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In the vein of putting a name to a face, in this case a face to a name.
In the above newspaper clippings from 1918/1919 there is mention of a George Endlich who was manager and team captain of the Anoka semipro baseball team out of Yorkville.
Here is that George F .Endlich, who also was my grandfather.
The FBI also had offices to watch and listen in on transmission at the Russian building from an apartment on ground floor of 5200 Fieldston Rd across from the Russian mission. They also owned a private house across the street right next to the Russian Mission. This private house was knocked down 8-10 years ago after being purchased by a Jewish temple as the site for a new temple. Nothing has ever been built on this site.
Have to wonder who is listening or monitoring the Russian mission these days.
Interesting is the fact that they build their building like they run their country, from the top down.
Years ago there were articles that the building was in poor shape, and they wanted to take it down and rebuild it and few other buildings in its place but believe it was not approved by NYC.
It should also be remembered that it was built for the USSR – the United Soviet Socialist Republic that consisted of 14 countries when the USSR fell apart at end of Dec. 1991 it now only contains Russia. The building holds diplomats (and spies) that support the U.N. Every day you will see large, unmarked buses leave in the morning and return at night. The countries which made up the USSR were: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Latvia , Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan , Ukraine (which Russia is trying to get back today!) and Uzbekistan.
I like to kid that you can still notice these other former USSR country staff still in Riverdale as the women are the ones wearing winter boots in the warm weather and you can tell our Russian ‘comrades’ from the Mission building by their dour unsmiling faces. Seeing what just happened to Navalny you know why they don’t smile.
From news video reports the fire seemed to have started or was the largest in the corner deli , Cold Cut City at the SE Corner of Kingsbridge Ave and 231st St. For those who remember it was the location of a great German bar and restaurant, Ehrings Tavern. News reports state that 6 business were lost during the fire. Touch time especially during the holiday season.
The yellow building in the Lawson painting I believe was located on the SE corner of 231st St and Riverdale ave across from the Ewen park steps. It was for years was an animal hospital and was recently torn down and is now another NYC lower school. Lawson’s perspective is similar to when you use a small F stop when using a focus camera. The perspective is compressed. So, in the painting the yellow building looks much closer to the Dutch style building located at 23oth street west side. The photo I’ve attached shows the yellow building at the lower left corner with photo looking north east over today’s Ewen Park, photo dates from 1915.
There are two stone pillars on Palisades Ave just north of W 232nd St. Basically, just west of the JR Whiting estate discussed. Back in the 1960s to 70s believe may have been used as entrance to the U Thant estate. But good possibility they were once another entrance to the JR Whiting estate .
I grew up on Webb Ave by OLA in Kingsbridge Heights. When I was very young my mother and grandmother would bring me shopping down in Kingsbridge with my brother. We had no choice. The walk down was too bad but the street steps back up with packages was a hike. We hit Buster Browns for shoes on Broadway usually at the start of school. But their major shopping all year long was at Fuhrmann’s Department store, They loved that store, as a kid I hated it. The Woolworth’s toy dept was more to my liking. The main shoppers in Fuhrmann’s were older women buying house dresses, dishes, kitchenware, cloths and everything in between.
It was located on 231st St across from the Dale movie theatre and Dime saving bank, between Broadway and the Deegan, The original family store started in 1910 and later built this larger 2 floor building. After it closed for business, it was replaced by a John’s Bargain store. There was a central staircase to the lower lever in Fuhrmann’s. It was very long, wide and steep. I am surprised some older shopper never took a header down the stairs. I realized many years later why the lower lever was so deep. Back in the late 1890s they filled in the tidal swamp along Broadway created by Tibbett’s Brook meeting the Harlen River at high tide. The basement was at the level of the this filled in creek, hence it’s depth. Actually, it was the same reason if you ever were in the RKO Marble Hill movie theatre and had to use the bathrooms. It was a rather scary walk down a very steep staircase especially during a horror movie. But not as scary as the old matron in the white lab coat who kept watch over all the kids in the audience. But no I never threw a flattened popcorn box like a discus, wasn’t me, as she shined her flash light my way.
