An Anglo-Jewish Family: Presidential Address

<plain_text><page sequence="1">An Anglo-Jewish Family1 By Albert M. Hyamson IPROPOSE this evening to sketch for you the story of an Anglo-Jewish family, one familiar to all of you by name, to many in person, which may be taken to some extent as typical of the families, British for three generations or more, that help to make up the Anglo-Jewry of today. I do not suggest that the story of this family is typical of all or of most of the families that were active and flourished in England a century ago, nor still less is it typical of most of the families whose members are today active in Anglo-Jewish affairs. But it is typical of a group of families with whom the care of Jewish interests in England rested a century and a century and a half ago, who, with single-hearted devotion, successfully shouldered their responsibilities, and, although they did not perhaps conform in detail to what it is the custom today to describe as democratic standards, were yet fully representative of the Community, interpreted its wishes, furthered all its reasonable desires and enjoyed its complete confidence. The story of this family and of others, its contemporaries, covers the great period of Anglo Jewish history : great in the sense that the influence of Anglo-Jewry was active for good throughout the Jewish world, great in the fact that the standing of and respect for Anglo-Jewry was at its pinnacle in non-Jewish as well as in Jewish circles everywhere, great in the sense that?and in this respect in common with the people of England as a whole?the standard of contentment and therefore of real happiness and of real comfort was probably higher than it had ever been previously or has been since. The era in Jewish history covered by the story of this family coincided with that of the long deferred attainment of the realization of an ideal that had possessed the thoughts and dreams of a large part of European and of British Jewry. The story opens in what may be termed the ghetto period of Jewish history and, like all the histories of Anglo-Jewish families, it opens on the Continent, the home of its ancestors for almost 2,000 years. It covers the era of emancipation. Its earlier members were compelled to limit their public activities to the concerns of their own smaller community. The centre of these activities was necessarily in the synagogue?but the synagogue in the widest sense,?that of the centre of Jewish life. Step by step, in this country, from generation to generation, the limitations on the public activity of Jews were removed and with the loosening of every restriction the public-spirited activities of the members of this family extended. Generation by generation, almost year by year, they became to a greater and greater extent British citizens in the widest sense. But entry into this wider sphere did not lessen their responsibilities, or diminish their realization of them, to the smaller community of which they were also members. They took their share in the work of the nation and at the same time retained the share that they had inherited from their fathers in the work of their Community. The members of this small group of families realized in themselves the ideal of English Jew, both English and Jewish. The family whose story I am to sketch this evening has given during the past century and a half heads to the synagogue and to many of our principal institutions. At the same time, as soon as the opportunity came, it gave also legislators to the state, ornaments to the professions and leaders on the battlefield. These words indicate the definite 3 Presidential address delivered before the Jewish Historical Society of England on 24th October, 1946.</page><page sequence="2">2 AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY offices its members held. But the influence of a man is often independent of his office. The latter comes merely to clothe that influence, to crystallize it. And so it was in this instance. Seven members of this family are immortalized in the British Valhalla, for so I may term the Dictionary of National Biography. Of these seven, one was a states? man and a lawyer; three of them shone in public finance, I might say in financial statesmanship; two also through nation-wide philanthropy; one was a distinguished Anglo-Indian civilian; and another a soldier, explorer and orientalist. The first four and also the fifth?a woman?all shone also in the annals of Anglo-Jewry. There are not many English families, even apart from those limited to a century and a half of life in England, six sons and one daughter of which have been selected by the very careful and scrupulous editors of the Dictionary of National Biography for the distinction of inclusion in its Valhalla. It is now time I suppose for me to give the name of the family to which I am alluding, although many of you I expect have by now realized this. The Goldsmid family, like so many others that have been distinguished in Anglo-Jewish annals, came to England from Holland in the eighteenth century. But the family?in Holland it was Goldsmit? was not an integral part of Dutch Jewry. Only a few decades did it spend in that country. To Holland it had come from Cassel in Hesse-Nassau, although one branch had settled in Hamburg. There is however, a tradition in the family of a still earlier Dutch connexion, for there is a claim to descent from Moses Uri haLevi (1544-1622) who had come to Emden from Poland, the first recognized Ashkenazi rabbi of Amsterdam, brought there by the earliest of the ex-Marrano settlers. But there is a far more dis? tinguished ancestry to which the family more or less lays claim?one however which the Heralds are not as yet prepared to accept?and that is the princely Hasmonean family of Judaea and the Maccabee hero-sons of Mattathias the priest. Rabbi Uri claimed this illustrious ancestry and the Goldsmid family, inheriting the claim, took as its motto Mi Camocha Baelim Adonai, "who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the Gods", the basis of the name of Maccabi if an acrostic is accepted. The descendants of Rabbi Uri haLevi formed several branches, known severally as Moses, Levi, Letteris, as well as Goldsmid. Joseph Joachim, the greatest of the violinists of two generations ago, was descended from one, as was also Professor Harold Joachim, the Oxford phil? osopher. The name Goldsmid is supposed to be a kinnui or civil name, the equivalent of Uri. According to Exodus XXXI, 4, Bezalel ben Uri was the goldsmith employed in the decoration of the Tabernacle. Benedict Goldschmidt, the ancestor of the English family, was born in 1686, possibly in Amsterdam, where members of the family were already living. The Goldschmidt family had, however, lived earlier in Frankfurt on Maine and members bearing that name who were also Levites as are the members of the English Goldsmid family, were living there in 15211. On the expulsion of the Jews from Frankfurt in 1614, members of the Goldschmidt family settled in Hameln and Cassel and became known as the Hameln-Goldschmidts and the Cassel-Goldschmidts. It is from the latter branch that the English Goldsmids and those Goldschmidts who returned to Frankfurt are descended.2 Benedict Goldschmidt's father, Wolf Goldsmit of Cassel (1659-1717) 1 Some of them are said to have been workers in gold and jewels and from this is derived the civil name of Goldsmidt. 