1a. Levi Strauss Family
Because
my last name is Levi, I get asked all the time if I’m related to the
“Levi’s” jeans family, and my answer has been “no,
because his first name was Levi.”
But in reality I am. All the complicated relationships mentioned above
of Meyers, Newmarks, and Loebs also factored into the Levi Strauss connection.
Eugene Sr. and Harriet Meyers’ daughters Elise and Rosalie both married
Stern brothers (Sigmund and Abraham) who were the nephews of Levi Strauss, and
since Strauss was a bachelor the Sterns, who managed his business, inherited
the company. The business was passed through Sigmund and Rosalie, to their
daughter, Elise, and her husband Walter Haas, and eventually their children and
grandchildren. In fact, Robert D. Haas is chairman
and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. and is the great great grandnephew of Levi
Strauss. There was
interaction between the older Meyer, Stern family in San Francisco and their
Los Angeles Newmark relatives. And, in fact, Rosalie “Ro” Meyer
Stern was a very close friend of Dr. Leo Newmark in San Francisco. I have no idea whether there have been
any contemporary relationships between the descendants.
2.
Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona (1909-1998)
Republican Candidate for President 1964
Senator
Barry Goldwater wearing a yarmulke with Dr. Moses
Lehrman in 1971
The
name Goldwater has been important in Politics and Mercantile affaires in the
Western United States for over 150 years. They were Jewish brothers who left
Poland in the 1830s for Paris and then London, and in 1850 their original name
Goldwasser was anglicized to Goldwater. Michael (Big Mike) Goldwater married an
English Jewess Sarah Nathan in 1851, and a year later in 1852, he and his
brothers Joe (Little Joe), Julius and Gabriel embarked for California. They
lived and had businesses in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, finally
establishing a successful business in 1867 in the Arizona Territory, called
J.Goldwater and Brother. Michael Goldwater was the Grandfather, and his son
Baron (called Barry) was the father of Barry Goldwater the future Senator from
Arizona. Michael was very active in the San Francisco Jewish community where he
finally settled and died. In 1896, Mike’s sons Morris and Baron closed a
store in Prescott, Arizona and opened M. Goldwater & Sons, which became a prestigious
Phoenix store. After Mike’s death in 1903 both Morris and Baron married
gentiles, but didn’t renounce Judiasm. Barry Goldwater, son of Baron
worked in the family business, and then went on to a political career. He was
the U.S. Senator from Arizona until 1964, when he ran for President of the
United States (Republican) unsuccessfully against Lyndon Baines Johnson. Then,
in 1968, he was re-elected to the Senate, from which he retired in 1987.
The
Goldwater family is related to the Newmark family in several ways. To
paraphrase from an article in the Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly,
July, 1972 on Michael Goldwater and his early California associations;
“In 1887 a marriage occurred which strengthened the ties between two of
the largest and most distinguish Jewish families of the early west- the
Newmarks and the Goldwaters. Earlier, Michael Goldwater’s brother Julius
A. Goldwater had married Augusta Newmark the daughter of Nathan, an older
brother of Harris Newmark. Augusta was also the first cousin of San Francisco
physician Dr. Leo Newmark. In
Aug.1887, another daughter of Nathan’s Lydia Newmark married Marco
Goldwater the son of another of Michael’s brothers, Gabriel. Attending
the wedding to witness the marriage of their nephew, Marco, were Michael and
Sarah Goldwater. Also, witnessing the wedding of their niece were Joseph P. and
Augusta Newmark.
The Goldwater family has Christian and Jewish
branches, and although Barry Goldwater was not of the Jewish branch of the
family (his Mother was gentile), he maintained strong feelings of ethnicity. In
1964 he wrote in a letter, “ I have always been proud of my Jewish
ancestry. My grandfather, Mike, who established the Goldwater stores in Arizona
was very active in Jewish charitable organizations, and I believe it has been a
great advantage to me to have inherited some of the characteristics which I
think can fairly be associated with Jewish people. Congeniality, understanding,
and warmth are traits that my grandfather and father (both Jewish) had in
abundance. Their influence has been one of the most important factors in my own
life.”
Although,
I didn’t vote for him for President, I’m proud that my family is
related to his.
3.
