USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 41
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East One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Street, The Bronx.
George Alexander Black, father of Dr. Black, was born in New York City, August 24, 1840, and died in 1896. He chose the law as his profession and began his legal career in the offices of Scudder and Carter, a prominent corporation law firm, located at No. 44 Wall Street, in New York City. Later, Mr. Black and Louis Cass Ledyard were admitted to the firm, which then became the law firm of Scudder, Carter, Black, and Ledyard, and which at the present time (1927) is known as the firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, one of the leading law firms of the country. George Alexander Black married Louise Ann Croff, who was born in Liverpool, England, and they were the parents of children, among whom was Alexander Edward, of further mention.
Dr. Alexander Edward Black, son of George Alex- ander and Louise Ann (Croff) Black, was born at No. 351 East Twentieth Street, Manhattan, June 7, 1868, but was brought to The Bronx as a small child by his parents, who settled at the corner of One Hun- dred and Forty-seventh Street and Tinton Avenue, the land running back from Tinton Avenue to Rob- bins Avenue. He received his first school training in the old red brick schoolhouse at the corner of Forest Avenue and One Hundred and Forty-fifth Street, but later his parents removed to the corner of Home Street and Boston Road, where he attended old Tremont School No. 63, under Principal John H. Mayers, where he finished his course. When he was sixteen years of age he began work in the dry goods commission house of Amadown and Smith, on Leonard Street, in New York City, where he re- mained for one year. At the end of that time he decided to learn the trade of the machinist, and with that end in view apprenticed himself to the Hoole Machine and Engraving Works, on Centre Street, where he completed the required five years. He then entered the employ of the Pratt and Reed Com- pany, of Deep River, Connecticut, as a journeyman machinist, but after maintaining that connection for a year he decided to enter the dental profession. Entering the New York College of Dentistry on East Twenty-third Street, he began his professional course, which he completed with graduation in 1897, re- ceiving at that time the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery and also receiving the medal award for the best work in prosthetic dentistry. After graduation he began practice on Boston Road, and continued there until Jackson Avenue was cut through, when he moved, opening offices over Monaghan's Drug Store at the corner of Third Avenue and One Hun- dred and Sixty-seventh Street. Five years later he again changed his location, this time going a block lower on Third Avenue, at the corner of One Hun- dred and Sixty-sixth Street, where he remained for three years. About 1906 he removed to his present home at No. 778 East One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Street, near Mckinley Square and Boston Road, and here he is still (1927) located. He has built up an extensive practice and is known as an expert in mechanical dentistry. Dr. Black is interested in out- of-door sports and finds special pleasure in fishing and boating. He operates a well-equipped, modern gasoline launch, which he moors off New Rochelle, Bronx-11
and in this healthful out-of-door pleasure he finds relief from the strain of his professional duties and reënforcement of his powers and abilities.
Dr. Alexander Edward Black was married (first), March 12, 1905, in Holy Faith Church, on One Hun- dred and Sixty-fifth Street, The Bronx, to Ella Mal- labre, daughter of Henry Mallabre, who was super- intendent of the Knabe Piano Works, in Baltimore. Ella Mallabre was reared by her father's second wife. Three years after her marriage, she died, in 1908, and Dr. Black married (second), June 9, 1913, in the rectory of Dr. Johnson at One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Street and Boston Road, May Eliz- abeth Gorr, who was born in Newburgh, New York, daughter of Philip Gorr, a native of Germany, who lived for many years in Middletown and in New- burgh, New York, having come to this country when he was nineteen years old, and of Maria Agnes (Strichouth) Gorr, who was born in Bremen, Ger- many. Dr. and Mrs. Black are the parents of two children: 1. Ruth Louise, born in the year 1914. 2. Alexander Edward, Jr., born October 3, 1916.
HERMAN BEHR-It was to the advantage both of Henry Behr and to the public that he has so faithfully served in the matter of the purchase and sale of real estate, that after years of proven ability and success in other locations, he took up his res- idence in The Bronx and gave attention to the devel- opment of those realty prospects here that have become of increasing value both for homeseekers and the many who are constantly seeking places of bus- iness. A factor in the present-day expansion of this large centre of population through his interesting building program, Mr. Behr is also loyally concerned with all civic progress, and with all matters that have to do with the community's welfare.
