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Benedictus Wolf (Baruch Bendit) Goldsmit-Kassel-Levie, birth 1686 Amsterdam, The Netherlands, died 1736 Hamburg, Germany
Married 22 Aug 1704 Amsterdam, The Netherlands to: Esther Mozes Nathan, birth 1688 Hamburg, Germany |
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1) Aron (Aharon) Benedictus (Baruch) Goldsmit, birth 1715 Amsterdam, The Netherlands, died 1782 LONDON, ENGLAND see Encyclopedia Judaica. Father of famous Goldsmid dynasty. The most prominent family of all--that of Goldsmid--has been left to the last. According to the current works of reference, blindly following an unscientific biographer of more than a century ago, its founder, Aaron Goldsmid emigrated to London fr om Amsterdam in 1763. In that case, his rise would have been extraordinarily rapid, and his children, who were to cut such a figure in London life, all of foreign birth. But in point of fact this is not the case, and the arrival of the famil y in England is to be antedated by some twenty years. Aaron, son of Baruch Segal (i.e. Levy) of Amsterdam, known as Aaron Goldsmit (Goldsmid), regularly figures in the congregational records from 1747 at the latest; in 1751 he was elected Warden , in conjunction with Moses Hart: and on his death in 1782 he left the Synagogue a legacy of ¹144 to maintain a perpetual light. For the best part of a century, the history of the family and that of the Great Synagogue are inseparable: and all hi s four sons played an important role in its affairs. George or Gershom, the eldest, who entered into partnership with his father in the firm of Goldsmid and Eliason, was admitted a member in 1766/7. Abraham, the friend of Lord Nelson, whose financ ial genius was of inestimable benefit to the English treasury in the Napoleonic Wars, and who at one time was instrumental in settling a long-standing dispute between The Times and the Post Office, followed in 1782/3. Asher, of Mansell Street, Goo dman's Fields (who became one of the twelve Jew Brokers in 1772) qualified in 1769/7; he was the father of Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, the first Anglo-Jewish baronet and a doughty fighter for Jewish emancipation, himself Parnas in 1821. Baruch or Ben jamin, the youngest of the family, Abraham's partner and (among his many charitable activities, famous among Gentiles as among Jews) a founder of the Naval Asylum, joined the others in 1789/90. Though he was better known than any of his brother s in English society, his Jewish sympathies were no less warm than theirs. In his mansion at Roehampton, an apartment was fitted up for use as a synagogue; and on his estate he appropriated a piece of ground for the Chief Rabbi, so that he migh t grow his own wheat and make his own flour for the Unleavened Bread for Passover. All the brothers in turn served the Great Synagogue in executive offices. George Goldsmid led the way, being Gabbai Zedakah from 1782 to 1784, when he was electe d Parnas in conjunction with David Samuel. The London Chronicle of October 4th, 1785, reports how there had recently taken place a meeting of the "principal Rulers, Elders, and Governors" of the Congregation for the purpose of making the election s for the following year, and that the "conduct and management" of the two during the past twelve months had elicited such approval that they were unanimously reappointed. Married 1740 Amsterdam, The Netherlands to: Catherine (Keetje) Abraham De Vries-Rofe, birth 1718 Amsterdam, The Netherlands, died 1780 LONDON, ENGLAND, daughter of Abraham Casper (Gershon) De Vries-Rofe and Marianne (Margalith) Asser-Shochet |