USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume III > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
35
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
is a member of Unity Council, Knights of Colum- bus; the American Legion, and the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Angels, The Bronx.
LeRoy L. Kelsey married, February 1, 1919, in New York City, Caroline Hecht, daughter of Charles and Caroline Hecht. They are the parents of a son, William Lawrence Kelsey, born October 23, 1925.
REV. ALBERT CLARK THOMAS-An excep- tional career in the ministry is that of the Rev. Albert Clark Thomas, one of the chaplains of New York University, and minister of the Creston Avenue Baptist Church. He was born May 2, 1886, in Burma, India, of missionary parentage. His father, the Rev. Willis Frye Thomas, was an American citizen, born of American parents residing in India, where the son likewise passed his life. His mother was Emma L. (Upham) Thomas.
Albert Clark Thomas came to the United States at the age of eleven. He was educated first in Burma at the hands of his mother. In this country he at- tended the public schools in Boston, and was gradu- ated from Brown University in the class of 1909. He entered the Newton Theological Seminary at Newton, Massachusetts, after leaving Brown, and was graduated in 1911. He was ordained to the ministry the same year in St. Louis, Missouri, and became as- sistant minister of the Second Baptist Church of St. Louis, where he continued until 1916. He came 'to Brooklyn in 1916 as director of the Community House of the Emanuel Baptist Church, and con- tinued for four years, until 1920. In the latter year he came to his present charge in The Bronx and to New York University. The Creston Avenue Baptist Church owns a building, housing the pastor and stores, which is operated through a holding com- pany, in keeping with the modern tendency.
Mr. Thomas was active in the World War as chap- lain of the 306th Field Artillery, 77th Division. He saw service overseas in the Vosges Sector, and the Oise-Aisne offensive; also the Meuse-Argonne of- fensive. He was in France more than a year, or exactly from April, 1918, to May, 1919. He is a member of the Delta Tau Delta College Fraternity; of the American Legion; chaplain of the 306th Field Artillery Post, and member of the Clergy Club of New York. He has been president of the Baptist Ministers' Conference of New York; of the Southern New York Baptist Association; and is now president of the New York State Baptist Pastors' Conference.
The Creston Avenue Baptist Church, of which he is the pastor, was organized in 1905. Its growth has been an important factor in the development of Fordham, and unusual from 1910 to 1920, when two important building projects were initiated, and com- pleted in 1924.
Rev. Thomas was married, June 23, 1913, in St. Louis, to Minnie Bertha Mansfield, who died in 1921. She was the daughter of William Judson and Emma (Walton) Thomas, both since dead. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas became the parents of Robert Mansfield, born October 21, 1915; and of Avery Lee, born Feb- ruary 25, 1921; died June 16, 1921. The address of
1129640
the Rev. Mr. Thomas is No. 114 East One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Street, The Bronx.
HON. N. J. EBERHARD-Whatsoever apper- tains to the progress, the civic and educational en- lightenment and the general business and mercantile advancement of The Bronx has at all times had an influential ally in Hon. N. J. Eberhard, member of the State Legislature from this district, and one whose activities for community and State, in times both of war and of peace, have continued unceasingly for the common good. In business matters, Mr. Eber- hard has a long-established reputation as a realtor and an insurance leader, his interests therein includ- ing The Bronx and a steadily expanding territory roundabout; and in the community and the social life of this center he is one whose counsel is sought for its practical and substantial value. He is a son of Nicholas Eberhard, who was associated with the Department of Plants and Structures in New York City, and whose death occurred December 4, 1905, and of Anna Eberhard, who died in April, 1907.
