USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 8
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Fred D. Schlesinger
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member of The Bronx Council, Knights of Colum- bus; of The Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; of the Jackson Democratic Club and The Bronx Bar Association. In his reli- gious fellowship he is a communicant of St. Augus- tine's Roman Catholic Church.
Thomas Aloysius Maher married, October 16, 1895, in the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas, New York City, by the Rev. Thomas Gregg, Serphina Stanislaus Monaghan. Her father, Henry Monaghan, was born in Ireland, her mother, Mary E. (Treanor) Monag- han, was born in the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Maher are the parents of two children: 1. Ruth Janet, born June 9, 1897; married Clarence C. Garvey, and they are the parents of two children: Mary, born June 8, 1923; Thomas, born October 27, 1924. 2. Edward A., born June 5, 1899; married Joan Williams. Mr. Maher's business address is the Bergen Building, The Bronx, New York City.
FREDERICK SIEG. SCHLESINGER-In mak- ing the distribution of credits for valued contributions to the remarkable advance in the new development within the Real Estate field, and in the notable improvement in housing conditions in The Bronx, a generous share should be given to Fred. S. Schles- inger, President of the Demont Realty Company and the Davidora Apartment House Corporation, and himself a finished Architect and Builder, who knows the construction business as related to Apartment Houses and other dwellings both in theory and prac- tice. Mr. Schlesinger received a fine start in his chosen profession in high class technical schools in his native Berlin, Germany, and supplemented that academic training with an intimate course in the New York City Building Department, in the Tene- ment House Department, which was created in 1902, and is, perhaps, the most important of all the City Departments, and in the Architectural Division of the New York City Board of Education, all of which helped him to become thoroughly familiar with the new Tenement House and Building Laws, also with construction of School Buildings, Theatres, etc., that he might be fully qualified to proceed with building operations on his own account. Two of the con- spicuous examples of Mr. Schlesinger's progressive building operations that have added to value of real property in The Bronx are "Davidora Court," on the southeast corner of Tremont and Devoe avenues, the first large Apartment House built east of the Bronx River, and "Alvin Hall," Nos. 1320-1328 Grant Avenue, between One Hundred and Sixty-ninth and One Hundred and Seventieth streets. The first- named Apartments, the building being five stories high, are modern in every detail, attractively designed both as to exterior and interior, with the last work of comfort and convenience. This house is named in honor of Mr. Schlesinger's parents, David and Dora, to make the euphonious combination "Davi- dora." The ground floor is given over largely to stores and offices for professional purposes, while the four upper floors are most conveniently laid out, each apartment being naturally lighted and at- tractively appointed, with every model and modern equipment installed that the Twentieth-century house- wife could wish. "Alvin Hall," owned by the "1325
Grant Avenue" Corporation, a holding company, of which Mr. Schlesinger is also the President, is a beautiful structure of six stories, of Venetian design, and, if anything, a considerable advance in many details, size and appointments included, over "Davi- dora Court." Both houses are admirably situated near subway and surface electric lines and within easy walking distance of railroads to the north, east and west. The people of The Bronx who live in the zone which Mr. Schlesinger has helped to improve in his splendid way with these light, pleasant and airy homes for the city dweller are most cordial in their praise of this forward-looking citizen and real estate operator for the fine work he is continuing to do for their section of the Metropolis.
Fred. S. Schlesinger was born in Berlin, Germany, May 23, 1868, the son of David and Dora Schlesinger, natives of the Fatherland, the mother dying in Oc- tober, 1921, and the father in November, 1923, he having been retired from active pursuits many years before his death. The son, Fred. S., one of eight children, was a mere boy when selected for the profession of Architecture, because of his precocity in that direction. He attended the Royal High School of Berlin, and thence entered the Berlin Technical School, completing his studies of the theory of Architecture in the Building Academy of Berlin. He then began to put his theories into practice as an Architect's apprentice in his home city. He served his bond-term, and had reached the age of sixteen years, when his parents decided to move to America, believing that their son would have greater opportunities in this country for making a career for himself. The family arrived in 1884 and the youthful Fred at once applied himself to learning the American methods of building construc- tion. He obtained positions with the leading Arch- itects in the city, with the New York Building Depart- ment, and in 1902 was appointed by the Civil Service Commission as Architect of the Tenement House Department of New York (Manhattan) and Brook- lyn. From 1904 to 1906 he was attached to the Architectural Division of the New York City Board of Education. In these positions he became thor- oughly versed in the revised Tenement Building Laws to the end that he completed his terms of em- ployment for the city and emerged a full-fledged Architect and Builder.
