Isaac Magnin (1842–1907) was a Dutch-born American businessperson, carver and gilder. He was the co-founder of I. Magnin, an upscale women's clothing store in San Francisco, California.
Isaac Magnin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Isaac Moeijen 1842 |
| Died | January 27, 1907 (aged 65) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, Colma, California, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Mary Ann Cohen |
| Relatives | Edgar Magnin (grandson) Cyril Magnin (grandson) Mae Brussell (great granddaughter) |
Early life
editIsaac Magnin (or Moeijen) was born into a Jewish family in Assen or Groningen, the Netherlands in 1842.[1][2][3][4] His father was from Russia and his mother, Dutch-born.[2] He moved to the United States with his parents when he was eight years old.[2][3]
Career
editHe 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
editHe married Mary Ann Cohen 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][6] 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] Magnin lived at 1478–1482 Page Street, San Francisco, and his two daughters lived in the attached unit, the building was designed by Newsom and Newsom.[7]
Death
editHe died on January 27, 1907, in San Francisco, California.[1] He is buried at Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma, California.
References
edit- ^ a b c d Kahn, Ava F.. "Mary Ann Cohen Magnin." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. March 1, 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on December 7, 2014)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Robert P. Swierenga, The Forerunners: Dutch Jewry in the North American Diaspora, Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1994, pp. 309–312 [1]
- ^ a b James David Hart, A Companion to California: Newly Revised and Expanded with Illustrations, Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1987, p. 299 [2]
- ^ Western Jewry: An Account of the Achievements of the Jews and Judaism in California : Including Eulogies and Biographies. The Jews in California. Henry Hollander. December 31, 1916. pp. 125–126.
- ^ a b c d e Harriet Rochlin, Fred Rochlin, Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000 , pp. 176–177 [3]
- ^ Abrams, Jeanne E. (2006). Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-0720-3.
- ^ Weinstein, Dave (2006). Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area. Gibbs Smith. pp. 11–18. ISBN 978-1-58685-751-6.