Jacob Frankfort (born 1801, date of death unknown) was the first known

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

to come to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He immigrated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in 1841. He was joined by other Central European Jews. By 1855, there were 60 Jews living in Los Angeles. Frankfort arrived in Los Angeles as a member of the Rowland-Workman exploratory party. The party had come to the city from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Jacob's position in the team was bolstered by skills of

tailoring A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

and ownership of a rifle.

Business

Frankfort was a wealthy man. This fact is reflected in Rafael Gallardo's declaration of bankruptcy, which states that Jacob Frankfort was owed $400 in 1845. Frankfort started his business with a tailoring and men's apparel store in Bell's Row, an adobe building. When Mellus bought Bell's Row from Bell, it was Frankfort who lent him the money. Subsequently, Bell's Row name was changed to Mellus' Row. Bell's Row was well located: all the traffic coming in from the

Los Angeles River , name_etymology = , image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg , image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge , image_size = 300 , map = LARmap.jpg , map_size ...

arrived at the corner of Aliso and Los Angeles streets, which was where the Bell's Row was situated.

References

Sources

*"L.A. Scene / The City Then and Now". CECILIA RASMUSSEN. Los Angeles Times, March 21, 1994. 1801 births Year of death missing {{US-bio-stub