USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 65
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Most of Dr. Fisher's elementary schooling was obtained abroad before he came to this country in 1905, but he pursued his general medical studies here, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1917. He interned at Grace Hospital, in New Haven, Con- necticut, and at the Lying-in Hospital in New York. In 1918 Dr. Fisher opened his offices in The Bronx and conducted a general practice until 1924, when he journeyed to Vienna and Berlin in order to take spe- cial courses in children's diseases. He now devotes himself exclusively to this type of work. By vir- tue of his genuine interest in children, his kindly and sincere nature, and his thorough understanding of anatomical and psychological problems, he finds him- self able to obtain really remarkable results in his treatment of stubborn cases. He is a member of the State and County Medical societies, a life-member of the American Medical Society of Vienna, and a Fel- low of the American Medical Association.
On November 14, 1914, in The Bronx, Dr. Fisher married Molly Friedman, daughter of Israel and Jeannette Friedman, and their children are: Frances M. and Helen Fisher.
ISIDORE EZRA ROSENFELD-A well and widely-known cabinetmaker, apartment house owner and builder, and business man of The Bronx, New York, is Isidore Ezra Rosenfeld, of No. 2537 Grand Concourse, who has the unique distinction of having been involved in no sort of litigation in the transac- tion of important business over a period of twenty years.
Mr. Rosenfeld was born in Warsaw, Poland, July 15, 1872, son of Harris Rosenfeld, a farmer who died in Warsaw, and his wife, Rebecca Rosenfeld, who died in New York City. Mr. Rosenfeld came to the United States in October, 1901, and pursued here the same trade he had followed in his native country. He has broadened his original employment of cabinet- making to include building, then contracting and sell- ing, until he has become an important personage in The Bronx, where all his operations have taken place. He built No. 2537 Grand Concourse, the structure on the northwest corner of Tremont and University avenues, the first house to go up on Nelson and McCombs Road, and he is now building on Morris Avenue and East One Hundred and Seventy-fifth Street, on Prospect Avenue, and Avenue St. John. The next building which he has just completed is No. 2805 Creston Avenue, also one at No. 2314 Mor- fris Avenue. All construction work is carried on by the Ezra Construction Company, Inc., of which Mr. Rosenfeld is president. For ten years he has been connected with the Cosmopolitan Bank, and he has been a member of the Builders' Association for the past fourteen years, and previous to that he was with the Mutual Alliance Trust Company, on Grand Street.
Fraternally, Mr. Rosenfeld is associated with the
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Memonides Lodge, No. 743, Free and Accepted Masons, with Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, with Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is also a member of The Bronx Lions Club. His altruism and public spirit have carried him into ac- tive membership of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Home for the Jew- ish Blind. His religious affiliation is with the Jacob Schiff Center.
In Warsaw, March 1, 1893, Isidore Ezra Rosen- feld married Emma August, whose parents both died in Europe. To them were born the following chil- dren: Pauline. now Mrs. Jack Lowenstein; Jean- nette, now Mrs. Benjamin Spillman; Dr. J. D. Rosen - feld, first lieutenant, graduate of New York Univer- sity and Columbia University; Harry, second lieu- tenant, graduate of Fordham School of Pharmacy; and Rose, who graduated from Morris High and from business school.
JACOB SCHAPIRO-In the lines of printing and engraving, stationery and office outfitting, the house of Schapiro's holds a unique place in The Bronx. Its thirty-five years' record of business has an impor- tant part in the history of the borough, with whose growth and attainment of importance its own has been coincidental. The firm is considered as a sort of institution of the community, and its activities are not confined to The Bronx alone, since the head of the house, Jacob Schapiro, one of the most aggressive of Bronx business men, has branched out with a local establishment in Long Island City, whence it is his purpose to extend the firm's service to the suburbs of that community and to Manhattan. Mr. Scha- piro's contemporaries are observing with interest and admiration the remarkable strides made by him in the development of his policy of aggressiveness and expansion.
