Mary Ann Magnin

Mary Ann Magnin
Born Mary Ann Cohen
1850
Scheveningen, The Hague, the Netherlands
Died December 5, 1943(1943-12-05) (aged 93)
San Francisco, California
Residence Saint Francis Hotel
Occupation Businesswoman
Spouse(s) Isaac Magnin
Children Samuel, Henrietta, Joseph, Emanuel John, Victor, Lucille, Flora, and Grover
Family Edgar Magnin (grandson)
Cyril Magnin (grandson)
Mae Brussell (great granddaughter)

Mary Ann Magnin (1850–1943) was a Dutch-born American businesswoman. She was the co-founder of I. Magnin, an upscale "specialty store" in San Francisco, California.

Early life

Mary Ann Cohen was born in 1850 in Scheveningen, The Hague, the Netherlands.[1][2][3] Her father was a rabbi.[1] She immigrated to England with her parents, settling in London, where she grew up.[1][2]

Career

In the wake of the California Gold Rush, she decided to immigrate to the West coast of the United States with her husband and children.[4] They arrived in San Francisco in 1875, traveling via Cape Horn.[1][3] She established a clothing store in Oakland, where she sold baby clothes, lingerie, and bridal trousseaux.[2][5][6] Two years later, in 1877, she moved the business to a larger store in San Francisco, and it became known as I. Magnin.[1][6][7]

Even though she retired in 1900, she kept visiting her store daily until her death.[3][5]

Personal life

She married Isaac Magnin on October 8, 1865 at the Great Synagogue of London.[1][3] She was only fifteen years old.[2][3] They had eight children: Samuel, Henrietta, Joseph, Emanuel John, Victor, Lucille, Flora, and Grover.[1] They resided at the Saint Francis Hotel on Union Square.[5]

Death

She died on December 15, 1943 in San Francisco, California.[1] She was ninety-four years old.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 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>.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Harriet Rochlin, Fred Rochlin, Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000 , pp. 176-177
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Jeanne E. Abrams, Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West, New York City: New York University Press, 2006, pp. 123-124
  4. ↑ Anne Evers, Emporium Department Store, Arcadia Publishing, 2014, p. 8
  5. 1 2 3 Robert P. Swierenga, The Forerunners: Dutch Jewry in the North American Diaspora, Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1994, pp. 309-312
  6. 1 2 James David Hart, A Companion to California: Newly Revised and Expanded with Illustrations, Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1987, p. 299
  7. ↑ Virginia G. Drachman, Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business, Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press Books, 2002, p. 77
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