316:
543:
531:
338:
515:
327:
with the hardware department as the separate
Schwabacher Hardware Company, headed by Sigmund Schwabacher, who for the rest of his life traveled frequently between San Francisco and Seattle. Upon Sigmund's death in 1900, he was succeeded at Schwabacher Hardware by his son Leopold (Leo) S. Schwabacher (December 26, 1871 – April 6, 1930). Three years later, Leo married Edna Blum of San Francisco; they settled in Seattle. Another fire hit the Schwabacher Hardware Company on February 11, 1905, leading to the construction of a new and even larger store at First Avenue South and South Jackson Street.
17:
220:
248:
574:
346:
256:
195:…the finest building north of San Francisco, its front resplendent with massive iron columns and arches; its seven entrances each with double doors, the outer ones being iron, the inner cedar…. The interior was 16 feet high, painted white. Its six iron pillars were painted and gilded. In the northwest corner, there was a glass space of 12x16 elevated with a fireplace where Mr. Sigmund Schwabacher could observe and direct the activities.
503:-born relative, although the exact relationship is unclear) had seven children; of these, only their eldest son Leo (and, in turn, his son Morton) figures in the business dynasty in the Pacific Northwest. Sigmund and Rosa Schwabacher's other children were Max, Mina, Lester (who died in infancy), Stella, Franklin (Frank), and Helen Rita. Stella, Frank, and Helen left further descendants.
357:-educated Morton L. Schwabacher (December 12, 1902 – March 26, 1977)—after a two-year tutelage by Eckstein. Just before his father Leo's death, Morton married his San Franciscan second cousin once removed, Emilie Bloch, who joined him in Seattle; their sole daughter Eleanor married Philip Boren. However, the Schwabacher business dynasty ended with Morton Schwabacher's death in 1977.
420:
True public spirit has never been more constantly exemplified than by all of these, from Mr. Gatzert, the pioneer, to Nathan
Eckstein, the present able head of the firm, always attended by generous contribution of time, service and money to every civic need. Seattle and the house of Schwabacher are fond and justly proud of each other—not a doubt of that.
468:
With numerous cousin marriages and multiple recurring forenames, the
Schwabacher family genealogy can be confusing. In particularly, there were numerous intermarriages with the Bloch family. The parents of Babette, Louis, Abraham, Sigmund Schwabacher were Loeb Schwabacher (c. 1800 – May 23, 1846) and
419:
The history of
Schwabacher is interwoven with the history of Seattle, not alone in that the firm and the city have progressed in the respective enterprises of business and community development, but in the more intimate relations between the men of the Schwabacher concern and their fellow citizens.
326:
While
Schwabacher's Wharf survived the Great Seattle Fire, their retail store did not. Within 16 days, they had erected temporary one-story brick building at Front Street (now First Avenue) and Madison Street. In 1893, another fire burned out their hardware department, prompting new construction
244:, with a business opened October 11, 1869. Schwabachers' 1872 Seattle office at Front Street (now First Avenue South) and Yesler Way was the city's first brick building. Under Gatzert's direction, the company also constructed a warehouse, a grist mill, and Schwabacher's Wharf.
477:
Floss. Mina's sisters
Henrietta (Jetta) and Sophie successively married Samuel Lehrberger; Sophie and Samuel Lehrberger's daughter Sarah married Abraham Schwabacher. Mina's brother Isaac Bloch had a granddaughter Emilie, who married Morton Schwabacher.
542:
108:, Bavaria, came to the United States in the mid-19th century. The first to cross over was Louis Schwabacher, who came over with the help of his mother’s brother, Isaac Bloch of San Francisco. Louis engaged in business several places in the
273:) boasted that the store "sold everything from a needle to an anchor." The store established in-house brands "Colonial" and "Old Faithful." Drawing on the company's Walla Walla experience, the store outfitted miners for the 1879–1880
235:
in 1861. The couple headed in 1869 for
Seattle—then a town of barely 1,000 people—where Gatzert established a branch of Schwabacher Bros. & Company. Gatzert would go on to become Seattle's first (and, as of 2009, only) Jewish
408:. In addition, Jacob Furth, who had come to Seattle under the influence of the Gatzerts, and whose business interests were intertwined with theirs, played a major role on many fronts in the city's development.
