Camden People - Charles A. "Charlie" Aceto

CHARLES ANGELO ACETO was born in Italy on April 16, 1891 and came to America with his father in 1900. He threw himself into his education and into becoming proficient in the English language. He went into the bus and taxi business for himself with one station wagon, and by 1924 was operating a fleet of eight buses, providing regular service between the Market Street ferry and Parkside. The office was at 413 Market Street, and the company had a garage at 1202 Chestnut Street.

By 1927 he had sold this business, and became a licensee of the Hertz rental car organization, which in those times was known as the Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System. His business was called Drive-It-Yourself of New Jersey and was first located at 405-407-409 Mickle Street. By 1929 he had moved to 325 Arch Street. The 1947 City Directory shows that the firm had moved to 36 North 5th Street, opposite City Hall. The

business was still at that location as late as the fall of 1977.

Charles Aceto married Alma Virginia Werner, daughter of Augustus and Alma Werner, on December 31, 1917. The young couple lived at 441 Line Street when the 1919 Camden City Directory was compiled. The Acetos had four children, Charles Albert, Evelyn Virginia, Gloria, and Vivian. Sadly, Vivian died quite young. The Acetos lived at 1213 Langham Avenue in Parkside when the 1924 Camden City Directory was compiled. By 1929 they had moved to 1201 Yorkship Square in the late 1920s.

Besides his business activities, Charles Aceto was quite active in Masonic activities and was a member of the Y.M.C.A.'s Y's Men's Club.

The 1947 Camden City Directory shows Charles A. Aceto living at 1210 Grant Avenue in West Collingswood. The family moved to Collingswood in the 1950s, and in the 1960s they relocated to Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The 1970 and 1977 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directories shows Charles A. Aceto living in the Towers of Windsor Park apartments in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Last a resident of Miami, Florida. Charles Aceto died in January of 1979.

From
South Jersey: A History 1624-1924

CHARLES ANGELO ACETO- Enterprise, industry, originality, and determination that overcomes all obstacles to success are characteristic of many young men from European countries who have sought this country for opportunity, and Charles Angelo Aceto affords a conspicuous example of one of these young men, who, in spite of handicaps, has entered into prosperity solely through his own efforts.

Mr. Aceto was born April 16, 1891, in Ioggi, State of Cosenza, Italy. His parents, Vincenzo and Clementina (Ambrosio) Aceto, came to America in June, 1900, accompanied by him, their first son, when he was nine years old. The boy at once set to work to master the language of his new country, fired by an ambition to succeed, and realizing the need of knowledge to succeed. It was necessary for him to find employment to sustain himself, and he immediately entered the employ of Howland Croft, Sons & Company, of Camden, New Jersey, in their wool-combing establishment, and he continued with this firm for two and a half years at two dollars and fifty cents a week. During this term of first employment he seized every possible opportunity to improve himself, especially in the knowledge of the English language. In this he pursued a course at the Young Men's Christian Association, and a night school in Camden. He also attended Fetters' Public School, and being as alert as he was ambitious, he made rapid progress through business associations and in conversations with all natives he encountered. Unlike most European immigrants, he did not continually seek the society of his compatriots, but sought to improve himself by the most logical means. For another year he was employed at the Keystone Leather Works in Camden, following which he was employed ten years by the Camden Iron Works as a machinist. At the end of this period, the World War having begun, he was found with the New York Shipbuilding Company, where he continued for two years, until 1918. The next two years found him in various employments, his practical experience constantly adding to his value, and always he scrupulously saved from his earnings with a view to becoming his own master and an employer of others. In 1920 came his opportunity, and he purchased what is known as "the station wagon," a Studebaker motor vehicle used in transporting people to and from the railroad station. Soon, he secured a larger bus, and thus began operating two vehicles for transport. His industry, and a consideration for the wants of his patrons, brought immediate success, and in January, 1921, he admitted his younger brother, Edward Aceto, to partnership, and they continued the business of transportation under the name of the Aceto Bus Company. In 1923 another: transportation company was incorporated under the name of the Continental Coach Company, and this has grown to be one of the largest concerns of the kind in Camden. It is capitalized at $125,000, and with Charles A. Aceto as president and general manager, and operates a transportation line from the Pennsylvania Railroad ferry in Camden through to Parkside.

A service garage is maintained on Chestnut Street, Camden, and every effort is made to render the public efficient and courteous service.

