USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 51
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Mr. Holahan is a member of Union College Alumni Association; New York Athletic Club; Grassy Sprain Golf Club of Bronxville; and of Unity Council, Knights of Columbus. He is a communicant of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church of Tremont Avenue, and resides at No. 291 Burnside Avenue, The Bronx.
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THOMAS WILLIAM MARTIN, M. D .- Born and reared in the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx, Thomas W. Martin, well-known physician of that community, has not only been most actively engaged in the multitudinous duties which beset the members of the medical profession, but has also so arranged his affairs in such a manner as to derive considerable pleasure from life as a member of various lodges and other organizations.
The father of Dr. Martin, Thomas L. Martin, followed the business of bookbinder and printer, and his successful career was brought to a tragic end as the result of a wound received on the battlefield during the Civil War; he was a gunner in his regi- ment while so engaged against the Confederate troops during the battle of Gettysburg, a bullet from the enemy's lines pierced his lungs, and he died a short time later as the result of complications that attended the injury. His wife, before her marriage to Thomas L. Martin, was Mary Mahoney.
Thomas William Martin, son of Thomas L. and Mary (Mahoney) Martin, is, as previously mentioned, a native of the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx, where he was born on July 28, 1863. He joined his play-fellows in attendance at the public schools of the community, and upon completion of his rudi- mentary studies, went in for more arduous tasks at the College of the City of New York. He thereafter matriculated at the New York Medical University, and was subsequently graduated, in the class of 1885, from Bellevue Medical Department with note- worthy honors, thereafter serving the required period of his interneship at the Bellevue Hospital, and has since pursued the busy life which is the lot of a suc- cessful medical practitioner, in addition to bearing the responsibility as examiner for the Colonial Life Insurance Company.
This biographer has succeeded in acquiring suf- ficient knowledge relative to the accomplishments of Dr. Martin to believe himself justified in assuming that with the possession of a few other relative facts, the complete story will be proportionately more interesting. It is very evident that Dr. Martin, as a constructive factor in local government, an officer in the United States Army during the World War, an organizer of at least one prominent lodge order, an enthusiastic golfer, in the following of which hobby he has been awarded many cups and prizes-it is, we repeat very evident that Dr. Martin is not to be classed as one who lives the monotonous life of the average physician, for the reason that a keen, red-blooded man possessing the qualifications of the business executive, and the faculty, all too rare among both business and professional leaders, of accustoming himself to healthy outdoor recreation when at all possible of attainment, and the fellowship of good friends and fraternal brethren.
Dr. Martin is at the present time a member of the Democratic General Committee, and during the years 1916 to 1922, inclusive, rendered his community a most efficient administration upon his part as a member of the Board of Aldermen.
When the clouds of the World War darkened the nation's horizon, Dr. Martin proffered his services, and was commissioned a captain in the Surgical Reserve Corps. A fluent linguist, by the way,
capable of conversation in several languages other than his own, had occasion arisen, that talent would no doubt have proven most valuable to the service.
Dr. Martin organized, and has held every office in the Rising Star Lodge, No. 450, Free and Accepted Masons, and is also affiliated with Triune Chapter and Columbia Commandery, No. 1; also with the Foresters of America, and charter member of the Kingsbridge Camp, of the Woodmen of America. His professional connections include the New York State and New York County Medical societies. His church is the Methodist Episcopal.
On February 12, 1894, in Rockland County, New York State, Dr. Thomas William Martin was united in marriage to Ada Polhamus, daughter of Garret Polhamus. The doctor continues to receive his pa- tients at the family residence, No. 3072 Bailey Ave- nue, Kingsbridge, The Bronx, which has served the dual purposes since the year 1888, in the early days of his career.
ERNEST ROLPH-Progress in all matters con- cerning that branch of the legal profession in which Ernest Rolph is engaged, namely that of real estate law, is the keynote of his pronounced success, an'd with his offices at No. 645 East Tremont Avenue, The Bronx, Mr. Rolph has earned a high degree of popularity that is the result of his concentrated effort and study and his thorough preparation for his special field of activity. He has the good will and the esteem of the community, as well as of the legal fraternity and of the constituency whence he derives his extensive practice.