I’ve attached a link to a YouTube made decades ago by the grandchildren of the Fuhrmann’s family. For those of you who remember the store it will bring back memories. For those not familiar with the store I think you will enjoy as its well done and really captures the essence of what the store was like back in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
It was a major accomplishment to have invented the bestselling sewing machine in the world. But I have to be honest that his earlier life is very interesting. “Isaac Merritt Singer was born in Pittstown, New York, on October 27, 1811, and raised in the upstate town of Oswego. At 12, he left home with minimal education and started working a string of odd jobs as an unskilled laborer. As a teen, Singer took on a promising apprenticeship as a mechanic, but his interest in acting soon spurred him to abandon the job and form a traveling theater troupe instead. While on a national tour with the Merritt Players, Singer frequently engaged in promiscuous behavior, resulting in the birth of some dozen and a half illegitimate children. After nine years on tour, Singer went broke and the group was forced to disband.”
Singer died in 1875, dividing his $13 million fortune unequally among 20 of his living children by his wives and various mistresses, although one son, who had supported his mother in her divorce case against Singer, received only $500.
In today’s dollars Singer’s $13 Million would be worth about $355 Million.
I don’t think I can look at a Singer sewing machine again without thinking of Isaac.
Singer was very wealthy by the time he moved back to the States with his new young bride and to Kingsbridge. But what doesn’t fit is the location of the name Singer on the map with Isaac Merritt Singer. The Town & Country article states his home as “large, comfortable wooden building atop a high knoll they were able to see the magnificent panorama of the Hudson to the West and Harlem and East Rivers to the east” while the name on the map indicates a location in the Kingsbridge Valley with little to no view. P.S. 7 is located on Kingsbridge Ave. Another article on the net states he built a large home called The Castle in Yonkers. The Bronx was at his time part of Yonkers so his house must have been up on the Riverdale ridge or further north into today’s Yonkers.
I would agree with that as the Jerome Pk Reservoir was built between 1894 and 1905 the same time period as the photo’s posted at top. The dirt removed when Grand Central Terminal was built (ca.1912) was used to fill the Spuyten Duyvil creek initially east of the original Kings Bridge. That is from today’s Kingsbridge Ave and 230th St eastward.
Grew up on Kingsbridge Heights and not to my 20s did my family get a car. We use to have it serviced and yearly inspected at Whelan’s. So at least through the 70s it was there and later. At some point I believe it became a tire dealership.
I would agree that the great kill could be the Harlem River. But I also feel it could be very likely describing the south Bronx across from Manhattan. It states land runs East to West ( across the Bronx) opposite the flat of Manhattan (Harlem) at the head of the Kil (East River across bottom of the Bronx) across from high hill (middle Harlem and north/Hamilton Heights/above old Polo Grounds etc) by the flats. Again this was description of 1639.
The land was bought by the West India Company for future use. Likely the same land that the sachems who signed the contract with Jonas Bronck. You see a lot of land sales being bought and sold over and over with each new purchases.
Here is the translation, there is a hot link above see above – 1639 land deed
This day, date as below, appeared before me Cornells van Tienhoven, Secretary in New Netherland, Tequemeck, Rechgawac, Packamieus, owners of Kekeskich, who in the presence of the undersigned witnesses voluntarily and deliberately declare, that in consideration of a certain lot of merchandise, which they acknowledge to have received and accepted before the passing of this act, they have transferred, ceded, conveyed and made over as a true and lawful freehold, as they herewith transfer, cede, convey and make over to and for the benefit of the General Chartered West India Company a piece of land, located opposite to the flat on the island of Manhattan, called Keskeskich, stretching lengthwise along the flatlands, which runs behind the Island of Manhattan mostly east and west and beginning at the head of the said kil and running opposite of the high hill by the flatlands, namely by the Great Kil, with all rights titles etc.
Done at Fort Amsterdam, the 3 August 1639.
Cornelis van der Hoyten
Davidt Pietersen de Vries
Cornells van TienhovenHi Tom. I don’t think we can read these documents with any certainty in comparing to today locations. This is a very early old document 1639. It was in Dutch translated in English. Groot in Dutch means large, big and great. So large Bronx Kill could work. Perhaps to them 400 years ago it was a big river. During the Amer Rev the British tried to send a fleet up the Bronx River. It Didn’t fit. One of the keys between the document and what I commented was fact that 2 indian sachems were the same. Leads me to believe it wasn’t Staten Island or NJ but likely the Bronx area.