Hon. N. J. Eberhard was born May 30, 1874, in New York City, where he was graduated from the public schools in 1888. He entered upon his active career as a printer, continuing in that profession for about six years; and in 1894 he joined the office force of the New York County Clerk and remained as one of the most active men in that employ to December 31, 1913. As executive clerk he was drafted from that county to engage in the organization and the systematization of The Bronx County Clerk's office, January 1, 1914, where he continued to December 20, 1921. Mean- time, Mr. Eberhard, in 1913, established the co- partnership of N. J. Eberhard & Company for the purchase and sale of real estate, and the interests of general insurance, with headquarters at No. 500 East One Hundred and Sixty-first Street, where he continues as at present. Elected a member of the First Bronx District in the State Legis- lature, in 1922-1925 inclusive, Mr. Eberhard received reelection to that office in 1926, and he is a prominent factor in matters of a distinctive value to the public; he sponsored the bill to pay all per diem men employed in the City departments for holidays and he was the author of the bill to Amend the Domestic Relations Law in reference to child marriage to give the city clerks power to demand proof of age, the bill being killed in committee.
The demands of the World War found Mr. Eber- hard an efficient man of the hour in the matter of the drives for men and munitions for the war; he had charge of the notably successful 5 in 1 Liberty Loan Drive; and he was chairman of the Red Cross Chapter of the County Clerk's Office. He was the only individual in the county to whom was given the right to issue explosives for this section of the State. Fra- ternally, Mr. Eberhard is a member of Bronx Council, No. 266, Knights of Columbus; and of Bronx Lodge, No. 871, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is also a member of the Samoset Democratic Club and a member of its board of directors; and former chairman of the First District Democratic County Committee. He is a communicant of St. Angela Merci Roman Catholic Church.
Hon. N. J. Eberhard married Agnes Clark, daugh-
Bronx-3
36
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
ter of Patrick Clark, who died November 19, 1923, and Catherine Clark, who survives her husband. Children are: Virginia, Nicholas, Jr., and Catherine Anna.
HENRY K. DAVIS-As a lawyer of the old school and an able referee in bankruptcy. Henry K. Davis has won an enviable place among the mem- bers of his profession in The Bronx, while his civic activities have brought him unstinted praise from his neighbors and local officials. Mr. Davis is a gentle- man of rare degree whose hospitality among his friends in days gone by has been the means of en- dearing him to a wide circle; he is a college graduate, member of a leading fraternity, a home service "vet- eran" of the World War and valued member of the Republican party. In all of his relationships with his fellow-men, he has lived up to the name of a good citizen, the which no one will dispute.
Henry K. Davis was born in Montgomery County, New York, and has lived in The Bronx nearly all of his life, his parents having been Sewall S. and Mary J. (Waldron) Davis, his father a prominent man many years ago and his mother likewise a represen- tative of that early American stock whose attributes have united to form the sturdy citizenship of the present generation. Mr. Davis attended the public schools and graduated from the Academic Depart- ment of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he joined the Delta Upsilon (non- secret) Fraternity. On the conclusion of his studies at New Brunswick he decided to take up the prac- tice of law, and took the course at the New York Law School, from which institution he was gradu- ated in 1894 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Upon passing the examinations he was admitted to practice his profession before the New York courts, and began the work in the same year. He made rapid progress; built up a large and appreciative clientele and was well rewarded financially in the succeeding years up to 1923, when he was appointed United States Referee in Bankruptcy. Since that time he has sat on some notable cases and has given general satisfaction.
Mr. Davis served as chairman of Local Draft Board No. 22 during the World War, and presided with unusual judgment and ability, to the end that this board's activities went forward with a mini- mum of friction. At the conclusion of this service he was warmly thanked by the Government for such a substantial contribution to the winning of the war. As a Republican he has served as Bronx Park- way Commissioner, but he has never sought high office in his party, contenting himself with voting and supporting the sterling principles of Republi- canism.
In his profession, Mr. Davis is a member of The Bronx County Bar Association of which he was one of the organizers and charter members and has served twice as president; the Bar Association of the City of New York; the New York State Bar Association; and the American Bar Association. In club life he is a member of the Park Republican Club; the Na- tional Republican Club and the Drug and Chemical Club. His religious affiliation is with the Dutch Re- formed church. In the work of fraternal orders,
he has been prominent as a member of the Guiding Star Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Davis is also active in the preservation of campus memories as a member of the Delta Upsilon, the Rutgers and the New York Law School Alumni associations, whose altar fires are kept burning brightly by such loyal spirits as Henry K. Davis.