Kaspere Cohn
Founder
of Union Bank and Cedars/Sinai Medical Center
Kaspere Cohn, who was to found two famous Los Angeles institutions, Union Bank and Cedars of
Lebanon Hospital and a
California city, was the nephew of Harris Newmark.
When he first arrived in Los Angeles in 1859 he was employed by Harris and he
was sent to manage a store at the Fort Tejon Military Post. He was there until
it closed as a result of the troops withdrawing because of the Civil War.
Kasper remained in H. Newmark’s employ until he set up his own business
at Red Bluff, Tehama County, in Northern California, where he continued until
1866. When he sold out in 1866 he was offered a partnership in H. Newmark &
Company. In 1873 he married Hulda
Newmark the sister of M.A.Newmark, Harris Newmark’s nephew. Another
example of pioneer Jewish families marrying within their own families.
In 1887 five men including Harris Newmark and Kaspere Cohn bought the
Repetto Ranch that ran from downtown L.A. to Whittier. It was apportioned among
the five in 1889. With the guidance of William Mullholland, the “Water Baron,”
they set up the town of Newmark and sold lots. The entire
settlement was called Montebello, and in 1920 the Newmark name was dropped and
the town was called Montebello. (Which as a descendant saddens
me)
Kaspere became a successful banker when he started in the 1890’s
acting as an unofficial banker to Basque sheepherders, and in 1914 formalized
his business by founding Kaspere Cohn Commercial & Savings Bank. The name
was changed to Union Bank & Trust in 1918, and shortened to Union Bank
1958. In recent years the bank has merged with several other banks to become
Union Bank of California. (I remember when I was a child that my family would
discuss “the bank” and Ben Meyer who was a son-in-law of
Kaspere’s and the President of Union Bank. I also knew the Hahns whose
father Herman I thought was associated with Union Bank. What I didn’t
know was that they were all related and owned the bank)!
The
First Building of Kasper Cohn Hospital (later Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) on
Carroll St.
Perhaps, the greatest achievement of Kaspere’s was the founding
of Kaspere Cohn Hospital in 1902 to meet the health needs of a growing
community. It was located on the East side of L.A on Carroll St. In 1910, the
hospital was moved to a 50 bed facility on Stephenson Ave. (Whittier Ave.), and
in 1920 the family asked for the name to be changed. In 1930, Cedars of Lebanon
Hospital moved to Fountain Ave in Hollywood. Then, after years of study, in
1961 merged with Mount Sinai Hospital to become Cedars-Sinai Hospital at the Beverly
Blvd, location, and its present location. A larger hospital was needed, and
construction began in 1971: the first patients were admitted in 1976 to the
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The center is rated one the greatest hospitals in
the United States both for patient care, and its teaching and research.
Just a few comments, during the 1950’s and 60’s my father
John Newmark Levi Sr. was on the Cedars board as Vice President and Treasurer.
At the time, the hospital didn’t have as many professional administrators
as now and there were Doctors running it, e.g. Dr. Leon “Red”
Krohn, and Dr. Leo Rigler, My dad was there practically every day after working
at the Mill (Capitol Milling Co), particularly when he was Treasurer of the
hospital. He was on the board when they decided to move west and merge with
Sinai. Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto was hired to do a study, and
they determined that the Jewish community was moving West, and even to the
Valley. They didn’t want to relocate to the San Fernando Valley, and UCLA
and St. Johns were established hospitals on the West side, thus, they decided
to merge with Mt. Sinai. Sinai wasn’t that large, thus it took years and
many dollars to finally open the facility as Cedars-Sinai. The merger was also
the merging of the early Jewish pioneer families and established physicians
(Cedars) with the newly arrived post war Jews and younger doctors (Sinai). My
Dad was sick in the early 70’s and died in 1973 at 67 years, so I think
his connection with the “new” Cedars was negligible.
4. CALIFORNIA FAMILY NEWMARK An Intimate History
By Leo Newmark, M.D.
Dr. Leo Newmark (Pioneer Neurologist of the West), (1861-1943)
Dr. Leo Newmark
who wrote “California Family Newmark An Intimate History”
was the son of J.P. Newmark and nephew of Harris Newmark.His father arrived in
San Francisco.from Loebau, Germany in 1851 and then moved to Los Angeles. He
was joined in Los Angeles by his younger brother Harris and later his Uncle
Joseph and his family. Then, J.P. moved back to San Francisco where Leo was
born in 1861. The book begins by discussing the family origins in Europe.
