Abraham Abraham
{{Short description|American businessman (1843–1911)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Abraham Abraham
| image = Abraham Abraham 1843-1911 (cropped).jpeg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1843|03|09}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1911|06|28|1843|03|09}}
| death_place = Cherry Island, New York, U.S.
| spouses = {{ubl|{{marriage|Isabella Hyams|1868|1875|reason=died}}|{{marriage|Rose Epstein|1882}}}}
| children = {{plainlist|
- Lillian Isabelle Abraham Rothschild {{br}}{{small|(1869–1927)}}
- Florence May Abraham Blum {{br}}{{small|(1872–1959)}}
- Lawrence Emanuel Abraham {{br}}{{small|(1872–1945)}}
- Edith S. Abraham Straus {{br}}{{small|(1882–1957)}}
}}
| other_names =
| known_for = Founder of Abraham & Straus
| occupation = Businessman
}}
Abraham Abraham (March 9, 1843 – June 28, 1911) was an American businessman and the founder of the Brooklyn department store Abraham & Straus, founded 1865.{{Citation|editor1-first = John William|editor1-last= Leonard| editor2-first =Albert Nelson| editor2-last= Marquis|title= Who's who in America| publisher = Marquis Who's Who, Incorporated| volume = 5| page = 6| year = 1908| location = Chicago| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eX0QOpl7iBQC&pg=PA6}} The chain, which became part of Federated Department Stores, is now part of Macy's.
Early life
Abraham was born to a Jewish family,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ydmtk2HGrcAC&q=abraham&pg=PA4|first1= Ilana|last1=Abramovitch |first2= Seán|last2=Galvin|title=Jews of Brooklyn|pages=4–5 |publisher=Brandeis|date=November 1, 2001|isbn=9781584650034}} the son of Judah Abraham, a native of Bavaria who left in 1837 and married Sarah Sussman en route to the United States. Soon after arrival, Judah Abraham opened a store on Murray Street in New York. In 1843 Abraham Abraham was born. He had delicate health, and wanted to be a violinist. During the Civil War, he ran away to Chicago to enlist, but was brought back by his father. At 14, he worked at Hart & Dettlebach of Newark, along with Simon Bloomingdale and Benjamin Altman for $1 a week.
Career
Abraham opened Wechsler & Abraham in Brooklyn in 1865 at 297 Fulton Street.{{cite news|title=A Complete Establishment. The New Store of Wechsler & Abraham in Brooklyn|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/01/10/106294148.pdf|access-date=June 12, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 10, 1885}} The company later became Abraham & Straus.
He became a Brooklyn philanthropist, establishing the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, among many other causes. In 1890, he commissioned a house, now demolished, at 800 St. Mark's Avenue in Brooklyn.
Personal life
Abraham married twice. In 1868, he married Isabella Hyams; she died in 1875.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIJ80AkyQdsC&q=kellner&pg=PA1|first=Samuel Philip |last=Abelow|title=History of Brooklyn Jewry|pages=281–283 |publisher= Scheba Publishing Company|date=1937|isbn=9781419608353 }} In 1882, he married Rose Epstein; they remained married until his death.[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/05/27/issue.html Obituary], The New York Times, 27 May 1938.
He had three children with his first wife and one with his second wife, Rose:
- Lillian Isabelle Abraham Rothschild (married to Simon F. Rothschild);{{Cite web|title=Obituary: Simon P. Rothschild |publisher=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=January 6, 1936 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/52682563/ |quote= He was the husband of the late Lillian Abraham Rothschild and father of the late Howard Rothschild. Funeral services will be held tomorrow at 10 a m. in the Beth-El Chapel of Temple Emanu-El.}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mt89C1-s0KoC&q=%22Simon+Frank+Rothschild+%22&pg=RA12-PA112|title=Brooklyn Life, Volume 51|year=1915|pages=112 }}
- Florence May Abraham Blum (married to Edward Charles Blum);{{Cite web|title=Edward Charles Blum is well known throughout the business world as a member of the house of Abraham & Straus, Brooklyn |publisher=Brooklyn Life|date=June 1, 1915 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/83225557/ |quote=In 1894 Mr. Blum married Miss Florence Abraham, daughter of the founder of the firm of Abraham & Straus, and they have two children, Alice I. and Robert Edward Blum}}{{Cite news|title= Edward Blum Dies, Noted Merchant |newspaper=The Brooklyn Eagle|date= November 21, 1946|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/53016934/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ }}
- Lawrence Emanuel Abraham; and
- Edith Abraham Straus (married to Percy Selden Straus, son of Isidor Straus).{{Cite web|title=Straus, Percy Selden, 1876–1944 |publisher=The Frick Collection – Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America|url=http://research.frick.org/directoryweb/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=7815 |access-date=June 4, 2018}}
His many notable descendants include grandson Donald B. Straus (son of his daughter Edith), an educator, author, and advisor; great-great-granddaughter Nina Rothschild Utne, a magazine publisher; great-great-grandson Peter A. Bradford, civil servant and nuclear power expert, and great-great-great-grandson Arthur Bradford, an author and director.
Abraham died on Cherry Island, near Alexandria Bay, New York.
Further reading
- "...And Paramus Makes Ten", internal A&S history document on opening of Paramus Park store, 1974.
- "Abraham Abraham, Merchant, Is Dead; Sudden End of a Man of Notable Career, Known for His Broad and Liberal Activities", [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/06/29/105030765.pdf PDF file with full text] of The New York Times obituary, June 29, 1911.
References
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Category:Businesspeople from New York City
Category:People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Category:American people of German-Jewish descent
Category:19th-century American businesspeople