USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 5
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Comis F. Hafen
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dren embrace the best educational advantages at their command.
Louis F. Haffen attended the village school in Melrose, from 1860 to 1866, and the town public school in Morrisania from 1866 to 1868. He then entered Fordham College, where he was a student from 1868 to 1869, after which he went to Niagara College, and from 1869 to 1871 was a student there. Returning to Fordham, he was a student there for a full four- year course, graduating in the class of 1875. He pursued his studies still higher, for four years at Columbia College, graduating in 1879. He was honored with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Mas- ter of Arts, Civil Engineer and Doctor of Laws.
In 1879, the year of his graduation from Columbia, Mr. Haffen engaged in the practice of his profession of civil engineer and surveyor, being thus occupied until 1883, one year, 1881, passed in the West, and then received an appointment as engineer of the Department of Public Parks of New York City, holding that office from 1883 to 1893. He now was on the highroad of advance in the public service, and in 1893 was made commissioner of street im- provements, for the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth wards, New York City, in which capacity he re- mained for five years, his work bringing him promi- nently and favorably before the city and the im- mediate community. In 1898 he was elevated to the presidency of the Borough of The Bronx, and during his tenure of twelve years in that office was instru- mental in bringing about one of the greatest, if not the greatest, periods of community betterment in the history of the borough. At the end of his term as president, in 1910, he returned to the private practice of his profession, and so continued until 1912, when he entered upon the duties of superintendent- computer in the Tax Department of the State of New York, an office which he held until 1913. The succeeding two years he was engaged in private prac- tice, and in 1915 served as a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention. From 1916 to 1918 he was again engaged in practicing his profession in a private capacity, and from that time to the present he has been consulting engineer in The Bronx, where his advice on engineering problems is much in de- mand and highly prized by his clientele.
Mr. Haffen's non-professional activities have taken him into numerous associations, business, social, polit- ical and educational. He is identified with many organizations; president of the Bronx County Prop- erty Owners' and Business Men's Association, and president, since 1911, of The Bronx "Old Timers" Association. He is a member of The Bronx Board of Trade, of which he was an organizer in 1894; member of the Democratic State Committee for the past twenty-five or thirty years; member of The Bronx Democratic County Committee; sachem of the "Columbian Order" for the past twenty-odd years; member of the Knights of Columbus, and affiliated with the American patriotic societies. He is a mem- ber of the Engineering Society of New York, the Columbia, Fordham and Niagara Colleges Alumni associations, the Archaeological, Arts and Science As- sociation, The Bronx Exempt Firemen's Association, the Royal Arcanum and the Samoset Democratic Club of The Bronx. He is a communicant of the
Immaculate Conception (Roman Catholic) Church, Melrose Avenue and East One Hundred and Fiftieth Street.
Louis F. Haffen married, in January, 1886, in Melrose (now The Bronx), Caroline Kurz, daughter of Paul and Mary Kurz. To them have been born nine children, four sons and the only daughter surviving; two sons were given by their parents for service in the United States Army, and in which they lost their lives.
HENRY HAFFEN -- Approximately thirty years of service to the city of New York featured the long and useful career of Henry Haffen, for more than seventy years a resident of this section now known as The Bronx. Mr. Haffen is now living in retire- ment, having earned his rest from duties in the performance of which he gave the best part of his years and strength. He is a former member of the New York Board of Aldermen, a former officer of the National Guard of New York, and a former in- spector of highways and general foreman, in which latter positions he rendered a fine and constructive service to the municipality. His efforts in behalf of the progressive movements in The Bronx have been sustained through all the years of his adult life, and his interest in the development of the various departments of the community's activities is as keen today as in the days when bodily vigor would permit of his more intimate participation.
Mr. Haffen was born August 22, 1852, in the vil- lage of Melrose, town of West Farms (incorporated as Morrisania in 1856), county of Westchester (now known as The Bronx), New York City, and for seventy-four years has made his home in this section. His father, Mathias Haffen, born in Germany, came to America about 1831. His wife, who was Catherine Hays, was a native of Ireland. After their marriage they settled in Long Island, and about 1850 took up their residence in The Bronx. The elder Haffen was engaged at different times in the business of dairy farmer and brewer. He and his wife were esteemed and worthy residents of the borough for many years, and they brought up their children to live up to the same high standards. He was organ- izer of the Fire Department of Williamsburg and when he came to The Bronx he organized the Fire Department here.