2 For the German Goldschmidt family see Genealogische Studien ?ber die alten j?dischen Familien Hannovers by S. Gronemann (1913) (s.v. Goldschmidt, and Hameln); Stammbuch der Frankfurter Juden by Alexander Dietz (1907) (s.v. Goldschmidt, and Kassel); Hamburgs deutsche Juden by M. Grunwald (1904) (s.v. Cassel, Hameln, and Goldschmidt).</page><page sequence="3">AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY 3 who had married in Amsterdam, was President of the Dutch-Israelitish Synagogue ofthat city. Other members of the family remained in Cassel, where the family had been settled from the earlier half of the seventeenth century, to emigrate later. The famous Goldschmidt family whose sons have attained distinction among half the nations of the civilized world derives from Salomon Benedict of Cassel who settled in Frankfurt late in the eighteenth century. I have counted fourteen names among the men of outstanding merit whose records are given in the standard works of biography, all members of the Goldschmidt family of Frankfurt and this is by no means exhaustive?statesmen, men of letters, scientists, bankers, artists and a German diplomatist. In Anglo-Jewry we have as members of this illustrious branch of the family, through a daughter, the late Lady Fitzgerald, whose benefactions and wide sympathy are well known to most of you, and Mr. Frank Goldsmith, sometime member of the House of Commons. Still more remote and outside the Jewish community are the Knight of Kerry and Lady George Wellesley. Other English descendants of Salomon Benedict Goldschmidt of Frankfurt were Mrs. Alice Model, Henri Bischoffsheim, Ellen, Countess of Desart and Sir Max Bonn. Baroness Moritz de Hirsch, wife of the famous philanthropist was also a member of the family. Aaron, the second son of Benedict Goldsmit of Amsterdam, was the founder of the family in England. He came to this country in 1763 and established himself in London as a merchant. He soon became influential in the Ashkenazi branch of the Community and was accepted as one of its heads. He died in 1781, leaving four sons and four daughters. The elder two sons, Gershom or George and Asher, joined the father in business as Aaron Goldsmid and Sons. On the death of Aaron the firm com? bined with that of Abraham Mocatta, originally established in 1684 by an ancestor of our treasurer, as Mocatta and Goldsmid, bullion merchants. They have been agents of the Bank of England from its establishment. George Goldsmid had a number of children and grandchildren?one of the former was the heroine of a pseudo-romance recorded by Professor Bentwich in the volume of our Transactions1 which has recently been distributed to members ?none of whom however, attained to any distinction. He is still represented in England in the male line. The second son Asher was the father of Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid of whom I shall speak later and the ancestor of among others Sir Henry d'Avigdor Goldsmid and Mr. Leonard Goldsmid-Montefiore, who are also descended from Abraham, the youngest son of Aaron. Of the four daughters of Aaron, Pearl or Margareta, also known as Goley, married Magnus Joachim or Joachim Moses. Esther married his brother Elias Joachim and by him was the ancestress of our Lady Chairman2 this evening, of Lord Swaythling and his brothers and also of Mr. John Mewburn Levien who is to read a paper to us on John Braham, a protege of his forbears, next month. Polly, the third daughter, married Lyon de Symons and by him is the ancestress of Sir Wyndham Deedes and General Sir George de Symons Barrow. Sarah the youngest married Daniel Eliasson. Now to turn to the two younger sons of Aaron Goldsmid?Benjamin and Abraham. Of the Goldsmid family, one of the most distinguished families in Anglo-Jewish history and one that, as I have endeavoured to point out, holds a prominent position in the story of greater Jewry, relatively little has been published?very little apart from ephemeral obituary notices. Benjamin and Abraham, although never adequately treated, have, however^ received more consideration, with perhaps the exception of a great-nephew 1 Volume XV. 2 The Dowager Lady Swaythling.</page><page sequence="4">4 AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY to whom I will come later, than any other member of the family. On Benjamin, after his tragic death in 1808, an especially scurrilous work was produced, probably for black? mailing purposes, by Henry Lemoine, a hack writer with a number of Jewish acquaint? ances. His name does not appear in the volume which was published by Levy Alexander, a Jewish printer and publisher whose pen was as a rule dipped in vitriol and who had other Jewish victims apart from the Goldsmids. The volume is entitled "Memoirs of the Life and Commercial Connections, Public and Private, of the late Benjamin Goldsmid Esq. of Roehampton". The Gentleman's Magazine1 gave sympathetic accounts of the careers of the two brothers on two or three occasions. On the other hand William Cobbett, the spiteful and prejudiced English politician and writer, devoted a good part of one of his public letters in his Weekly Political Register to a bitter attack on Abraham.2 On the financial activities of the brothers our friend and colleague Mr. Paul Emden has read informative and interesting papers to us.3 I do not propose to go over the same ground as that which Mr. Emden has so adequately covered. Benjamin and Abraham who as young men were in business on the edge of the City developed their interests widely. They stepped out into the City proper, entered into competition with the group that had secured the monopoly of arranging government loans, at the time when this country was involved in the long drawn-out life and death struggle with the France of Napoleon, and broke that monopoly to the permanent advantage of the state. The brothers when they died were linked with Sir Francis Baring, the founder of Baring Brothers, as "the pillars of the City". The almost simul? taneous death of Baring and Abraham Goldsmid shook the financial structure of this country to