The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III, Part 57

Author: Wells, James Lee, 1843-1928
Publication date: 1927
Publisher: New York, The Lewis historical Pub. Co., Inc.
Number of Pages: 618


USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 57


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A Democrat in his political views, Mr. Gundall is a member of the Eugene McGuire Association. Dur- ing the World War, he was in detached service as an official photographer, and was associated with the pass bureau at Newport News.


Mr. Gundall has fraternal affiliations, and is a inem- ber of the American Legion, the Lions and the Schnorer clubs.


VICTOR SANTINI-In his activities as secre- tary of the firm of A. Santini and Sons, Incorporated, miovers and warehousemen, with headquarters at No. 439 East One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street, in The Bronx, Victor Santini continues the enterprising plan and purpose of the firm established by his fath- er, a concern that holds an unrivalled place in the business of moving and storage. Mr. Santini, vet- eran of the United States Navy, is a capable and energetic business man, and both resourceful and prosperous in the line that he makes a specialty. He is a son of Annuccio Santini, who died in 1924, fifty- nine years of age, and Adel Santini, president of the company; Annuccio Santini, who came from Lucca, in Tuscany, Italy, came to the United States in 1885 and established himself in business at The Bronx in that year, the first storage warehouseman in this section; he was the father of nine children, all living, and four of whom carry on the business of A. San- tini and Sons, Incorporated.


Victor Santini was born April 6, 1897, in The Bronx, where he attended Public School No. 27, and the High School of Commerce. He then engaged in the business founded by his father, and of which he is secretary. Annuccio Santini first started in busi- ness as a mover in 1885, and he opened headquarters in 1887 on Third Avenue, at One Hundred and Fiftieth Street and Westchester Avenue. In 1910, he built, at No. 439 East One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street, a seven-story and basement steel and concrete fireproof warehouse, the largest building in The Bronx at that time, and the most commodious build- ing of the kind now standing. He also constructed of the same materials an eight-story and basement warehouse on Jerome Avenue and Fordham Road. These pioneer movers in The Bronx have in their two buildings more storage space than any other two combined Bronx concerns. A. Santini and Sons, In- corporated, has for its officers, Mrs. Adel Santini, president; Reynold J. Santini, vice-president; Victor Santini, secretary.


In the World War, Mr. Santini joined the United States Navy as a seaman, and he was stationed at Pel- am Bay and Brooklyn Navy Yard. Fraternally, he s a member of Bronx Council, No. 266, Knights of Columbus; and he is a member of the Italian-Ameri- can Business Men's Association. He is a communi- cant of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church.


HARRY JOHN BAUER-A builder of pro- ounced leadership in both special and general lines of construction, and with substantial results accom- lished in the States of New Jersey and New York, Harry John Bauer is accounted one of the foremost


men of ability and accomplishment in his vocation in The Bronx, as he is indeed a pioneer in radio broadcasting interests. He is a son of Matthew Bauer, a leading building contractor of New York City, who was born in Baden, Germany, in 1823, and died in 1898, in The Bronx, and Catherine (Cul- bert) Bauer.


Harry John Bauer was born December 16, 1869, at the residence No. 523 East One Hundred and Fifty-third Street, now numbered 291, and he at- tended the Immaculate Conception Parochial School; and afterwards taking the academic course at La Salle Academy.


Entering upon the real estate business on his own account in Bergen, New Jersey, he was soon afterwards associated with the Bergen County Build- ing Company as one of its officials. In the course of his activities there, he was largely responsible for the development of the towns of Lackawanna and Clifton, and he also aided in the later develop- ment of Passaic, and Paterson, New Jersey, building homes and disposing of them to many new settlers in all these communities. Like many other builders and developers of property, he suffered in the de- pression of 1896-1898; and in 1900 he decided to return to The Bronx where he established a real estate headquarters on One Hundred and Fifty- third Street and Melrose Avenue, and he there met with success from the start. In 1914, he re- moved his offices to the present location, No. 687 Courtlandt Street; and while still engaged in the real estate business, in 1916, when the radio was yet in its infancy, he became intensely interested and was the first to erect a broadcasting station in The Bronx, organizing The Bronx Radio Equip- ment Company, of which he became supervisor and general manager.