In 1893, when The Bronx contained much land that was undeveloped, and considerable areas were still devoted to agricultural purposes-the popula- tion at that time being somewhere around two hun- dred and fifty thousand -; when the only means of rail transportation was the "L" (which then had come as far as Tremont Avenue-and double-fare had to be paid at One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Street), Jacob Schapiro brought to a state of realization his vision of business opportunities when he opened a stationery store, in a modest way at No. 3438 Third Avenue, between One Hundred and Sixty-sixth and One Hundred and Sixty-seventh streets. His keen insight into the possibilities of this section was not disappointed; and his aggressiveness aided him in laying the groundwork for the good will that he knew was the essence and indication of success. By answering every call for merchandise in his lines, the business made steady growth. By September, 1898, the volume of trade had reached such large propor- tions that the location of the establishment was changed to a more commodious store at No. 3414 Third Avenue, where Mr. Schapiro's business meth- ods continued to add to his already desirable line of customers.
, The constant growth necessitated still further ex- pansion, and in April, 1907, a loft fifty by one hundred
feet, at Nos. 3410-12 Third Avenue, adjoining his premises, was acquired, and a modern printing plant and bindery have been installed there. The business eventually emerged from its purely local phase-one serving the immediate neighborhood-to become an institution serving business men, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, banks and professional men, with a delivery system covering The Bronx, a part of Manhattan, and Long Island City. The year 1920 saw still further expansion effected, when the lines of office furniture and filing equipment were taken on, and a branch was opened at No. 430 Jack- son Avenue (Bridge Plaza), Long Island City, with the ultimate goal in view of rendering efficient serv- ice to Long Island City, its suburbs and Manhattan.
In November, 1924, the business was removed to No. 387 East One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street- the "Hub" of The Bronx-while the plant is located at Graham Square, Third and Lincoln avenues, at One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Street, being housed in a modern factory building, where addi- tional presses have been installed to keep pace with the development of the trade. Mr. Schapiro's store is divided into four departments, each being managed by efficient heads: Office supplies, accounting books, and loose-leaf forms; social stationery and engraving; office furniture, sectional book-cases, filing cabinets and filing supplies; and a department for Dennison goods, demonstrations being given daily of the use of crepe paper, sealing wax and rope work. The printing department is under the management of M. Schapiro, brother of Jacob Schapiro. It is Mr. Schapiro's resolve to open additional branches as the growth of the business shall warrant.
Mr. Schapiro is a strong supporting member of The Bronx Board of Trade, affiliated with Lodge No. 819, Free and Accepted Masons, and Council No. 1839, Royal Arcanum, being also a member of the Lions Club of The Bronx.
Jacob Schapiro married, in October, 1898, Bertha Livingston Davis, of New Brunswick, and they are the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, all of whom have had a college education; his two sons, Al and Leon, now associated with their father in his business.
HENRY F. DREYER-To the substantial quali- ties as a business man and citizen of such outstanding residents as Henry F. Dreyer, president of Cramer- Meyer-Dreyer Company, Inc., The Bronx owes its recent rapid and healthy growth. The ability to build slowly and surely, to anticipate the demands of a growing community without jeopardizing stability, is the highest type of financial acumen, and the qual- ity is of particular significance in the shaping of Mr. Dreyer's policies in connection with his business.
Henry F. Dreyer was born in Hanover, Germany, October 28, 1854, son of Hans and Regina Dreyer, both of whom died in Germany, where the father was a stone quarryman and monument-maker.
After completing his education in the Hanover public schools, Henry F. Dreyer came to the United States, at the age of twenty-three years. His early occupation in this country was truck farming, at which he continued for some thirty years. In 1908, he joined forces with Herman D. Cramer (see fol-
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lowing biography), and Mr. Meyer, forming the coal company of which he is now head, and he has since remained at the head of the organizaiton, a potent factor in developing it to its present status of one of the most important in that section.
In Harlem, February 28, 1889, Henry F. Dreyer married Anna Cramer, daughter of Henry and Anna Cramer, and they are the parents of a son, Henry Dreyer, Jr., born August 8, 1900,- now married.
HERMAN D. CRAMER-A leading citizen of The Bronx, New York, whose enterprise has contrib- uted to the general comfort and welfare of the community is Herman D. Cramer, secretary and treasurer of the Cramer-Meyer-Dreyer Company, Inc., which has been flourishing for some eighteen years. Mr. Cramer was born in Germany, May 7, 1873, son of Herman Cramer, a teacher, who died in 1875.