Herman Behr, a son of David Behr, a dealer in leather, and of Yetta Behr, both of whom died in Germany, was born November 6, 1872, in Germany, and when he was about sixteen years old he came to the United States on a vessel and as the guest of its captain. Having already learned English in the public schools, he continued his studies here chiefly through reading courses. In his early youth he engaged in various business lines, and for about six years, he was associated with Barnett and Com- pany. Thereafter he was for years engaged in real estate activities in Manhattan and elsewhere; and since 1915 in that business on his own account, and confining himself to The Bronx, he is starting a building program, in the well-founded belief that this district is offering the greatest and most substantial possibilities.
A Democrat in his political views, Mr. Behr with his vote and influence supports the principles of that party. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Order of B'rith Abraham; and with the Kurland Benevolent Society of The Bronx, of which he was the founder and an officer for many years.
Herman Behr married, June 2, 1895. in New York City, Dora Hirschfield, daughter of Nathan and Yetta Hirschfield; and their children are: 1. Henry D., born April 25, 1896. 2. Lillian, born September 29, 1898. 3. Harriett, born December 17, 1905. 4. Joseph, born August 22, 1908.
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WILLIAM HENRY STEINKAMP- An out- standing figure in The Bronx in his capacity of learned and dependable lawyer, banker and citizen, is William Henry Steinkamp, surviving partner of the thirty-two year old firm of Salter & Steinkamp. He is president of The Fordham Saving Bank, and serves on the boards of various philanthropic organizations.
William Henry Steinkamp was born September 23, 1864, on New York's lower east side, at the corner of Sixteenth Street and First Avenue, in the heart of an old German settlement, son of Christopher Henry and Maria (Watjen) Steinkamp. The father, born in Westphalia, came to the United States as a boy and settled in the German neighborhood where his son was born. He conducted a grocery store for many years in that vicinity and later at Forty- sixth Street and Second Avenue, prospering in that and in important real estate investments, and accu- mulating a competence before his retirement. He died in 1911 in his seventy-fifth year. His wife was born in Hanover, Germany, and died in 1881, at the age of thirty-eight.
William Henry Steinkamp attended Grammar School No. 40, on East Thirty-seventh Street, graduating in 1879. He then entered the College of the City of New York on East Twenty-third Street, pursuing the commercial course, and graduat- ing. His next objective was the law, which he studied at New York Law School, graduating in 1894 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, with honor. Admitted to the bar in 1895, he began to practice that year as a partner of A. Oldrin Salter, with offices at No. 140 Nassau Street. Both the partnership and the location continued to thrive until Mr. Salter's retirement in 1920, when he was one of the oldest practicing lawyers of the New York bar, having reached the ripe age of eighty-two. He died in May, 1921. Since the retirement of this fine old man, Mr. Steinkamp remained at the old offices on Nassau Street until 1927, when he removed to No. 342 Madison Avenue, and has retained the name of the old firm in order to keep alive the memory of the long and pleasant association. The partners al- ways engaged in general practice of the law and achieved an enviable reputation for their keenness, their integrity, and their generosity. Mr. Steinkamp's interest in his profession has always been keen and has displayed itself in part by active membership in the New York State Bar Association, the Associa- tion of the Bar of the City of New York, and The Bronx County Bar Association.
In addition to his legal activities, Mr. Steinkamp has played an important part in civic affairs. In 1923, in association with other prominent men, he organized The Fordham Savings Bank, which has since grown to an important place in local esteem, with over eleven thousand depositors and more than five mil- lion dollars in the form of deposits. Mr. Steinkamp has been president since its organization and has been a large factor in rousing public confidence. He is pres- ident of the Wartburg Orphan Farm School, mem- ber of the Fordham Hospital Association, of the Lutheran Hospital Association, and the Union Hos- pital, and a member of the New York Botanical Garden, the New York Zoological Society, the Museum of Natural History of New York City, and
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His club is the New York Athletic.
On November 20, 1889, in New York City, Wil- liam Henry Steinkamp was married, by Rev. Dr. E. F. Moldenke, to Dorothea Clausen, daughter of Her- man and Dorothea (Riechers) Clausen, both natives of Hanover, Germany. Children: 1. Christopher Herman Steinkamp, born October 27, 1892; married Marion Carroll, and they have a son, William Henry Steinkamp. 2. Marion Lenore Steinkamp, married Reginald Franklin Pierce, and they have a son, Regi- nald Franklin Pierce, Jr., born December 24, 1924. 3. Mildred Emily Steinkamp; married Edwin Gwenap Murray. 4. Willard Clausen Steinkamp, born April 29, 1903. 5. Alfred Frederic Steinkamp, born Janu- ary 12, 1906.
