Isaac Magnin Explained

Isaac Magnin
Birth Name:Isaac Moeijen
Birth Place:Assen or Groningen, the Netherlands
Death Place: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)

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.

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 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

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]

He was interested in socialism.[5]

Personal life

He 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

He died on January 27, 1907, in San Francisco, California.[1] He is buried at Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma, California.

Notes and References

  1. 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)
  2. Robert P. Swierenga, The Forerunners: Dutch Jewry in the North American Diaspora, Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1994, pp. 309–312 https://archive.org/details/forerunnersdutch00swie/page/311
  3. James David Hart, A Companion to California: Newly Revised and Expanded with Illustrations, Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1987, p. 299 https://books.google.com/books?id=nQpvbaeJQCYC&pg=PA299
  4. Book: Western Jewry: An Account of the Achievements of the Jews and Judaism in California : Including Eulogies and Biographies. The Jews in California. 125–126 . Henry Hollander. December 31, 1916.
  5. Harriet Rochlin, Fred Rochlin, Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000, pp. 176–177 https://books.google.com/books?id=pTwqwB3952QC&pg=PA176
  6. Book: Abrams, Jeanne E.. Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West. 2006. NYU Press. 978-0-8147-0720-3. en.
  7. Book: Weinstein, Dave. Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area. 2006. Gibbs Smith. 978-1-58685-751-6. 11–18. en.