Adolphus Hollub: Pioneer Merchant & Mason

Adolphus Hollub

Values Codes I-E-L-P

Adolphus Hollub was born in 1820 in Holitz, Czechoslovakia.

Hollub ar­rived in America during the mid-1840s and became an American citizen in Wisconsin – on his way West.

 

Before the end of 1850 Adolphus Hollub was a resident of San Francisco, but he was a partner of Joseph Isaacs in a dry goods and clothing store in Shasta, California.

In 1883, Hullub and Isaacs built one of the first brick stores in Shasta, a two-story structure. Building a store of brick in those pioneer days not only was a strong way of saying to the local citizenry that one’s business was here to stay and fully reliable. It also re­sulted in much lower fire insurance rates.

Of the nine brick stores in early Shasta, five were owned and occupied by Jewish merchants.

 

San Francisco

Adolphus Hollub did the buying for the Shasta store from San Francisco, and sold the farm produce and gold dust taken in trade by the store.

In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Adolphus Hollub was involved in a fur importing business with S. Konalsky and S. Silverstone.

The furs were from the Amur River region of Eastern Siberia.

 

 

In 1865, Hollub and Simon Seelig entered the oil and lamp busi­ness.

 

 

In 1878, Hollub entered the insurance business, and also became an appraiser of property.

His wife, Susannah, continued the insurance agency after his death.

 

 

Civic

In 1861 and 1862 Adolphus Hollub was the Public Administrator for the City and County of San Francisco.

 

Fraternal

Adolphus Hollub involved in was heavily California’s Masonry. He had joined the Davy Crockett Masonic Lodge in 1850, and in 1859 became a member of the Pacific Masonic Lodge No. 136, a Lodge that had a substantial proportion of Jewish members.

Hollub developed great expertise with the laws of the Masonic movement. He was one of the Grand Lecturers who visited Masonic Lodges throughout the State giving instruction on the Masonic ritual.

In May 1852, Adolphus Hollub was elected Senior Grand Warden of California Masonry, one of the highest offices.

 

Soon after Adolphus Hollub arrived in San Francisco he joined Congregation Emanu-El and in the fall of 1867 he was elected Presi­dent. He served for five years.

During his administration the wearing of the tallith by Rabbi and Cantor was abolished.

 

Community

Adolphus Hollub was one of the first to publicly recognize and comment on the importance of the work of the women of Congregation Emanu-El in making the synagogue financially viable through the fairs, which they conducted.

 

Family

Adolphus Hollub married Susannah May, a daughter of the Isaac Mays of Philadelphia.

They had eleven children.

 

Adolphus Hollub died in 1890, at the age of 70.

His fu­neral was held at the Masonic Temple with all the rites of the Order.

 

More information can be found in the following issues of Western States Jewish History:

• Hollub, Adolphus; Adolphus Hollub of San Francisco; San Francisco; Strauss, Leon; 15/2
• Hollub, Adolphus, Pioneer Jews of San Francisco, Part One, A-L, Norton Stern, 41/1

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