Ernest Rolph, the son of Harry and Elizabeth H. (Ashton) Rolph, natives of England, was born July 25, 1882, on Alexander Avenue, The Bronx, and he attended Public Schools Nos. 4 and 46, and was graduated from the latter. After a course of study in a preparatory school, Mr. Rolph matriculated at the Law School of New York University, where he was graduated with his degree Bachelor of Laws in the class of 1906. He was admitted to the bar in 1910, and he began practicing the same year in The Bronx, where he has since continued, making a specialty of real estate law, and with his offices at No. 645 East Tremont Avenue, opposite the Bergen Building and County Court.
Fraternally, Mr. Rolph is affiliated with Guiding Star Lodge, No. 565, Free and Accepted Masons; and with the Delta Chi College Fraternity; and he is also a member of the Alumni Club, and of The Bronx County Bar Association.
Ernest Rolph married, June 18, 1905, in Jersey City, New Jersey, Clara Sichel, of Woodlawn, The Bronx, daughter of Armand and Ermina (Bragge) Sichel. They are the parents of Ethel and Florence Rolph.
JOSHUA LLOYD EVANS-A very leading degree of success is the result of Joshua Lloyd Evans' well-developed plans in the real estate and insurance field, begun at a time when The Bronx as a residential and business section presented its first opportunities to realty enterprise. Mr. Evans possesses all the qualifications of a progressive pur- chaser and salesman of property that has proven
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of very substantial value to the business man, the merchant, and the home-maker, and his counsel and dealings in such matters have the record of absolute probity, and of satisfaction to all concerned therein. He is prominent and expert in sporting matters; and he has rendered as enthusiastic and efficient a service to his community in all civic interests. Mr. Evans is a son of Henry Mortimer Evans, a native of Wales, who died in London, England, in 1915, aged seventy-two years, and of Mary Evans, who died in 1909, in the sixty-third year of her age. Their children were: Henry, Arthur, Florence, Ernest, Joshua Lloyd, of whom further; George; Alice; Sidney; Albert.
Joshua Lloyd Evans was born January 9, 1869, in Ilford, England, and he attended Middle Class College, London, England. After an apprenticeship to a firm of general contractors for military clothing, he came to the United States when he was eighteen years old. Settling in New York City, he at once became interested in the insurance business, and to 1906 he was associated with the firm of Beecher and Benedict, when he established his present real estate and insurance headquarters.
During the World War, Mr. Evans gave of his time and attention to all matters pertaining to the activities of the hour: he was a member of the local draft board; a wide-awake "four-minute" man; and he was especially enthusiastic in drilling young boys for preparedness for the call of the hour. One of the pioneers in the introduction of soccer football, he was particularly interested in English cricket, and indeed all out-of-door sports; and he holds the office of secretary and treasurer of the New York Veterans' Cricket Association. He is a com- municant of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Joshua Lloyd Evans married, September 18, 1901, in New York City, Charlotte Ann Tice; her mother, Josephine (Jordan) Tice, resides with Mr. and Mrs. Evans. They are the parents of Joshua Lloyd Evans, Jr., who was born November 3, 1910.
JOSEPH BERGMAN-Easily ranking as one of the foremost realtors of The Bronx, New York, a pioneer whose personal efforts were largely re- sponsible for the rapid yet wholesome growth of the Freeman Street section of that large territory, Joseph Bergman is president of the Bergman Realty Company, Inc., No. 1341 Southern Boulevard. He was born on March 15, 1886, in New York City, son of Elias and Mary (Kopald) Bergman. His father, a painter and decorator, was born in Krakow, Aus- tria, in 1850, and died in New York City in 1907. His mother was born in 1856 and died in 1921.
The son was educated in his native city, com- pleting the course at Public School No. 7, in Man- hattan. His business career began as errand boy, which gave him an opportunity for advancement to the position of shipping clerk. In 1908 he entered the real estate business in The Bronx, at the same time establishing the Bergman Painting Company, thus combining two businesses which dovetailed and brought large developmental opportunities. For eighteen years he has devoted himself to opening up new sections of The Bronx. When the land around Freeman Street was open country, he formed
a habit of standing at the subway exit and acquaint- ing those who came out with facts about the prom- ising state of affairs in that district. So convincing was he that development was rapid, and the acces- sibility of the subway confirmed his good judgment. Mr. Bergman has managed many of the most im- portant realtv transactions of the neighborhood and has built and operated many of its largest apartment houses and business structures. His brother, David Bergman, has been associated with him since he started in the business. In addition to his extensive New York City property, Mr. Bergman owns and maintains a magnificent estate on Camp Cascade in High Mountain, New York, comprising four hundred acres improved with twenty-seven buildings. The property formerly belonged to Isaac Funk of Funk and Wagnalls, New York City publishers. In addition to his landed interests, Mr. Bergman is director of the Crotona Finance Corporation and chairman of the credit committee, as well as presi- dent of the Dayton Finance Corporation and treasurer of the Ferben Realty Company. He is a man of the most unusual foresight and business acumen, broad- gauged, and genuinely interested in community progress. He is a member of the Grand Street Boys, the Jackson Democratic Club of The Bronx, and the Star Democratic Club, of which he was for two years vice-president.