Of late years, Mr. Bauer has devoted all his time to real estate matters, and he is rated among The Bronx leaders as a builder and developer, handling only large transactions, involving properties of con- siderable importance and large sums. His father was a prominent builder in New York City, erecting many prominent and important structures that stand today, among these being the Stewart Building at the northeast corner of Broadway and Chambers Street, now known as the Munsey Building, the home of the New York "Sun" and the "Telegram." He also built the famous old Fleetwood Track for August Belmont, Cassatt, and Vanderbilt, and others; a man of advanced ideas far ahead of his time, at one time in association with Henry Poor, of "Poor's Manual of Railroads" fame, he practically held con- trol of the old Third Avenue Railroad Elevated system.


Mr. Bauer is affiliated with Franklin Lodge, No. 447, Free and Accepted Masons.


Harry John Bauer married, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, September 16, 1901, Catherine Ross, who was born in The Bronx. Mrs. Bauer is a daughter of John and Catherine (Frieschbrier) Ross, the latter a daughter of Captain Frieschbrier of Civil War fame, the family originally having come from Alsace-Lorraine, and settling in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. Bauer are the parents of two sons: 1. Henry Matthias Bauer, born January


Bronx-15


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25, 1905, attended Holy Family Parochial School, and was graduated at Clason Point Military Aca- demy, and received commission at Plattsburg Reserve Officers' Training Corps. 2. Matthias Bauer, born October 14, 1910, attended Holy Family Parochial School and Clason Point Military Academy.


HANS ADELMANN-Although he has only been a resident of The Bronx since 1907, Mr. Adel- mann is rated as one of its prosperous, public-spirited citizens. He was born June 13, 1878, in Wertheim- on-Main, Germany, son of Emil Adelmann, who was born in Wertheim-on-Main, December 4, 1846, died in 1919, and of Barbara (Thoma) Adelmann, born in Tertejan-on-Main, Germany. His father was a pros- perous flour miller in Wertheim-on-Main, where he operated his own mill.


Hans Adelmann received his early education in the public schools of his native town. After his school years were over, he apprenticed himself to a butcher to thoroughly learn the trade, for which he paid two hundred and fifty marks in gold, and was obliged to serve for two years without pay. He followed the butcher's trade for two years, or until he came to the United States, in 1907. Here he joined his brother who conducted a bakery on Boston Road, The Bronx, and remained with him for six months. At the end of that time he dissolved the partnership to enter business on his own account, and established a bakery at No. 640 Morris Park Ave- nue, The Bronx. From the very beginning his bak- ery prospered, and although he had established a large and lucrative clientele, at the end of a year and one-half he sold the business to Struble & Baker, who continue to conduct the business at the same address. During all this time he had been perfect- ing a utensil for boiling hams without tying up the ham with twine, thus making it cleaner and more sanitary, and at the same time the ham can be cooked and compressed into a corrugated shape for easy slicing. He has had the utensil patented in all countries and has established a factory for its manufacture in Port Chester, New York, where he employs an av- erage of twenty men the year round, manufacturing this utensil for the trade. Mr. Adelmann is a mem- ber of the Steuben Society of New Rochelle.


Hans Adelmann married (first), November 8, 1910, in The Bronx, Amelia Miller, daughter of Christaf and Amelia (Hass) Miller, and they were the par- ents of two children: 1. Freda, born July 20, 1911. 2. Charlotte Miller, born May 20, 1916. Mrs. Adel- mann died June 13, 1916. Mr. Adelmann married (second), November 26, 1919, Olga Schulz, a native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Adelmann are the par- ents of two children: 3. Hans, Jr., born February 27, 1920. 4. Walter Arthur, born January 15, 1923. The family home is No. 40 Parcot Avenue, New Rochelle.


LEO HLAWATSCH-A native and a lifelong resident of The Bronx, Mr. Hlawatsch has been suc- cessfully engaged in the plumbing trade for some twenty-two years, with a shop at No. 881 Tinton Ave- nue. He was born in The Bronx, a son of Leopold and Josephine Hlawatsch. His father was born in Aus- tria and came to this country as a young man, set-


tling in The Bronx. The parents died about 1900.


Leo Hlawatsch was educated in the public schools of The Bronx, attending Melrose School. He then was apprenticed to a plumber and after thoroughly mastering all branches of his trade, he established himself in business, being still successfully engaged in it. He is a member of the Old Timers' Associa- tion.