Henry Haffen was educated in the Melrose public schools, parochial schools in the town of Morrisania (then of Westchester County) and at Fordham Col- lege. His first business occupation was that of hotel keeper, in which he was engaged for some years. He entered the political arena when he was elected to a seat on the New York City Board of Aldermen, for the term of 1878, representing with
ability and dignity the old Twenty-third and Twenty- fourth wards, west of the Bronx River. His service to the city as a whole, and to The Bronx in particu- lar, was recognized with his appointment, in 1894, to the dual positions of general foreman and inspector of highways, with his headquarters and work located in this borough. His standing in the Democratic party, with which he has all his life been affiliated, is one of influence and strength, and in the councils of his local organization he has for many years been
Bronx-2
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an important factor. Included in his varied services was that as a member of the State's military estab- lishment, with a commission as lieutenant of Com- pany A, 27th Regiment, at the time of the annexa- tion of the town of Morrisania to the city of New York, February 17, 1874. Included in the large num- ber of organizations of which Mr. Haffen is a member are the Old Timers' Club of The Bronx, the Dutch Five Club and the Harlem Schutzenbund. For many years he was a member of the Schnorer Club.
Henry Haffen married (first), June 1, 1881, in The Bronx, Mathilda H. Stoller. He married (sec- ond), July 30, 1915, in The Bronx, Martha H. Handel, daughter of Louis and Caroline Handel. Louis Han- del died in 1900. Mr. Haffen has his residence at No. 306 East One Hundred and Sixty-third Street, The Bronx, New York City.
GILBERT CHARLES FREEAUF-A factor in the steady progress of the Port Morris Bank from the beginning of that institution's activities, and one of the best informed men among the younger group of financiers in The Bronx, Gilbert Charles Freeauf who holds the responsible position of cashier of that bank, both through his office and influence renders a direct service to the further broadening of the business and the community interests of this section. He is a son of Charles Louis Freeauf, who was born January 2, 1870, in New York City, and is associated with the plumbing business of W. G. Cornell & Company, and of Lucy M. (Tierney) Freeauf, who was born June 17, 1867, in New York City. They had two children: Florence, who mar- ried A. H. Thomson, of Harrington Park, New Jersey; and Gilbert Charles, of whom further.
Gilbert Charles Freeauf, of German ancestry, was born August 26, 1900, in New York City, and he was graduated at Public School No. 36, The Bronx, in 1914, and at Evander Childs High School. In October, 1915, Mr. Freeauf entered the employ of the Westchester Avenue Bank, where he passed through the various grades of service to finance as assistant bookkeeper, bookkeeper and paying teller, so continuing until November 15, 1922. On December 1, 1922, he entered the employ of the Port Morris Bank as its cashier, a position he continues to hold. Russel B. Smith became president of the Port Morris Bank, September 10, 1924. Mr. Freeauf is much interested in athletics; and during his school course he was a member of his football team. He is a communicant of Our Lady of Victory Roman Cath- olic Church.
GEORGE A. HEFTER-A public servant with a very wide range of constructive experience in the civic life of The Bronx, George A. Hefter, who through the various grades of the Bronx government departments has rendered the efficient service of substantial dependability as assistant engineer, and as deputy and secretary to a number of the foremost commissionerships of county and district, has per -. formed an outstanding work in behalf of the progress of the community. His part, and that of his father, are both distinctively on record, as of fundamental
as well as of continuous value in securing a permanent attractiveness for The Bronx in matters both resi- dential and of a general business building interest. Mr. Hefter is a son of Lorenz Hefter, who was born July 19, 1833, in Bavaria, and died in The Bronx, June 7, 1907, and of Anna (Rung) Hefter, who was born March 22, 1836, in Bavaria, and died November 4, 1900, in The Bronx; Lorenz Hefter was an early comer to the Unionport section, and settling there about 1890, erected the first eight-family house at Nos. 2162-2164 Westchester Avenue, that still stands there; his brother, John B. Hefter, was for many years proprietor of the popular and well-known Swan Hotel, on the old Harlem Road.