150:(where Sigmund worked for a relative with the surname Black, probably originally Bloch), the brothers set up a business in Walla Walla, Washington, in 1860. At that time, Walla Walla was a base for the
169:
For roughly two decades, Sigmund
Schwabacher would remain the firm's resident partner in Walla Walla. He was director of the First National Bank of Walla Walla, (independent until it was merged into
424:
Schwabacher Bros. & Company was eventually renamed
Pacific Coast Wholesale Grocery and later as Pacific Marine Schwabacher, Inc., which operated in eight western states. According to the
514:
404:, a Washington State tax investigation committee (1921–1922), and the 1925 Seattle City Charter Commission; he was also active in charitable organizations and was a patron of the
308:, from which the Schwabachers profited greatly as outfitters. Schwabacher's Wharf was also the terminus for Seattle's first shipping trade route to the Orient, connecting to the
380:), and was active in the early years of the city's Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society. Various Schwabacher associates played major roles in Seattle's first Jewish congregation,
315:
185:
in Walla Walla. In 1872, Sigmund
Schwabacher also married his cousin, Rosa Schwabacher; about 10 years later, she convinced him that it was time to return to San Francisco.
377:
360:
The Seattle Schwabachers, including Schwabachers-by-marriage Gatzert and Eckstein, were heavily involved in Seattle society, non-profit work, and in the establishment of
188:
Louis Schwabacher worked for a while in Walla Walla; after marrying Bella Blum in 1877, he moved back to San Francisco, managing the eastern Washington stores remotely.
492:
Lehrberger had five children. Their children were Louis A., Jennie, Frederick, Sophie, and Mina Alice (who married Nathan Eckstein). The Ecksteins had two daughters:
1146:
274:
493:
429:
392:
Camp Brotherhood, and president of the Council on Aging. Morton Schwabacher's wife Emily was a board member of Children's Orthopedic Hospital, now
1151:
530:
573:
1156:
330:
Bailey Gatzert died in 1893. He was succeeded at Schwabacher Bros. & Company in Seattle by James S. Goldsmith, and then in 1901 by
1141:
293:
496:—a noted Seattle philanthropist and patron of the arts, who never married—and Babette, who married twice and had four children.
428:
in 1976, it was at that time the Pacific Northwest's largest wholesaler of hard goods. Pacific Marine Schwabacher sold out to
199:
In 1909, H.A. Gardner, J.M. Fitzgerald, and others bought the store, which survived until 1980 as Gardner's Department Store.
742:, The Online Archive of California, California Digital Library, University of California system. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
1161:
957:
638:
376:
head. Gatzert's wife, the former Babette Schwabacher, co-founded Seattle's first charity, the Ladies Relief Society (now
473:
Bloch (October 10, 1805 – May 11, 1843). They lived and died in Bavaria. Mina's parents were Feischel Bloch and Sarah
1012:
815:
663:
319:
U.S.A.T. Egbert docked at Schwabacher's Wharf in 1900 while preparing to transport troops to China to deal with the
727:, Summer 1997, reproduced on the site of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington. Accessed online 2009-10-17.
174:
862:
1096:, Volume 42, Part 2. Spice Mill Publishing Co., November 1919. p. 1565. This text is now in the public domain.
