the York River; again he found himself close to the well-known Whitehouse Landing; and he was at another time at John Brown's Barracks at Harper's Ferry. He saw further action-as if the foregoing were not sufficient-in the engagements which pre- ceded the great battle of Gettysburg, and he also fought at the second battle of Fredericksburg. Henry Buhre, by then a seasoned veteran, was honorably discharged from all further military duty on July 10, 1863, just two years from the date of his enlistment in the old Bowery Theater. Upon the receipt of his discharge, he returned to his home in The Bronx and resumed the work of farming the old homestead land; work which he followed all the rest of his life except for a few years when he was in the service of the Park Department of New York City.
Henry Buhre married, during the year 1866, at the Grace Episcopal Church on City Island, Estelle Wil- liams, daughter of William Henry and Mary Ann (Banta) Williams. Mr. and Mrs. Buhre became the parents of five children: 1. Gertrude Buhre, who now occupies the old Seamon Williams home. 2. Cornelia Buhre, now deceased. 3. Mary Elizabeth
Buhre, who married Andrew Baxter, and by him be- came the mother of Adelaide and Isabelle Baxter. 4. Ann Elizabeth Buhre, who is now deceased. 5. William Henry Buhre.
THOMAS JOSEPH FITZMAURICE-Born in old Ireland, Thomas Joseph Fitzmaurice is another from that nation of dauntless men who have made their mark in America.
The parents of Thomas Joseph Fitzmaurice are Thomas Joseph, Sr., born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland, in 1850, and Maria (Gregory) Fitzmaurice. born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland, in 1837.
Thomas Joseph Fitzmaurice the younger was born on June 8, 1879, in the town of Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland. He was a student in the National School in Listowel, and later at Saint Michael's Col- lege, having taken an examination for teacher at the National Schools, which examination he passed with highest honors, among a competitive class of more than two hundred students. Mr. Fitzmaurice, fol- lowing his graduation, became a teacher in the Na- tional Schools and thus continued until 1897, in which year he set sail for the United States. Arrived in New York City, he settled down there for a time, and then journeyed west, to California, to seek work which he hoped would result in fame and fortune. He accordingly went to work in the gold mining regions, made known to the world by the "forty- niners," in Calaveras and other sections. After doing considerable mining and prospecting he determined to change the field of his operations, and accordingly removed to the newer operations in Goldfield and Tonapah, Nevada sections, having been among the early miners to locate in those regions. He there witnessed many of the early "strikes" of those camps, and likewise those in the vicinity of Rawhide. After prospecting in the gold regions for several years, he decided to return to New York, and accordingly did so, in 1901. He received an appointment as a teacher in the Schools of Civil Service, New York City, with which institution he was connected for several years. He then entered into a competitive examination for the Department of State prisons vacancy of disciplinary officer, duly passed the exam- ination, and was assigned to Sing Sing Prison, where he had under his supervision such notorious criminals as Becker, the "four-gun man," "Paper-box" Shilletani, known as the paper box kid, and several others of comparable character. After holding this position for six years, Mr. Fitzmaurice became as- sociated with the Government, and he subsequently became a court officer in the City Courts, and is at present acting clerk of the Domestic Relations Court. Mr. Fitzmaurice built his own home at No. 2826 Eastern Boulevard, in one of the most attractive sections of The Bronx (East). He organized and is president of the Logan Democratic Club, located at Philip and Hollywood avenues, The Bronx; is a member of several patriotic Irish societies, and be- longs to St. Benedict's Roman Catholic Church. His popular brother "Big Jack" Fitzmaurice, has been on the staff of The Bronx "Home News" for many years. The well-known James O. Flarety is a first cousin of Mr. Fitzmaurice.