JOHN WOHN-Among the first in the field of general insurance in The Bronx, the Wohn family have long established their prestige and repute in this rapidly growing section, where John Wohn continues the expanding activities of the business that was founded by his father, Michael Wohn, and has in process of development the plans of a reli- able business house that is second to none other in its line. Mr. Wohn has the good will of all con- cerned in insurance matters in this part of the State, and his status as a business man and citizen has been won through his personal worth and his stead- fast abilities. He is a son of Michael Wohn, who was born August 6, 1851, in New York City, and died in February, 1916. Michael Wohn attended the pub- lic schools, and in 1903 he began to make his resi- dence in The Bronx, where he engaged in the insur- ance business. He was a member of Guiding Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Independent Or- der of Odd Fellews; Ancient Order United Work- men; and the Schnorer, Arion, and Liedertafel clubs. He married, August 26, 1871, Margaret Dotzert, and they were the parents of four children: Margaretta and George, both deceased; John, of whom further; and Frederick, who resides on Long Island.
John Wohn was born August 16, 1873, in Man- hattan where he attended the public schools. He engaged in and succeeded to the business of general insurance that had been established by his father in 1895 and he is one of the foremost insurance men in the city, his affiliations being agent of the following companies: Massachusetts Fire and Marine Insur- ance Company, Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company, Lloyds Plate Glass Insurance Company, Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation. This business continues under the name of the founder, Michael Wohn.
During the World War, Mr. Wohn was one of the active factors in this district, and he served as a member of the draft board. Fraternally, he is af- filiated with Gavel Lodge, No. 703, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and he is a member of the Insurance Federation; The Bronx Board of Trade; Manufac- turers' and Dealers' League; Students' Society; and he is a director of the Schnorer Club. His religious faith is that of the German Lutheran church.
John Wohn married (first), in 1894, Louise Pa- korny, and they were the parents of Frederick R.
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Wohn, who was born May 29, 1900, and is associated with his father in business. John Wohn married (second), in 1904, Pauline Josephine Nietschke. Their children: 1. Eleanor Charlotte, born July 12, 1909. 2. George Michael, born July 26, 1911. 3. John Henry, born March 15, 1914. 4. Francis Wal- ter, born June 21, 1918. 5. Edna Pauline, born May 6, 1924. Mr. Wohn's business address is No. 1195 Washington Avenue, The Bronx.
CHARLES LEWIS HALBERSTADT - For more than fifteen years one of the important and most effective public officials of the Borough of The Bronx, Mr. Halberstadt, in his capacity as assistant superintendent of buildings, has been an important factor in the extraordinary development which The Bronx has enjoyed during this period. He was born in New York City, in the house then occupying the northwest corner of Fifty-second Street and Fifth Avenue, August 12, 1870, a son of Charles Lewis and Josephine (Frising) Halberstadt. His father was born in Washington, District of Columbia, Decem- ber 15, 1842, and died January 25, 1903, while his mother, who died January 15, 1918, was born June 8, 1843, on Elm Street, on the lower east side of New York City, her parents having been among the early settlers of German ancestry of that part of the city.
Charles Lewis Halberstadt was educated in the public schools of New York City, graduating from Public School No. 15, on Fifth Street. Later, he entered the College of the City of New York, then still located with all its departments at Twenty-third Street and Lexington Avenue, and in 1889 he gradu- ated from this institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. At the age of twenty-one years he began work as a traveling salesman for Younker Son & Company, wholesale clothiers, of Broadway and Houston Street, New York City. He remained with this firm for seven years, until the business was dis- continued,, at which time he became connected with the Labor Department of the State of New York in its Factory Inspection Bureau. From this position he resigned, in February, 1910, to accept the ap- pointment as assistant superintendent of buildings for the Borough of The Bronx, in which office he has continued since then, with headquarters at Third and Tremont avenues, The Bronx. In the conduct of this office he has not only shown very great ability and efficiency, but has also gained to a remarkable ex- tent the good will of all who have come into contact with him. He is a member of the Schnorer Club of The Bronx, and of Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Halberstadt married, in New York City, April 6, 1903, Mary A. Fitzpatrick, daughter of Richard and Eliza (Moffitt) Fitzpatrick, the former a native of Ireland, the latter a native of this country. Mr. and Mrs. Halberstadt have no children, and make their home at No. 2510 Davidson Avenue, The Bronx.