Since 1920, Charles A. Aceto has been associated with the Camden County Bus Association, and in 1924 he was elected its president. He is active in the Yorkship Square Building and Loan Association, of which he has been a director. He has always been a student, and has acquired a remarkable command of the English language. Like all his compatriots, he takes much interest in music, playing a baritone instrument. As to his practical business, Mr., Aceto is a young man of remarkable energy and ambition, and is known as one of the most careful and analytical motor-bus operators in New Jersey. His genius for this business is shown by a brief analysis: He conducts two motor-bus lines; has a fleet of eight Garford vehicles, with bodies built to his own specifications and containing some of his own ideas; and his own garage of 8,000 feet floor space; was a recent victor in a fight against the Public Service Transportation Company conducted by the electric street railway; prefers married drivers, about twenty-eight years old; is a thorough mechanic himself and takes great interest in this end of the business; pays drivers forty dollars a week straight wages; and puts service to the public above any immediate monetary consideration.

Mr. Aceto affiliates with all the branches of the Masonic Fraternity, being a member of Camden Lodge, No. 15, Free and Accepted Masons; Siloam Chapter, No. 19, Royal Arch Masons; Cyrene Commandery, No.7, Knights Templar; and Crescent Shrine, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Forest No. 5, Tall Cedars of Lebanon. In religion he is a Baptist, and a member of the Y's Men's Club of Camden.

Mr. Aceto was married, December 31, 1917, at the First Methodist Episcopal Church, in Camden, to Alma Virginia Werner, daughter of Augustus and Alma Werner, now living in Camden. Mr. and Mrs. Aceto are the parents of three children: Charles Albert, born January 24, 1920; Evelyn Virginia, born April 13, 1921; and Gloria, born May 8, 1922. These children are being reared to appreciate the land of their birth and to become worthy of their opportunities..

Camden Courier-Post * June 28, 1933

P. S. TAXI TRANSFER RULED FRAUDULENT
Vice Chancellor Orders Transport Corporation to Pay Girl $10,000 Damages

Agreeing with the contention that transfer of the Public Service Cab Company to Public Service Coordinated Transport was fraudulent, Vice Chancellor Francis B. Davis late yesterday ordered the latter to pay $10,000 in damages to Ralph M. Chorpenning for injuries suffered by his daughter, Ida M., when she was struck by a taxicab.

That sum was part of a verdict for $15,000 awarded by a Circuit Court jury in October, 1927 as a result of Miss Chorpenning being injured by a car of the Public Service Cab Company at Twelfth and Federal Streets in August, 1927.

Testimony taken by Vice Chancellor Davis showed Chorpenning sued Public Service Cab Company to recover damages for his daughter, then a minor. It was contended the cab company paid $5000 of the verdict but sold out to Public Service Coordinated Transport and never made settlement for the balance. Public Service Coordinated disclaimed knowledge of the judgment and responsibility.

Harvey F. Carr and Samuel T. French instituted the action against Public Service in Chancery Court to recover the balance for Chorpenning. Prosecutor Clifford A. Baldwin and Patrick H. Harding were counsel for Public Service.

At the hearing before the vice chancellor, Charles Aceto admitted he acted as agent for Public Service in purchasing the cab company from George Falkenstein, general manager, and Phillip Messina, secretary. On the same day Harding, who was counsel for Public Service, was elected president of the Yellow Cab Company, controlled by Public Service Corporation, which absorbed the Public Service Cab Company, testimony revealed. Harding, Mildred Atkins, his stenographer, and Thomas J. Comerford were elected directors.

On the stand Falkenstein, who is now garage manager for Public Service; admitted he received $29,000 from Aceto for the equipment and name of the taxi company. Harding admitted he received a fee of $1000. A similar fee was paid Aceto. When questioned before Vice Chancellor Davis on the damage suit, Falkenstein declared he forgot to mention the suit in the settlement. Public Service held it was not liable for any damages awarded prior to taking over the company.

At the March hearing Vice Chancellor Davis suggested appointment of a receiver to inquire into the transfer. But in a written opinion handed down yesterday he says:

"I do not think it is necessary to appoint a receiver for the Public Service Cab Company for the reason there appears to be no creditors other than the complainants within."

In another paragraph he says; "It is the contention of the complainants that the transfer of the physical property of the Public Service Cab Company to the Yellow Cab Company was without consideration and therefore fraudulent and void under the Uniform, Fraudulent Conveyance Act. With this contention I agree."

Miss Chorpenning, who is now 23, lives with her parents at 2758 Mickle Street.

*Camden Courier-Post June 6, 1932**


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Charles Aceto - Mary Ellen Williams - Dorothy Wonderlin - Mary Zeller Edith Broadwater - Kae Lotsey - Anita Croce - Wilburta Dundrea