USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 44
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a member of the James Brown Association and of the North End Democratic Club. His religious af- filiations are with the Roman Catholic church.
Mr. McEnerny married, in The Bronx, June 15, 1922, Beatrice Soteldo, a daughter of Charles A. and Abbie S. Soteldo, both residents of The Bronx. Mr. and Mrs. McEnerny make their home at No. 2940 Grand Concourse, The Bronx.
HERMAN KNEPPER, in 1900, moved to The Bronx and began a venture in real estate, putting up two-family houses at Hughes Avenue and East One Hundred and Eighty-second Street. His investment in this field proved to be successful and when the Concourse was cut through West Bronx, he began to develop real estate in that section also. His mod- est two-family houses having proved to him his ability to carry through building projects, he branched out into more ambitious schemes, and turned his energies to the erection of large office and apartment build- ings. He has recently completed the seventy-eight apartment house on Mosholu Parkway South, that beautiful boulevard connecting The Bronx and Van Cortlandt Park. Mr. Knepper's first experience in the real estate field was in Manhattan. His office is in the building at No. 3124 Third Avenue, which is one of the properties he owns.
Mr. Knepper was born in the beautiful city of Vienna, on December 5, 1871, coming to the United States at nineteen years of age. His father, Ephraim Knepper, who died in 1915, was a Bronx pioneer, also interested in real estate development. He was educated in the German public and private schools, attending night school after coming to America to acquire a thorough mastery of the English language.
Mr. Knepper is to be president of the Prudential National Bank, an institution now forming, which is to be located in the Knepper Building on Third Avenue. He is also aiding in the establishment of the Fordham National Bank. He is a member of The Bronx Board of Trade, the Board of The Bronx Hos- pital, and the Home of the Daughters of Jacob. In politics, Mr. Knepper is a Democrat, being a mem- ber of the Tackamuck Democratic Club. His fra- ternal affiliations are with Farragut Lodge, No. 976, Free and Accepted Masons, the Consistory of New York City, and Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
On July 30, 1895, in New York City, Herman Knepper was united in marriage to Sophie Richman. Mr. and Mrs. Knepper have three sons: William, in the hospital supply business; George, a lawyer of Washington, District of Columbia; and Julius, with the Aetna Finance Corporation. Mr. Knepper and his family are members of Tremont Temple.
JOSEPH LIST SHARKEY-Little details in a man's life have ofttimes momentous significances in the shaping of a career, and so it was with Joseph List Sharkey. After a number of years of respon- sible work within the organization of various con- cerns, he was advised by medical men, that inside work and confinement of that sort was undermining his health and he should seek another type of work. Following those suggestions, Mr. Sharkey found employment conducive to his continued good health,
and showed such aptitude therein, that upon the con- solidation of New York City in 1898, he was ap- pointed to a position with the city in the department of street cleaning, and a little later was transferred to the department of highways in the capacity of foreman of mechanics in charge of the shops and yards in The Bronx. Possessing a keen sense of duty and power for work, he has been engaged con- tinuously since in that office, rendering it one of the very efficient branches of the civil service of the city. He is the son of Joseph List and Sarah (Moss) Sharkey, both of whom were born and lived in The Bronx during their lifetime. The father was born in 1832 and died in 1887, and the mother born in 1837 died in 1895.