1058:
1042:
1029:
986:
849:
309:
457:
739:
381:
373:
170:
368:, Bailey Gatzert played a key role in assuring the city a water supply in the 1880s. Gatzert was also a
405:
269:
453:
449:
337:
237:
1054:
353:
In 1931, Leo Schwabacher died, and was succeeded at the Schwabacher Hardware Company by his son—the
304:
at Schwabacher's Wharf in July 1897, with its "ton of gold", is usually counted as the start of the
444:
The Gatzert-Schwabacher Land Company primarily owned land in Seattle, but also had investments in
1030:
Ohaveth Sholum Congregation, Seattle's first Jewish congregation, is established on July 25, 1889
334:, who in 1902 married Abraham's daughter Mina Schwabacher (October 21, 1877 – October 21, 1945).
178:
61:
481:
Babette Schwabacher and Bailey Gatzert had no children. Louis Schwabacher and Belle (or Bella),
123:, Abraham Schwabacher stayed behind at the brothers' San Francisco headquarters. He married his
109:
445:
401:
393:
16:
369:
131:
49:
191:
The Shwabachers' 1876 building in Walla Walla was described in a 19th-century account as:
8:
433:
219:
952:
Roth (1997) says "Godsmith", presumably a typo. See, for example, Alfred D. Bowen (ed.)
247:
1001:
521:
297:
143:
53:
1008:
811:
659:
396:. Nathan Eckstein's extensive volunteer activities included six years on the Seattle
120:
345:
116:. In 1858 he relocated to San Francisco. Around that time, his brothers joined him.
500:
385:
289:
1105:
Alison Boggs, "Jensen heirs remain at the helm of namesake hardware distributor",
973:
Rochlin (2000), p. 116 covers much of this ground, but calls Morton's wife "Emily"
1094:
Simmon's spice mill: devoted to the interests of the coffee, tea and spice trades
564:
354:
331:
320:
305:
166:
was calm enough for travel; a decade later it was still a chaotic frontier town.
884:
361:
255:
232:
163:
151:
231:(January 3, 1836 – January 7, 1908), married the brothers' business associate
1135:
285:
57:
397:
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208:
130:
One Schwabacher enterprise in California was the Stockton Milling Company (
124:
962:
Chronicles of the Builders of the Commonwealth: Historical Character Study
908:
389:
365:
113:
20:
Schwabacher Hardware Co. sign at 401 First Avenue S., Seattle, Washington
1122:
752:
621:
891:. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Seattle Unit. 2003-02-18
885:"CHAPTER THREE: Reaping the Profits of the Klondike Trade / Outfitters"
863:
Schwabacher's erects Seattle's first brick building on October 24, 1872
803:
720:
520:
Schwabachers' 1872 Seattle store, circa 1884. This store burned in the
182:
181:, where Seattle is located.) The Schwabacher company also operated two
558:(left-to-right): Sigismund Aronson, James S. Goldsmith, George Boole.
241:
155:
56:. They owned several businesses bearing their family name, first in
1081:
History of Seattle from the earliest settlement to the present time
850:
Jewish mayor of Seattle Bailey Gatzert is elected on August 2, 1875
341:
Schwabacher's building at Occidental and Main, Seattle, circa 1900.
251:
Schwabacher's Hardware Co. at First and Yesler, Seattle, circa 1900
105:
911:, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
889:
Hard Drive to the Klondike: Promoting Seattle During the Gold Rush
177:. (Despite its ambitious name, the railroad never made it out of
65:
41:
1083:, Volume 2, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1916. p 732-738.
162:, and was accessible only about half the year, when the untamed
147:
400:
and active roles in the Seattle Community Fund (later Seattle
839:
Quoted in Roth (1997). She does not give the original source.
159:
119:
When the main focus of the brothers' business shifted to the
1045:, HistoryLink, October 30, 1998. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
1032:, HistoryLink, October 30, 1998. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
989:, HistoryLink, October 30, 1998. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
852:, HistoryLink, October 30, 1998. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
579:
The Yesler Way side of the store at First and Yesler, 2007.