Mr. Schlesinger's connection with active building operations in greater New York City found its first outstanding expression in the erection of the five- story "Davidora Court" apartments, No. 1104 East Tremont Avenue, The Bronx. This fine building, a distinct advance in buildings, housing a large number of tenants, was completed and ready for occupance July 1, 1923. Mr. Schlesinger's company, under which he operated for the construction and holding of "Davidora Court," is known as Demont Realty Company, of which he is President, the name being derived from the first syllable of the word Devoe (Avenue) and the last syllable of Tremont (Avenue), on which thoroughfares the house is situated. The "Davidora Apartment House" Corporation is another corporation, under which Mr. Schlesinger operates, while he is the executive head of the "1325 Grant Avenue" Corporation, under which style he holds
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and manages the "Alvin Hall" Apartments, ac- knowledged to be properly placed in the front rank of houses of that type in The Bronx.
Mr. Schlesinger has the material interests and the public welfare much in mind in the manage- ment of his Real Estate business. He is building not only for the present Apartment Houses of ap- proved type of construction but also for his future that his reputation for progressiveness as a Realtor shall not be dimmed with the passing of years.
He is identified with the Free and Accepted Masons as a member of Shakespeare Lodge, No. 750, and is affiliated with Columbus Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He also is a member of the Level Club of the Masonic Order and of The Real Estate Board of New York.
Fred. S. Schlesinger was married, February 10, 1909, in Manhattan, New York City, to Martha Jacobus, who died January 12, 1918, a daughter of William Jacobus, who died in his native Germany. He is very fond of the outdoors and his favorite pastime is experimenting in the Photographic and Radio ficlds.
Mr. Schlesinger has his business headquarters at No. 1106 East Tremont Avenue, and his residence at No. 1104 East Tremont Avenue, The Bronx, New York City.
CAPTAIN HENRY RICK-When some modern Diogenes comes to The Bronx with his lantern in his hand looking for an honest man, he should be directed to No. 450 Wales Avenue, for there he will find not only an honest man but a thoroughly con- tented one as well. Moreover, he will find a clear- thinking philosopher with whom he ought to find many things in common. The contented man who has lived at the above-mentioned address for thirty- nine years is Captain Henry Rick, who for forty- seven years has been in the employ of the Health Department of New York City. Ever since his eighteenth birthday he has been skipper of some craft or other, and for the forty-seven years preced- ing his retirment in 1920, he was continuously en- gaged in piloting and "captaining" the boats of the Health Department used in transporting contagious cases from the city to the various hospitals located on islands in the East River.
Captain Henry Rick was born in Ensheim, Hesse- Darmstadt, Germany, September 15, 1846, and re- ceived his early education in the schools of his native district. When he was eight years of age his father brought the family on a sailing vessel to this country, landing in New York City. There were no immi- gration officials in those days and little attention was paid to those who landed, little assistance was to be had unless the new arrival had the means where- with to make it worthwhile financially for those who offered assistance. The little Rick family was sturdy and resourceful, however, and quite able to take care of themselves. They settled in New York City in the neighborhood of Twenty-fifth Street and First Avenue. Eight-year old Henry found employment in the Loquen Match Factory located at the corner of Thirtieth Street and Second Avenue, and while working long hours in the factory during the day-
light hours, attended evening school in order that he might master the English language and acquire as much of the education given in this country as time and the necessity for earning his own living would permit. He worked in the match factory un- til he was twelve years of age, and then, like many boys of his acquaintance, went to lobster fishing in the East River, especially centering his operations around Hell Gate. After a lifetime spent on the East River, Captain Rick still asserts that neither the Massachusetts capes, nor the Jersey coves, nor even the bays of Long Island can compare with the Harlem River of the old days as a lobstering ground. He averaged from seventy to eighty pounds of lobsters a day, and, even though prices of that time were exceedingly low as compared with those of today, his day's catch represented a substantial sum for a day's earnings. The Harlem River and Diamond Reef on the lower end of Blackwell's Is- land were his chief fishing grounds, and he was prospering in this occupation when the big oil com- panies came into existence. Finally the Pratt refin- ery was built in Long Island City, and the lobsters who survived were obliged to seek new places of residence. Likewise young Henry