Joseph List Sharkey was born July 5, 1867, on what was then called Old Madison Avenue, now Bath- gate Avenue at One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Street. He attended the Mount Hope Primary School No. 45, and was promoted to Grammar School No. 63. Beginning to work at eleven years of age, Mr. Shar- key entered the employ of the Jacob Stahl Cigar Store factory, where he remained about a year, and then went with the Bedell Brothers, publishers of the "Westchester Times" at One Hundred and Seventy- fifth Street and Third Avenue, with whom he stayed for five years. At the end of that time, he secured a position with the American Bank Note Company at Trinity Place, New York City, in the ticket depart- ment, and during the four years he was there had successfully learned the business and had proven himself to be an able and efficient worker. Mr. Sharkey's health began to give way at that time and he was compelled to resign his position and find work which would permit him more outside labors. He started by driving a truck for Turner's Express Company and later for Fleming's Express Company, when he was employed by a well-known soda com- pany in the delivery department for two years. He continued in this kind of work for about nine years, and in 1898, he was appointed by Commissioner James McCartney, of the street cleaning depart- ment to a position in that department in accordance with the consolidation of the boroughs into the Greater City of New York, until the administration in 1902, when he was transferred to the highway department. Thereafter he was made foreman of the shops and yards in the department of highways, and is serving in that capacity at the time of writ- ing. The work which Mr. Sharkey supervises en- tails much responsibility and constant application, for he is in charge of crews of mechanics whose work it is to maintain the bridges and other public struc- tures throughout Bronx County in good repair. He has successfully discharged the duties of his office and by the personal contact he keeps with the work at hand, has attained a high degree of efficiency in the conduct of his department. Mr. Sharkey pos- sesses a very pleasing personality, by no means in- trusive, but rather a modest and retiring character which has won for him the respect of all those with whom he deals. He is one of the old members of the Arthur H. Murphy Association of The Bronx, of whom Mr. Murphy is an associate of his of many years standing. Mr. Sharkey is likewise a member of the William J. Higgins Association of The Bronx.
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HENRY LERCH-One of the oldest residents of The Bronx is Henry Lerch, who is in his eighty- fourth year, and who has been a resident of The Bronx since he was seven years of age. He has seen New York City grow northward until it touched and absorbed the little remote country settlement to which his father came when he was a boy, and he has seen that same section transformed from a straggling, thinly-populated country district to a teeming portion of the greatest city in the world. He is a veteran of the Civil War; has been living re- tired since 1896.
John Lerch father of Mr. Lerch, was born in Hes- sen-Kessel, Germany, but came to this country at an early age, and was engaged in the making and mar- keting of root beer, and ginger pop for a number of years. About 1850 he removed to the old Melrose section of The Bronx, where in later years he did all the quarrying of stone for buildings erected in the Melrose section of The Bronx. Many of these build- ings are still standing, mute but eloquent reminders of the early days of the rural district then known as The Bronx. He married Anna Gertrude Daub, who was born in Marburg, Hessen-Kessel, Germany, and among their children was Henry, of further mention.
Henry Lerch, son of John and Anna Gertrude (Daub) Lerch, was born in the house on the north- east corner of Houston Street and the Bowery, New York City, June 11, 1843. When he was seven years of age his parents removed to the old Melrose sec- tion of The Bronx, where his father purchased prop- erty on the east side of Third Avenue, property which is now the site of Nos. 3012-3014. There was a little frame house on this site at that time, and here the little family made their first home in this then outlying district. Doubtless the boy of seven years found this change from the closely populated district from which he had come to the rural sur- roundings of this section a welcome change from crowded city to open country. He attended the old public school at One Hundred and Forty-eighth Street and Courtlandt Avenue, while Principal Fris- bie was in charge, and after completing his training here at the age of thirteen, entered the employ of Jacob Fisher Baker, located at the northeast corner of One Hundred and Twenty-second Street and Third Avenue, with whom he remained for a period of five years. In the meantime the outbreak of the Civil War had greatly changed conditions in the country, but young Henry was too young to enlist at the beginning of the conflict. In 1863, however, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served for two years, taking part in the battle of Fort Fisher, under Admiral John Porter, and receiving his hon- orable discharge in 1865. He now receives a pension of sixty-five dollars a month as a veteran. Upon his return from service he entered the employ of the Third Avenue Railroad, and later became identified with the old "Huckleberry Railroad." In 1873, he became a member of the fire department and in this connection he continued to serve this section of the city until 1896, when after having completed a per- iod of service of twenty-three years, he retired from the fire department at the same time that he retired from active business responsibility, in 1896. Since that time he has been living retired, making his home
in his own building, No. 3007 Third Avenue, where he is still enjoying most excellent health for a man of his years, retaining all his faculties and also re- taining, at the age of nearly eighty-four years, a keen interest in the rapidly developing section which he has seen grow from a rural district to a part of the life of the great city. On account of his twenty- three years' of service in the fire department he is entitled to a pension from the city. He is a member of the Firemen's Mutual Benevolent Association, and one of the original members of The Bronx Old Timers' Association, and his fraternal affiliation is with Wieland Lodge, No. 714, Free and Accepted Masons.
