Leopold Lazarus
Values Codes I-E-L
Leopold Lazarus was born in France in 1827.
Leopold Lazarus left France in 1848 at the age of 21 to seek his fortune in America.
Leopold Lazarus journeyed from New Orleans to California.
Business
In California, Leopold Lazarus engaged in the mercantile trade and mining.
In 1862, he moved to St. Helena, California.
Lazarus operated a general merchandise store in St. Helena until 1875.
In 1866, Leopold Lazarus was appointed as the Agent for Wells, Fargo & Company in St. Helena.
Civic
Leopold Lazarus was elected City Treasurer and served five terms.
Family
In 1863, Leopold Lazarus married Julia Straus, a native of Alsace.
The couple had four children: Alfred, Leon, Leontine Rose and Sylvain.
Sylvain Lazarus seemed to inherit his father’s adventurous spirit and spent time in Nome, Alaska before returning to California where he became a lawyer and then judge in the Superior Court of San Francisco.
For more information, see:
Under the Vine and the Fig Tree: The Jews of Napa Valley, by Lin Weber, ISBN 0-9667014-4-5, 2003
Napa Valley’s Jewish Heritage, by Henry Michalski and Donna Mendelsohn, ISBN 978-0-7385-8898-8 Arcadia Publishers
Both books are available thru the Jewish Historical Society of Napa Valley,
Photos
Click on photos to enlarge them.
Lauren Chevlen is curator of this Leopold Lazarus Exhibit.