Leo’s great Grandfather was Reb Meyer and Reb Meyer’s father was
Rabbi Abraham, rabbi and dayyan (judge) of Brodnik, Poland and a Chassid. The
time period was probably the early 1700s. I thought this was interesting
because my great grandfather Leon Loeb who married into the Newmark family came
from a distinguished family in Alsace Lorraine that numbered many rabbis.
It
was apparent right away that Leo was brilliant. Upon his graduation from
Grammar School in 1872 he received a medal for scholarship, and in 1977 he
graduated from Boy’s High School in San Francisco at 16. After one
semester at University of California Berkeley, he left for Germany, where he
enrolled at a school to study languages- Latin, Greek, German and French. After
an extensive classical training in Berlin, he entered the University of
Strasbourg where he obtained his M.D. Following this he studied Neurology at
French, German, and English hospitals and clinics, finally returning to San
Francisco after an absence of 12 years. In 1890 he was licensed to practice
medicine in California.
Leo’s
reminiscences were written between 1927-1934 and weren’t necessarily for
publication, but his niece Mrs. Howard Lewin told the editors Will Kramer and
Norton Stern, who were interviewing her about their existence in 1967. The 2
men recognized the value of his biographical and historical writings and
co-edited this book.
The book begins by
discussing the family origins in Europe, and then the family’s arrival in
America and eventual residency in California. It elaborates on his
father’s and Uncle’s businesses, and Leo’s career as a
distinguished Doctor and medical consultant. He was the first Neurologist in
Cal. The book ends with his loving and insightful description of his family and
their servants.
Leo was a medical
figure of considerable standing in San Francisco. He started the first
Neurology Dept. in the West at San Francisco Polyclinic, gave lectures at
University of California Berkeley medical school, consulted in Neurology and
wrote numerous articles for medical journals. His intellectual interests were
broad and varied. He read biographies, histories, American and British
Literature, the old and new testament. He had an intense love for language and
was fluent in five languages. After he retired he learned or studied: Arabic,
Hebrew, Turkish, Sanskrit, and Ethiopic. He was very close to his family and
even though his brother and sisters moved to Los Angeles, he visited them
frequently. He had many close friends in San Francisco and among them was Mrs.
Sigmund Stern (Levi Strauss) granddaughter of Joseph Newmark his great
Uncle (and my great-great-great
grandfather.) According to the editors “he was a wonderful person to
know. He was brilliant, witty, imaginative, possesed a great since of humor,
and was a fine conversationalist. He was polite and even courtly in his manner.
Most importantly, he left this journal with his insightful description of an
important California family, the Newmarks, and the sociological forces which
shaped them and other early California pioneers.”
5.
Marco Newmark (1878-1959)
Home-Town Historian
In 1878, a son was born to Harris and Sara Newmark,
in Los Angeles, at their residence 127 Fort Street (Broadway). The son Marco
was to follow in his father’s footsteps as a merchant and historian in
L.A. Marco was raised in comfort and an important heritage in Los Angeles
history. He was aware that his Father, Uncle, and Grandfather had played an
important role in the building of Los Angeles from a dusty pueblo when they
arrived to a modern California city. The first Newmark in Los Angeles was J.P.
Newmark his Uncle in 1851, the second his father Harris in 1853, and the third
his great uncle and also his grandfather Joseph Newmark in 1854. Marco was
motivated to participate in civic and business affairs by the role model set by
his grandfather Joseph, the lay rabbi of L.A. and the knowledge that his father
Harris was an important civic and business figure in L.A.
He attended local
public schools, Los Angeles High, like the rest of his family, and then also
like the other 2nd generation Newmarks went on to The University of
California Berkeley where he majored in Philosophy and received his B.A. in
1902. He furthered his education by taking classes at Dr. Sax’s School in
New York and attending The University of Berlin where he graduated in
Philosophy and Political Economy. He left Europe and returned to Los Angeles to
work in the wholesale grocery business that his father established in 1856. His
older brother, Maurice, born in 1859, had also been sent to Europe for his
education, and eventually took over management of his father’s commercial
interests and joined him in many of his civic activities.