its foundations. On the morning after Abraham Goldsmid's death, when the Stock Exchange opened, Consols had dropped two and three quarter points overnight. There was still heavier falls in other Government securities. In the words of John Francis, the brothers were the "First members of the Stock Exchange who competed with the bankers for the favours of the Chancellor, and diverted from their purses those profits which were scarcely a legitimate portion of banking business. The combination of that interest being thus broken, the bargains for public loans became more open, there was no confederation to limit and lower the prices; and the Ministry and country reaped the benefit in improved terms."4 The two brothers were as distinguished in philanthropy as they were in finance. Benjamin was one of the founders and a generous supporter of the Naval Asylum, the the precursor of Greenwich Hospital. Other members of the family also supported this institution generously. And, in the words of John Francis, "The daily papers bore an almost daily testimony to their munificence. Naturally open handed, the poor of all creeds found kindly benefactors."5 Among stories current at the time of Abraham Goldsmid were the following :? One day Mr. Goldsmid observed his favourite waiter at the City of London Tavern very melancholy and abstracted. On being pressed, John confessed that he had just been arrested for a debt of ?55, and that he was thinking over the misery of his wife and five children. Goldsmid instantly drew out his cheque book, and wrote a cheque for ?100, the sight of which gladdened poor John's heart and brought tears into his eyes. On one occasion, after a carriage 1 1802 (II) p. 843, 1808, pp. 373 and 457, 1810 (II) pp. 382-5. 2 3.10.1810, page 513. 3 Trans. J. Hist. Soc, Vol. XIV. 4 "Chronicles and Characters of the Stock Exchange" (1885), pp. 180-1. 5 ibid p. 181.</page><page sequence="5">George (Gershon) (1743-1812) m. 1763 Rebecca (1738-1808) da. of Jonas Ezechiel Cohen of Amersfoort Abraham (1770-1812) Samson m. 1791 Martha Samson (Simeon) (1769-1827) Maria (1779-1842) m. ante 1804 Peter Salomons (1774-1843) Anne (1783-1837) m. 1801 Daniel Mocatta (1776-1865) I John (1792-1868) Sarah (1798-1889) m. 1819 Nathan Philip Levi of Adelaide Henry (1793-1850) Simeon (Samson) (1794-1868) m. Jane Corbett (1792-1864) ._I_ Benjamin (1796-1846) George Corbett (1815-55) John Corbett (1817-84) Henrietta (1821-76) m. 1844 Raymond D'Arcy Newton Matilda Constance m. 1846 Jonas Moses Phillipson (of Adelaide, Australia) Cecilia m. 1850 Frederic Levi (of Adelaide, Austraiia) William Henry Warre Goldsmid (1868-1944) Evelyn Isabel (b. 1870)m. 1901 Edwyn Thomas Close Albert (1871 1910) John Alexander (1872-1923) m. 1910 Gladys Warre Stokes Clive Elizabeth (1827-76) m. 1855 Joseph Wright Turnley (1825-75) I Violet (b. and d. 1874)_ Peter (b. 1912) I Patricia I Susan Septimus Corbett (1830-1918) m. (1) 1852 Gertrude i?? Elizabeth Huffam 1 (1829-62) (2) 1868 Susanna Warre I ' ' Francis Sampson (1860-78) I Gertrude (1834-1924) . 1864 Edward Levi (of Adelaide) Helen (b. 1875) Gertrude (b. 1876) Dorothea (b. 1881) William Holland (1843 m. 1866 Alice H. A. Fer.dall ) Adelaide Sophia (1844-1905) m. (1) Joseph Grieves (2) Ernest William Dowling Florence (1848- ) m. 1872 Frederick Charles Whiting Catherine a850- ) m. 1880 Henry John Buckler (1{ John b. 1867 athle Kathleen Haicott (1869-70)</page><page sequence="6">Asher Goldsmid (1751-1822) m. 1770 Rachel (1752-1815) da. of Alexander Isaks Keyser I Sir Isaac Lyon (1778-1859) m. Isabel da. of Abraham Goldsmid (1804) (See 4 A' attached) Alexander (1779-1843) Ann m. (1814) Eliza (1780-1829) (1782 da. of Israel Israel 1811) (Helbert) Benjamin (1796-1846) Corbett 8) m. rtrude [uffam &gt;2) ina Warre Dorothea (b. 1881) Florence (1848- ) m. 1872 Frederick Charles Whiting Gertrude (1834-1924) m. 1864 Edward Levi (of Adelaide) William (1797-1882) m. (1) Sarah Webb (d. 1833) (2) 1837 Marian Stuckey (1817-39) (3) 1841 Sophia da. of John Holland (1811-82) I Julia (1783-1823) m. 1813 Philip Samuel (1787-1871) E&lt; ( I Catherine C1850- ) m. 1880 Henry John Buckler Either (1852 Margaret Emily Este (1857-1932) m. 1882 Frederick Ancrum Ann (1814-96) m. 1835 David Mocatta (1806-82) John Alexander (d. ante 1838) Aaron (1817-75) m. 1852 Sophia da. of Joseph Salomons (1825-95) Evelyn Isabel (1854-1930) m. 1886 Chas. C. Bethune Sydney (1818 96) George (1819 1894) Rachel (1821 1910) m. 1844 Elias Mocatta 1804 96)</page><page sequence="7">Moses Simon Benjamin Wolf Goldsmit (of Cassel) Pres. of Ashken A Benedictus (1686-1736(7) . 1704 Esther da. Moses Nathan of Hamburg (1688-ante 1739) f Simon Aaron (1690-post 1735) ri693-ari of m. 1708 Judith 1735) m. Reutlinger Maria b. ca, (b. ca. 1693) da. of M&lt; Alkan (Rothschi Jacob Moses (1712-79) m. 1738 Judith Benjamins (b. ca. 1720) da. of Benjamin Jacobs of Amsterdam f I Judith m. Abr?t Weyll Aron Goldsmit (G&lt; (1715-1782) m. 1 Catherine da. of Abra Vries, M.D. (171g 0 da. of Alexander Isaks Keyser I I Ann Julia (1783-1823) (1782- m. 1813 Philip 1811) Samuel (1787-1871) I Aaron Asher (1785-1860) 1817 Sophia (1799-1835) da. of Levy Salomons I Edmund (1818 39) Emily (1820 62) m. 1839 Jules Sophia (1821 1900) m. 1841 David Avigdor Jacob Stern (d. 1855) (Viscount I de Stern) Y 1807-77) i Julia (1823 99) m. 1845 Herman Baron de Stern (1815-87) i I ! Arthur (1824 43) Frances (1826 1908) Eliza (1828 68) I Louisa Sophia (1819 1908) m. 1839 Sir Francis Goldsmid (See 'A* attached) Moses Asher (1789-1864) m. (1) 1817 Eliza (1800-37) da. of Levy Salomons (2) 1839 Sarah (1792-1863) da. of Joseph Elias Montefiore (Mrs. Solomon Sebag) Augustus (1818-74) m. 1853) Carolina da. of Col. Stisted I Ernest Edward I Charles (1822-56) m. 1854 Caroline Brodie Russell Neville D (1814-18' Elizabeth George (1819 1894) Rachel (1821 1910) m. 1844 Elias Mocatta 1804 96) Maria (1823 1901) m. 1846 John Mocatta (1819 75) I Juliana (1824-1905) m. 1844 George E. Baruh Lousada (1821-92) Alfred (1826-91) m. 1859 Constance Augusta da. of Elias Mocatta (b. 1838)</page><page sequence="8">Simon Moses Simon Levi of Cassel (d. ante 28.2.1678) ldsmit (of Cassel) Pres. of Ashkenazi Chief Synagogue of Amsterdam) (1659-1717) m. 1678 Sara Arents 6f Amsterdam (1657-1735) Simon Aaron (1690-post 1735) Ci693-ante of m. 1708 Judith 1735) m. 1714 Reutlinger Maria b. ca. 1695 (b. ca. 1693) da. of Moses Alkan (Rothschild) Meyer (ante 1706 1727) Judith (1681-1721) m. 1698 Moses Goldsmit (ca. 1681-1738,9 son of Joost Goldsmit of Hamburg Isabel (1687-ante 1717) m. ca 1705 Israel Libman (ca. 1688- ) Belitje d. ante 1735 m. Gottschalk Jacobus Moses Jacob Judith m. Abraham Weyll 0 jamins Benjamin erdam Aron Goldsmit (Goldsmid) Son (1715-1782) m. 1740 (d. 1727) Catherine da. of Abraham de Vries, M.D. (1718-80) Michelc a.?Lazarus Hendela I .sher (1789-1864) 7 Eliza (1800-37) ^,evy Salomons Sarah (1792-1863) ah Elias Montefiore Solomon Sebag) ! Charles (1822-56) m. 1854 Caroline Brodie Russell Benjamin'(1755-1808) m. 1787 Jessie (1767-1836) da. of Israel Levien Salomons John Louis (1789-1853) m. 1809 Louisa Boscawen da. of Philip Nathaniel de Visme (1782-1862) I Louisa (1810 1911) m. 1838 Richard Thomas, J.P. I Rev. Louis Davison (assumed name of de Visme) (1811- ) Henry (1790 1863) m.1813 Sarah Ward da. of James Ogle (d. 1863) (Lieut.) James (1791-1814) Amelia Meyrick (1814-81) m.1861 Leopold Baron Gremp von Freudenstein (Maj. Gen.) Alb (1793-1861) m. (1) Carolii Christiana da. of I Birkett (d. 18: (2) 1839 Carol da. of Edwar Goldsmid (1815-80) I I Eliza Mary Catherine (d. 1929) Frere (d. 1934) I Neville Davison (1814-1875)m. Elizabeth Garey I Alfred Everett (1815 1834) I Yeats Henry (1816-1878) m. 1855 Dora da. of Lieut.