WILLIAM LEO ANTHONY ARCTANDER


-As assistant engineer of the Bureau of Sewers of Bronx Borough, William L. A. Arctander has had charge of the construction of some of the largest sewers ever built in the world. Mr. Arctander stands high in the engineering profession; and he is a direc- tor of the Municipal Engineers' Society of the City of New York and secretary of the Association of En- gineers of New York with headquarters in the En- gineering Societies Building. He is a son of Arthur and Annie (Cashman) Arctander. The father, Ar- thur Arctander, was born in Denmark, May 20, 1842, and came to the United States in 1861, arriving in Boston and later moving to New York, where he made his home in The Bronx until he died, January 3, 1920. He was a well-known architect and de- signed many of the finest buildings in The Bronx. Mr. Arctander's mother, Annie (Cashman) Arctand- er, was born in New York City, October 20, 1852, died September 18, 1907, in The Bronx. She was a daughter of Patrick Cashman who was the foreman in charge of the laying of the New York Central Railroad tracks into the city of New York.


William Leo Anthony Arctander was born Sep- tember 20, 1884, in The Bronx and attended St. Je- rome's Academy and old Public School No. 60 and Morris High School. Later while he was working he took evening courses in chemistry at Morris High School and in engineering at the College of the City of New York. He began work in 1901, when he was seventeen, in the employ of the New York Edison Company when the company was located on Pearl Street in New York City and remained there for two years. He then accepted a position with Millbank Leaman & Company, an old exclusive concern im- porting high grade woollens and remained with them for two years. At the end of this period he entered the engineering field and for a time was connected with the Engineering Department of the Borough of The Bronx, where he obtained excellent practical ex- perience. His next work was in the employ of James H. Maloney, civil engineer and city surveyor. In May, 1906, however, he returned to the engineer- ing department of the borough and worked for a time as an axman on the Storm Relief Tunnel Sewer at One Hundred and Seventieth Street and High Bridge, after which he was promoted to rodman and was assigned to work with the Board of Water Sup- ply at Peekskill, New York, on the first construction of the Catskill Aqueduct, where he remained until 1907. He was now promoted to draughtsman and assigned to work in the Borough of Richmond for some little time, after which he was transferred to the Bureau of Sewers of Bronx Borough, and on June 1, 1909 was promoted to assistant engineer of the Bureau, which post he still holds. During the years that he has spent in the service of the bureau,


Frans Hellmann


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Mr. Arctander has had charge of some of the biggest sewers ever constructed, particularly the mammoth White Plains Road sewer from the East River to La- combe Avenue, White Plains Road, Havemeyer Ave- nue, Lafayette Avenue to Avenue A, this being the largest sewer in the world. Mr. Arctander, who is a land surveyor of the State of New York as well as a professional engineer, takes an active interest in engineering societies and holds office as secretary of the Association of Engineers of New York. He is also a director of the Municipal Engineers' Society of New York. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party and he is an active member of the Jackson Democratic Club of The Bronx.


Mr. Arctander married, on February 15, 1915, in the Church of SS. Peter and Paul in The Bronx, Jane Stewart, a daughter of Robert Samuel and Jane (Moran) Stewart. Her father, who was born in the village of Woodstock, October 25, 1852, is still very active in his seventy-fourth year. He was a mem- ber of the old Fire Company. Her mother was born in Ireland, October 31, 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Arc- tander have one child, Margaret Arctander, born born March 11, 1916.


WILLIAM AUGUST ZEIDLER-Young men, ambitious to achieve a successful business career, would do well to study the preparatory years of some of those who have preceded them and have arrived. Of course, physical health and natural en- dowment figure, but there are certain qualities of mind and spirit, virtually identical in almost every case, that forecast victory. A ready tongue and a well filled brain make a speaker. A young man of honesty, purpose, application, and determination makes a man of affairs and a useful citizen.


William August Zeidler was born on August 22, 1867, in New York City, son of Frederick W. and Minnie (Korn) Zeidler. His parents emigrated from Posen, Germany. He first attended Grammar School No. 18, after which he took a five-year night course at Cooper Institute in mechanical engineer- ing, modelling, and mechanical drawing, at the same time studying and working during the day in the Major & Knapp Lithograph Company's plant, in those years the leading lithography concern of New York. While pursuing his course in Cooper Insti- tute, he won the first cash prize for the best drawing submitted by the students of the class. Graduating at twenty-one, he continued with the Major & Knapp Company, spending seven full years in the practical study of the art of lithography. Mindful and deter- mined to have the best preparation possible for his future career, he now took up a correspondence school course, after which in 1897 he established his own business in the Spees Building, on Lincoln Ave- nue, The Bronx. Today the factory of the William A. Zeidler Company, manufacturers of laundry ma- chinery specialties, is located at One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Street and Locust Avenue, and known in the trade from coast to coast.