Rick was also obliged to seek some other means of earning a liv- ing. The trouble was that though the use of oil had become somewhat general, no use had yet been found for gasoline, which, released in the process of refining the oil, was allowed to run into the East River, where it destroyed the lobster-fishing industry. Young Henry then took to boating, but during most of the day he was kept busy painting and tarring rowboats until one day he persuaded his employers to permit him to use the oars. Then the lad found his calling, and from that day to the time of his retirement, some fifty-six years later, he was master of some boat on the East River. In association with Joe Murray, who later was associated with the early political career of Theodore Roosevelt, he decided to run a rowboat ferry from Fifty-second Street, East River, to Blackwell's Island. This venture
proved successful and was continued until 1874, when he became captain of the steam launch named in honor of Mayor William H. Wickham, plying be- tween Fifty-second Street and East River to Black- well's Island, supplanting the rowboat ferry. He con- tinued as captain of the "William H. Wickham" until 1881, when he was placed in command of a larger boat, the "Psyche," which he operated until 1885, when the increased activities of the Health Department in the transport of contagious diseases made necessary a still larger boat. Captain Rick was then placed in charge of the "Franklin Edison," named in honor of former Mayor Edison, and it was while he was cap- tain of this vessel that he became one of the heroes of the "General Slocum" disaster. That ill-starred vessel had caught fire in Hell Gate and it was loaded with excursionists, including large numbers of women and children. Its captain tried to beach the boat on North Brother Island, but it ran on a reef. Cap- tain Rick had just docked the "Franklin Edison" at the Health Department's pier at One Hundred and Thirty-second Street when he heard the alarm. He put the "Franklin Edison" under steam, steered to
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within fifty feet of the burning "Slocum", threw over- board all his life preservers and though the heat of the burning "Slocum" cracked the paint and melted ev- ery pane of glass in the "Edison," Captain Rick re- mained in the pilot house and directed the work of rescue, later diving overboard and rescuing one per- son himself. In all, not counting those who were saved by the life preservers thrown overboard, the crew of the "Franklin Edison" saved the lives of twenty-six persons. For this heroic action the city later awarded medals to Captain Rick and to each member of his crew. He also received a certificate of honor from the United States Volunteer Life Saving Corps. Captain Rick is modest, and considers that he simply did his duty, but he is glad that when the op- portunity came to be of special service, a long life- time of strict attention to duty enabled him to meet the emergency. Sometime later the city made an ap- propriation of $62,000 for a new boat to be used in the service of the Health Department, and when the fine new boat was completed Captain Rick was placed in charge. He operated the "Riverside," the above- mentioned new boat, between Thirty-second Street at the East River and North Brother and Hart's is- lands, in the employ of the Health Department, un- til the time of his retirement in April, 1921, at which time he had completed forty-seven years of continu- ous service in the employ of the Health Department of New York City. Few men living today have the intimate knowledge of the changes which have taken place along the East River during the last sixty years than has Captain Rick. He is now in his eightieth year. He comes of a long-lived family and doubtless the content and simplicity of his philosophy of life will add some years to his sojourn in this world which he has always found to be a good world. During his long career as an officer of the Health Depart- ment's boats, Captain Rick carried an average of ten persons a day, all afflicted with contagious dis- eases, and in twenty-five years he carried 90,000 sick people. He is familiar with practically every con- tagious disease, but long association has made him indifferent to danger from this source, and he has seemed to lead a charmed life. for not once has he contracted any of the diseases with which his pas- sengers were afflicted. "I figure that a man should eat, sleep, and be warm," says Captain Rick. "When a man has enough to supply these needs, why bother about more?" Content seems to be the outstanding characteristic of the veteran pilot, but his has not been the content of inactivity. It has rather been the content of the busy man who attends well to each day's duty, and lets the rest take care of itself. That his philosophy is financially sound is evidenced by the fact that Captain Rick, who has recently sold his old home at No. 450 Wales Avenue, The Bronx, to the city of New York to make room for a new school building, also owns the properties at Nos. 430-432 Wales Avenue, and vacant lots on Nereid Avenue, four blocks from White Plains Ave- nue. He is a member of the Pilots Association.