On July 31, 1912, in New York City, in the Grand Street Synagogue, Josenh Bergman married Ida Rosenthal, daughter of Abraham and Fanny Rosen- thal. Children: 1. Elias, born July 10, 1913. 2. Florence, born February 10, 1915. 3. Eleanore, born February 28, 1917. 4. Alvin William, born February 28, 1921.
JULIUS WANNER-Prominent in the real es- tate and insurance business in The Bronx, New York, Julius Wanner, whose office is at No. 4354 White Plains Avenue, has played an actual part in the up- building of his section and in adding to its facilities as a residential section, as is evidenced by the at- tractive houses he has built. He was born at No. 321 West Forty-third Street, New York City, Janu- ary 29, 1873, son of Jacob and Malania (Watters) Wanner, and at the age of four moved with his family to No. 316 West Thirty-eighth Street. Hi father, born in Baden, Germany, in 1839, died in February, 1920, after establishing an excellent repu- tation as an expert jeweler in the employ of Wallach & Company, jewelers, on Spring Street, New York, for fifty-eight years, 1861 to 1919. The mother was born in Fulda, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.
Julius Wanner was educated in the St. John the Baptist Parochial School and Public School No. 28, on Seventh Avenue and Fortieth Street. After he started to work, he continued his studies at the New York Evening Trade School, where he learned the painting trade. At the age of thirteen, Julius Wan- ner began upon his self-supporting career as an em- ployee of the Decker Brothers, piano manufacturers, where he remained for five years. When the factory closed down, he worked for a time as a painter. He and his brother opened a painting business of their own in 1898, and continued for eight years. Mr. Wanner then began erecting buildings. His first
Julius Danner
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structures were two four-story brick houses on land at Nos. 523 and 527 East One Hundred and Forty- seventh Street, which he had previously purchased. Moving next to the Wakefield section of The Bronx, he built three two-family frame houses at Nos. 727, 729, and 731 East Two Hundred and Thirty-fifth Street, in 1906. Three years later he continued his operations, erecting three two-family frame houses at Nos. 711, 713, and 715 East Two Hundred and Thirty-seventh Street, in the first of which he makes his home. In 1923 he went farther afield in his opera- tions, building four one-family homes and two two- family houses in Ozone Park, Long Island, all of which were soon sold. Mr. Wanner, thus experi- enced and prosperous, now devotes himself to real estate and insurance business. He is a communicant of St. Francis of Rome, a Roman Catholic church.
On January 29, 1905, in New York City, Julius Wanner married Amelia Elizabeth Hauser, daughter of Conrad and Elizabeth (Kraft) Hauser. Children: 1. George John, born September 30, 1907. 2. Julius Wanner, Jr., born August 3, 1909. 3. Mildred Eliza- beth, born May 14, 1912.
WILLIAM L. ROSAN-The name of William L. Rosan, prominent lawyer of The Bronx, is significant in recording the development of that section of New York. His office at No. 391 East One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street is the centre of important litigation, and he serves ably and with devoted in- terest a large group of clients, Mr. Rosan was born at Brest, Russia, October 12, 1892, son of Nathan and Matilda (Love) Rosan, both born in Brest. His father, born there in 1856, died in The Bronx, New York, at the age of sixty-seven, and his mother, now sixty-three years of age, resides in The Bronx. When William L. Rosan was six, the family moved to New York City. Besides himself, the children were: Julius; Mary; Samuel, an artist and portrait painter of note, now deceased; and Rose.
