Joseph Newmark
Joseph Newmark | |
---|---|
Born |
1799 Neumark, West Prussia (now Poland) |
Died |
1881 Los Angeles, California |
Spouse(s) | Rosa Levy Newmark |
Children |
Matilda Newmark Kremer Myer J. Newmark Sarah Newmark Caroline Newmark Lazard Edward Newmark Harriet Newmark Meyer |
Relatives |
Harris Newmark (nephew and son-in-law) |
Joseph Newmark (1799–1881) was a Prussian-born immigrant to the United States who co-founded B'nai Jeshurun in New York City and Congregation B'nai B'rith, now known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles. He later became a rabbi.
Early life
Joseph Newmark was born in 1799 in Neumark, West Prussia.[1] He received a classical Jewish education, including rabbinical training and certification as a schochet, a ritual slaughterer. He married for the first time at age 19, and had two children with his first wife. After his wife died at a young age, he and his two children emigrated to the United States in 1820.[2][3]
Career
He first settled in New York City in 1823.[1] Two years later, in 1825, he was a co-founder of B'nai Jeshurun, a synagogue on the island of Manhattan.[1]
He moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1840, where he served as the president of a synagogue until 1845.[1][3]
He moved to California in 1852 and settled in Los Angeles in 1853.[3] He established Congregation B'nai B'rith, the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles now known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple,[1] which began as an Orthodox synagogue.[4] He is credited with having performed the first Jewish wedding in California, and officiated as rabbi for his daughters' weddings.[2] In 1862, he persuaded rabbi Abram Wolf Edelman to move to Los Angeles and become its first rabbi.[5] After Newmark's death, the synagogue would become Reform, leading to Edelman's retirement.[1]
Later in life, Newmark became an ordained rabbi in his own right.[3]
Personal life
He was married to Rosa Levy Newmark in 1835.[1] They had six children together: Matilda Newmark Kremer (married to Maurice Kremer), Myer J. Newmark, Sarah Newmark, Caroline Newmark Lazard (married to Solomon Lazard), Edward Newmark, and Harriet Newmark Meyer (married to Marc Eugene Meyer).[1][2]
Death
He died in 1881 in Los Angeles, California.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Newmark, Jewish Virtual Library
- 1 2 3 "Joseph Newmark: Early Los Angeles Pioneer, Uncle of Harris Newmark, Unofficial Rabbi of Early Los Angeles". Jewish Museum of the American West. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 The Death of Rabbi Newmark., The Los Angeles Herald-Express, Volume 16, Number 53, 20 October 1881
- ↑ Kerry M. Olitzky, The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996, p. 50
- ↑ Rabbi Abraham Wolf Edelman, The First Rabbi of Los Angeles, Jewish Museum of the American West