HENRY FEUER-His present success in the fur- niture business is based to no inconsiderable extent upon Mr. Feuer's broad experience in the employ of long-established firms in Manhattan and in The Bronx, as well as upon his own abilities as salesman
and merchant in the lines in which he specializes, and of which he is one of the prominent representa- tives in this part of the city. Mr. Feuer has brought the business purpose of the Michigan Furniture Store to the front of mercantile affairs in The Bronx, and made permanent its popularity and utility. He is a son of Leo Feuer, a banker, and of Elizabeth (Kris) Feuer, natives of Przemysl, Austria, both of whom are now deceased.
Henry Feuer was born July 21, 1875, in Przemysl, Austria, now Poland, where he was graduated at the public and the high schools. He afterwards attended Vienna University. He was then sent to London, England, as correspondent for the Vienna "Arbeiter Zeitung," and he remained there from 1900 to De- cember, 1907, when he removed to the United States. At first settling in Manhattan, New York, he entered the employ of Deutch Brothers, furniture dealers, where he remained five years. In 1912, he came to The Bronx, to enter the employ of the Goldberg Furniture Company, on Third Avenue, remaining there until 1919, when he established his present business in the store No. 3251 Third Avenue. Since then he has incorporated his business under the name Michigan Furniture Company, of which he is the president and controlling owner. His present store covers an area seventy-five by one hundred feet in dimensions, and is one of the most spacious and at- tractive showrooms in The Bronx. His home addres is at No. 1115 Boston Road. Mr. Feuer is a mem- ber of The Bronx Board of Trade, and of the Furni- ture Club, of Chicago.
Henry Feuer married, September 12, 1900, in Lon- don, England, Charlotte Nadel, of London, daugh- ter of Max Nadel, who was deceased prior to the marriage of his daughter. Their children are: 1. Bessie Feuer, born August 31, 1905. 2. Minnie Feuer, born December 20, 1907. Both are natives of Lon- don, England.
GEORGE GADE-More than fifty-eight years of residence in The Bronx have enabled George Gade to witness the remarkable development which has transformed this section of the city during the last half-century. Mr. Gade is now in his eighty-ninth year and is still remarkably hale and hearty, enjoy- ing walking and amateur photography, and retain- ing a keen interest in all that affects the life and progress of the world. For forty years prior to his re- tirement in 1919 he served as superintendent of Pub- lic School No. 64, located at the corner of One Hun- dred and Eighty-eighth Street and Webster Avenue, The Bronx, and during that long period of time he enjoyed the distinction of never having been called before the board because of any dissatisfaction or complaint.
George Gade was born in Rinteln, Westphalia, Germany, September 10, 1838, son of John Frederick and Louise Marie (Kick) Gade, both natives of Rin- teln, Westphalia, Germany. He attended the public schools of his native district, and then served an ap- prenticeship in the cigar-making business, but after a time he decided that he would prefer to be a barber and learned that trade. In 1857, being then about nineteen years of age, he decided to leave his native land and come to the New World, where, he be-
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lieved, greater opportunity was to be found. He came on a sailing vessel which was fifty-nine days crossing the Atlantic, and settled in New York City, where for a time he followed the trade of the barber. The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, however, changed his plans, and in that year he enlisted under Daniel E. Sickles, and served throughout the war, participating in battles all along the peninsula, and taking part in the closing scenes at Petersburg and at Appomattox Court House, where Lee surrendered. He had been offered a commission, which he had refused, preferring to serve as a private, and in July, 1865, received his honorable discharge. Upon his return to civilian life he opened a barber shop of his own on Eighth Avenue, between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets, in the old Chelsea district, and here he continued until 1869, when he removed his home and his business to The Bronx, making the change in February of that year. He opened a shop at the corner of Railroad Avenue, now Park Avenue, and One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Street, and continued successfully here until June, 1878, when he was appointed superintendent in charge of Pub- lic School No. 64, at One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Street and Webster Avenue. That position he filled for more than forty years, and Mr. Gade is justly proud of the fact that during all that long period he was never "called to account" for any neglect or error, or because of any adverse criticism. He is a man of remarkable vigor and vitality for his years, with the keen, quick, alert mind of a man half his years. He is a great lover of the woods and a born naturalist, loving the wild life of the woods, especially the birds, and being quite expert as an amateur photographer. He is a good walker for a man of his age and retains in his gait much of the buoyancy of a young man. Mr. Gade is a member of the Old Timers' Associa- tion of The Bronx, and of Oliver Tilden Post, No. 96, Grand Army of the Republic, and he has a host of friends in this section of the city in which he has lived so long.