The boy was educated at Public School No. 4, New York, at Morris High School, from which he graduated in 1911, and from New York Law School, which he completed in 1915. On January 3, 1916, he was admitted to the bar. For the first eight years of his practice, Mr. Rosan was associated with other lawyers, including Frederick Brown. In May, 1924, he established a business of his own, and since that date he has been practicing inde- pendently. He is a member of The Bronx Bar Asso- ciation, of the Young Men's Christian Association and of Union Hospital. Much interested in the philanthropic and religious advancement of his com- munity, he is a member of B'nai B'rith, the Jewish Federated Charities, and Tremont Temple on the Concourse. His political affiliation is with the Demo- cratic party, and his hobby is golf, though while at school he was interested in general gymnastics, having a place on the team.
Mr. Rosan married, in The Bronx, November 17, 1917, Rita Brownstein, born in Liverpool, England, daughter of Etta Brownstein. Her father is deceased, and her mother lives in The Bronx. To Mr. and Mrs. Rosan was born a daughter, December 23, 1922, Leonore Rosan.
ISIDORE SOLOMON BERGER, D. D. S., is a man who although born and educated in a faraway land, and educated in a way totally unlike the type of work he has since made his life's career, has made a complete and rather great success of his life. Born on April 10, 1886, in Sirotono Vetevsk, Russia, Dr. Berger is the son of Solomon and Minnie (Novick) Berger. Solomon Berger, the father, was born in Polotizki, Russia, but it was in Sirotono Vetevsk, the birthplace of his wife, that he made his greatest success. For in that community he was a wholesale drygoods merchant of some note, and he also carried on an extensive grain business as well.
His son, Isidore Solomon Berger, received his early education in a private school under the competent preceptorship of a private tutor. This training was along semi-religious lines, and the first work he engaged in as a young man was, naturally, associated with his religion. He soon advanced to the rank of "Shochet," and as such he was fitted to perform many duties similar to those performed by a rabbi. At the age of nineteen, however, he very definitely changed the course of his life by voyaging to Ameri- ca. He entered the United States via the port of Boston, but journeyed on to New York where he settled on the lower east side, making his home on Madison Street, not far from the Bowery. He then decided to continue his studies-still along pro- fessional lines, but in a type of work more suited to his taste. He first entered the Joseph Preparatory School which fitted him for the regular course of studies at the New York Dental College, which he entered in 1909. He graduated from there with the class of 1912, when he received his degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. He immediately opened an office for himself at No. 870 East One Hundred and Seventieth Street, New York City, and began the practice of his new profession. After a normal amount of difficulty in getting started, he finally achieved his due measure of success: his clientele increased, and soon he was known as one of the foremost men in his part of the city. In 1922 he decided to increase his knowledge of the work in which he was engaged, and he accordingly enrolled for a post-graduate course in dental surgery at Columbia University. There he specialized in oral surgery and radiography; and since his completion of these courses he has made these two phases of dental surgery practically his only work. Carrying on these two parts of dentistry to a point of research, he has contributed much to the general knowledge of oral surgery, and is today one of the leading men in his profession in The Bronx. He organized and established The Bronx Dental Clinic, the only organization of its kind in that borough. And he has contributed a number of technical articles and monographs to various dental publications such as the "Cosmos" and the "Dental Outlook." He is also the originator of two wholly new methods for some of the more difficult parts of dental surgery, particularly those pertaining to anasthesia and the extraction of teeth. He has written monographs on these two phases entitled "Simplified Left Mandibular Conduction Injection" and "The Engineering of Exodontia."
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Dr. Berger is associated with many professional and public welfare organizations, among the more important of which are the First District Dental Society of New York City, of which he is a charter member, past president, 1920-21-22, and present presi- dent; the Allied Dental Council of New York City, of which he was for three years treasurer and is at present the vice-president; and he is also a member of the Jewish Publication Society; and the Jewish National Workmen's Alliance.
Dr. Isidore Solomon Berger married, during the year 1911, in The Bronx, Pauline Rosen, daughter of Abraham David Rosen, who was born in old Constantine, Ukraine. Dr. and Mrs. Berger are the parents of two children, one son and one daugh- ter: Clarence Berger, who was born October 5, 1912; and Ruth Berger, who was born September 25, 1916.
