Isaac Magnin
| Isaac Magnin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1842 Assen or Groningen, the Netherlands |
| Died |
January 27, 1907 (aged 65) San Francisco, California |
| Nationality | United States |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Ann Magnin |
| Children | Samuel, Henrietta, Joseph, Emanuel John, Victor, Lucille, Flora, and Grover |
Isaac Magnin (1842-1907) was a Dutch-born American carver and gilder. He was the co-founder of I. Magnin, an upscale women's clothing store in San Francisco, California.
Early life
Isaac Magnin (or Moeijen) was born into a Jewish family in Assen or Groningen, the Netherlands in 1842.[1][2][3][4] His father was Russian and his mother, Dutch.[2] He moved to the United States with his parents when he was eight years old.[2][3]
Career
He worked as a businessman in Texas and New Mexico.[2] During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he served in the Union Army.[2] He then worked as a pushcart peddler in New Orleans, Louisiana.[5] Next, he moved to London, where he established an arts goods store.[2][5] A decade later, in 1876, he set sail for San Francisco via Cape Horn, with his wife and children.[2][5] There, he worked as a frame carver and gilder for Solomon Gump, an art and antique dealer and owner of Gump's.[5] By 1880, he was listed in the census as the keeper of a fancy bazaar.[2] With his wife, he was also the co-founder of I. Magnin, an upscale women's clothing store in San Francisco.[2]
Personal life
He married Mary Ann Magnin on October 8, 1865 at the Great Synagogue of London.[1][2] They had eight children: Samuel, Henrietta, Joseph, Emanuel John, Victor, Lucille, Flora, and Grover.[1] They attended the Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco.[2]
He was a freemason, having joined in London and gone up the ranks in California.[2]
Death
He died on January 27, 1907 in San Francisco, California.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Kahn, Ava F.. "Mary Ann Cohen Magnin." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on December 7, 2014) <http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/magnin-mary-ann-cohen>.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Robert P. Swierenga, The Forerunners: Dutch Jewry in the North American Diaspora, Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1994, pp. 309-312
- 1 2 James David Hart, A Companion to California: Newly Revised and Expanded with Illustrations, Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1987, p. 299
- ↑ Western Jewry: An Account of the Achievements of the Jews and Judaism in California : Including Eulogies and Biographies. The Jews in California. Henry Hollander. Dec 31, 1916. pp. 125–126.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Harriet Rochlin, Fred Rochlin, Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000 , pp. 176-177