Henry Lerch was married, in the Congregational Church of The Bronx, by Rev. Dr. Kephardt, Oc- tober 16, 1914, to Mrs. Bertha (Bleffert) Stirm, daughter of Mathias Bleffert, who was born in Prus- sia, Germany, July 31, 1837, and died in 1920, and of Anna (Silz) Bleffert, who was born in Frankfort-on- Rhine, Germany, August 28, 1848, and died in 1921. Mrs. Lerch was the widow of Gottlob Stirm, whose death occurred in February, 1900, and they were the parents of two children: 1. William G. Stirm, born June 17, 1887; married Therese Merschrod. 2. Paul Stirm, born June 18, 1893; married Gertrude Evelyn Lindemeyer, and they have one child, Robert Paul Stirm.
ALFRED FREDERICK RIEDINGER-Start- ing in his business career, when he was fifteen years of age, Alfred Frederick Riedinger engaged in vari- ous endeavors for many years, all of which have con- tributed to his store of experience and training for the real estate and insurance business in which he is now identified. Reared to the interior decorating profession, in which his father was prominently as- sociated, he gained valuable foundation in the exer- cise of imagination and in the knowledge of building layout and plans with consideration of light and the positions of the rooms. In the managing of large estates in New York with which he was concerned for more than ten years, he received vast experience in the problems affecting property and the efficient direction and supervision of large holdings. Putting all these into practice in his real estate business for the past years, he has attained substantial and dis- tinguished success in his chosen enterprise, and is recognized as one of the leading realtors of Bronx County. He has been faithful in his devotion to promoting the well-being and modern development of his community, and enjoys the admiration and re- spect of all with whom he associates either com- mercially or socially. He is the son of August Theo- dore and Amelia (Adelman) Riedinger. The father was born in Strassburg, Alsace-Lorraine, in 1834, and died in July, 1898, and during his life was a well- known and high class interior decorator. His mother was born in Heilbronn, Württemberg, Germany, Oc- tober 19, 1842 and died June 6, 1906.
Alfred Frederick Riedinger was born May 4, 1880, on what was then Julianna Street in the old French Colony in Williamsbridge district on the banks of The Bronx River. He went to the old wooden schoolhouse, which was the only educational center in the section, and upon completing his training
alfred Flourdingen
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entered the business world in 1895. He first ap- prenticed himself in the tapestry works located near The Bronx River and operated by William Baumgar- ten and Company with which organization, after having served his term as an apprentice, during which time he mastered the intricacies of tapestry weaving and all the various branches of the business, he con- tinued in several responsible positions for twelve years. At the end of that time, he was made superin- tendent of the estate of Frank R. Chambers in Bronx- ville, where he remained in charge for four years. Thereafter he was given charge of the Lindeman Es- tate in Manhattan and continued in this capacity for five years. In 1916, ever alert to business opportuni- ties he determined to enter the real estate and in- surance business, and in the following year established his office at No. 688 East Two Hundred and Nine- teenth Street, where he has continued since. From the beginning, he impressed himself as an integral factor in the real estate profession of the section and his business has steadily increased each year with prosperous and healthy strides. His progressive methods and comprehensive knowledge of conditions have been given wide recognition and his position among his associates and other members of the trade is firmly fixed with the leaders. He is a Republican in politics and is a member of The Bronx Republican Club.
On August 10, 1901, in the Methodist Church in Harlem, New York City, Mr. Riedinger married Henrietta Margaret Copley, a daughter of Thomas Henry and Augusta Rose (Ebbinghaus) Copley. The father was born in New York City in the Greenwich Village district in 1847 and died at the age of fifty- three in 1909; he was librarian of the Trinity Church of New York for many years. His parents were Henry and Susan (Carr) Copley. Mrs. Augusta Rose (Ebbinghaus) Copley was the daughter of Otto Ebbinghaus of Germany and a member of the family in whose possession the famous Ebbinghaus Castle is. She was born in New York City in 1859, and is still living at the age of sixty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Riedinger are the parents of the following chil- dren: 1. Gladys Amelia, who was born May 23, 1902. 2. Alfred Frederick, Jr., who was born Feb- ruary 26, 1905. 3. Marion Etta, who was born March 14, 1906. 4. Violet Beatrice, who was born March 13, 1911.