AARON BARTELSTONE-Still engaged in the same line of business, wholesale and retail glass of all kinds, in which he started many years ago, Mr. Bartelstone is now at the head of the firm of Aaron Bartelstone, with headquarters at Nos. 4177- 4179 Third Avenue, between One Hundred and Seventy-sixth and One Hundred and Seventy-seventh streets, The Bronx, New York, where it was estab- lished more than thirty years ago, under the name of Bartelstone Brothers, and was the pioneer glass concern in The Bronx. It met with marked success from the start, and the untiring energy, thorough knowledge, and great business ability of Mr. Bartel- stone have resulted not only in maintaining this success, but in continuously extending it.
Aaron Bartelstone was born in New York City, August 15, 1870, a son of Harris and Sarah Bartel- stone, who both died about 1919. He was educated in the public schools of New York City, attending Public School No. 75 on the lower east side, at Nor- folk and Madison streets. After leaving school he entered his father's business at No. 56 Cooper Square, Manhattan, and there received a thorough training in all branches of the glass business. In 1895 he established, in association with his brother, Oscar, who died in 1924, the firm of Bartelstone Brothers, which since his brother's death has been known under its present style of Aaron Bartelstone. He is both a wholesaler and retailer and handles all kinds of glass for all kinds of buildings and purposes, including plate glass, mirrors, and art and stained glass. A very extensive business is done with builders which includes also window sashes. Rough, ribbed, window, picture, ground, chipped and wired glass, as well as bullet-proof and non-shatterable glass are some of the other products handled, and experts employed by him look after all orders requiring beveling, silver- ing, embossing and mitre cutting. During the World War Mr. Bartelstone was very active in the various Liberty Loan drives and received the grateful acknowledgement of the Federal Government in recognition of his valuable services. He is a member of Level Lodge, No. 914, Free and Accepted Masons; the Knights of Pythias; Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Rotary Club; The Bronx Board of Trade; and the Grand Jurors' Association, to membership in which latter
body he is entitled bv the fact that he has served as foreman of a grand jury six times. His religious affiliations are with the Jewish faith, and more particularly with Tremont Temple of which he is a trustee, and in the work of which he takes an active and effective interest, being a liberal contributor to many charitable organizations.
Aaron Bartelstone married, in New York City, March 1, 1896, Selina Auerhahn, a daughter of Michael and Jeanette Auerhahn. Mr. and Mrs. Bartelstone are the parents of one son, Grant, born October 26, 1900, a graduate of Public School No. 28, Stuyvesant High School and the College of the City of New York. The family residence is located at No. 2090 Anthony Avenue, The Bronx.
REV. FATHER JOSEPH C. RYAN is well and widely known throughout The Bronx and its en- virons as an especially worthy example of the Ameri- can representative of the Holy Roman Empire, not only to his parishioners but to hundreds of other local citizens of varying religious creeds. He is deeply interested and extensively active in all types of charitable, benevolent and welfare enterprises, and is always ready and willing to aid in the progress and advancement of The Bronx. Father Joseph C. Ryan was born in New York City, on December 29, 1887, a son of Patrick and Jennie (Dolan) Ryan, both of whom were natives of Ireland, the father having died in the year 1890, and his mother now residing in The Bronx.
Father Ryan's early education was acquired in Public School No. 6, New York City, and following additional training at Cathedral College, he matricu- lated at St. Joseph's Seminary, whence he was gradu- ated with the class of 1916, on June 16. He was ordained to the priesthood on that date, and took up his first religious duties at St. Jerome's Parish, where he remained until 1918. From 1918 to 1919 he served as chaplain of the United States Army at Camp Greene, North Carolina, and at the close of that service came to St. Augustine's Parish, where he has since remained. It is interesting to note that Father Ryan has been a resident of this parish since 1904, when, as a boy, he came here to live. During the past five years he has been doing a vastly bene- ficent work in the "Big Brother" movement in The Bronx, of which he has full charge, from the offices of the organization at No. 567 East Tremont Ave- nue. He is also one of the organizers of the Catholic
Charities of the Arch-Diocese of New York State. Politically, Father Ryan is a staunch Democrat, and holds membership in the Jackson Democratic Club. Fraternally, he is an active member of the local lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, as well as Archbishop Hughes Assembly. He is, likewise, a member of the Knights of Columbus, being chaplain of Century Council, No. 543; the Lions Club, the American Legion of Bronx County, and the James Brown Association. Father Ryan resides at No. 1183 Franklin Avenue, The Bronx.
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