-Gen. George Mac Kenzie Steuart (d. 1900) Isabel Ogle (d. 1835) Edmund Lionel Campbell Elsden (1820- ) (1818-1870) m. (1) Ellen Elizabeth (Mrs. m. 1844 MacKenzie) Daniel (d. 1878) Sarah (2) 1880 Kate Rebecca Elizabeth widow of Abraham Garey Crawcour and da. of John Hart Edmund Marsden (b. 1849) m. 1869 Sarah Georgina da. of Rev. G. H. Turner (1849-1896) Lizzie Isabel Louise Masterman m. 1879 Lieut. Sidney Hughes, R.N. George Campbell (1862-1933) ' m. Henrietta Maria Turner (1871-1936) Alice Marion m. 1885 James Cuddy R.N. I J Cyril George (1886-1944) \ Florence Ivy (1890-1944) m. 1930 Purneil Purndl Edmund George Neville Yeats (b. 1871) I Francis Edward Harold de Brock (b. 1874) Clarence Walpole Sidney Campbell Oscar Eric Elsden</page><page sequence="9">836) da. of Israel Levien Salomons (Prager) :.) James 1-1814) (Maj. Gen.) Albert (1793-1861) m. (1) Caroline Christiana da. of David Birkett (d. 1836) (2) 1839 Caroline da. of Edward Goldsmid (1815-80) ! Lionel Prager (1797-1866) m. 1815 Eliza Frances da. of William Campbell (1799-1844) I Major Gen* Sir Frederic John, K.C.S.I., C.B. (1818-1908) m. 1849 Mary da. of Lieut.-Gen. George Mackenzie Steuart | Jessie Sarah (1816-88) m. 1845 Henry Edward Goldsmid (See 'B* attached) I Anna Maria (1795-1817) m. 1812 Timothy Yeats Brown da Hester (1798-1816) m. 1815 James Henry Deacon Eliza Mary (d. 1929) Catherine Frere (d. 1934) ! Major George Steuart (1856-1935) m. 1900 Frances Emmeline da. of Francis W. Rowsell Francis Frederic (b. 1903) I Evcrard Vaughan (1857-1914) m. Blanche t Frederic Jessie Heron Q863-1942) m. 1894 Dr. Augustus Whitestone Patricia Steuart (1864-1941) m. 1904 Sir Osbert Vaughan, K.B.E. fMrs. 1878) :ca ii John Jane Aaron iV (1783-1870) (1784-1869) (178 m. 1807 Emanuel Baruh Lousada (1783-1855)</page><page sequence="10">Hester (1798-1816) m. 1815 James Henry Deacon Abraham (1756-1810) m. 1783 Anne (d. 1834) da. of Benjamin Elias Daniel Pearl (Goley) (Margala) (1740-1821) m. ante 1780 Magnus Joachim Moses (d. ante 1799^ I Esther (174-1811) m. (1) Elias Joachim (d. ante 1799) (2) 1802 Nathan Salomons (1748-1825) ! Sarah (d. 1833) m. ante 1799 Daniel Eliason (d. 1824) son of Benjamin Elias Daniel Polly (1753-1841) m. 1781 Lyon de Symons (1743-1814) Rose (1774-1851) m. (1804) Edward Moses (afterwards Goldsmid) (1763-1853) (See 'B') Maria (d. 1834) m. Nathan Levien Abigail Rosetta m. Herman Hendriks I Frederick m. Hortense Campbell da. of Lieut. Gen. Sir John Hunter Littler, G.C.B. I Ida Stewart m. Col. A. E. W. Goldsmid (See B) I I John (1793-1874) m. 1817 Mary da. of Abraham Goldsmid Jane 83-1870) l. 1807 manuel h Lousada 83-1855) Aaron (1784-1869) Moses (1786 Isabel (1788-1860) m. 1804 Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (Sec 'A') Esther (1790 (1867) Mary (1793-1858) m. 1817 John Levien son of Nathan Levien (1793-1874) \ Elias (1798-1846) The assistance and advice in the compilation of these trees, given by Mr. Ronald d'Arcy Hart and the late Sir Thomas Colyer Fergusson, Bart., are much appreciated. Much valuable material has also been derived from Joseph Prijs, "Pedigree of the Family Goldsmit-Cassel of Amsterdam (1650-1750)" (1937). A-M.H.</page><page sequence="11">AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY 5 accident in Somersetshire, Goldsmid was carried to the house of a poor curate, and there attended for a fortnight with unremitting kindness. Six weeks after the millionaire's departure a letter came from Goldsmid to the curate, saying that, having contracted for a large Govern? ment loan, he had put down the curate's name for ?20,000 omnium. The poor curate, supposing some great outlay was expected from him for this share in the loan, wrote back to say that he had not ?20,000, or even ?20, in the world. By the next post came a letter enclosing the curate ?1,500, the profit on selling out the ?20,000 omnium, the premium having risen since the curate's name had been put down.1 These anecdotes may not have been literally true, but si non e vero e ben trovato. It is said that after Abraham's death more than ?100,000 worth of I.O.U.'s were found torn to pieces among his papers. The charitable activities of Benjamin and Abraham Goldsmid did not, however, extend only to the general community. They were conscious at the same time of their kinship with and their responsibility to their fellow Jews. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was widespread unemployment and consequent poverty and other undesirable results among the Jews of London. This state of affairs was not only bad in itself, it was also beginning to attract undesirable attention from outside. A plan was drawn up for the removal of at least one of the causes of the state of affairs, ignorance of trades among the Jewish youth. The brothers Goldsmid took the lead and soon raised a sum of ?20,000, about half of which was subscribed by non-Jewish friends, for the benefit of the Jewish poor. The project of 1795 was never realized. There were too many difficulties in the way. It was later modified and took the form of the establishment of the Jews' Hospital, now the Jewish Orphanage. In the direction of the established Jewish institutions and of course of the community in general they also took their part. The Mashebat Nephesh or Jewish Bread, Meat and Coal Society, founded in 1778, included among its earliest presidents three of the brothers Goldsmid and also a brother-in-law, Daniel Eliasson. Both brothers also moved in high social circles, being the first among conforming Jews to do so. The relations between Abraham and the royal Duke of Sussex were those of genuine friendship. It was under Abraham's escort that the three Royal princes attended service at the Great Synagogue one Friday evening in 1809. He once actually entertained at luncheon, informally, King George III and