ALFORD JOSEPH WILLIAMS-A long and varied business career has been that of Alford Joseph William's, who has been serving as alderman from the Thirty-second District in The Bronx, since 1923. Previous to his election as alderman he had served as assistant superintendent in the employ of Baker, Smith, and Company concern for a period of thirty years. That company was engaged in the power heating and ventilating business, and is still one of the well-known concerns of its kind in New York City. Mr. Williams became a wage earner when he was thirteen years of age, and his career up to the time of his association with the Baker, Smith, and Company concern, was a most active and varied one. Long hours, hard work, and small pay were his lot for many years, but through it all he stored up experience and used his difficulties as stepping stones to success.
Alford Joseph Williams was born in the building on the corner of Horatio and Washington streets, New York City, April 4, 1872, son of Alford Ryer Williams, who was born in New York City, son of Charles and Ann (Boyce) Williams, both natives of New York City. Alford Ryer Williams married Elizabeth F. McGrath, who was born in New York City, daughter of Henry and Mary (O'Neil) Mc- Grath, and granddaughter of Matthew McGrath. On the maternal side she was a daughter of Henry and Ann (Walsh) McGrath. Before her mar- riage she taught for several years in the old Elm Street School. While Alford Joseph Williams was still a child his parents removed first to Sixty-second Street and later to Forty-eighth Street and Lexing- ton Avenue, and he received his earliest education in the public school located on the corner of Fifty- first Street and Lexington Avenue. Later he at- tended Public School No. 23, in the old Williams- burgh section of Brooklyn, from which he was gradu- ated when he was twelve years of age. He then matriculated in what was then known as the Wil- liamsburgh College, and completed his education with one year of study there. When he was thir- teen years old he entered the employ of George Ziepher, a manufacturer of picture wire, who paid him, for his services, one dollar a week. Six months later he made a change and found employment with the Gardner Laundry at twenty-eight dollars a month. There was no specification as to the num- ber of hours he was to work, and he was often re- quired to continue his toil into the late hours of the evening. After a short period of service with this concern he entered the employ of Simpson, Craw- ford, and Simpson, one of the leading dry goods houses of the city, located on Sixth Avenue, for whom he delivered packages above the Harlem River for three and a half dollars a week. Six months later
w a. Mapes
37
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
he found better pay in the employ of an oyster and fish store at five dollars a week, but after a brief stay here he became identified with Haman and Radish, shoe manufacturers, located on the corner of Jay Street and Washington Street, who paid him four and a half dollars per week. Two months af- ter securing his job with this company he left them and made his first connection with the Baker, Smith, and Company concern, engaged in the power heat- ing and ventilating business. He worked as one of their helpers at six dollars a week until he decided that this was the trade he wished to learn. Having at last found the trade to which he felt he could devote his time and his energy, he continued as helper, but devoted his time and his energy to the mastery of all phases of the business, studying hard and long, giving evenings and whatever spare time he could command to the task of thoroughly master- ing the theory and the practices of the trade. Close application and effective study soon made him an ef- ficient mechanic in this line, and his skill soon brought to him opportunity. Although not a member of the Union he was placed upon important outside work, that is, work done outside of the shops, and his first job was on the Farunshaft Club building, on the corner of Park Avenue and Seventy-second Street, in New York City. When that important piece of work was completed he was sent to Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to work on the Lawrenceville High School and Preparatory School, and his next piece of work was in Philadelphia, where he worked on the private residence of H. C. Henze, at Thirty- fourth and Powlton streets. All these important as- signments brought increase in salary, which at this time had reached the sum of sixteen dollars a week. After working on the H. C. Henze contract for a year, Mr. Williams returned to New York City and was placed on the work at the residence of H. H. Rogers, Hyde Park, New York, where he was en- gaged for fourteen months. By this time his salary had been increased to eighteen dollars a week, and when the work on the H. H. Rogers residence was com- pleted he returned to the Baker, Smith, and Com- pany concern, and was made foreman of the work being done on the H. O. Havemeyer residence at the corner of Sixty-sixth Street and Fifth Avenue, a position which he held for three years. At the end of that time he was made assistant superintendent of the Baker, Smith, and Company concern, and that responsible position he held for thirty years, giving most efficient service to his employers, and making for himself an enviable reputation for skill and for executive and administrative ability. At the end of that time, in 1923, he was elected alderman from the Thirty-second district of The Bronx, carrying the dis- trict by a majority of 1800, and in 1925 he was re- elected, this time by a majority of 5200, thus trans- forming an old, "hide bound" Republican district into a Democratic stronghold. Mr. Williams is active in the affairs of the Democratic party, is a member of the North End Democratic Club, and of the Bedford Park Taxpayers' Association, and has always been actively interested in the advancement of the interests of The Bronx. He is a member of the Guiding Star Council, No. 512, Knights of Columbus; and of Bronx Coun- cil, Royal Arcanum. His religious affiliation is with
the Roman Catholic Church of St. Brendan, of which Father John E. Wickham is pastor. He has served as a trustee of the church for eighteen years, and was the first president of the Holy Name Society connected with this church.