He was educated in the public schools of Olden- burg, a town in his native land, and came to the United States alone at the age of fourteen. At eight- een he sent to Germany for his mother to come to his new home. He was in the grocery business for about six years at One Hundred and Forty-ninth Street and Walton Avenue, and seeing a more lucra- tive future in coal changed to that business. His first venture was a partnership with Mr. Meyer, as the Cramer-Meyer Company. When a third mem- ber, Henry F. Dreyer (see preceding biography), came in, in 1908, the business was incorporated under its present title of Cramer-Meyer-Dreyer Company, Inc., engaged generally in the coal business, with coal yards at the foot of One Hundred and Fiftieth Street and Harlem River. This has come to be one of the largest concerns of its kind in that section, and their business carries them into all parts of Greater New York. Mr. Cramer is a member of The Bronx Board of Trade. His religious affilia- tion is with St. Thomas' Lutheran Church.
In The Bronx, in 1908, Herman D. Cramer mar- ried Emma Borgstede, daughter of J. Henry and Anna Borgstede, residing now in The Bronx. Chil- dren: 1. Anita, born April 11, 1909. 2. Richard, born in 1913. 3. Herman, Jr., born December 24, 1923.
JAMES AUGUSTINE DRISCOLL-As presi- dent of the lumber concern known as Driscoll, Demp- sey and Driscoll, Incorporated, James Augustine Driscoll is successfully conducting a business which is growing rapidly and which has been in existence since 1920. Office and yard are located on The Bronx side of One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street and the Harlem River, with the main office fronting No. 103 East One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street.
James Driscoll, father of Mr. Driscoll, was born in Cork Settlement, near St. Stephens, New Bruns- wick, Canada, December 11, 1850, son of James and Mary (Scanlon) Driscoll, both of whom were natives of County Cork, Ireland. The grandfather, who was born in Clairnakelly, County Cork, came to this country in a sixty-ton vessel which took three months to cross, when he was sixteen years old, and then went to New Brunswick, where he followed the lumber trade on the St. Johns River. His wife, Mary Scanlon, born in Barehaven, County Cork,
came to this country, when she was sixteen years old, on the brig "Tryanagain." The father, James Driscoll, came to The Bronx as a young man and entered the employ of the Church E. Gates Com- pany, a lumber concern, with which he remained for a period of forty-seven years, retiring in 1920. He married Bridget Marie Murray, wlio was born in Calais, Maine, November 14, 1855, and they were the parents of James Augustine, of further mention; and of Walter P. Driscoll, an account of whose life fol- lows this. Both parents are still enjoying good health (1927).
James Augustine Driscoll, son of James and Bridget Marie (Murray) Driscoll, was born in the home on the corner of Third Avenue and One Hun- dred and Thirty-fifth Street, The Bronx, New York City, January 16, 1882. Later his parents removed to No. 1976 Bathgate Avenue, The Bronx, and he re- ceived his education in St. Jerome Parochial School and in Public School No. 63, in the Tremont section of The Bronx. When he was fifteen years old, in 1897, he entered the employ of the old established lumber concern known as the Church E. Gates Com- pany, with which his father was employed. This connection he maintained until the year of his father's retirement, in 1920, when he decided to engage in the lumber business for himself. In association with his brother, Walter P. Driscoll, and with Gerald Dempsey, he established the firm of Driscoll, Demp- sey, and Driscoll, and opened an office and yard on The Bronx side of One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street and the Harlem River. The yard covers an area equal to fourteen city blocks and the plant re- presents a most valuable property. All three men were practical lumber men and well known to the local trade, and from the beginning the new enter- prise prospered. Patronage came promptly and steadily increased, and within a very few years the firm of Driscoll, Dempsey, and Driscoll was one of the well-known lumber concerns of this section of the city. The partnership arrangement was con- tinued until 1926, when the concern was incorpor- ated with James Augustine Driscoll as president, and Walter P. Driscoll as treasurer. The business has continued to expand, and at the present time (1927), it is an important factor in the lumber trade of The Bronx. Mr. Driscoll is a member of the New York Lumber Trade Association, also of The Bronx Board of Trade, and of the Chamber of Com- merce, and he is a member of the Nylta Club.
James Augustine Driscoll was married, in the Ro- man Catholic Church of St. Martin of Tours, at One Hundred and Eighty-second Street and Pros- pect Avenue, The Bronx, by Rev. Father Moylan, to Mabelle Veronica Bennett, daughter of Charles and Susie (McCarron) Bennett. Mr. and Mrs. Driscoll are the parents of two children: 1. Irene Clare, who was born July 27, 1909, and is now attending New Rochelle College. 2. Alice, born September 23, 1918, now attending St. Barnabas' Parochial School.