865:, HistoryLink, March 3, 1998. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
240:. Schwabacher Bros. & Company became Seattle's first
45:
48:
merchants, important in the economic development of the
292:
had the good fortune to be the only wharf on Seattle's
763:
761:
499:
Sigmund Schwabacher and his wife Rosa Schwabacher (an
755:. Accessed online 2009-10-18. Rochlin says "Zindorf".
384:. Morton Schwabacher was a longtime board member of
758:
740:
Guide to the Schwabacher company records, 1894-1944
439:
1000:
919:
917:
721:Part 1: The Schwabacher Family of Washington State
1133:
981:
979:
830:Roth (1997) says "Belle Blum", not "Bella Blum".
485:Blum, had two daughters, Mina Louise and Jacie.
40:(May 14, 1841 – March 20, 1917)—were pioneering
1109:(Spokane, Washington), August 30, 1997, p. A18.
914:
134:), of which Sigmund Schwabacher was president.
939:
937:
935:
933:
931:
929:
284:Schwabacher's Wharf, site of the city's first
1147:Defunct companies based in Washington (state)
976:
956:, Seattle: The Times Printing Company, 1900.
789:
787:
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783:
781:
779:
777:
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637:, Seattle: The Times Printing Company, 1900.
227:The three Schwabacher brothers' only sister,
1117:
1115:
207:The Schwabachers also had a branch store in
926:
415:wrote of the firm on its 50th anniversary:
364:in Seattle. Along with Schwabacher protégé
104:The three Schwabacher brothers, natives of
92:, all ultimately based in Seattle; and the
770:
633:At least one source—Alfred D. Bowen (ed.)
263:A September 25, 1871 advertisement in the
1112:
173:in 1947), and helped raise funds for the
656:Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West
548:Key Seattle Schwabacher personnel, 1900.
463:
344:
336:
314:
254:
246:
223:Schwabacher's Wharf, Seattle, circa 1900
218:
15:
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142:After ventures in San Francisco and in
1134:
1123:Part 3: Schwabacher Family Biographies
1073:
1061:(Seattle). Accessed online 2009-10-18.
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612:
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372:member and mayor, as well as longtime
72:of San Francisco (wholesale grocery);
68:. Notable among these businesses were
1152:Defunct companies based in California
802:
725:Seattle Genealogical Society Bulletin
641:—gives Sig Schwabacher's forename as
536:Interior, Schwabacher Hardware, 1900.
281:gold rush slightly north of Seattle.
964:, The History Company, 1892, p. 153.
810:, Garden City, New York: Doubleday,
1157:People from Walla Walla, Washington
753:Part 2: The Schwabacher Family Tree
730:
672:
658:, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000,
622:Part 2: The Schwabacher Family Tree
591:
36:(c. 1838 – September 7, 1909), and
13:
14:
1173:
572:
541:
529:
513:
440:Gatzert-Schwabacher Land Company
175:Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad
99:
86:Gatzert-Schwabacher Land Company
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127:, Sara Lehrberger Schwabacher.
74:Schwabacher Bros. & Company
796:
745:
648:
627:
488:Abraham Schwabacher and Sarah
137:
1:
1125:. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
1059:Nathan Eckstein Middle School
1003:Through the Eye of the Needle
624:. Accessed online 2009-10-18.
229:Bobette (Babette) Schwabacher
1142:People from FĂĽrth (district)
1055:Biography of Nathan Eckstein
300:of 1889. The arrival of the
90:Schwabacher Hardware Company
7:
1162:Businesspeople from Seattle
1043:Gatzert, Bailey (1829-1893)
923:Rochlin (2000), p. 115–116.
374:Seattle Chamber of Commerce
171:Seattle First National Bank
10:
1178:
506:
413:Seattle Post-Intelligencer
406:Seattle Symphony Orchestra
270:Seattle Post-Intelligencer
214:
112:and settled for a time in
82:Schwabacher Realty Company
78:Pacific Marine Schwabacher
38:Sigmund (Sig) Schwabacher
34:Abraham (Abe) Schwabacher
987:Furth, Jacob (1840-1914)
960:; Hubert Howe Bancroft,
584:
388:, vice president of the
202:
94:Stockton Milling Company
943:Rochlin (2000), p. 116.