In 1900, Mr. Zeidler invented the first automatic machine for ironing collars. From time to time im- provements have been made on this machine until today he has four types of machines in his collar machine group, the latest capable of ironing twenty-


four collars per minute. Many other inventions are to his credit. For example, he has invented the latest and best clothes-pressing machine on the mar- ket. During the war, when other experts had failed, he was called into council and quickly devised a spiral for the mark 3-75 millimeter shells, and of the seventeen millions of these shells manufactured for the government he turned out eleven millions.


Mr. Zeidler is a member of the Rotary Club of The Bronx, and director of the church social commit- tee of the Young Men's Christian Association.


William August Zeidler married, in 1898, Emma C. Fischer, daughter of John and Caroline Fischer. To Mr. and Mrs. Zeidler have been born six chil- dren: 1. Harold Oliver. 2. William August, Jr. 3. Gilbert A., now a student in the University of Pennsylvania. 4. Grace, died in 1919. 5. Ruth, who married Daniel Curtin and is the mother of Daniel Curtin, Jr. 6. Jean. The family are members of the Bedford Park Presbyterian Church, Mr. Zeidler being the active head of a young men's Bible class.


CHARLES KUNTZE-It has been the privilege of Charles Kuntze to perform a very active share in both the business and the political interests of The Bronx during a period inclusive of the recent years' improvement and expansion of this community; for as a builder and realtor, and as one who by popular acclaim has represented his district as an alderman, Mr. Kuntze has for years been a citizen of outstand-, ing abilities and one who has stood shoulder to shoulder with every movement in behalf of the gen- eral prosperity of The Bronx. He is a son of Her- man Kuntze who was a game-keeper in Germany, and of Freidrika Kuntze.


Charles Kuntze was born October 24, 1870, in Ger- many, and coming to the United States with his par- ents when he was sixteen years old, he attended the public and the evening schools in New York City. From the beginning of his business activities he had become interested in real estate matters, and his first employment in that line was with the firm of Z. Par- ish, Wheeler & Company, in Union Square. He re- mained with that house about ten years, and for four years he held the office of superintendent of the J. C. Lyons Building Company, after which he established a business on his own account as a painter and dec- orator, with headquarters at No. 1733 Park Avenue. Since 1906 he has engaged in the real estate busi- ness, as Charles Kuntze & Son, their offices being at No. 459 East One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street.


A resident of The Bronx since 1894, Mr. Kuntze was one of the organizers of the M. O. L. of the Thirty-fourth District, and one of the most active and influential workers in that movement. At the election of 1905 he was elected alderman on the ticket that was presented by that organization, by a plurality of nine hundred votes over Alderman Dougherty, and 3,300 over John H. Watt. In the primaries of 1925, he was a candidate for borough president against Henry Bruckner.


Fraternally, Mr. Kuntze is affiliated with the Lodge of Strict Observance, No. 94, Free and Accepted Masons; and of the Steuben Society of America; and he is also a member of the Muskoota Club, a


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Democratic organization. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church.


Charles Kuntze married, in 1895, Lena Handler, daughter of John and Marie Handler; and their chil -- dren are: 1. Elsie, born May 18, 1896; married Adolph Miller, and mother of Adolph Miller, Jr. born March 31, 1924. 2. Charles Kuntze, Jr., born March 23, 1898; at the time of the signing of the Armistice he had just joined Camp Forrest Machine Gun Squad. He married, November 23, 1919, Cath- erine Smith; and they are the parents of: Charles Kuntze, 3d, born October 26, 1923, and Alan Kuntze, born May 31, 1924.


DANIEL J. DUNN-The past twelve years so eventful in the upbuilding and expansion of The Bronx, New York, have given to Daniel J. Dunn, a lawyer, whose offices are at No. 901 Elton Avenue, a successful legal career. Mr. Dunn has played no small part in developing a wholesome business and public spirit in that section. A lifelong resident he is widely known and his influence, which is great, is always on the side of real progress. He was born in New York City, December 12, 1885, son of John and Theresa Dunn, both of whom died in 1917. The father was for many years associated with the Pub- lic Maintenance Department.