Captain Henry Rick is a son of Philip Rick who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and came to this country alone before bringing his family, and worked in a tannery in Buffalo, where he died. He married Dorothy Krell.
Captain Henry Rick was married (first), in New York City, in 1880, to Jane Wiley, whose parents died when she was a small child. She died in 1882, and Captain Rick married (second), in 1886, Bridget O'Donnell, who came to this country from Ireland after the death of her parents. To the first marriage one child, Dorothy, was born in 1881, who died July 1, 1926. She married Rudolph Strauss, and they be- came the parents of one son, Henry Strauss. To the second marriage two children were born: 2. John Henry, born in November, 1888. 3. Joseph, born in 1891, died in 1899.
CHARLES A. GREENHOUSE, M. D .- Ever since the completion of his medical education in 1920, Dr. Greenhouse has made The Bronx the scene of his professional activities as a general practitioner and he has become one of the most popular and suc- cessful physicians in his neighborhood. He was born in New York City, January 17, 1897, a son of Abraham and Rose (Shapiro) Greenhouse, both of his parents being residents of The Bronx, his father having retired some time ago from his business.
Charles A. Greenhouse was educated in the public and high schools of New York City, and then at- tended Fordham University and this institution's School of Medicine, from which latter he was gradu- ated in 1920 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. The next year he spent as an interne in Montefiore Hospital, Gun Hill Road and Bainbridge Avenue, The Bronx, and in Willard Parker Hospital, foot of East Sixteenth Street, Manhattan. In 1921 he established himself in private practice which he has carried on since then with offices at No. 1401 Grand Concourse. His practice, in which he is meeting with much suc- cess, is of a general nature, though he is especially interested in dermatology and pediatrics. In recent years he has been associated with Mount Sinai Hos- pital, One Hundredth Street and Fifth Avenue, Man- hattan and with The Bronx Hospital, Fulton Avenue and One Hundred and Sixty-Ninth Street, The Bronx. During the World War he was a mem- ber of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He is a Fellow of the American Medical Associa- tion; a member of the New York State and of The Bronx County Medical societies : of The Bronx Dermatological Society, and the Phi Delta Epsilon Fraternity.
Dr. Greenhouse married, in New York City, in December, 1923, Anna Raynes, daughter of Nathan and Gussie Raynes, both residents of New York City. Dr. and Mrs. Greenhouse are the parents of one son, Charles A., Jr., born in The Bronx, December 7, 1924.
PATRICK J. McMAHON-For ten years Pat- rick J. McMahon has been widely known as one of the foremost lawyers of The Bronx, and for almost as many his services as a public servant in various capacities have been even more widely commended. His offices at No. 501 East One Hundred and Sixty- first Street and No. 305 Broadway have been the scene of many able legal campaigns and much in- spirational political leadership. Patrick J. McMahon was born in New York City, on July 12, 1882, son of Patrick J. and Elizabeth (Loonis) McMahon. His
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father, who came to the United States as a young man in 1875 and headed a mercantile establishment, died in 1902. His mother died in 1896.
Patrick J. McMahon attended Harlem Evening High School, Morris Evening High School, the New York Preparatory School, and the New York Law School, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1912, and president of the senior class. In 1915 he was admitted to the bar and began soon upon an independent general practice. Elected to the State Legislature in 1912, he be- came chief clerk in the District Attorney's office in The Bronx, assigned to the responsible task of or- ganizing the chief clerk's office, and remained there for two and a half years. In 1917 and 1918 Mr. McMahon was assistant corporation counsel of New York City. He was then associate counsel on the Lockwood Committee on Housing, stationed at Buf- falo. From January, 1923, to January 1, 1925, the date of his resignation, he was deputy Attorney-Gen- eral.
In addition to his political and private activities, Mr. McMahon gave generously of his services during the World War as legal adviser to the Draft Board. He was a loyal worker in the Red Cross drives, the united campaign for funds by various social agencies, the Jewish drive, and that of the Salvation Army. He is a member of Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Wood- men of America, No. 12935, Bunker Hill Camp, The Bronx Friends of Erin, the American Irish His- torical Society, the Bunker Hill Club, the Arthur H. Murphy Association, and a number of others.
