Harris Newmark
Harris Newmark | |
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Born | July 5, 1834 Löbau, Kingdom of Prussia (now Lubawa, Poland) |
Died | 1916 |
Nationality | Prussian American |
Occupation(s) | Businessman philanthropist |
Spouse(s) | Sarah Newmark (cousin and wife) |
Children | Maurice Harris Newmark |
Parent(s) | Phillip Newmark Esther Newmark |
Relatives | Joseph P. Newmark (brother) Nathan Newmark (brother) Joseph Newmark (uncle and father-in-law) Leon Loeb (son-in-law) Joseph P. Loeb (grandson) |
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Harris Newmark (July 5, 1834 – 1916) was a Jewish American businessman, philanthropist, and historian. Newmark immigrated to the United States in 1853. He sailed from Europe to New York City, and then to San Francisco. He joined his older brother and other family in Los Angeles. His branch of the family were among the founders and developers of the region, founding Montebello, California and the related area.[1]
Newmark contributed to developing many local institutions, such as the Los Angeles County Library and others supporting children's welfare. He wrote a memoir, Sixty Years in Southern California: 1853–1913,
Early years
Newmark was born in Löbau in the Prussian Partition of Poland (now Lubawa, Poland). He was the son of Jewish parents Phillip and Esther Newmark. Among his siblings was an older brother Joseph P. Newmark.[5] Their father Phillip Newmark was born in Neumark (now Nowe Miasto Lubawskie, Poland). He frequently traveled to Sweden and Denmark to sell his ink and blackening products. He made a sales trip to New York City in 1837, but became ill and returned home in 1838.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/RichNewmarkLazardKremer18540921.jpg/220px-RichNewmarkLazardKremer18540921.jpg)
At the time, Newmark had limited English-language skills; he spoke German, Swedish, and had picked up some Spanish while en route to and in California.
In 1854, their uncle Joseph Newmark arrived in Los Angeles with his wife and six children. Newmark lived with them for a time, and his aunt taught the young man how to read, write, and spell in English. On March 24, 1858, Newmark married his cousin Sarah in the family home. Her father, his uncle Joseph officiated, and became Harris' father-in-law.[6]
Businessman
Newmark developed several successful businesses, which employed most if not all of a near-inexhaustible list of Newmark family members.[1] Newmark was chiefly a grocer and dry goods merchant, but he also dabbled in other fields. He even tried sheep farming.[6] He was primarily focused on the burgeoning real estate opportunities to be had in the Los Angeles area. Newmark bought and sold properties throughout southern California, and made a fortune in the process.
As noted, he first clerked for his brother Joseph P. at
At the end of 1885, Newmark retired from the grocery business to devote more time to his real estate and investment pursuits. In 1886, he and four other businessmen: his nephew
In May 1899, Newmark subdivided the tract owned by him and his nephew, after contracting with William Mulholland to design and construct a suitable water system for the new settlement.[9] Accounts differ as to the actual size of Newmark and Cohn's parcel, but it was somewhere around 1,200 to 1,500 acres (6.1 km2).[8][10]
A piece of this tract, adjacent to the tracks of the
Personal life
On March 24, 1858, Newmark was married to his cousin Sarah Newmark by her father Joseph Newmark, Los Angeles first lay rabbi. Five of their eleven children survived infancy: Maurice Harris Newmark (c. 1859–1929) married his cousin, Rose Newmark in 1888; Marco Ross Newmark (born c. 1878); Ella Newmark Seligman (married Carl Seligman), Emily Newmark Loew (married to Jacob Loew), and Estelle Newmark Loeb (married to Leon Loeb).[12]
Legacy
Newmark made many contributions to the economy and culture of Los Angeles; he gave both his time and money to a variety of causes. He was one of the founders of the
He was active in the Jewish community, serving as president of Congregation B'nai B'rith in 1887 (he inherited the title from his uncle and father-in-law Joseph Newmark)
Newmark's memoir, Sixty Years in Southern California, was assembled with the assistance of his sons and a Pasadena historian. It has been called "one of the great autobiographies" by an American Jewish writer, and "the single most valuable memoir" about southern California in the nineteenth century.[2] The American Memory project of the Library of Congress has the entire memoir available online.
Harris Newmark High School, a continuation high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District is named in his honor, as is the Harris Newmark Building in downtown Los Angeles. Now called the New Mart building, the edifice was the first high-rise structure in the city, and was built in 1928 by Newmark's sons. [[The Braly Block at Second and Springs streets was the city's first highrise, circa 1904. Between then and the late 1950s, the only higher building that was allowed constructed was city hall. The city council imposed a height limit of 150 feet at the height of the city beautiful movement]][15]
Newmark was the grandfather of Los Angeles lawyer Joseph P. Loeb, who also proofread his memoir book.
References
- ^ ISBN 0-618-00196-4.
- ^ a b c d Greenstein, Albert (1999). "Harris Newmark". SoCalHistory.org. Historical Society of Southern California. Archived from the original (excerpt) on August 6, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ISBN 0-405-07692-4.
- ISBN 0-87905-007-1.
- ^ "Chapter I – Childhood and Youth 1834–1853". Sixty years in Southern California, 1853–1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Library of Congress American Memory project. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ a b "Chapter XVI - Marriage – The Butterfield Stages 1858". Sixty years in Southern California, 1853–1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Library of Congress American Memory project. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
- JSTOR 41168008.
- ^ a b c "History of Montebello". City of Montebello. Archived from the original on September 22, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ a b "Chapter XXXVII – Repetto and the Lawyers 1885–1887". Sixty years in Southern California, 1853–1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Library of Congress American Memory project. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
- ^ "Pride in the Past, Faith in the Future" (PDF). Langley Senior Citizens Center newsletter. Monterey Park Historical Society. December 1, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ Rasmussen, Cecilia (July 29, 2007). "City names stem from trees, ranches – even a goddess". Los Angeles Times. pp. B2. Retrieved October 26, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ "Newmark Family Papers". Online Archive of California.
- ^ ISBN 978-1605981376. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
- ^ "Chapter IX – Familiar Home Scenes 1854". Sixty years in Southern California, 1853–1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Library of Congress American Memory project. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
- ^ "History of Building". Newmart.net. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
External links
- Sixty Years in Southern California, Harris Newmark (book)
- Works by Harris Newmark at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Harris Newmark at Internet Archive
- Works by Harris Newmark at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Harris Newmark Family – Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Jewish History, timeline of Jewish history, including Newmark contributions
- photo of the Harris Newmark Building
- City of Montebello, California
- Harris Newmark at Find a Grave