Isaac Magnin

Isaac Magnin
Born 1842
Assen or Groningen, the Netherlands
Died January 27, 1907
San Francisco, California
Nationality United States
Ethnicity Jewish
Religion Judaism
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 in Assen or Groningen, the Netherlands in 1842.[1][2][3] 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.[4] He moved back to London, where he established an arts goods store.[2][4] A decade later, in 1876, he set sail for the United States again, this time married and off to San Francisco via Cape Horn.[2][4] There, he worked as a frame carver and gilder for Solomon Gump, an art and antique dealer and owner of Gump's.[4] With his wife, he was also the co-founder of I. Magnin, an upscale women's clothing store in San Francisco.[2] By 1880, he was listed in the census as the keeper of a fancy bazaar.[2]

He was interested in socialism.[4]

Personal life

He married Mary Ann Magnin on October 8, 1865 at the Great Synagogue of London.[2][1] 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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 Robert P. Swierenga, The Forerunners: Dutch Jewry in the North American Diaspora, Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1994, pp. 309-312
  3. 3.0 3.1 James David Hart, A Companion to California: Newly Revised and Expanded with Illustrations, Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1987, p. 299
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Harriet Rochlin, Fred Rochlin, Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000 , pp. 176-177