793:Rochlin (2000), p. 115.
767:Rochlin (2000), p. 114.
378:Seattle Children's Home
349:A similar view in 2007.
259:A similar view in 2007.
62:Walla Walla, Washington
32:(1837 – June 3, 1900),
1070:Speidel (1989), p. 39.
999:Speidel, Bill (1989).
954:Seattle and the Orient
874:Quoted in Roth (1997).
635:Seattle and the Orient
422:
350:
342:
323:
310:Great Northern Railway
260:
252:
224:
197:
110:Southern United States
21:
1007:. USA: Nettle Creek.
909:Events from the 1890s
464:Schwabacher genealogy
446:Anacortes, Washington
417:
348:
340:
318:
258:
250:
222:
193:
19:
1107:The Spokesman-Review
370:Seattle City Council
267:(predecessor of the
132:Stockton, California
50:Washington Territory
26:Schwabacher Brothers
434:Spokane, Washington
553:: Sig Schwabacher.
522:Great Seattle Fire
394:Seattle Children's
351:
343:
324:
298:Great Seattle Fire
294:Central Waterfront
261:
253:
225:
22:
1079:Clarence Bagley,
121:Pacific Northwest
70:Schwabacher Bros.
30:Louis Schwabacher
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386:Temple De Hirsch
290:bonded warehouse
54:Washington state
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430:Jensen-Byrd Co.
332:Nathan Eckstein
321:Boxer Rebellion
306:Yukon Gold Rush
296:to survive the
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64:, and later in
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382:Ohaveth Sholum
362:Reform Judaism
233:Bailey Gatzert
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164:Columbia River
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1028:Lee Micklin,
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1014:0-914890-04-2
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100:To California
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58:San Francisco
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893:. Retrieved
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861:Greg Lange,
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467:
443:
425:
423:
418:
412:
411:In 1919 the
410:
398:school board
359:
352:
329:
325:
301:
283:
279:Skagit River
268:
264:
262:
228:
226:
209:Boise, Idaho
206:
198:
194:
190:
187:
168:
141:
129:
125:first cousin
118:
103:
93:
89:
85:
81:
77:
73:
69:
37:
33:
29:
25:
23:
1121:Jean Roth,
804:Jones, Nard
751:Jean Roth,
719:Jean Roth,
620:Jean Roth,
366:Jacob Furth
183:grist mills
179:King County
138:Walla Walla
114:Mississippi
1136:Categories
1092:Quoted in
895:2009-10-18
460:Counties.
402:United Way
390:ecumenical
288:and first
275:Ruby Creek
242:wholesaler
144:The Dalles
88:, and the
60:, then in
52:and later
666:, p. 114
643:Sigismund
458:Jefferson
448:, and in
436:in 1981.
156:gold rush
1019:, p. 41.
806:(1972),
668:et. seq.
302:Portland
106:Zirndorf
42:Bavarian
808:Seattle
507:Gallery
494:Johanna
215:Seattle
152:Orofino
80:), the
76:(later
66:Seattle
1011:
958:p. 144
814:
662:
639:p. 144
561:Bottom
556:Middle
454:Pierce
450:Skagit
154:Creek
148:Oregon
84:, the
46:Jewish
44:-born
585:Notes
469:Mina
238:mayor
203:Boise
160:Idaho
1009:ISBN
812:ISBN
660:ISBN
456:and
355:Yale
24:The
551:Top
490:née
483:née
475:née
471:née
432:of
158:in
1138::
1114:^
1057:,
978:^
928:^
916:^
887:.
772:^
760:^
732:^
723:,
674:^
593:^
563::
312:.
211:.
146:,
96:.
1017:.
898:.
645:.
567:.
524:.
277:/
28:—
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