On October 22, 1907, in The Bronx, Patrick J. McMahon married Wilhelmina Hamberg, of West- chester, daughter of William and Mary Hamberg, both deceased. Children: 1. Patrick William, born August 22, 1909. 2. Vincent Joseph, born March 22, 1913. 3. Robert Emmett, born January 9, 1915.
WILLIAM I. BROWN-One of the most pro- gressive, public-spirited citizens of The Bronx is William I. Brown, who dates his ancestry back to Colonial days. His paternal grandfather, Elias G. Brown, came from England to Philadelphia and es- tablished the first marble yard on Chestnut Street. Through this ancestry, and that of his mother's fam- ily, he is eligible to membership in The Holland Society and the Sons of the American Revolution. He was born in New York City, December 24, 1866, son of Robert Ingram, born in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, November 4, 1823, died in 1914, and of Mary C. A. (Raymond) Brown, born in New York City, January 25, 1825, died in The Bronx in 1917, aged ninety-two years. They were the parents of seven children, of which survived a daughter, Emilie L. Brown; two sons, Walter E. Brown, and William I. Brown, of whom further.
William I. Brown received his elementary educa- tion in Public School No. 61, now No. 2, graduating in 1881, and then attended the College of the City of New York. After leaving college he was interested in the exporting business until January 1, 1886, when he associated himself with his father in the real estate business, his father one of the oldest realtors of The Bronx, situated at No. 3428 Third Avenue. Robert
I. Brown came to The Bronx in 1867, where he was established in the real estate business until 1893, when he retired. William I. Brown continued with his brother, Walter E. Brown, in the business es- tablished by his father until 1916, he being con- sidered an expert in this line of activity. In 1919 he was called to The Bronx Savings Bank to take charge of their Mortgage Department, his present position. He is a trustee of the Union Hospital, and chairman of its finance committee; chairman of the Real Es- tate Committee of The Bronx Savings Bank; and is very prominent in fraternal circles, being a trustee of Guiding Star Lodge, No. 565, Free and Accepted Masons, and a Past Great Sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men of the State of New York. He is a great lover of the outdoors and takes great pleasure in canoe trips and fishing in the Maine woods.
William I. Brown married, in Danbury, Connecti- cut, Irene C. Clark, of Mount Vernon, New York, daughter of Joseph S. and Harriet (Grovesteen) Clark, her parents both deceased.
LEROY L. KELSEY-In the various grades of employ in banking institutions up to that of his present position as manager of the Kingsbridge Road Branch of the Corn Exchange Bank of New York City, LeRoy L. Kelsey has been actively in- strumental in the financial progress of The Bronx, his association throughout his career with a num- ber of the leading banks in this section of the State being such as to secure for him his merited position in this important branch, which in 1926 occupied its new building. With the new foundation thus laid, Mr. Kelsey is also a factor in a yet broader scope of activity for finance in The Bronx, where he possesses the high regard of the public.
The earliest of the name Kelsey in America was William Kelsey, who came to Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, in 1632. He removed to Hartford, Con- necticut, and about 1663 became one of the founders of Killingsworth, Connecticut. The Kelseys claim as their English ancestor William Kelsey of Rip- ley, Surrey County, England, who was born about 1300, and who married, in the time of Edward III, Maud Willoughby, the daughter and heiress of Sir William Willoughby.
LeRoy L. Kelsey was born December 11, 1892, in New Haven, Connecticut, a son of Herbert C. and Mary D. Kelsey, the former in the employ of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Com- pany. When he was four years old his parents re- moved with him to The Bronx. Here he attended the grade and high schools; and in 1908 began his financial career in the employ of The Bronx Na- tional Bank, later joining the office force of the Fed- eral Reserve Bank. He soon afterward became as- sociated with the Fordham branch of the Corn Ex- change Bank as note teller; and on August 18, 1924, he was appointed manager of the Kingsbridge Road branch of that bank, whose rapid growth necessitated the construction of the present building, completed in February, 1926. During the World War, Mr. Kelsey was a radio observer in the United States Naval Air Service, being stationed at Chatham, Mas- sachusetts, patrolling all the coast near Boston. He
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