USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 25
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THOMAS EDWARD MASTERSON-A resident of that part of The Bronx known as Westchester Village for almost half a century, and having gradu- ally acquired considerable property, all of which he improved with buildings of his own, Mr. Masterson has devoted the past years, since 1918, to the real estate business. He was born March 17, 1860, in Anaughan, County Longford, Ireland, a son of John and Mary (Fitzpatrick) Masterson, his father farmer.
Thomas Edward Masterson was educated in a private school in Curtoba, County Cavan, conducted by Master Michael Smith, and came to the United States in 1879 at the age of nineteen. He settled in Westchester Village and entered the employ of Major Cooley, with whom he remained for ten years. In 1889 he established himself in the butter and egg business in which he continued with marked success until 1918, when he gave up this business to enter the real estate field. Prior to this time he had already built a number of houses on property which he had acquired from time to time. Two of his houses on Westchester Square were later taken over by New York City for park purposes, and the property on which they formerly stood now forms part of the public park. A third building on Westchester Square, No. 135, which he also built, is still owned by him, as are also several other houses erected by him, including two on Williamsbridge Road, one on East Tremont Avenue, and one on Dorris Street, in which last he makes his home. His real estate business is conducted in offices in one of his other properties at No. 135 Westchester Square. He has been a member of the Business Men's Association of Westchester Square for seven years, the Tax- payers' Association of Throggs Neck, twenty years; a member of the Chippewa Club of Westchester, twenty years : the Royal Arcanum, twenty-five years : the Property Owners' Association of Westchester; member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, ten years; St. Vincent de Paul Society, fifteen years, and Franklin Athletic Club, twenty-eight years. His relig- ious affiliations are with the Roman Catholic church, in which he is a communicant of St. Raymond's Church, Castle Hill Avenue and East Tremont Ave- nue.
Mr. Masterson married, in New York City, in 1893, Catherine Smith, a daughter of Luke and Mary (Leddy) Smith, the former a native of Curtoba, County Cavan, Ireland, the latter a native of Arn- haugan, County Cavan, Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Masterson are the parents of six children: Mary, John Joseph, Catherine, Gertrude, Thomas, and Anna. The family home is located at No. 1436 Dorris Street, The Bronx.
HUGH RICHARD FITZPATRICK-A substan- ial and highly respected business man of The Bronx, New York, Hugh Richard Fitzpatrick owns and perates a successful plumbing establishment at No. 81 East One Hundred and Forty-fourth Street, which has flourished for over twenty years. He was orn May 31, 1877, in Westchester Village, the Chroggs Neck section of East Bronx, son of Philip nd Sabina (Glenn) Fitzpatrick. The father, born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1823, died in his ninety-eighth
year, in March, 1921; while the mother, born likewise in Dublin, in 1846, died in 1894. Among his children were: 1. Mary, married to Garrett Healy, and they have children: Sabina and Elizabeth Healy, the latter a Dominican nun. 2. Frances, mar- ried Josiah Thompson, and they have children: Charles, Albert, Catherine, Elizabeth, and Harold. 3. Elizabeth, married Edwin Younghans, and their children are: Mildred, Arthur, and Harold Young- hans. 4. Jenny, married Patrick Stapleton, and they have a daughter, Marian Stapleton. 5. Agnes, who married William Stapleton, not a relative of the above, and they have children: Raymond, Adelle, and John Stapleton. 6. Catherine, married Frank Mackey, and they have five children: Francis, Jr., George, Leo, Harold, and Gertrude. 7. Hugh Richard, subject of this record, of further mention. 8. James, married Mary Conard, and they have children: Sabina, Emma, Catherine, Philip, John.
When Hugh Richard Fitzpatrick was a child his family moved to the Melrose section of The Bronx and resided on Elton Avenue near One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Street. The boy attended the old Public School No. 62, then under the management of Mr. Silver and Miss Rheims as principals. He entered on his self-supporting career at the age of fifteen, in the employ of the Macy Refrigerator Company in The Bronx. After a brief stay, he determined to be- come a plumber. He served his apprenticeship for three years to Timothy Frawley, plumber, beginning at a wage of $2.25 a week. His next advancement came as journeyman plumber for William Sitz, plumber, located on Fox Street, where Mr. Fitz- patrick was employed for six months. Being am- bitious and full of initiative, Mr. Fitzpatrick then determined to establish himself in a plumbing bus- iness of his own. His first shop was located on East One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street, adjoining the United States Post Office, and began operations in 1904. The next move was to the site now oc- cupied by Mr. Fitzpatrick's business, No. 381 East One Hundred and Forty-fourth Street. There his enterprise has enjoyed a steadily prosperous exis- tence, offering excellence in workmanship and quality to owners of private homes and to builders and con- tractors alike on large and small buildings. The proprietor is known and respected throughout the borough.