CLARENCE JOSEPH GREGORY O'CONNOR, M. D., LL. B .- It is said that the only man in The Bronx who has qualified himself for the practice of two professions is Dr. Clarence Joseph Gregory O'Connor, who, while engaged in the. practice of
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medicine, studied law in Fordham University and received his degree in 1925, and was admitted to the bar of the State of New York in 1926. Dr. O'Con- nor has his offices at No. 2558 Marion Avenue, in The Bronx, and is known as a skilled physician.
Daniel O'Connor, father of Dr. O'Connor, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, but came to this country as a young man and settled in New York City, where he became one of the pioneers in the operation of chain grocery stores. He was very successful in this line, owning a number of stores throughout New York City, including The Bronx, and continued as a chain store merchant to the time of his death. He married Annie O'Sullivan, who was born in Carisaveen, County Kerry, Ireland, and who survives her husband, still enjoying good health (1927).
Dr. Clarence Joseph Gregory O'Connor was born in the home on Seventy-second Street, Manhattan, New York City, March 13, 1897, but his parents removed to The Bronx when he was one year old, making their home at No. 289 Alexander Avenue. He received his first school training in St. Jerome's Parochial School on Alexander Avenue, from which he was graduated in 1912. He prepared for col- lege in Fordham Preparatory School, and then matriculated in the School of Medicine, at Fordham University, where he finished his course, graduating with the class of 1921. After serving an interne- ship of one year in the Jersey City Hospital, he began practice, in 1922, in the Fordham section of The Bronx, opening offices first at No. 2497 Tiebout Avenue, later removing to No. 2474 Valentine Ave- nue, finally to his present location at No. 2558 Marion Avenue, near Fordham Road, where he is engaged in general practice. Dr. O'Connor has always been a man of exceptional mental ability and energy, and in September, 1922, while engaged in the practice of medicine, he entered Fordham University Law School, taking the regular law course, which he completed in June, 1925, receiving at that time the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In March, 1926, he passed the required examinations and was admitted to the New York State bar. He has been continu- ously engaged in general practice during all the time he was studying law, and is still so engaged, being the only man in The Bronx, so far as is known, who is fully qualified to practice two pro- fessions. Dr. O'Connor is a member of Omega Upsilon Phi College Fraternity.
Dr. Clarence Joseph Gregory O'Connor was mar- ried, June 28, 1927, in the Roman Catholic Church of the Queen of All Saints, by Monsignor Flannery, to Agnita Veronica Duffy, daughter of Joseph Duffy, a well-known plumber and contractor of New York City. Mrs. O'Connor received the degree of Bach- elor of Arts of St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn, 1921; Bachelor of Laws, Fordham University, 1925; and was admitted to the bar, June 7, 1927; she also is a licensed school teacher. Dr. and Mrs. O'Connor make their home at No. 2858 Marion Avenue, The Bronx.
RAPHAEL JOSEPH SMYTH, Civil Engineer, Surveyor and Architect. Born, New York City, Sep- tember 16, 1879. Technical education: Cooper Union (B. S., C E.); post-graduate courses in Brooklyn
Polytechnic Institute, Columbia University, New York University. Experience: Rapid Transit Rail- road Commission (1904-1907); Rodman, Topograph- ical Draftsman, Assistant Engineer. President of the Borough of The Bronx (1907-1927); Computer, Transitman and Computer, Assistant Engineer. Licensed as City Surveyor (1907); as Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor (1922). Registered as Architect (1920).
Membership in societies: American Society of Civil Engineers (member); Association of Engineers of New York; Association of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors; Bronx Real Estate Board (as- sociate member); Knights of Columbus.
On October 9, 1906, Raphael Joseph Smyth was married to Agnes F. Reilly, daughter of Brian and Catherine (Welsh) Reilly.