JOHN McCORD STORER-For nearly two dec- ades the undertaking parlors established by John McCord Storer at No. 661 Morris Park Avenue have stood for the best type of service and the best taste in atmosphere and manner. These high qualities, a part of the enterprise under Mr. Storer's management, continue to impress all who avail themselves of the services of the establishment, which has since Mr. Storer's death been conducted by his wife, a licensed undertaker.
John McCord Storer was born September 30, 1885, in Tokio, Japan, where his father, E. G. Storer, of an old New England family, was assistant consul-gen- eral for the United States. The father, born in New Haven, Connecticut, fulfilled his high office in Japan for many years. The mother, Lavinia (McCord) Storer, is the daughter of Police Captain McCord,
of the New York police force. As a child the son at- tended school in Japan and from the time he was seven years old continued his education in the United States, attending first St. Francis de Saul School and later a public school in The Bronx. He began work with the Federal Book Company and later joined the forces of the Moneyweight Scale Company.
The undertaking business appealed to him, how- ever, and caused him to take a course in embalming at the Renouard Embalming School in Manhattan, from which he received a diploma. In 1908 he opened funeral parlors at No. 1741 Wallace Avenue. From the beginning his business prospered. Mr. Storer was a man of great courtesy and kindliness, whose efficiency was coupled with understanding and sympathy, and he knew and liked his business. He continued to prosper at the same address until his death, April 18, 1917. His wife, who had learned the details of the business from him, and who passed the examinations of the State Board of Examiners and obtained a license, conducts the establishment in the same able fashion. Mr. Storer was a member of the New York Undertakers' Association, of the For- esters of America, and the Coach Owners' Associa- tion. He was president of the Bronxdale Club for two years and a member of the Chippewa Demo- cratic Club.
On June 26, 1910, in St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church on Tiffany Street, The Bronx, John McCord Storer was married, by Father William Dougherty, to Anna M. Duffy, a graduate of Woods New York School of Business and Shorthand, and a daughter of Hugh and Lucy Ann (Devlin) Duffy. The father, an old resident of The Bronx, was born March 15, 1861, in County Monaghan, Ireland, and died February 21, 1827, well known as the proprietor of the Springhurst Dairy, in Hunts Point. The mother was born in Dillay Tynan, County Armagh, Ireland. Five of the children of the couple are liv- ing today: 1. Mary Agnes Duffy, who married Ed- ward Wallace, by whom she has three children: Edward, Raymond, and Gerard Wallace. 2. John Duffy, twin to the above; married to Lillian O'Con- nell, and they have six children: John, Edward, Mary, Lucille, Eileen, and Winifred. 3. Joseph F. Duffy; married Henrietta Dayton. 4. Edward J. Duffy; married Thresa Ward. They have one child, Dorothy. 5. Anna M. Duffy, wife of the subject of this record. To Mr. and Mrs. Storer were born two children, both attending Our Lady of Solace Par- ochial School: John McCord Storer, June 24, 1913; and Hugh Francis Storer, September 30, 1915. Mrs. Storer is active in local civic and political af- fairs, a member of the Wilsonian Woman's Demo- cratic Club, the Catholic Big Sisters, the Catholic Daughters of America, the Catholic Woman's Benev- olent Legion, and The Bronx County Undertakers Association.
Mr. Storer was a man of unusual personal charm and many rare virtues. He loved his home, his family, and his business, devoting his energies to the advancement of the welfare of this trio, but he was also keenly interested in the general progress of The Bronx, and did what he could to further it. His premature death robbed the community of a fine man and citizen.
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JOHN HEITMANN-Ambition, vision and en- ergy have brought to John Heitmann, of The Bronx, merited success and business advancement. Since 1912 his auto moving and storage enterprise on Web- ster Avenue has given such efficient and honest serv- ice to the residents of that vicinity that it has steadily grown in size and influence and is now con- sidered one of the best in The Bronx. Mr. Heit- mann is in many other respects a leader in his section, where he is active in organizations and move- ments contributing to the general welfare.