George A. Hefter was born July 22, 1876, in old Melrose, at No. 626 East One Hundred and Fiftieth Street, and he attended the Christian Brothers School of the Immaculate Conception, and later the Queen of the Angels School at One Hundred and Twelfth Street, near Third Avenue, after which he took a course in higher mathematics at Harlem Evening High School. He began work in 1896 in the En- gineering Bureau of Commissioner Louis Haffen's office, Mr. Haffen being Commissioner of Street Im- provements of the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth wards and Annexed District, in charge of the engi- neers and surveyors for the same. He continued in that employ until 1900, when he accepted a position with the Rapid Transit Commission in the engineer- ing department, in charge of the tunnel under Cen- tral Park and Lenox Avenue from One Hundred and Tenth Street to One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Street. Remaining with this commission up to 1905, he returned to The Bronx and accepted a posi- tion in the engineering department, where he continued until 1907, when he became assistant engineer, which position he held until January 1, 1911.
In July, 1913, Mr. Hefter was appointed examiner in the State Tax Department at Albany, where he remained until January 1, 1914. He took an active part in assisting to bring about legislation and in creating an interest among Bronx citizens to establish a separate county of The Bronx, which was created in 1914 by act of Legislature at Albany. Mr. Hefter was then made deputy county clerk in charge of the Naturalization Bureau under County Clerk James V. Ganly, who was the first Bronx county clerk; and in 1918 he was appointed secretary to the Com- missioner of Public Works, William J. Flynn, a posi- tion he still holds.
In addition to his duties for the governing depart- ments of The Bronx, Mr. Hefter has for many years been active in real estate in the Unionport section, in whose increasing development both himself and his father were pioneers. Here he has served as president of the Unionport Taxpayers' Association; and he was one of the organizers and vice-president of the Chester Taxpayers' Alliance, which comprised thirteen taxpayers' organizations. He was also chair- man of their transit committee, and chairman of the committee in charge of celebrating the breaking of ground for the subway in The Bronx. He is president of the George A. Hefter, Incorporated; president of the Trichester Realty Corporation; presi- dent of the Terray Realty Corporation, and secretary of Tregreen Realty Corporation, with offices at No.
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2215 Westchester Avenue, The Bronx. Fraternally, Mr. Hefter is affiliated with Bronx Council, Knights of Columbus; and with the Chippewa Democratic Club.
George A. Hefter is married to Lucy Watson, daughter of John Hicks Watson and Johanna (Van Roermond) Watson, and resides at No. 2026 McGraw Avenue, The Bronx.
CHARLES PERCY BOGART-A staunch and progressive supporter of the financial interests of The Bronx in their developments of recent years, and foremost in many of the substantial business matters of this section, Charles Percy Bogart, vice- president of The Bronx County Trust Company, with his legal experience and financial training is a repre- sentative citizen of the highest type, a promoter by counsel and example of the best interests of The Bronx, and one who has invariably rendered a large service in behalf of its institutions on all occasions. He is a son of Charles W. Bogart, a prominent finan- cier, and of Anna M. Bogart.
Charles Percy Bogart was born June 30, 1879, in New York City, where he attended the public schools, and the Senftner Preparatory School. He was gradu- ated from the New York Law School, and began the practice of law in February, 1901, the year after receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws, so continu- ing until January, 1911, when he became actively associated with banking. It was while his father, Charles W. Bogart, was president of the Twenty- third Ward Bank, in January, 1911, that Mr. Bogart was made vice-president and cashier, and he so con- tinued to the time of the organization of The Bronx County Trust Company, when he was appointed its first vice-president. He is also vice-president and director of the Bronx County Safe Deposit Company. Mr. Bogart is a member of The Bronx Board of Trade, president of the Piano Club, and a member of the Schnorer Club.
Charles Percy Bogart married, December 19, 1905, at Richmond Hill, Long Island, Elizabeth W. Locke, daughter of William H. Locke. Their children are: Charles Sumner, born February 12, 1907; Delmont Locke, born July 6, 1911; Gerard Schouler, born Oc- tober 5, 1914.