On August 12, 1901, in the Carmelite Church on
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East Twenty-eighth Street, New York City, Thomas Joseph Fitzmaurice was united in marriage to Ellen Fitzgerald, daughter of Patrick, born in New Birm- ingham, County Tipperary, Ireland, and Ellen (Lani- gan) Fitzgerald, a native of the same Irish town and county, the wedding ceremony having been performed by the Rev. Father John Southwell. To Mr. and Mrs. Fitzmaurice were born the following children: 1. Mary F., born in 1903. 2. Nancy C., born in 1904. 3. Helen Veronica, born in 1906. 4. Elizabeth M., born in 1908. 5. Thomas Joseph, Jr., born in 1912.
CHARLES HEFFORD KIRK, a retired tinsmith and metal worker of The Bronx, and one of the older residents of this part of New York City, was born on December 27, 1848, on Broome Street, Man- hattan. Mr. Kirk is a son of Edward and Ann (Hefford) Kirk, both of whom were born in Leices- tershire, England. Edward Kirk, the father, was engaged for many years as a dry goods merchant. He died February 2, 1895.
Charles Hefford Kirk received his education in The Bronx, where his parents had removed when he was but two years old. He attended Public School No. 3, at One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Street and Fordham Avenue. Later he studied at the German School under Professor Specht, near Elton and Wash- ington avenues. His first real contact with the world, however, was received when he was still a lad of but fourteen years of age. At that time he began work in a shop manufacturing neckties and general haberdashery. He remained there for one year, after which he entered the employ of one E. P. Williams, on Canal Street, a dealer in beds and other metal furniture. He remained here during the ensuing year, after which he went West and began work on a farm then owned by a Mr. Nichols, near Blooming- ton, Illinois. He later worked for a Mr. Banton on another farm in that same section, spending some two years out in that part of the world. At the end of this time, however, he returned to New York where he entered into business with his brother, Edward Kirk, Jr., who then owned and operated a tinsmith's and metal worker's shop at No. 166 Wash- ington Avenue. This proved to be a successful ven- ture, and the one in which Mr. Kirk remained until the business was sold out to a Mr. Leonard, at which time Edward Kirk, Jr., retired from all further com- mercial enterprise. Charles Hefford Kirk established his own business shortly after this, in 1873, and carried on a similar type of trade upon a highly suc- cessful basis up until the year 1925, when he, too, sold out and retired.
Despite the many duties of the work in which he has been engaged, Mr. Kirk has found time in which to take a keen interest in the civic and general affairs of his community. He is now a director of the New York Suburban Building & Loan Association, having held this office for the past thirty years; he is the present president of the Exempt Firemen's Asso- ciation; he has been a member of the Old Timers' Association of The Bronx ever since its organization; and he is fraternally affiliated with the Morrisania Lodge, No. 171, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Guiding Star Lodge, No. 565, Free and Accepted Masons.
Charles Hefford Kirk married, August 28, 1873, at the rectory of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Yorkville section of New York City, Frances Lavinia Stripling, a daughter of William and Susan Elizabeth (Ackerly) Stripling, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Kirk's mother, Susan Elizabeth (Ac- kerly) Stripling, was born in West Farms, New York, a descendant of one of the oldest families in that region; while her father, William Stripling, was born in Plymouth, England. Mr. and Mrs. Kirk have become the parents of three children: 1. Edna Lavinia, born July 2, 1874, and married William J. Millard, a prominent citizen of The Bronx. and a leader of the Republican party in that section. 2. Charles Judson, born March 3, 1876. 3. Harry Dwight, born June 27, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Kirk now maintain their residence at No. 1109 Washington Avenue, The Bronx.
THOMAS ANDREW LYNCH-For more than forty years Thomas Andrew Lynch has been a resi- dent of The Bronx, where as a contractor and builder he became well known as one of the leaders in his line. In 1899, however, he established the undertaking business which he still (1926) success- fully conducts. He removed to his present location at No. 1129 Southern Boulevard, in 1922, and is there conducting a very prosperous business.
Thomas Andrew Lynch was born in Great Falls, New Hampshire, June 26, 1856, son of Michaels Lynch, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland, in 1829, and died in The Bronx, in 1891, and of Bridget (O'Connell) Lynch, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland, in 1836, and also died in The Bronx, in 1904. The father was engaged in farming in New England, and in Somerset County, New Jersey, during the early years of his mature life, but later was proprietor of a grocery business in The Bronx.