his Queen, who being in the neighbourhood had visited Abraham's country house at Morden almost unannounced. Lord Nelson was among their closest friends. He spent his last night in England in Benjamin's house at Roehampton. After the great admiral's death Abraham befriended Lady Hamilton, when beset by financial anxieties, and since her home, Merton Place, had to be sold, another brother Asher bought it. The brothers were not only pillars of the City but also pillars of the Synagogue. In his home at Roehampton Benjamin had not only a private synagogue, but in its grounds he reserved a plot for the rabbi of the Great Synagogue?the equivalent of the Chief Rabbi of today?on which wheat from which his matzos were made was grown. Many were the tributes to these two men on the occasion of their tragic deaths. One in The Times on Benjamin Goldsmid was of somewhat mysterious provenance It ran in part as follows :? As a public man, his character and that of his brother . . . have been long stamped for the most scrupulous integrity; and a stronger confirmation of this fact cannot be given than 1 Walter Thornbury, "Old and New London" Vol. I, p. 485.</page><page sequence="12">6 AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY in the repeated and unqualified approbation of their conduct in their transactions with Government by the committee of Finance, as well as by the leading members of both parties in Parliament. As a private character few persons were more estimable. He was an affectionate husband, a tender and indulgent father, a sincere and unvarying friend to those attached to him, a generous host and a kind master, benevolent even to excess, not merely in his subscriptions to almost every public fund and institution, but equally disposed to attend to the calls of private solicitation for objects worthy of relief. Such is the real character of the late Mr. Benjamin Goldsmid. This was published in the issue of The Times of the 13th April, 1808. Six days later the Editor expressly disclaimed all responsibility for it, not having, as the announce? ment said, seen it before publication. Of Abraham Goldsmid The Gentleman's Magazine wrote :? A man more truly amiable in all the relations of life never existed. His general philan? thropy, his ready munificence, his friendly demeanour, his mild and unassuming manners, have been long known and esteemed, both by the circle of his private friends, and by the public at large; of whose notice the magnitude of his money concerns, and the multiplicity of his commercial engagements, attracted as large a portion as ever fell to the lot of any individual unconnected with the administration of the State. He was the promoter of all charitable institutions. There are not many men who have ever performed more kind acts in social life, or more liberal ones in what may be esteemed his public one, than Mr. Abraham Goldsmid; no one, indeed, of any class or description, ever became tolerably well known to him, without improving their fortunes, in some degree, by the connexion; so that the list of those whom gratitude, or the sense of kindness received in one way or other, had bound, or ought to have bound, to him was almost endless.1 The last paragraph was taken verbatim from The Times.2 Benjamin's family adopted Christianity after his death. From him were descended Major General Albert Goldsmid, one of the fifteen British officers of Jewish birth who, according to the Duke of Wellington, served under him at Waterloo. Two of Major General Goldsmid's brothers also held the King's commission. Major General Sir Frederick Goldsmid, the explorer and linguist, and his sister, Jessie Sarah, the mother of Colonel Albert Edward Goldsmid, were grandchildren of Benjamin, Colonel Goldsmid was through his father also a descendant of Esther Joachim, the second daughter of the founder of the family in England. Abraham left three sons and four daughters. The second daughter, Isabel, married her cousin Isaac Lyon, son of her uncle Asher. From them are descended Sir Henry Goldsmid and his brother, Mr. Leonard Montefiore, and the Baroness de Goldsmid y da Palmeira and her sisters. Sir Frederick Goldsmid was a soldier by profession and saw active service in China and the Crimea. More distinguished was he however, in a non-military capacity as diplomatist, as telegraph engineer and in frontier delimitation. With a remarkable gift for the acquisition of languages, he took advantage of his sojourn in the East to learn Hindustani, Russian, Arabic and Turkish in all of which he was expert. Henry Edward Goldsmid, the brother-in-law of Sir Frederick and the father of Colonel Albert Edward stood out for capacity in the long roll of distinguished men who have formed the Indian Civil Service. He died at the early age of 42, with a promise built on performance that should have carried him into the front rank of Anglo-Indian civilians. His monu? ment is to be found in the land reforms that raised the peasantry of his province from 1 Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 80, pp. 384-5, 2 29 September 1810,</page><page sequence="13">A Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid Bart. m. (1778-1859) 1804 Isabel da. of Abraham Gold (1788-1860) Anna Maria 1805 89) Benjamin Sir Francis (b. and d. Henry, Bart., Q.c, m.p. 1807) (1808-78) m. 1839 Louisa Sophia da. of Moses Asher Goldsmid (1819-1908) Daniel (1809 1815) Charles Harrington (b. and d. 1811) Frederick George David, m.p. (1813 (1812-66) 1815) m. 1834 Caroline da. of Philip Samuel (1814-1885) Augusta (1815-38) m. 1835 Elias Mocatta (1804-96) Helen (1835-1918) m. 1855 Lionel Lucas (1822-62) Mary Ada (1836-1905) m. 1856 Frederic David Mocatta (1828-1905) Rt. Hon. Sir Julian, Bart., M.P. (1838-96) m. 1868 Virginia da. of Abramo Philipson (1843-92) 1 Walter Henry (1840-65) Albert Abraham (1841-64) Isabel (1842-1911) Flora (1844 1904) Violet Baroness de Goldsmid e da Palmeira (1869-1949) m. 1889 Sidney Francis Hoffnung (Goldsmid) (1862-1930) Edith (b. 1870) m. 1890 Sir Charles James Jessel Bart. (1860-1928) I Margherita (1871-1925) m. 1894 William George Raphael Beatrice (1873-1937) m. 1897 William Louis Lucas (1866-1929) i Maud (b. 1874) m. 1894 Lord Jessel, c.B. C.M.G. (1866-1950) Mi Tei (1877-: m. 19141 Hugh: Headlam, C. D.S.O. (1 Cyril Julian Goldsmid, o.b.e. (b. 1890) m. 1920 Nancy da. of Major John MacGillicuddy Michael John Michael David Lyon Francis Julian (b. &amp; d. 1921) (b. 1922) (b. 1925) Ronald Gaston Goldsmid (b. 1893) m. 1926 Dorothy da. of H. Selby Lowndes Vivian Edward Goldsmid (b. 1903) m. 1928 Vera da. of Sir Albert Levy I Priscilla Ruth (b. 1933)</page><page sequence="14">r Isaac Lyon Goldsmid Bart. m. 1804 Isabel da. of Abraham Goldsmid 778-1859) I (1788-1860) Charles Frederick