On June 29, 1904, in St. Jerome's Roman Catholic Church in The Bronx, Hugh Richard Fitzpatrick was married to Emma Foster, daughter of Gustave Foster, born in the Yorkville section of New York, and his wife, Annie (Port) Foster, a native of Os- sining, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick were born: 1. Owen Fitzpatrick, August 17, 1908, married Lillian Ashman, and they have a son: Hugh. 2. Howard Gregory Fitzpatrick, born March 17, 1909. 3. Robert Fitzpatrick, born March 5, 1912. 4. Philip Fitzpatrick, born April 12, 1913. 5. June Ann Fitz- patrick, born June 2, 1922. The family residence is at No. 2489 Maclay Avenue. .
FRED M. WEISS-Enjoying the prestige of be- 1 ing the head of the oldest established firm of realtors in East Bronx, north of The Bronx River, Fred M. Weiss for more than a quarter of a century has
Bronx-7
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been drawing to his offices a goodly share of the real estate and insurance business that comes out of his territory. His concern, F. M. Weiss & Com- pany, is a constructive factor of the Borough of The Bronx, whose realty interests it has sought to promote and consolidate during the career of its service in the community. Mr. Weiss and his as- sociates also have at heart the general advance which The Bronx has continued without appreciable inter- ruption to make during the past few years. Like the great number of business men and other residents of this heavily populated borough, he is desirous of seeing this forward movement absorb the elements of real and enduring progress-a substantial growth all-round, that shall become a fixed factor in the community program both for the present and the coming years.
Fred M. Weiss was born in Negy Szollos, Province of Ugocsa Megye, Hungary, September 8, 1875, a son of Moses, a native of Negy Szollos, and Dorothy (Gluck) Weiss, born in Kaszon, Hungary, his father a farmer on his native soil. Having attended school until he was thirteen years old, he then obtained employment in a grocery in the town of his birth. After two years at that work, he emigrated to the United States, believing, as he afterward realized, that he was following the beckoning hand of a kindly fate. He first located in Summit, New Jersey, and quite naturally fitted into the grocery business as an employee of D. M. Strauss, who befriended the Hungarian youth and gave him a chance to make a start in life on the American plan. Eight years he spent in the Strauss grocery, and when he reached the age of twenty-two years, he knew, in the parlance of the country, that "he had found himself," and the real estate and insurance business having ap- pealed to him as a desirable life-work, he entered it with the freshness and zeal of a vigorous young man, determined to succeed. In 1900 he came to East Bronx and there established himself in an office in the district formerly known as Westchester Village. The volume of his business increased as the building wave mounted higher and higher, until he found himself in the center of a hive of real estate and insurance activities. He subsequently en- larged his field of operations, expanded his office force, and made his agency a partnership concern, known as F. M. Weiss & Company, with a fine location at Westchester Square, East Bronx. This company now holds rank as the pioneer realty house within the zone of its operations. It is held in high esteem by its clients and business contacts generally for its efficient service and high standard of business ethics. It is a most helpful agency in the community progress for which the great majority of the people are hopeful of accomplishment.
Mr. Weiss is a strong and influential member of the Republican party, and has had political aspira- tions. In 1916 he was his party's candidate for mem- ber of Congress from the Twenty-fourth District, The Bronx. He is a member of The Bronx County Grand Jury ever since the county was erected. He is affiliated with Wyoming Lodge, No. 492, Free and Accepted Masons; Unionport Lodge, (German) Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Freewill Council, No. 1487, Royal Arcanum. His clubs are:
the Franklin Athletic, Van Ness Square, and Fellow- craft, all of The Bronx.
Mr. Weiss married, January 1, 1900, in East Bronx, formerly Westchester Village, Katie London, daugh- ter of a family long resident in The Bronx, Isaac and Adelaide (Jacobs) London. They are the parents of one son, Albert Marcell, born July 27, 1901.