Thomas Andew Lynch was still in his infancy when his parents removed from Great Falls, New Hampshire, to New York City, and his earliest educa- tion was received in the Parochial School of the Transfiguration on Mott Street, but later his parents again made a change, this time going to Warren Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, where the father purchased a farm. The boy attended the local district school, and assisted his father on the farm, as was the custom among the residents of the locality, and when his school training was com- pleted, became his father's assistant for a time on the farm. Later, however, he decided to learn the carpenter's trade, in which he served an apprentice- ship of four years. When he was twenty-one years of age his parents returned to New York City, locating on One Hundred and Twelfth Street, near Avenue A. That district was far above the settled portion of the city at that time, being decidedly rural and containing only scattered homes. Growth was slow, and as there seemed to be no prospect of work at his trade, young Thomas Andrew Lynch worked at any job he could get, for a time, attending evening school, at the same time, but later returned to his trade as carpenter, continuing his studies in the evening school. He worked as a journeyman carpen- ter for two and a half years, and then engaged in the building and contracting business for himself.
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He did practically all of the building for Charles Baxter, a well-known architect of that time (about 1881), who was engaged in planning homes and other buildings for the Harlem section. In 1885, Mr. Lynch came to The Bronx and purchased two lots from the Tiffany estate, located on One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Street and Hall Place. Here he built a home for himself on one lot, and on an adjoining lot purchased by his brother-in-law, Bartholomew Churchill, he built another home. This was the be- ginning of his work as a builder in The Bronx, and from that time until 1895, he was continuously en- gaged in building homes and other structures in dif- ferent sections of The Bronx. He came to be known as one of the leading building contractors of this section and was rated as one of the best. In 1888, his father established a grocery store at the corner of One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Street and Hall Place, and in 1895, he purchased the business from his father. About this time he accepted for a year the office of inspector of offensive trades, as a mem- ber of the Board of Health. He took an active part in the affairs of Tammany Hall, since 1877, serving as captain of his district and as a member of the general committee. In 1899, four years after he had purchased his father's grocery business, he established an embalming and funeral directing bus- iness at No. 1116 Southern Boulevard. The enterprise met with success from the beginning, and in 1922 was removed to its present location at No. 1129 Southern Boulevard, where Mr. Lynch is still con- ducting a most successful and prosperous business. Mr. Lynch is a member of the Star Democratic Club of The Bronx, and has a host of friends in this section of the city.
Thomas Andrew Lynch was married, at St. Cecelia's Roman Catholic Church on One Hundred and Sixth Street, Manhattan, by Rev. James Flan- nery, to Katherine McIntyre, who was born in New York, daughter of John, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland, and of Bridget (Howley) McIntyre, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Lynch became the parents of three children: 1. Dennis Thomas, born November 6, 1885; married Christine Schuck. 2. Raymond Andrew, born June 25, 1887; married Harriet Lynch, and they have three children: Violet, born July 12, 1923; Raymond, Jr., born June 11, 1925; and Thomas, born October 13, 1926. 3. Leonore Marie Collette, born May 14, 1902, who is engaged in teaching in Public School No. 71, The Bronx.
CHARLES LOUIS DOLT-Thirty-five years of expert work on pianos and in conjunction with the leading piano concerns of the United States prefaced the establishment of his own piano and music store in The Bronx, New York, by Charles Louis Dolt. Through his wide experience and his thoroughgoing knowledge of every branch of piano manufacture and distribution, the store enjoyed success from the be- ginning. In addition, Mr. Dolt's knowledge of local realty values has brought him a lucrative business on the side in realty. Mr. Dolt was born in Würt- temberg, Rhinefalz, Germany, July 10, 1878, son of Henry Gottfried and Siona (Garenflox) Dolt, the latter being born in Strasburg, Alsace-Lorraine. The
father was a farmer and horse-breeder. The family migrated to the United States when Charles Louis Dolt was four years old, in June, 1882, settling in Manhattan, first on East Forty-eighth Street, between First and Second avenues.