George Harrington David, m.p. (1813 (b.andd. (1812-66) 1815) 1811) m. 1834 Caroline da. of Philip Samuel (1814-1885) I Walter Henry (1840-65) Augusta Rachel (1815-38) m. 1835 Elias Mocatta (1804-96) (1816-96) m. 1840 Ct. Solomon Henri d.Avigdor ? Caroline (1817 1906) Emma (1819-1902) m. 1850 Nathaniel Mayer, F.R.C.S., J.P., son of Abraham Montefiore (1819-1883) Albert Abraham (1841-64) Isabel (1842-1911) Flora (1844 1904) Francis Arthur (1847-8) Emma (Catherine (1854-1929) Julia (1823 1870) Beatrice (1873-1937) m. 1897 William Louis Lucas (1866-1929) Maud (b. 1874) m. 1894 Lord Jessel, c.B. C.M.G. (1866-1950) Maria Teresa (1877-1944) m. 1914 Brig. Gen. Hugh Roger Headlam, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. (b. 1877) Grace Catherine (1879-1951) Nora Octavia (d. 1931) Jton Goldsmid (b. 1893) [926 Dorothy da. of [. Selby Lowndes Vivian Edward Goldsmid (b. 1903) m. 1928 Vera da. of Sir Albert Levy Priscilla Ruth (b. 1933)</page><page sequence="15">AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY 7 the state of hopeless destitution into which they were sinking. His services were recog? nized by the people of India as well as by their Government. His son, Albert Edward, has been identified as the original of George Eliot's great creation "Daniel Deronda." Born outside the Jewish Community he learnt only after he had attained manhood of his Jewish ancestry. He turned to a study of Judaism and at the age of 24 adopted his ancestral faith. By a coincidence the lady whom he married, a distant kinswoman, followed a similar course and became a Jewess. Colonel Goldsmid may have been a Daniel Deronda, but he was still more. He was not satisfied to become a Jew and merge himself in his new community. He determined to give of the best that was in him to that community. When Zionism was not yet fashionable he came out as a "Lover of Zion" and formed and took control of the Choveve Zion in England, the organization for the settlment of Jews in Palestine. Another Anglo-Jewish organization that he founded was the Jewish Lads Brigade. He also gave two years of his active life to the placing on firm foundations the lea Jewish settlements in Argentina. We will now return to the descendants of Asher, Aaron's second son. He had four sons and two daughters, of whom Isaac Lyon was the eldest. It was Isaac Lyon Golds mid who restored the fortunes of the family which had been so adversely affected by the deaths of his uncles Benjamin and Abraham. Already some years before those calamities he had at the age of 22 become a partner in the family firm of Mocatta and Goldsmid which carried with it membership of the Stock Exchange. He however, soon branched out into other activities in the City. Long before George Stephenson, he was a pioneer in railway development, taking part in the financing of the Croydon and Merstham Railway, afterwards absorbed into the South Eastern system. He was also among the earliest supporters of the undertakings that led to the building of the London Docks. Similarly he was Chairman and principal promoter of the Birkenhead Docks. He is best known in this sphere however, for his work for the development of Hove, of which he may be said to have been the creator. Goldsmid's activities in the City by no means monopolized his working day. As a Goldsmid he was one of the natural leaders of Anglo-Jewry and of his duty in this respect he was always fully conscious. In him as in so many of the leading Jews of England of his generation the sense of noblesse oblige was strong. As a matter of course he took his place in all movements for the welfare of Jewry in this country and abroad. Within the Community he was especially interested not only in the securing for its members full equality of opportunity with their Christian fellow citizens, but also the bringing of the synagogue services more into line with modern needs. As early as the year 1824 he presided over a committee appointed by the Great Synagogue to make recommendations for the training of Jewish ministers and Chazanim. The warnings that this committee gave passed for the most part unheeded. They led to the Reform Movement in Anglo-Jewry which culminated in the opening of the West London Synagogue eighteen years later, of which members of the Goldsmid family have always been among the most prominent members. Another direction in which Goldsmid served Anglo-Jewry truly and well was in the struggle for the full emancipation of British Jewish citizens. The story of Isaac Lyon's efforts to this end and those of his son Francis has been told to this Society in part by a predecessor in this chair, Sir Lionel Abrahams.1 Apart from this the present occasion is not the one for recording in detail the vicissitudes of the struggle and its final success. 1 Trans, of the Jew. Hist. Soc, Vol. IV.</page><page sequence="16">8 AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY It is sufficient for my present purpose to emphasize that Isaac Lyon Goldsmid was not only outstanding in his generation in the Jewish community and, as I shall show shortly a British citizen of the front rank, but also that he realized the possibility of being both simultaneously, and never found any incompatibility between his Jewish and his British responsibilities or any difficulty in reconciling one with the other. As both a Jew and an Englishman he worked steadfastly for the removal of all disabilities based on religious discrimination. Goldsmid's work for Jewish emancipation was only a part of his general liberal outlook. A liberalism, deriving ultimately from the teachings of Judaism has always inevitably been widespread among conscious Jews. Among the liberal movements? liberal in the wider, not the narrow political sense?of the earlier half of the nineteenth century there was probably none with which he was not sympathetic, not many to which he did not devote time and thought. The opening wide of the gates of higher education to nonconformists was perhaps a Jewish as well as a wider interest. University College, London, was the entrance through which the pioneers passed. Among the founders of this institution Isaac Lyon Goldsmid stands out prominent. Even before the establish? ment of the College was decided on, in conjunction with two other philanthropists, he bought the site in Gower Street, that on which we are standing, so that the opportunity of building their college there should not be lost. Nine years later he was similarly energetic in the establishment of University College Hospital, until today one of the favourite children of the Goldsmid family. Another educational institution that he helped to found was the London Institution, now merged in the School of Oriental and African Studies. In fact he took a lively interest