In 1906 Marco
married Constance Meyberg daughter of a prominent Los Angeles Jewish
businessman Max Meyberg. When Maurice died in 1929, Marco became president of
the firm. He and Maurice co-edited their father’s “ My Sixty Years
in Southern California” and prepared it for publication in 1916. After
sales of the 1st edition were “sold out” the brothers
co-edited a second edition in 1926. In 1930, Marco edited the third edition
alone. In 1929 he and Maurice co-edited the Los Angeles Census of 1850, an
important historical document.
During his
lifetime Marco was a successful businessman, but at heart he was an historian
and philosopher and wrote many articles on the history of Los Angeles, its
pioneer merchants, clubs, and occupations. These articles were published in: The
Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly,
The Jewish Merchant, the Masonic
Digest, and in the Jewish press. Many of
these articles were compiled and used in his book “ Jottings In Southern
California” published in 1955. After reading the book, my only regret is
that I wished he had written a section about himself and his family. The family
history seems to have stopped in 1913 with his uncle’s book.
Marco was not just
an historian-merchant but an active member and leader in the community. He was
a Zionist, and President of the LA ZOA. In 1921 he chaired a banquet for Chaim
Weizman. From 1933 to 1938 he was President of The Federation of Jewish Welfare
Organizations. He was President of the B’nai B’rith Lodge # 48. He
was on the board of The Jewish Home For Aging, and honorary secretary for the
Vista Del Mar orphanage. For years he provided the New Years day dinner for the
children’s orphanage, he was a 3rd degree mason and held
office as Master of Westgate Lodge No. 335 in 1936. He was a Schriner. He
edited his Lodge bulletin for many years and served as librarian of the
Scottish Rite Library.
Marco was
President of the Historical Society of Southern California from 1940-43, http://www.socalhistory.org/,
a director for many years, the 1st Jew, and from 1952-56
was the curator. A few of the other organizational and community posts he held
were: President of The Midnight Mission, member of Los Angeles Grand Jury in
1934, director of the Los Angeles Fiesta Association, president of the Los
Angeles Produce Exchange, a director of the Merchants and Manufacturers
Association Vice President of the National Wholesale Grocers’
Association, a director of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
When the Southern
California Jewish Society was founded in 1952, he suggested that there should
be a regional Jewish historical magazine. Belatedly, sixteen years later the
Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly was published, and the first issue
was dedicated to Marco.
Marco’s life
was admirable. He was charitable, civically involved, a successful businessman,
devoted to Los Angeles, a student and a scholar. One just had to look at all he
accomplished and be amazed at his productivity.
I met Marco a few times at family
functions but really didn’t know him, as he was part of my
grandparent’s generation. I’m sure my Dad knew him fairly well. My
parents were friendly with his son Harris (Nick) Newmark, who was a V.P. of RCA,
and later a stockbroker with Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. I was quite friendly
with Nick’s first wife Dorothy and I used to be at their house on
Comstock in Westwood often because I gave Dorothy private art lessons in the
late 50s. Also, I had many long conversations with their daughter Margo who was
a few years younger than I. Their son Nicky (Harris 3rd), who is now
a Radiologist, was much younger and I only saw him a few times at the house.
Margo married Arthur Rosenbaum an artist and he is now an Art Professor at The
University of Georgia at Athens. Dorothy and Nick divorced, and Dorothy married
Charlie Maddox a prominent sculptor. They moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico
where Charlie had a position as a sculpture Professor. I spent a few weeks in
New Mexico in the mid-1990s, and visited them at their charming Albuquerque
house. On my last day, before flying back to LA, I had breakfast with Charlie
at his favorite diner. We went to see his studio that was located on the New
Mexico campus in the sculpture complex named after him, The Maddox Building. He
seemed like a great guy and very interesting, Dorothy was lucky.
There are some well-known American Jewish families
that are not
related by blood but marriage to my immediate family
and they are:
The Rosenwald Family (Sears Roebuck)
Mother 68, and Joe 77 in 1977
My
father John Newmark Levi Sr. passed away in 1973 at 67. My mother who was only
63 at the time, after dating for several years married Dr.Joseph Harris in
1980. Joe was a retired prominent Obstetrician/Gynecologist in Beverly Hills.
He and his wife Eleanor (Rosenwald) Harris, whose family developed Sears Robuck
into a national institution and were famed for their philanthropy, were friends
of my parents. Around the same time that my Dad died Eleanor also died from
cancer. My mother and Joe had known each other for years as both families
traveled in the same social circle and saw each frequently.