Mr. Dolt then attended public school on Seventieth Street and First Avenue. When the family moved to another location, the boy attended the school at Eighty-sixth Street and First Avenue, under Mr. Page as principal. At the age of thirteen, Mr. Dolt began his long period of apprenticeship to piano- making. His first employers were the firm of Stadie and Son, piano manufacturers, located on One Hun- dred and Seventh Street, near First Avenue. After three and a half years in that position, he joined the forces of Cable and Son, piano makers, on Thirty- eighth Street, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, remaining there three and a half years. His next position was with Haines Brothers, piano makers, One Hundred and Thirty-third Street and Southern Boulevard, which lasted two years. Thoroughly trained in every branch of the industry, Mr. Dolt then saw opportunity for advancement with the de- partment store of Bloomingdale Brothers, on Fifty- ninth Street. He greatly enhanced their piano bus- iness by serving as expert piano maker on all repair work and tuning. It was largely through his con- nection with them that the company was able to retail pianos on a large scale and to operate an ex- tensive and profitable piano department. Two years later, Mr. Dolt took full charge of the repair shop of John Wanamaker's store, where he remained for nine years. Mason and Hamlin then employed him as their representative in charge of all leading con- cert tours, which necessitated his traveling with the leading artists all over the United States for a period of nine years. It was in 1920 that Mr. Dolt determined to establish his own business. His first store was located on One Hundred and Sixty-first Street and Melrose Avenue, The Bronx. Growing business led . him to move to larger and more attractive quarters six months later to No. 776 Elton Avenue, The Bronx, where his store remains. It is a thriving and substantial business, enjoying a lively trade. In addition the proprietor, who knows all about Bronx land values, operates a realty business.
Mr. Dolt is a member of Sylvan Grove Lodge. No. 275, Free and Accepted Masons; Marion Chapter, No. 655, Order of the Eastern Star; and Mechanics Lodge, No. 113, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On October 6, 1898, in Phillips Presbyterian Church, New York City, at the corner of Madison Avenue and Seventy-third Street, Charles Louis Dolt was married, by Rev. Dr. Bushnell, to Lydia Eliz- abeth Henenlotter, daughter of Emil and Emma (Frey) Henenlotter. Children: 1. Lillian Edith, born in 1899. 2. Florence Mabel, born in 1902. 3. Grace Rose, born in 1905. 4. Charles Louis, born in 1910.
LOUIS GEORGE WEILER, superintendent of the Water Department of the Borough of The Bronx, is a man who has long been in the service of the city, and who has also devoted much of his time and energy in seeking ways and means for bettering the conditions of living for the civil service em- ployees. Born May 14, 1868, on old Sixth Street
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and Fordham Road, now known as One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Street and Third Avenue, The Bronx, Mr. Weiler is a son of Jacob and Anna Bar- bara (Truckenbrodt) Weiler. The father, Jacob Weiler, came to New Village in the year 1852, in that section of The Bronx now known as One Hun- dred and Sixty-eighth Street and Third Avenue, and which was at one time the town of Morrisania, Westchester County. For many years, he was en- gaged in dairying in that district. He is now deceased. Anna Barbara (Truckenbrodt) Weiler, the mother, who came to The Bronx when she was but fourteen years of age, residing on Fourth Avenue where The Bronx Hospital now stands, is still living and en- joying good health.