Alford Joseph Williams was married, in the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, on One Hundred and Fifteenth Street, New York City, by Father Michael Carmody, P. S. M., to Emma Elizabeth Madden, daughter of William, who was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland, and of Mary (Corcoran) Madden, who was born near the town of her husband's birth, in County Galway, Ire- land. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are the parents of four children: 1. Alford Joseph, Jr., is a graduate of Fordham University, degree of Bachelor of Arts, and of the Law School of Georgetown University, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1926. He is also distinguished as one of America's leading aviators, having broken all earlier speed records, by making three hundred and two miles an hour. He married Florence Selby. 2. Gertrude Mary, mar- ried Joseph A. McQuade, and they have three chil- dren: Delores, Jeanne, and Patricia. 3. Joseph Aloysius, also distinguished as an aviator, and served with his brother. He married Genevieve Kelly. 4. Frances Regina.
WILLIAM ARCHER MAPES-High political endeavor, zealously undertaken and consistently pro- moted through his long and extremely useful life, revealed in part the true character of William Archer Mapes, an outstanding citizen of The Bronx, New York, one of the pioneers in that State of the con- crete Prohibition movement, in which party he had been an energetic worker and by which he had been repeatedly honored in the great fight for recognition in the State and National governments. This fine apostle of the cause of total abstinence and against liquor traffic in all its forms stood shoulder to shoul- der with the stalwarts of his time who were of like mind, and they and the steadily increasing forces of Prohibitionists who stood solidly at their back lived to see the movement crystallize into an expression of an element of the nation which would not be denied. It was one of the happiest moments in Mr. Mapes' life when he was able to perceive that the campaign in behalf of prohibition had attained so great a momentum that the eagle of victory even then was poised in preparation for alighting on the party's banner. Mr. Mapes' departure preceded the actual political realization of his and his fellow-work- ers' vision of an achievement of the goal by some seven years, but in spirit and principle he saw that day as already having arrived, and he was glad to have been one of the faithful who had stood by their guns through the thickest of the fight. This some- what extended mention of Mr. Mapes' activities in the Prohibition movement has not been made with a view of overshadowing his participation in other affairs, of great importance in themselves, but as showing in some measure that the trend of his mind was in the way of righteousness, moral uplift and the physical and economic welfare of the nation. As a
38
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
business man, for many years in the merchant class, and in his latter life a realtor and investors' adviser, he set forth his ideals through a code of ethics which he practiced with eminent success throughout his period of identification with the marvelous develop- ment of his beloved Bronx.
Born in West Farms, New York, December 1, 1839, William Archer Mapes was a son of Leonard and Mary (Archer) Mapes. The house of his birth is still standing on Daly Avenue, near One Hundred and Eightieth Street, a frame structure in the midst of brick and stone apartment houses. His father was a descendant of Thomas Mapes, who came from England in 1640 and settled in Southold, Long Is- land. His mother, too, came of an old English family, her forbears having received the original grant of land of what today is all of Fordham, New York City, by virtue of an instrument issued by King Charles II, the family homestead being located on the present site of the New York University grounds and known as "Archer Manor."