HENRY WILLIAM SCHIRMER- One of the leading electrical contracting firms in The Bronx is headed by Henry William Schirmer, of Schirmer Brothers. Mr. Schirmer's well-equipped shop and showrooms are operated at No. 389 East One Hun- dred and Thirty-eighth Street. Born in Manhattan thirty-five years ago, Mr. Schirmer started work at the age of fifteen and gradually worked his way up in the insurance and real estate business until 1922 when he became associated with his brother, George W. Schirmer, in the electrical contracting business. This partnership of the two brothers has proved most successful.
Henry William Schirmer was born in Manhattan, Forty-second Street and Second Avenue, August 24, 1891, the son of Henry George and Johanna (Ahrens) Schirmer. Both father and mother were natives of Hanover, Germany, and came to New York in 1884. The father opened a grocery store on lower Second Avenue in 1890 and continued there until 1900, when he moved to The Bronx. Still in the grocery bus- iness, he established himself in a store on One Hun- dred and Thirty-seventh Street and Willis Avenue, and continued until he retired in 1915.
Henry William Schirmer was the eldest of four sons born to his parents. When he was nine years old his parents moved to The Bronx and here he attended school at Public School No. 9. When he was fifteen years old he started work in the employ of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, of Brook- lyn, with New York offices at No. 68 Williams Street. He continued this for five years when he entered the real estate and insurance office of Edward Polak, ex-county register of The Bronx, with offices on East Tremont Avenue, but after a few years here he decided to start in the real estate and insurance business of his own. He continued this until 1922, when he joined his brother, George W., who had started in 1916 an electrical contracting business, begun in a small way but growing so successfully that in 1922 Henry W. dropped the insurance bus- iness to take part with his brother George W., in a co-partnership in the new electrical contracting firm. Since that time they have devoted all their time to this business. Mr. Schirmer is a member of the Americus Lodge, No. 535, Free and Accepted Masons; The Bronx Board of Trade, of the James W. Brown Association of The Bronx, and of the Schnorer Club.
Mr. Schirmer married, in The Bronx, June 7, 1914, Emily Overbeck, daughter of John and Anna (Stuve) Overbeck, and they are the parents of one daughter, Edna Anna Schirmer.
JOSEPH NEWMAN-Among the comparatively small number of mature New Yorkers of today who were born in this city, one who can take most pride in its growth because of the part he played in it,
Joseph Newman
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is Joseph Newman, for some fifty years a mason and builder in the Westchester section of The Bronx. He was born on London Terrace, that picturesque district now included in Old Chelsea, on March 6, 1854, son of Kelner and Sarah (Austin) Newman. His father, born in Kingston, Ireland, a carpenter by trade, died in 1918, in his eighty-seventh year.
Joseph Newman moved with his parents to the Unionport Village part of The Bronx when he was ten years old, and attended the old public school that stood where now is found Westchester Square. At the age of fifteen the energetic and ambitious lad began to work at odd jobs in the gardens and on the farms of the vicinity. He then served an apprenticeship to learn masonry and plastering with Powers Brothers, on East Forty-first Street, New York City, with whom he continued for four years. This conscientious and thorough preparation was manifest in the work he did throughout his long active period. After he established himself in his own building and masonry business in the West- chester area of The Bronx, he came to be considered one of the most reliable and efficient, as well as suc- cessful, builders in his locality, and this splendid repu- tation he maintained until he retired from business in 1921. Among the notable structures with which he was associated in the erection of was the Cath- olic Church, Star of the Sea, at City Island; the Methodist Episcopal Church on Tremont Street; and his own building, at Nos. 78 and 80 Westchester Square.
At the same time, Mr. Newman did not neglect his civic responsibilities, for he was trustee of School No. 12 in Westchester, and is a loyal communicant of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. He is a member of Wyoming Lodge, No. 492, Free and Accepted Masons; Free Will Council, No. 1487, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and the Volunteer Firemen, of Westchester.