I don’t take all these early translated documents and Native place names too literally. Native Indians did not have a written language. Their names and place name were phonetically written by the person writing the document. Similarly to immigrant who had their names changed by customer agents. These are a good example of “you say tomato I say tomahto”.
Kil is Dutch for steam or water so could be any location. Two of the native American chiefs referenced above were same who sold the name to Jonas Bronck. On April 22, 1642 a peace treaty was signed at Bronck’s homestead between Dutch authorities and the Wecquaesgeek sachems Ranaqua and Tackamuck. Jonas Bronck’s house was built by a promontory at the juncture of the Harlem River and the Bronx Kill across from Randalls Island this event is portrayed in a painting by the American artist John Ward Dunsmore.
As of Dec 2 2022 the Edgehill Church of Spuyten Duyvil is now property of the Kingsbridge Historical Society !! That early photo is very interesting and new to me. I was down to the church to take inventory and measurements yesterday. I took some close ups of the windows and hiding in plain sight is the answer to when the Tiffany windows were installed…1916. And as Nick mentioned each have large brass plaques dedicating the windows to I.G.Johnson, and Johnson family children by the dates given. Each Window is signed Tiffany Studios New York 1916. And now we all know the rest of the story. By the way did I mention that Edgehill Church is now the property of the Kingsbridge Historical Society, the oldest local historical society in the Bronx . !!!!!!
I have feeling that a pool in the shape of an R was never actually built. But if i had to guess perhaps Riverdale Neighborhood House.
Mosholu Hall I believe was in the area today of 242street and Broadway. This general area was know as Mosholu, a village or hamlet of old Kingsbridge.
Tom is correct. Look at The city line today, it stops right at the Catholic college of Mount Saint Vincent.
Nick nice find and good research making all the connections. Regarding the house location for the doctor. I’ve always thought of the stone path mentioned as part of the old Albany Post Road that turned left at the top past the VC house over Bway to the Post Road. At the bottom of this road is the split off that went under the old RR bridge that was the Road to Miles Square. Both ancient roads in this area. So I think you are correct in identifying the location of the Doctors house east of this road towards the mill and both maps are ‘correct’.
Interesting that the proposed design of the new Seton Hospital never built looks a lot like the the present White Hall apartment complex at 232St and HH Pkwy.
Here are a few maps showing Tetard’s house , Montgomery’s and Fort Independence. The Old Boston Road and Albany Post Roads both started at today’s juncture of W231st and Albany Crescent, basically in front of the old P&K’s, todays’s Bronx Public. The Boston Post Road ran along today’s Albany Crescent, past the Fire House, over Bailey Ave and up the hill turning left on Heath Ave and up around NE to Ft Independence St and Sedgwick Ave. The road today shows the same path as it was back in 1776. The following maps will help show the location of J.P. Tetard’s house.
Nice Find Nick on Tetard’s school ad !
Tetard’s house is thought to be the former manor house of Jan Archer, the manor of Fordham. It’s thought to have been located south of Fort Independence St along approx Kingsbridge Terrace. Tetard was a neighbor of Gen Richard Montgomery whom he later served as his Chaplin to his Army when it attacked Quebec in 17775 where Montgomery was killed. Tetard’s house was later used for the Hessian General wilhem von Knyphausen before his attack on Ft Washington 1776. It’s been described as s stone block house.
New Rochelle was settled early 1688 by French Huguenots. Not sure what Cronin taught while we know JP Tetard taught French. The names listed on the document for Cronin are family names in the larger area of Kings Bridge at that period. Streets are named for Bussing in today’s East Bronx, Vermilye down in Inwood and Odell in Yonkers. Perhaps Cronin traveled to the homes of the students and not a physical school.
John Peter Tetard was a teacher but also a minister and an Army Chaplin. He farm and house was located approximately south of today’s Fort Independence St. His farm abutted that of Maj. General Richard Montgomery. Tetard was a Chaplin with Montgomery’s army and was with Montgomery when he was killed in 1775 in the attack on Quebec.