CHARLES HENRY MEYER-The new interests of an old and substantial banking concern, those of the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Street office of The Bronx County Trust Company, have the benefit of the experienced management of Charles Henry Meyer, who is also assistant secretary of the com- pany and is the oldest man in point of service with the bank. It was in the financial department of busi- ness that Mr. Meyer lay the foundation of his suc- cessful career, and in association with the old Twenty-third Ward Bank and its affiliations through- out the most active period of their history, he has always been an active factor in the upbuilding of the general concern and in the broadening out of the in- creasing business plan and project. Mr. Meyer is a son of Balthasar Meyer, a builder, who is now de- ceased, and of Louise Meyer, the family having been
residents of The Bronx for about seventy-five years.
Charles Henry Meyer was born May 13, 1878, in New York City, where he attended the public schools, afterwards completing the course in Saint Jerome's Academy when he was about sixteen years old. There has been no period in his business career wherein he has not given special attention to banking matters. He began as a messenger and clerk in the employ of the old Twenty-third Ward Bank and The Bronx County Trust Company affiliation, and working throughout the various departments, he was appointed to the management of the Boston Avenue office in May, 1912, and he continued therein to May, 1923, when he was transferred to the management of the 148th Street office.
In politics a Democrat, Mr. Meyer has served as vice-chairman of the Democratic City Committee of Mount Vernon. During the World War, he was an efficient member of the various Red Cross and Liberty Loan committees. He is a member of the Schnorer Club, and of the Mount Vernon Democratic Club; and he is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church.
Charles Henry Meyer married, October 30, 1901, in New York City, Louise M. Stein, daughter of Philip and Louise Stein, for three quarters of a century residents of The Bronx; and their children are: Harold Kenneth Meyer, born June 13, 1906; and Helen Louise Meyer, born October 4, 1914.
JOHN JOSEPH REDDINGTON-It is owing in a very large degree to the business ability and the constructive management of John Joseph Reddington that The Bronx County Trust Company renders its valuable service to the general business and mercan- tile interests of the community among whose activi- ties it has been in existence for nearly a quarter of a century. Mr. Reddington turned his attention to banking matters at the very beginning of his career, and continuing with the one financial concern and its Bronx branch, he has been of a very practical aid to the development of its plans for expansion in this section of the State.
John Joseph Reddington, a son of Michael and Helen (Coan) Reddington, both of whom came from Ireland to the United States in their early years, was born July 23, 1886, in New York City, where he attended the public schools and was graduated from the Packard School in 1902. When he was only sixteen years old, Mr. Reddington was first employed in the capacity of messenger for the Twenty-third Ward Bank, at East One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Street and Third Avenue, and he made his usefulness and ability apparent from the outset, and as he worked his way through the vari- ous departments of the bank he won the esteem of all his associates. He served as manager of the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Street Branch for ten years, and in 1923 he was made manager of the Boston Road office of The Bronx County Trust Com- pany, and he also holds the office of assistant secre- tary of the company. He is non-partisan in political matters, his vote being cast for that candidate whom he deems will prove most useful in office. During the World War, Mr. Reddington was prominent in
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all the plans and activities of Army and Navy and Air Service of the United States Government, and he was a leading factor in the Liberty Bond interests. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and he is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church.
John Joseph Reddington married, May 15, 1907, at Astoria, Long Island, Antoinette Martin, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Smith) Martin; and their children are: Edward Michael, Marie Agnes, Jolin William, Antoinette, and Elizabeth.
MITCHEL SMOLEROFF-"America, the Land of Opportunity"-such is the proud boast of each true patriot; but to those who have not been born under the shadow of the Stars and Stripes there is given an even larger opportunity of proving that assertion. Such is the history of Mitchel Smoleroff, one-time citizen of Russia, and now an exemplifi- cation of the actual operation of that principle; a man whose business career typifies and symbolizes the conquest of environment and adverse circum- stances by a spirit determined on success. The phenomenal growth of New York City in the past two decades has carried to fortune many of those who had early perceived the enormous expansion and subsequent increase in real estate values, of which the rapidly growing city at that time gave indications. Mr. Smoleroff, with true business sa- gacity, early invested and interested himself in this highly profitable field of endeavor.
