Oregon Jewish Pioneers

Joseph Shemanski: Pioneer Jewish Merchant and Philanthropist of Portland Oregon

Joseph Shemanski Values Codes I – E – L – P   Joseph Shemanski was born in Poland to Markus and Jeanette Szmanski in 1869.   Portland, Oregon Joseph Shemanski came to Portland, Oregon, in 1888, at the age of 19. To make a living, he sold

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Henry Heppner: Early Pioneer Jewish Businessman of Heppner, Oregon

Henry Heppner Values Codes I – E – L   Henry Hoppner was born in Prussia in either 1831 or 1843.   Along the way . . .  Henry Heppner came to New York in the mid-1850’s. In the mid-1860’s, he traveled around the Horn to San

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Lazard Coblentz: Pioneer Jewish Whiskeyman of Portland, Oregon

Lazard Coblentz  Values Codes I – E – L   Lazard Coblentz was born in 1852 in Lixheim, in the Lorraine region of France on the German border. The Coblentz family originally hailed from Koblentz, Germany, located on the Rhine and Moselle Rivers.   Along the way

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The Durkheimers: From Jewish Pioneers to Oregon Merchants

The Durkheimers Values Codes I – E – L – P   Kaufman Durkheimer   Kaufman Durkheimer was born in Baden, Germany in 1824. He left Germany in 1824 to escape poverty and the draft, settling in Philadelphia. In 1855, he married Caroline Steinheiser.   Along the

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Aaron Meier and Emil Frank: Founders of Meier & Frank Department Store of Portland, Oregon

Meier & Frank Department Store Values Codes I – E – L – P   Aaron Meier was born in Ellerstat, Baveria, Germany in 1831. Meier migrated to Wilsonville, Oregon, in 1855, and began selling merchandise from a pack. In 1857, he opened a store on Front Street in

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David Solis-Cohen: Pioneer Lawyer, Poet, Speaker, Merchant and Banker of Portland, Oregon

David Solis-Cohen Values Codes I – E – L – P   “The perfect blending of American and Jew.  His mother was Sephardi, his father was Ashkenazi, and he was descended from both colonial, Jewish, and immigrant stock” — William M. Kramer, z”l   David Solis-Cohen was born

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