Their son, Louis George Weiler, received his educa- tion at the old Morrisania Public School No. 1. When he was but thirteen years of age, he received his first real contact with the world of commerce when he was employed in the Houston Machine Shop, manufacturers of sundry house supplies, situated on the south side of One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Street, The Bronx. There he remained for a period of some four years, serving his apprenticeship while he learned the trade of machinist. He resigned from this position to enter the employ of the Amer- ican Silk Label Company, where he learned silk weaving. He filled the position of a weaver with this company for a period of some eight years' dura- tion. In May, 1893, Mr. Weiler entered the service of the city, and he was appointed by Borough Pres- ident Louis Haffen as foreman of the Repair Shop and Store Yards of the Department of Street Im- provements, at College Avenue between One Hun- dred and Forty-third and One Hundred and Forty- fourth streets. He continued in this position until March, 1904, when he was assigned to the South Bronx District of the Water Department, succeed- ing the late Patrick Walsh. In 1924 Mr. Weiler was appointed superintendent of Repairs and Main- tenance of Distribution, Water Department of the Borough of The Bronx. During his work in the Water Department, Mr. Weiler became intensely in- terested in the situation of the civil service employees, and he devoted a great deal of his time and energy to measures for aiding them. Many of these measures and movements have since been adopted. He was one of the organizers of the Civil Service Employees Association of the city and State of New York. In the year 1910 he served as chairman of the Com- mittee on Call, which issued a State-wide call to the civil service employees, gathering them together to back the measures then up before the Legislature at Albany. These measures included a retirement bill, the extension of the Preferred List from one to three years, and the granting of the right of appeal to civil employees when dismissed from the service. The general aim of the Association was to protect the employees from violation of the civil service laws, to advance their interests socially and fraternally, and to improve public service generally. For many years Mr. Weiler was treasurer of the State and City council, resigning from that position April 1, 1917. In 1916 he became vice-president of the Mayor's Conference Committee of Civil Service Employees, and chairman of the board of directors
of that organization. It was from this organization that the Municipal Credit Union developed, of which Mr. Weiler was one of the organizers, an institution which is now the greatest of its kind in the United States. The Municipal Credit Union is a cooperative savings and loan association incorporated under the Banking Law of the State of New York; its bus- iness is supervised by the State Banking Department. It was incorporated during the latter part of the year 1916, and was authorized to begin business October 3, 1916. Outside the work of organization, no business was transacted until January 1, 1917. Upon that date five hundred and seventy dollars had been paid in for shares by the nineteen original mem- bers. The purpose of this institution is to promote thrift among its members by encouraging the in- vestment of their savings in its shares, and to make loans at reasonable rates to its members for useful purposes or to relieve cases of need. The member- ship is limited to persons who are at least twenty- one years of age and who are employees of the city of New York or any of the counties within the territorial limits of the city, for at least six months. In 1926 this institution boasted of ten thousand and two members with a total of over a million dollars in shares paid in, and it has declared dividends amounting to almost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It is an interesting fact that this organiza- tion has had only one loss upon its loans, which amounted to forty dollars, during the entire ten years of its existence.
Despite the many varied and exacting duties of the work in which he is engaged, Mr. Weiler has nevertheless found time in which to take a keen and active interest in the club and social life of the Borough of The Bronx. For he is affiliated, frater- nally, with the Level Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and the Zetland Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; The Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks; the Moscosco Tribe, No. 304, of the Improved Order of Red Men. He is vice- president of the Old Timers' Association of The Bronx, New York, Incorporated, an exclusive or- ganization of which each member must have resided in The Bronx for at least fifty years, and of which Mr. Weiler has been the vice-president for the past eight years. He is also a charter member of the Friends of Erin, of The Bronx, and a member of The Bronx Council of Civil Service Employees, an associate member of The Bronx Taxpayers' Alliance, the Veteran Association of the 8th Regiment, known as the Washington Greys, the Municipal Square Club, and the Jackson Democratic Club. In the early part of his life, Mr. Weiler took a lively and active interest in athletics, and he was a member of many of the old baseball clubs of that time, including the Tremonts, the Suburbans, the Irvings, and the Syl- vans who won the Junior Championship in the years 1886 and 1887. He also served as president of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Amateur Baseball Inter-State League, and he managed The Bronx Lodge baseball team for some seven years. He continued the interest in baseball which he began in 1884, until the year 1920. Mr. Weiler, who is a widower, resides at No. 14 West Mosholu Park- way South, The Bronx, New York.
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