George Gade was married (first), September 13, 1865, in the old Sixteenth Ward, Manhattan, New York City, in the building at the corner of Twen- tieth Street and Eighth Avenue, by a Baptist min- ister, to Margaret Van Renthuesen, daughter of Isaac Renthuesen. She died in June, 1874, and Mr. Gade married (second), September 30, 1877, in the Methodist preacher's rectory, in the old Tremont section of The Bronx, Matilda Turner, daughter of Henry, who came to this country from England, and of Katherine (Scott) Turner. To the first mar- riage two children were born: 1. Susan Matilda, who was born July 8, 1868; married Andrew Floris- ick, and they have three children: Margaret, Mar- tin, and James. 2. John Frederick, born October 25, 1871. To the second marriage six children were born: 3. Louise Marie, born March 11, 1881; mar- ried Harry Minet, and they have five children: Louise Matilda, Beatrice Margaret, Olive Adele, Harry George, and Bertha Alice. 4. George Henry, born September 14, 1883; married Anna Ford, and they have two children: Anna, and George, Jr. 5. Bertha, born February 9, 1886; married Irving M. Dudley. 6. Agnes, born May 15, 1889; married Wal- ter Warren, and they have three children: Ruth
Agnes, Walter Jesse and George Charles. 7. Elise Mohns, born June 12, 1891; married Frank Larson, and they have one son, Edward Richard Larson. 8. Frances Henrietta born January 10, 1897; married Dennis Rich Shiel, son of Judge Shiel, and they have one daughter, Olive Oaks Shiel.
ADOLPH STERNBERG-Every department of the life insurance business in which Adolph Stern- berg has been engaged has discovered his capability and efficiency, his readiness and success in meeting the public and fulfilling the requirements of insur- ance patronage, and the productive results of his business activities, all combining to secure well-won honors inclusive of his general agency of the Colum- bian National Life Insurance Company for Bronx County. In the direction of the affairs of this ex- tensive field, Mr. Sternberg has a host of friends in both business and social life who have observed with satisfaction his gradual and sure rise to his position of large responsibility and usefulness.
Adolph Sternberg, a son of Aaron Sternberg, a retired farmer, and Fannie Sternberg, was born Oc- tober 15, 1880, in Austria, and he came to the United States when he was sixteen years old, attending the public schools in New York City, and graduating from the high school in 1900. He began his insur- ance career at once in the general field, and in 1902 he was made assistant superintendent for the Metro- politan Life Insurance Company, so continuing until 1920. From 1920 to 1923, Mr. Sternberg directed a sub-agency for the Equitable Life Insurance Com- pany at No. 1133 Broadway, and he was employed in the same capacity for the Columbian National Life Insurance Company in 1924-1925. In January, 1925, he was appointed to his present general agency. Fra- ternally, Mr. Sternberg is affiliated with Columbian Lodge, No. 484, Free and Accepted Masons; and with Kismet Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of Benson- hurst Community, and Beth Sholem Temple, Dr. Reichel, rabbi.
Adolph Sternberg married, January 3, 1904, in New York City, Bertha Holdner, daughter of Pincas and Anna Holdner, who survives her husband. Their children are: Stella, born June 2, 1907; and Beryl, born June 1, 1917.
FRANCIS CONLON occupies an important place among the citizenry of The Bronx, where he has lived for many years, and where he is well and widely known as an astute and able business man, a good citizen who is awake to the vital needs and the welfare of his community, and as deputy sheriff of Bronx County. Mr. Conlon has also turned his attention to real estate, and with great success. Believing in the future of The Bronx and convinced that the startling progress of the last few years would be amplified still more in the years to come, he has bought and sold many local properties, and so sure is his judgment of realty values and the realty market that each property has proved to be a most profitable investment. Mr. Conlon is also promi- nently identified with local politics, and the fraternal and club life of The Bronx.
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