Maurice Kremer (1824–1907) was an American businessman and civil servant.

Biography

Kremer, who was Jewish, was born in Lorraine, France on January 18, 1824. He immigrated to the

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first to

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, then followed the California gold rush west across the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific coast. He worked briefly with his cousins, Elie and

Simon Lazard Simon Lazard (April 8, 1828 – February 24, 1898) was a Franco-American banker who co-founded Lazard Frères & Co., reorganized in 2000 as Lazard. A native of Lorraine, France, a young merchant of antebellum New Orleans, pioneer of the Californ ...

of Lazard Freres, in Sacramento and San Francisco before moving to

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in 1852. In the same year, he opened a dry goods store, Lazard & Kremer Company, with his cousin and brother-in-law Solomon Lazard (Lazard and Kremer both married daughters of Joseph Newmark). In 1856, they formed ''Newmark, Kremer & Co.'' with his father-in-law, Joseph Newmark, and Newmark's nephews, Joseph P. Newmark and

Harris Newmark Harris Newmark (July 5, 1834 – 1916) was a Jewish American businessman, philanthropist, and historian who was born in the West Prussian city of Löbau (now Lubawa, Poland). Newmark immigrated to the United States in 1853. He sailed from Europe ...

. Kremer along with fellow Jewish immigrants Harris Newmark, Solomon Lazard, Jacob Baruch, and Herman Haas who, like Kremer, founded large wholesale enterprises in Bell's Row, at that time considered the best business location in the city, and Isaias W. Hellman (who founded Los Angeles' first bank), used their proceeds to purchase and develop housing. Together they all served on the Los Angeles City Council since its inception in 1850, and used their wealth to fund the streetcar system, the power distribution network, and the water distribution network. They also founded the city's first synagogue, its first

fraternal organization A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity i ...

, and in 1854, the Hebrew Benevolent Society. He served in various positions with the city of Los Angeles: Treasurer of Los Angeles (1860–1865); Los Angeles School Board (1866–1874); City Clerk of Los Angeles (1875–1876); Tax Collector of Los Angeles (1876–1879); and Chief Tax Collector of Los Angeles (1880). Kremer later opened a fruit shipping company ''M. Kremer & Co.'' and a fire insurance company which he operated until his death on March 7, 1907.

Personal life

In 1856, he married Matilda Newmark, the daughter of Joseph Newmark. His wife served as a founder of the Ladies Benevolent Society of Los Angeles. They had 12 children of which only 6 survived infancy: daughters Rachel Kremer Lazarus (1858–1935), Emily Kremer Germain (1864–1951), Eda Kremer Hellman (1870–1912), and Agnes Kremer Hellman (1870–1964)(Agnes married her predeceased sister Eda's husband, James W. Hellman, 1861–1940, the brother of Isaias W. Hellman and Herman W. Hellman); and sons Fred Kremer and Abraham Kremer. The Kremers were founding members of Congregation B'nai B'rith (now

Wilshire Boulevard Temple Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome an ...

). In 1859, he founded

Turnverein Turners (german: Turner) are members of German-American gymnastic clubs called Turnvereine. They promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics. Turners, especially Francis Lieber, 1798–1872, were the leading sponsors of gy ...

and in 1860, he was co-founder of the French Benevolent Society. In 1880, he was named a Trustee of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles. Kremer spoke

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, French, and

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kremer, Maurice 1824 births 1907 deaths American people of French-Jewish descent Newmark family Jewish American philanthropists 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American businesspeople Lazard family American businesspeople in retailing