On November 24, 1881, Joseph Newman was mar- ried to Agnes M. Willie, in St. Peter's Church, by the Rev. Joseph Johnson, now Bishop of Los An- geles, California. Mrs. Newman is the daughter of Charles and Ernestine (Shellenberg) Willie, both born in Berlin, Germany. Children: 1. Irene Louise, married Robert E. Walker, by whom she has chil- dren: i. Dorothy Irene, born February 7, 1905. ii. Robert Allen, born December 7, 1908. iii. Douglas John, born September 27, 1919. 2. Mary Agnes, born February 22, 1886; married Mansell Davis. 3. Francis Joseph, born March 22, 1889. 4. Robert Frederick, born July 14, 1891, married Anna Johnson, by whom he has three children: i. Harold, born June 30, 1911. ii. John, born August 10, 1913. iii. Ruth, born October 13, 1915. 5. Florence May, born May 17, 1896; married Henry Clay Penny, and is the mother of three children: i. Jeannette Helen, born August 20, 1920. ii. Donald Clay, born December 7, 1923. iii. Doris Newman, born May 16, 1925.
DR. SAMUEL HENRY BURSTEIN-In the field of optometry in New York City, the experience and accomplishment of Dr. Samuel Henry Burstein have for years secured for him his leadership and well-founded repute for expertness that have made his headquarters in The Bronx generally known for
reliability in matters of professional service and ad- vice of the highest standard. With his excellent training and a lifelong study of the science that he has completely mastered as to its remedial application, Dr. Burstein is accounted one of the foremost men in his profession.
Samuel Henry Burstein, a son of Louis Burstein, who engaged in mercantile business, and of Jennie (Kahn) Burstein, both parents now deceased, was born August 14, 1881, in New York City, where he attended the public schools. For about five years he was employed as a printer, after which he took a course in Manhattan College of Optics, and devoted his entire to this profession.
Dr. Burstein, besides examining eyes for errors in refraction, fills oculist's prescriptions, assisted by Mrs. Burstein, who is a graduate of Columbia Uni- versity School of Optometry. He is a member of the board of directors of the Bronx Eye and Ear Infirmary, of which both he and Mrs. Burstein are life-members, of The Bronx Hospital; of The Bronx Board of Trade, Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, the New York City, State and National Optometrical societies, and of the B'rith Abraham Home for Incur- ables, and of the Day and Night Nursery. He is also a director of North New York Savings and Loan Asso- ciation, and of the North New York Savings and Loan Society, and is affiliated with Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and the Royal Arcanum, Suburban Council. His religious fellowship is with Temple Beth Abraham.
Dr. Samuel Henry Burstein married, September 21, 1910, Jennie Jacobson, a teacher in the public schools of New York City, who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, daughter of Abraham and Julia Jacobson. In 1916 Mrs. Burstein entered Columbia University for the course in optometry.
JAMES ALOYSIUS BERGEN-Prominent both politically and as a business man of The Bronx, James Aloysius Bergen is deputy sheriff of Bronx County and owner of a florist's business at No. 3245 East Tremont Avenue. He was born in Kingston, New York, April 18, 1876, son of Michael Bergen, a farmer, who was born in Ireland, and his wife, Mary (Dorsey) Bergen, also a native of Ireland.
Mr. Bergen attended the old red schoolhouse in Hurley, and parochial school, St. Joseph's, in Kings- ton. Since he was twelve years old Mr. Bergen has been devoting himself to horticulture and floriculture, beginning on his father's farm and for ten years helping to plant and tend the fields and garner the crops. When he reached the age of twenty-two, he continued the work he knew so well and which so held his interest: growing things. He worked in The Bronx Botanical Gardens under the super- vision of Dr. Britten, well-known floriculturist and horticulturist, beginning as gardener and soon earning advancement to the position of foreman. He was then appointed gardener of greenhouses and nurseries for the Park Department, during the administration of Mayor George B. McClellan, serving for three years, and later, under Mayor Gaynor, was super- intendent for four years of greenhouses and nurseries of the parks of The Bronx. In 1914 came Mr. Bergen's appointment to the office of deputy sheriff
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of the newly-made Bronx County, under Sheriff James O'Brien. Mr. Bergen is still engaged in the able performance of the duties of that office. At the same time, retaining his interest in flowers, he conducts a florist business at No. 3245 East Tre- mont Avenue, where he has built two hundred-foot modern greenhouses, opposite St. Raymond's Ceme- tery. A Democrat in politics, he is a member of the North End and Chippewa Democratic clubs, and of the Arthur H. Murphy Association of The Bronx.
On September 20, 1922, in St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church, James Aloysius Bergen was mar- ried, by Rev. Leon, to Mary Urell, daughter of John and Catherine (Nicholson) Urell, natives of Ulster County, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Bergen was born a son: Charles Christopher Bergen, August 23, 1923.