When William Archer Mapes was a small boy his father removed from West Farms to a farm he had purchased east of The Bronx River, and bordering on what now is known as East Tremont Avenue and the Catholic Protectory, and which is often spoken of as "Park Versailles," or the "Mapes Estate." On this farm William Archer with his brothers spent the early days of his youth. He received his education in the old neighborhood school, where his teacher was Anne McGregor, under whose instruction he made excellent progress. Later he was a pupil in the new public school of which the principal was Theodore Kent.
From school walls and life on the farm William Archer graduated into the rôle of merchant in em- bryo at the general store established by his uncle, Daniel Mapes, Sr., at No. 2077 Boston Road, the building still standing as one of the older structures of The Bronx, and having been partially remodeled. The associations that clung to this landmark and cen- ter of business activities in those days must have had a beneficial influence upon this new member of the Mapes establishment. His uncle, Daniel Mapes, was an earnest, courageous man of high principles, who carried his convictions into practice in his business relations. At that time he was the only man in his vicinity voting the Prohibition party ticket. There- fore the young William, at an impressionable age, received both a practical education as a merchant and breathed an atmosphere surcharged with high moral principles and strong convictions which became a part of his very being and made of him the outstand- ing figure of his time and place in the Prohibition movement.
From the founder, Daniel Mapes, Sr., the general store business descended to Daniel Mapes, Jr., Wil- liam Archer Mapes and Henry Clay Mapes, brothers, and it was conducted under the name of Mapes Brothers until 1869, when Daniel Mapes, Jr., sold his share. William Archer Mapes carried on the store at the old Boston Road location after his brothers had withdrawn from the business, and remained as the proprietor until 1889, when he sold his interest. In the latter year he joined his brother, Daniel Mapes, Jr., in the conduct of the coal, feed and hard-
ware business at No. 1920 West Farms Road, where Daniel had erected an office building and storage room for the products in which the firm dealt. The Mapes establishment became one of the largest and most prosperous in The Bronx and it drew its cus- tomers not only from the immediate vicinity but also from all parts of the Upper Bronx region. William Archer Mapes retired from the business in 1906, leaving his brother Daniel as the sole proprietor. From then until his death he devoted his attention principally to the development of real estate, and served an increasing number of clients seeking advice as to how best they might place their investments. His integrity, shrewd business foresight and personal success were big drawing cards in his later years as he became more and more concerned in the rapid modernization of The Bronx. He built the five- story, twenty-family apartment house at No. 1019 East One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Street, now owned by his daughter. When this building was completed, in 1906, it was one of the first of its kind in The Bronx neighborhood.
In his political alliance Mr. Mapes originally was a Republican, but in his connection with that party he always was in favor of temperance, as the move- ment for the abolition of the saloon was called in its early days. When the Prohibition party came on the stage, Mr. Mapes as one of the pioneers of that cause made a formal avowal of his attachment to the organization. He worked indefatigably for the incorporation of the principles of the party into lo- cal, State and National political policies and their adoption into the form of government of the re- spective political divisions. Several times, at various intervals, he was nominated for local and State government positions. So desirous was he of the uninterrupted promotion of the Pro- hibition cause, which he firmly believed was to spread with telling effect throughout the country, that, before he died, he made a provision in his will for a trust fund of one thousand dollars, the income from which is to be expended for the furtherance of the movement.
Mr. Mapes married, in 1869, Ida Carnley Arnow, a daughter of Matson S. and Phoebe Jane (Horton) Arnow. She was of an old and highly esteemed family of Westchester, New York, where she was born in 1846. She died at her home in The Bronx December 30, 1919, aged seventy-three years. She was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was well known for her philanthropies and her personal ministries in cases of sickness and disease among the townspeople; while her husband had his religious fellowship with the Reformed church. Children: 1. William Archer, Jr., who died at the age of forty-two years, leaving a widow, Anne Horner Mapes. 2. Bertha Mapes, a graduate of the woman's law department of New York University and the Law School of that university, receiving the degree, Bachelor of Laws, in 1917; she was admitted to the bar in 1918 and is now in active practice in New York City; in politics she is a strong advocate of prohibition, as was her honored father; she is also a lecturer on the "Constitution of the United States" and prominent in Presbyterian church work and in woman's club life. 3. Howell Mapes, who married
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.