ALBERT GOLDMAN-With a splendid back- ground of nearly a quarter of a century of service with the new Edison Company of The Bronx as its assistant general commercial manager in that district, and with the influence deriving from contact in intimate and constructive relationship with numer- ous political, civic, social and charitable bodies, Al- bert Goldman, on January 1, 1926, was installed in the highly important office of Commissioner of the Department of Plant and Structures of New York City. The appointment came as one of the first and one of the most responsible of those made by the newly-inaugurated Mayor James J. Walker, and it m'et with general approval throughout the greater city. An energetic, resourceful man, who knows his New York and loves its institutions and people, and having an intelligent zeal for the promotion of its phenomenal growth and progress, Commissioner Goldman may be expected to administer his office with marked efficiency and notable achievement.
Albert Goldman was born in New York City, July 16, 1882, the son of Frank and Theresa Gold- man; the former died in 1916 and the latter in 1919. He received his education in the public school lo- cated on Seventy-fifth Street, between Second and Third avenues, Manhattan. When he was twenty years old, he entered the service of the Edison Company in The Bronx District, he being at that time one of only two employees of the company, whose customers numbered the comparatively small figure of three hundred and fifty. Today the popu- lation of the district is more than one million, and the Edison Company has grown to immense propor- tions, and Mr. Goldman, as one of its oldest em- ployees, became an important factor in that remark- able growth and development of community and service. As the Edison Company's assistant general commercial manager, he was brought into touch with m'en in all channels of industrial, charitable, civic and patriotic life of New York City. Among the numerous and valued contacts that he has made are prominent business men, bankers, manufacturers, men at the head of great industries and also men prominently identified with the big affairs of the Metropolis. All these stand him in fine stead in the administration of his office of commissioner, under whose jurisdiction, besides the executives, there is a force of nearly four thousand employees.
For many years Mr. Goldman has been intensely
albert Goldman
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active in the political and civic affairs of The Bronx. As a loyal and indefatigable member and worker in the Democratic party, he was a member of The Bronx County Democratic Committec. He only re- cently finished his work as chairman of a drive by which $150,000 was raised for the support of the Jewish Philanthropic societies, covering ninety-one institutions. He had previously been the head of a drive for raising $15,000 to carry on the activities of the Boy Scout Foundation of America in The Bronx. He has served as chairman of The Bronx Borough Day celebration for the past ten years, and was Bronx chairman for the Silver Jubilee of the city of New York. During the World War he achieved a fine record as The Bronx chairman of the Liberty Loan campaigns. Just previous to his severing his connection with the Edison Com- pany he was nominated for president of the New York Electrical League for 1926, and he accepted the honor, although holding it but for a day, in order that it might be a matter of record in the league.
Mr. Goldman is affiliated with some forty-two organizations, either as president, executive member, director, or simply as a member, these bodies in- cluding civic, political, charitable, financial and cor- porate associations. In 1910 he was appointed gen- eral agent of the Yonkers Electric Light and Power Company. He is a member and past president of The Bronx Board of Trade; executive committeeman of The Bronx Grand Jurors' Association; chairman of the board of directors of The Bronx Eye and Ear Infirmary; vice-president of The Bronx Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; vice- president of The Bronx National Securities Cor- poration; director of the New York Edison Savings and Loan Association; vice-president of the Boy Scouts Foundation of America of The Bronx; treas- urer of The Bronx Council of Girl Scouts; director of The Bronx Borough Bank; chairman of The Bronx Division of the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic societies; past president of the Association of Employees of the New York Edison Company; past chairman of the board of trustees of the Association of Employees of the New York Edison Company; first vice-president of the New York Electrical League; director of the New York Electrical Board of Trade; past president of the New York Section, National Electric Light Association; honorary member of The Bronx Elec- trical Contractors Association; member of the City Island Business Men's Association, Fordham Mer- chants' Association, Prospect Avenue Business Men's Association, Taxpayers' Alliance, Twenty-third Ward Association, The Bronx Real Estate Board, New York Waterways Association, Rivers and Harbors Commission, Illuminating Engineering Society, New York Electrical Society, North End Democratic Club, Bronx County Democratic Committee, Tremont Temple of Gates of Mercy, Schiff Center of The Bronx, Beth Abraham Home for Incurables, Bronx Hospital; member! and a former director of the Young Men's Hebrew Association of The Bronx; delegate to the United States Chamber of Commerce; trustce of The Bronx Friends of Erin; honorary member of Post No. 95, Veterans of Foreign Wars; affiliated with Perfect Ashlar Lodge, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; the New York City Consistory of
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