EDWARD VINCENT HANDY-Among the very successful business men who have always been identified with The Bronx must be mentioned Ed- ward Vincent Handy, son of James Handy, a native of Kings County, Ireland, who was born in 1838 and is still living (1926), and Elinor O'Brien Handy, who was born in Harlem, New York City, in 1842, and who died in 1907. Edward Vincent Handy was born at the family residence on Field Place at the corner of Creston Avenue, The Bronx, on May 2, 1880, and until he was fifteen years old was educated at Public School No. 64, on Webster Avenue and at the Harlem High School on One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street. At this early age he began to be a wage earner, finding his first position with the wholesale silk firm of Hart and Lindgens, No. 64 Green Street, Manhattan, but a year later he left their employ to become associated with the great chain-store grocery firm of W. W. Edwards, and though a very young man for so responsible a posi- tion, he became manager of their branch store at One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Street and Third Ave- nue, which he conducted successfully for the following three years. It is to be expected that one who has the initiative and the ability to rise to such a position at seventeen would not long remain in the employ of another, and at twenty he joined his brother, James Handy, in the contracting business. The firm worked principally in the Fordham section of The Bronx and at that time, 1900, this section of the city was rapidly developing. The brothers had the advantage of lifelong acquaintance with that territory and their real estate operations were success- ful from the outset. In addition to their work as contractors they bought and sold real estate, and soon they began to build for their own interests on the ground which they held, much of their vacant property being located on Webster Avenue, a main artery of the Fordham section. They erected the immense garage at No. 3040 Webster Avenue and the houses opposite, from No. 3027 to No. 3039 Webster Avenue, and later they built the dwellings from No. 390 to No. 399 Mosholu Parkway, all of which they still own and operate.
Mr. Handy takes a live interest in local affairs and in 1907 was elected on the Democratic ticket in the Thirty-third Assembly District as alderman,
holding office until 1919. He is a prominent member of the North End Democratic Club, of which he was an organizer.
On April 15, 1916, Rev. Father Dolan solemnized the marriage of Edward Vincent Handy and Mae Gertrude Gorman in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentine. Mrs. Handy's parents, John and Mary (Quilty) Gorman, were both natives of Stonington, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Handy are the parents of five children: 1. Elinor, born in 1918. 2. Edward, born in 1919. 3. Marie, born in 1920. 4-5. Eileen and Catherine (twins), born in 1923.
CHARLES REGINALD VAN ANDEN-A pop- ular member of the New York State bar is Charles R. Van Anden, at present practicing his profession in The Bronx, where he has charge of The Bronx office of the New York Title & Mortgage Company and The American Trust Company. He was born in New Hamburgh, Dutchess County, New York, February 24, 1890, son of Charles Van Anden, who was born in the same town, his family having been among the first settlers there, who died March 4, 1917, aged seventy-four years.
Charles Reginald Van Anden received his education in the public schools of his native town, and gradu- ated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1910. He then studied law, being admitted to the New York State Bar in 1915, and practiced his chosen profession in Poughkeepsie for two years. In 1917 he enlisted in the service of the United States as a second-class seaman, being stationed at Base No. 8, Staten Island, engaged in the mine sweeping division. He was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy in 1918. He received his honorable discharge in May, 1919, and returned to the practice of law. Mr. Van Anden is a Republican in politics; is very active in his party, but has never held a public office. In fraternal circles he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He is very fond of all out-door sports, his favorite recreations being boating and fishing, and he is a member of the Hamburgh Yacht Club. In religious fellowship he is an Episcopalian, a member of the William McKinley Memorial Chapel. which is under the supervision of The Zion Epis- copal (The Mother Church).
Charles Reginald Van Anden married, July 7, 1917, at New Hamburgh, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Van Anden are the parents of one daughter, Nancy Jane, born April 23, 1924.
CHARLES ALEXANDER HABERSACK, M. D .- Long familiarized to the section of The Bronx in which he resides are the name and the excellent repute in his profession of Dr. Charles Alexander Habersack, a general practitioner of well-established skill and attainments, and a physician whose popu- larity is based upon his lifelong study of all branches of materia medica. Both his father and his grand- father were druggists and skilled in pharmacy, and the family in both branches have always been en- gaged in the professions. His father's grand-uncle was a commander of forts in Wuertzburg, Bavaria, Germany, and was active in the Spanish War be- tween Germany, France and Spain, as major. Dr.
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