The son was educated in The Bronx public schools and at City College, pursuing his legal course at New York University Law School, which he com- pleted in 1913. In July of that year he was admitted to the bar. The independent general practice in which he immediately engaged he has since con- tinued, and is now regarded as one of the able and successful lawyers of the section. During the World War he was second lieutenant assigned to duty in connection with the supply system in France. Mr. Dunn is affiliated with the Democratic party and with the Schnorer Club. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church of SS. Peter and Paul. He has gained success in life not measured by fi- nancial success alone, but gauged as well by his kindly amenities and congenial associations he has formed.


S. B. STEINMETZ-With the beginning of the present active era of building in The Bronx, and the arrival of the larger groups of home-makers and of business men in this section of the city, Mr. Stein- metz was already on the scene, and with the laying out of new properties and the planning for the immediate future of the large center of population, he was a pioneer in the erection of those apartment houses and stores that stand today among the most substantial of such structures. Mr. Steinmetz was then reputed, as he is known today, as one of the foremost builders in The Bronx, and with the ex- tending of his building operations to Tampa, Flor- ida, and the exploitation of his desirable structural methods in that section of the country, his work is a much sought and welcomed commodity both north and south.


S. B. Steinmetz, a son of Benjamin Steinmetz, who came from Hungary to the United States in his voung manhood, and of Sally Steinmetz, was born February 24, 1872, in New York City, where he at- tended the public schools. He immediately entered


upon the carpenter's and the contractor's business, and in 1895 he started with those building operations in The Bronx section that have secured for him a most satisfactory and pleasing recognition among constructors. His extensive building operations are maintained with his headquarters in The Bronx at No. 321 East One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street, and at Tampa, Florida, at No. 11612 East Lafayette Street, where he has built many apartments and store buildings.


Fraternally, Mr. Steinmetz is affiliated with Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 27, Free and Accepted Masons.


S. B. Steinmetz married, in 1898, in New York City, Amelia Zimmerman, and they are the parents of: Benjamin, Sylvia, and Harold.


JULIUS TRATTNER-Engaged in the real es- tate business for almost three decades and for twenty-two years of this period located at No. 458 East One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street, The Bronx, Mr. Trattner eventually purchased the prop- erty at No. 337 East One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street, The Bronx, and, after remodelling this build- ing, has made it his headquarters in recent years. There he conducts with marked success a general real estate brokerage and insurance business. He was born in Frankfort, Germany, December 31, 1864, a son of Samuel and Charlotte Trattner, both na- tives and lifelong residents of Germany, where they died.


Julius Trattner was educated in the public and high schools of Frankfort, Germany. After grad- uating from the latter he came to this country in 1882 as a youth of eighteen years with only thirteen dollars in his pockets. After a short time in New York City he went successively to St. Louis, Mis- souri; Cairo, Illinois; Greenville, Mississippi; and Cleveland, Ohio. Eventually, however, he returned to New York City and, in 1898, he engaged there in the real estate business, in which he has continued since then with ever-increasing success. Amongst his many transactions, many of which involved large properties and equally large sums, should be men- tioned especially numerous sales of houses on St. Ann's Avenue. He is a member of Hope Lodge, No. 261, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the South Bronx Property Owners' Association, while his re- ligious affiliations are with the Sinai Congregation of The Bronx, on Stebbins Avenue.


Mr. Trattner married, in New York City, Septem- ber 30, 1888, Helena Loeb, daughter of Adolph and Bertha Loeb. Mr. and Mrs. Trattner are the par- ents of five children: 1. Florence, born in 1889, now Mrs. Lowenheim. 2. Sidney, born in 1891, a practic- ing physician in Richmond, Virginia. 3. Irene, born in 1895, now Mrs. Vogel, wife of a physician. 4. Alice, born in 1897, now Mrs. Rothholz. 5. Sylvan A., born in 1900, who makes his home with his par- ents. The family home is located at No. 365 East One Hundred and Sixty-third Street, The Bronx.


GEORGE A. HAMMEL, Jr .- Among the younger business men of The Bronx who through brisk enter- prise and well-proven ability have won their way to position and success in their vocations, George A. Hammel, Jr., representing the firm of George W.


Samuel Sauitato


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Fennell and Company, as buyer and manager, is widely recognized as a factor of progress in that firm's business plans, as well as in the mercantile life of The Bronx in general. Through his personal industry and his business sense and comprehension, he has made his way to a place of substantial impor- tance in the management of the affairs of a leading concern.




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