Mitchel Smoleroff was born in Elizabethgrad, Russia, on November 27, 1876, a son of Jacob and Miriam (Krasnopolsky) Smoleroff. He attended the local schools of his native city, and in 1893, at the age of seventeen years, came to the United States, first settling in New Haven, Connecticut. Here he entered the employ of Sargent & Company, hard- ware manufacturers, of New Haven, where he re- mained for six years. He then came to New York City, and established the Grand Ice Cream Com- pany, at No. 299 Cherry Street, which was one of the pioneer concerns engaged in quantity production of ice cream in the city. The success which at- tended this enterprise from this small beginning under the able management of its founder, Mr. Smoleroff, was so marked that in the space of a very few years he enlarged the scope of his ac- tivities by establishing a similar plant in Newark, New Jersey. This was about twenty years ago, and the first title under which the company functioned was the Metropolitan Ice Cream Company, which in later years was changed to the Sterling Ice Cream Company. This company has become one of the largest concerns of its kind in the State of New Jersey and one of the best equipped, comprising the very latest machinery and a modern plant doing a seasonable business of over a half-million dollars. Mr. Smoleroff is still actively engaged as president of this concern, and it is largely due to his personal guidance that the business has prospered so greatly in a community where the keenest competition exists. When Mr. Smoleroff decided to enlarge his business he sold the Grand Ice Cream Company at No. 299 Cherry Street, New York City, to his faith-
ful employees, who have continued the business to the present day.
The second phase of Mr. Smoleroff's unusually successful career was instituted in the year 1910, when he foresaw the great opportunities for in- vestment in Bronx real estate, and bought his first piece of property from Peter Sinnott, the well-known builder and steam engineer. From this beginning he has gone successfully forward ever since, continuing to buy additional properties from Peter Sinnott and others, and increasing his holdings until he has be- come one of the leading taxpayers in The Bronx. About the year 1920, Mr. Smoleroff decided to enter the building and construction field as an adjunct to his real estate business, and upon this decision he erected one of the largest and finest apartment buildings in The Bronx. This building, on the southeast corner of One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Street and Boston Post Road, occupies the ground which was formerly the site of the Young Men's Hebrew Association. Mr. Smoleroff now owns and operates twenty-five large apartment houses, in which more than one thousand families are housed, and during the operation of the Rent Emergency Laws he never had a dispute over rents with a siigle tenant. In the Westchester Village section of The Bronx, Mr. Smoleroff has purchased several pieces of property, on which he is erecting some of the finest and largest apartment buildings. He is known among his real estate friends as a pioneer real estate investor and builder, and one of the largest builders and operators in The Bronx. Mr. Smoleroff is a self-made man in the fullest sense of the term, and he takes great pride and pleasure in aiding, financially, all worthy charitable institutions in a generous and substantial way. He is a director of the Real Estate Club, and of an organization devoted to the support of Jewish charities. He employs steadily more than fifty men in various capacities on his many different properties the year round.
Fraternally, Mr. Smoleroff has correspondingly been active in the ancient Masonic body. He is a member of Courland Lodge, No. 885, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, as well as the Mystic Shrine, Scot- tish Rite and Consistory bodies.
Mitchel Smoleroff was married in Brooklyn, New York, on September 5, 1909, to Mollie Rose, a daugh- ter of Joseph H. and Anna (Lee) Rose, who formerly resided at Fifty-ninth Street and Seventeenth Ave- nue, Brooklyn. Mr. and Mrs. Smoleroff are the par- ents of two children: Miriam, born October 14, 1915; and Shirley, born August 25, 1918. The family resi- dence is at No. 180 Riverside Drive, New York City.
CHARLES HARPER MONTGOMERY, M. D .- Foremost in all the institutional matters pertaining to medicology in The Bronx, as well as one of the most accomplished general practitioners in this part of the city, his activities in medicine being inclusive of nearly a quarter of a century, Dr. Charles Harper Montgomery has developed his own large field of beneficent influence in his profession and in general community welfare. He is of an old and substantial English stock, and is a descendant on the paternal side of Count Robert Montgomery who led the
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