Joe was famous for one event. He was Lucile
Ball’s Obstetrician and when she became pregnant with Desi Jr. she
didn’t know what to do about being on her show “I Love
Lucy”. So, he suggested she
could be pregnant on the show with “Little Ricky” and show the
pregnancy. The whole country was
watching and in the scene where her water breaks someone says “ call Dr. Harris”. That
was Joe and he did deliver Desi Jr. at Cedars of Lebanon.
They had a very comfortable and leisurely life. For most of
the year they lived in his house in Rancho Mirage next to the Tamarisk Country
Club. In the summer they leased his condo in Westwood, and lived in my
mom’s place in Century City across from Hillcrest Country Club where they
were members. My father had been a founding member. Joe was a lovely, sweet and
intelligent person and they seemed to be very comfortable with each other. He
seemed much liked my Father, and Mom said they got along very well and he was
easy to live with. I was teaching in LA but I always stayed with them in Palm
Springs at Thanksgiving and in also in late May, and in the summer saw them
frequently in Los Angeles. They had great food and the best cooks! They had to
let Alan go and he ended up being the Gerald Ford’s Chef. Jules who was
French Canadian and came to America especially to work for Joe was their last
cook, and he was great.
From
what I could gather Eleanor and Joe lived very well on his income and her
substantial trust. This enabled Joe, unlike most Doctors to retire in his
60’s. Apparently, he still lived on that combined income doing his
lifetime. He died in the mid 1980’s at 87. My Mother returned to Century
City where she still lives at 94. In her building in Century City there were
other Rosenwald cousins Richard and Lucy Rosenwald.
Ironically,
my Mom and Dad were close friends with Julia and John Michaels who lived in
Chicago and Palm Springs. She was Julia Spiegel of Spiegel Catalogue, the
competitor of Sears Roebuck!
The Zellerbach Family
(Crown-Zellerbach)
My cousin Steve
Loew Jr.whose grandfather Jacob founded the Capital Milling Co. and whose
family ran the Mill with mine the Levi’s married Rollinda Zellerbach.
Rollie is the daughter of Harold Zellerbach (1894-1978) the paper company
executive and Crown-Zellerbach president (1928-69) who lived in the San
Francisco area. Crown-Zellerbach
merged with other companies quite a while ago, so their name is not as familiar
now. However their name is still important in the San Francisco Bay area and
Philadelphia, Pa; there is the Crown Zellerbach
Building (Skidmore, Owens and Mayer) in San Francisco, The Zellerbach Theatre
in Philadelphia, PA., Zellerbach Hall
for music at UCBerkeley, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation in San Francisco.
As mentioned the Loews were the other owners of the Mill.
Jacob Loew who had married a Harris Newmark daughter, Emily, had been President
of the Mill until his death in 1921. Then his nephew, Herman Levi became
president. Herman had married Rose Loeb the Granddaughter of Harris Newmark.
Thus the Loews and Levi’s were doubly related. After my Grandfather
Herman died in 1945, Steve Loew Sr. became President with my Dad as Vice
President. My Dad died before Steve retired, so his son Steve Loew Jr.became
President and he was succeeded upon his demise by Doug Levi my first cousin.
Because of the Mill all the Levi’s and Loews were great friends. I can
only relate my experience, but my parents John and Aimee Levi were social
friends, as well as business, with Rollie and Steve Jr. On Xmas when I was a
child we would go over to their house on Club View in Westwood. They had two
daughters Susie and Lindy but they were much younger than I and attended
schools on the West side.
The families were also close because we were Steve Loew
Sr’s neighbors. My parents had sold our house in Hancock Park and we moved to Westwood and living right next
door were Lucille and Steve Loew. So, we saw them all the time. Steve’s
other sons Jack and Bobby Loew (Rita) were also frequent visitors, and were a
lot of fun. They were all much older than I and their children were much
younger.
Ironically,
Susan Loew married Steve Wilson whose family owned Wilson Paper Co., but
they’re divorced and I don’t think the business exists under the
same name anymore.
Autobiography/Genealogy
Linda Levi Art 1958-1960