in all progressive movements, cooperat? ing closely with philanthropists, such as Clarkson, Wilberforce, Zachary Macaulay and Elizabeth Fry, in the emancipation of the slaves?Britain being the first of the Powers to adopt that humanitarian policy-?in prison and penal reform, in the abolition of capital punishment for offences short of homicide?in connexion with which he used to spend days and nights in prison comforting the condemned?and in the social reform move? ments of Robert Owen, one of the earliest of the modern socialists. And on a lower plane in the words of The Banker, written after his death and long after his retirement on account of failing health "At any board or committee Goldsmid's voice was always to be heard in behalf of any humane or kindly proposition, whether for affording relief, or increasing the salary of some old servant with a large family; and when sometimes he was defeated at the moment in his endeavours, he would seek other means of his effecting his ends."1 Sir Francis Goldsmid,2 the elder surviving son?a baronetcy was conferred on Isaac Lyon in 1841, he being the first member of the Jewish Community to receive such an honour?inherited not only a fortune and a baronetcy but also an inspiration from his father. In the struggle for Jewish emancipation and for reform in the synagogue they worked closely together. In the gaining of emancipation he was to some extent a pioneer, being the first professing Jew to be called to the Bar (in 1833) and the first to become a Queen's Counsel (in 1858). He was elected to Parliament as a Liberal in 1860 and remained a member until his death eighteen years later. In the House of Commons, he, like most of the earlier Jewish members, could be best described as a Conservative Liberal or as a Liberal-Conservative, the ancestors perhaps of the Progressive 1 The Banker XX, p. 222. 2 A biography, "Memoir of Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid, Bart., Q.C., M.P." was published in 1879 and a second and enlarged edition in 1882.</page><page sequence="17">Lieut.-Col. David Salesbury Franks of Montreal and later of Philadelphia Aaron Goldsmid (1715-82) Mary m. William Campbell Eliza Frances Campbell (1799-1844) ^_m. 1815. Benjamin (1755-1808) Lionel Prager Goldsmid (1797-1866) Esther (d. 1811) m. Elias Joachim Rose (1774-1851) _m. 1804? Jessie Sarah 1816-88 m. 1845 Henry Edward Goldsmid 1812-55 Sophia (1805-6) Rose Georgina (1837-66) Nathaniel (1807-60) m. (1) 1835 Elizabeth (d. 1843) da. of T. Brett (2) 1845 Margaret Anne Young Esther (1809-65) m. 1860 Rev. T. Cooke Isabel (1811-85) Henry Edward (1812-55) m. 1845 Jessie Sarah (1816-88) da. of Lionel Prager Goldsmid Car (181 m. Maj. G Gol&lt; (1793 Edward Thomas (1839-75) John Henry m. 1878 Flora Gifford da. of Col. Andrew Timbrell Allan Col. Albert Edward Williamson, M.V.O. (1846-1904) m. 1879 Ida Stewart (1859-1929) da. of Frederick Hendriks Bartle George (1848-ca. 1938) m. 1874 Amy da. of Henry Revell Reynolds, Q.C. Frederic Lestock (1850- )m. 1877 Emma Blanche da. of S. J. Harrison (d. 1927) Arthur Powys Willoughby (1852-94) m. Marian Beyer Frances Caroline Elphinstone (1855-94) Bartle Henry Seaton (1875-ca 1902) Cecil Albert (1877-8) Guy (b. 1880) Reginald Gladys Helen Rachel (b. 1879) m. 1898 2nd Baron Swaythling (1869-1927) I Muriel Ethel Carmel (1881-1943) m. 1910 Lord Haden Guest Gwendolyn Beatrice (b. &amp; d. 1884) Lionel Frederic (b. 1880)m. 1907 Alison Margarettc da. of William H. Dodd Beatrice (1885-1952) Grace (b. 1887)</page><page sequence="18">Franks of delphia &gt;bell Aaron Goldsmid (1715-82) Benjamin (1755-1808) &gt;m. 1815_Lionel Prager I Goldsmid (1797-1866) Jessie Sarah 1816-88 m. 1845 Henry Edward Goldsmid 1812-55 Esther (d. 1811) m. Elias Joachim Rose (1774-1851) _m. 1804 Henry Moses of Dover (1734-79) m. Zipporah da. of Myer Polack Edward Moses (Goldsmid) (1763-1853) Nathaniel (1807-60) m. (1) 1835 Elizabeth (d. 1843) da. of T. Brett (2) 1845 Margaret Anne Young Esther (1809-65) m. 1860 Rev. T. Cooke Isabel (1811-85) Henry Edward (1812-55) m. 1845 Jessie Sarah (1816-88) da. of Lionel Prager Goldsmid Caroline (1815-80) m. 1839 Maj. Gen. Albert Goldsmid (1793-1861) Edward Thomas (1839-75) John Henry m. 1878 Flora Gifford da. of Col. Andrew Timbrell Allan , M.V.O. wart Bartie George (1848-ca. 1938) m. 1874 Amy da. of Henry Revell Reynolds, Q.C. Frederic Lestock (1850- )m. 1877 Emma Blanche da. of S. J. Harrison (d. 1927) Arthur Powys Willoughby (1852-94) m. Marian Beyer i_ Frances Caroline Elphinstone (1855-94) Bartie Henry | Seaton Cecil (1875-ca 1902) Albert (1877-8) Guy (b. 1880) Reginald Muriel Ethel Carmel (1881-1943) m. 1910 Lord Haden Guest Gwendolyn Beatrice (b. &amp; d. 1884) Lionel Frederic (b. 1880) m. 1907 Alison Margarethe da. of William H. Dodd Beatrice (1885-1952) Grace (b. 1887)</page><page sequence="19">AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY 9 Conservatives of today. In the House of Commons also, while watching over the interests of his constituents, he in common with Sir David Salomons and some years later other Jewish members on both sides?in particular Sir John Simon and Baron Henry de Worms (later Lord Pirbright)?constituted themselves the representatives of Jewry. As such they were accepted by their fellow-members and Jewish interests were always safe in their hands. Sir Francis' political interests lay especially in the field of foreign affairs. He showed his sympathy with the people of Poland in their sufferings at the hands of their Russian masters and urged that under the terms of the Treaty of Vienna Britain had the right to intervene on their behalf. He urged also that pressure should be brought to restrain Prussia and Austria in 1864 from attacking Denmark and did not hesitate to criticize his own government?a Liberal one?for refraining from doing so. The appeals of the Jews of Rumania against persecution by their Government obtained his powerful support in the House of Commons and it was largely due to him that the Jewish case put forward by the Anglo-Jewish Rumanian Committee, of which he was Chairman, was energetically supported by the British Government. Sir Francis Goldsmid was from its formation a member of the Executive Committee of the Alliance Israelite Universelle and was in a sense its representative in England. He was also one of the principal founders of the Anglo-Jewish Association. In other respects he accepted the inheritance of his father both within and without Jewry. University College and University College Hospital were always close to him. Of both he was the Treasurer and the Goldsmid Ward in the Hospital was named in his memory in recognition of his services. Of the College he was also President of the Senate. Of the Jews' Infant School?a Goldsmid foundation?he