John Heitmann was born in Mahndorf, near Bre- men, Germany, August 31, 1867, son of Frederick and (Tietjen) Heitmann. The father, born in 1814, in Mahndorf, birthplace of several preceding genera- tions of his family, operated a towing business along the Wieser River in addition to his farm. The son was educated in the Mahndorf public schools and be- gan work at the age of fourteen as assistant steward in a hotel at the railroad station in Bremen. After two years there, Mr. Heitmann's ambition sought opportunity in the New World and brought him to the United States. Arriving in New York, April 15, 1883, he settled in the Murray Hill section andi be- gan work as la clerk in a grocery store. He then moved to The Bronx, where in 1885, he found em- ployment with Paulsen and Walter, grocers, of One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Street and Park Av- enue. Four years in that location so well acquainted him with the grocery business that he established a store of his own in the Bedford Park section and for five years enjoyed there a prosperity which brought him a fair return. However, the same adventurous spirit which had brought him to America sought wider business opportunity. In a new and rapidly growing section, he saw room for growth in the livery business and for ten years successfully operated such an enterprise of his own until the advent of the automobile replaced the horse in general use. Then, in 1912, Mr. Heitmann started his present auto mov- ing and storage business, located on Webster Avenue. He operates twelve vehicles, employing the year round from ten to twenty men, and shipping to all desired points. Plant and equipment are of the most modern type, and service is so excellent that Mr. Heitmann has a wide-spread reputation as one of the best men in his line in The Bronx. He has been a member of The Bronx County Grand Jury since its organization.
Mr.Heitmann belongs to the Mecca Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, Manhattan Commandery, Knights Templar, and the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, as well as Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Steuben Society.
In 1892, in Brooklyn, New York, John Heitmann was married to Jessie Scheadler, daughter of Adam and Marie Scheadler. Mrs. Heitmann died in June 1914. Children: 1. William Frederick, born in 1894; married to Anna Osmitz, and they have a daughter, Marie. 2. John Adam Heitmann, born in 1896; mar- ried Roselle Kelly, and they have one child, Frances. 3. Marie Antoinette Heitmann, born in 1900; mar- ried Edward Connell, and they have a child, Joan Connell.
NICOLA ROMANO-When Nicola Romano first came to this country from Italy at the age of twelve years, he obtained employment in a barber shop at No. 113 Monroe Street, New York City. On attaining the age of thirteen he had learned enough and saved sufficient to go into business for himself with a shop of his own at No. 46 Rutledge Street, lower east side of Manhattan Borough. Later he removed to The Bronx and opened a shop at Forest Avenue and One Hundred and Sixty- third Street; in five months he returned to Rutledge Street, but returned to The Bronx shortly afterward and engaged for five months in the insurance busi- ness with the Mutual Reserve Insurance Company. The barber trade still called him, however, and he set up his own shop at Jerome Street and Maple Avenue, Williamsbridge section, and also conducted a hotel at the same address. Business was none too brisk, so he sold the equipment and bought a coach which he hired on occasion to the public. By watch- ing the proceedings in funerals he learned how the undertaking business should be conducted, and with no capital save his own energy and ingenuity, he opened an undertaking shop at Morris Avenue and One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Street. Business be- gan to come to him, and in the same year, 1904, within six months of the start, he was enabled to move into more commodious quarters at No. 214 White Plains Avenue, Williamsbridge, where he re- mained in a prosperous condition two and a half years. From this modest beginning he was enabled to buy and renovate the structure he now occupies as headquarters at No. 3535 Holland Avenue, near Gun Hill Road. He is reaching out to expand, and has opened a branch opposite the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Grace, of which he is the capable sexton; he also conducts a modern up-to-date funeral parlor at No. 75 South Lexington Avenue, White Plains, Westchester County, where he is sex- ton of the churches of St. Anthony and Mt. Carmel Church of the Assumption; he is likewise sexton of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Gun Hill Road and Santa Maria Church in the West- chester section of the East Bronx. All of this he has attained through his own efforts and abilities, and he feels very grateful for the greater opportunities he has enjoyed in this country.
Nicola Romano was born April 6, 1882, at Candida, Avellino, Italy, son of Francisco and Potenza (Mar- ino) Romano. His father was born in Candida, province of Avellino, in 1850, and died in New York City in 1922, where he was engaged in blacksmithing and aided in much public work. The mother was also a native of the same province. Mr. Romano, attended the local public schools in Italy, and came to New York in 1894, his father having preceded him two years. He then entered upon his career, as told above.
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