was the first president. He was also among the founders of the West London Synagogue. Long before its establishment he had, although a layman, given regular sermons in English in the Hay market?now the Western?Synagogue in the unrealized hope that the practice would soon become a permanent one. He helped to guide the West London Synagogue during its perilous early days and on the death of Daniel Mocatta became Chairman of its Council of Founders. Sir Francis' services to England and to Jewry were well summ? arized in an obituary in The Jewish Chronicle on the occasion of his death. Sir Francis Goldsmid . . . succeeded in striking an even balance between his duties to his country, as Member of Parliament and active supporter of various educational and charitable institutions, and his duties to the religious community of which he was so distinguished a member. He was essentially an English Jew. Without neglecting any political or social call, he found time to preside over Jewish charities, to assist in introducing considerable improvements into English synagogal service; and by his own strict adherence to all Mosaic rites and ceremonies, he has shown how completely reconcileable are the observances of Judaism with the obligations of an Englishman.1 Frederick David Goldsmid, Sir Francis' younger brother, was also a Liberal member of parliament. He shared his leisure between the work of Jewish and general public institutions, in particular the Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Labouring Classes, the Jews' Hospital, founded by his grandfathers, Asher and Abraham, of which he was President, and the other Goldsmid institutions, the West Metropolitan Jewish School, University College and University College Hospital. He predeceased his brother who was succeeded in the baronetcy by Frederick's only surviving son, Julian. 1 Jewish Chronicle, 10 May, 1878.</page><page sequence="20">10 AN ANGLO-JEWISH FAMILY Sir Julian was essentially a House of Commons man. He was a member for thirty years, a perfect and most successful Chairman of Committees and was nominated by The Times as a possible Speaker if his health had not broken down. He was made a privy councillor for his services a few weeks before his death. To the traditional Golds mid institutions, University College and the Hospital, he gave sterling service. Of University College he was for a time Treasurer and he was Vice Chancellor of the University itself until his death. In the Jewish Community he was President of the two Goldsmid educational institutions, the Jews Infant' School and the West Metropolitan Jewish School, and was a member of the Committee of the Jews' Free School. He was born as it were into a leading part in the management of the West London Synagogue and occupied in turn all its lay offices. It was largely through his instrumentality that the breach between Orthodox and Reform Jewry that had persisted since 1840 was healed. As a founder of the Russo-Jewish Committee, a non-sectarian organization formed to watch over the interests of the Jews of Russia suffering at the hands of their rulers, he became chairman in succession to the Lord Mayor, Sir Whittaker Ellis. As chairman of this body and for his other interests he was recognized in the House of Commons as spokeman for Anglo-Jewry. Sir Julian left no son. His eldest daughter, Mrs. Sidney Hoffnung, after his death took the name of Goldsmid and was accorded the Portuguese title conferred on her great-grandfather, Sir Isaac Lyon, of Baroness de Goldsmid y da Palmeira. The Goldsmid estates had, however, been entailed in the event of the failure of a male heir on the descendants of the daughters of Sir Isaac Lyon. Of these the head of the senior branch was Osmond d'Avigdor, the grandson of Rachel Goldsmid and Count Henri d'Avigdor, subsequently created by Napoleon III, Duke d'Acquaviva. Osmond d'Avigdor took the name of Goldsmid and was later created a baronet in recognition of his public services and also perhaps of his distinguished family, as Sir Osmond d'Avigdor-Goldsmid. Sir Osmond d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, familiar to many of us, carried on the tradition of his family, devoting practically the whole of his life to public service, one half to that of the state, the other to that of the Jewish Community. His father, Elim d'Avigdor, was with Colonel Albert Goldsmid one of the founders of the Choveve Zion in England. It was meet therefore that Sir Osmond should take the leading part, when the opportun? ity came, among the socalled non-Zionist directors of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. From the beginning of his public career he was a member of the Council of the Anglo Jewish Association. In course of time he became its President in succession to his kinsman, Claude Goldsmid-Montefiore. From the Presidency of the Anglo-Jewish Association he passed to that of the Board of Deputies in 1933 and a year later he became President also of the I.C.A. Outside of the Jewish Community he gave many years of service in the country's armed forces, being twice mentioned in despatches in the course of the first Great War, and in a civil capacity he devoted himself to the public interest in Kent where his country home lay. I have now concluded my brief sketch of the activities of the Goldsmid family in England. As I said in my opening sentences, in doing so I selected in a sense a typical Anglo-Jewish family, typical that is among the leading, the governing families of Anglo-Jewry, under whose guidance Anglo-Jewry rose to the pinnacle of its fortunes. The hundred and fifty years of the Goldsmid dynasty coincided with the golden period of Anglo-Jewish history. The reason for this coincidence, at any rate the moral of my story, can be drawn from the narrative I have given.</page><page sequence="21">c Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, Bart, m. 1804 Isabel da. of Abraham Goldsmid Rachel (1816-96) m. 1840 Count Solomon Henri d'Avigdor (1815-71) Elim Henry (1841-95) m. 1866 Henrietta (d. 1918) da. of BethelS. Jacobs Olga Marie Rachel (b. 1871) m. 1901 Frank Fletcher \ Estelle (1872-1949) m. 1897 George Emanuel Nathan, o.b.e. (1869-1936) son of Jonah Nathan Sir Osmond d'Avigdor Goldsmid (1877-1940) 1907 Alice da. of Joseph Landau m. Elsa (1881-1948) m. 1905 Henry F. Goldschmidt (d. 1946) Isabel Olga (1843-1926) m. 1863 Horatio Joseph Lucas (1839-73) ! Sergius (-1912) Borislau Sylvie (b. 1879) m. 1901 Charles Blackston Clapcott Beryl (Berenice) (1884-1941) I Sir Henry Joseph d' Avigdor Goldsmid, Bart., D.S.O., M.C. (b. 1909) m. 1940 Rosemary Margaret da.ofC. R. I.Nicholl Cynthia Odette (1910- 5) James Arthur, M.C. (b. 1912) Sarah Venetia (b. 1942) Rosemary Chloe (b. 1945)</page></plain_text>