Joseph Newmark

Joseph Newmark
Born 1799
Neumark, West Prussia (now Poland)
Died 1881
Los Angeles, California
Religion Orthodox Judaism
Spouse(s) Rosa Levy Newmark
Children 6, including Myer J. Newmark
Relatives Harris Newmark (nephew)

Joseph Newmark (1799–1881) was a Prussian-born immigrant to the United States who co-founded B'nai Jeshurun in New York City and Congregation B'nai B'rith, now known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles. He later became a rabbi.

Early life

Joseph Newmark was born in 1799 in Neumark, West Prussia.[1] He immigrated to the United States in 1820.[2]

Career

He first settled in New York City in 1823.[1] Two years later, in 1825, he was a co-founder of B'nai Jeshurun, a synagogue on the island of Manhattan.[1]

He moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1840, where he served as the president of a synagogue until 1845.[1][2]

He moved to California in 1852 and settled in Los Angeles in 1853.[2] He established Congregation B'nai B'rith, the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles now known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple,[1] which began as an Orthodox synagogue.[3] In 1862, he persuaded rabbi Abram Wolf Edelman to move to Los Angeles and become its first rabbi.[4] After Newmark's death, the synagogue would become Reform, leading to Edelman's retirement.[1]

Later in life, Newmark became an ordained rabbi in his own right.[2]

Personal life

He was married to Rosa Levy Newmark.[1] They had six children.[1]

Death

He died in 1881 in Los Angeles, California.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Newmark, Jewish Virtual Library
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 The Death of Rabbi Newmark., The Los Angeles Herald-Express, Volume 16, Number 53, 20 October 1881
  3. Kerry M. Olitzky, The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996, p. 50
  4. Rabbi Abraham Wolf Edelman, The First Rabbi of Los Angeles, Jewish Museum of the American West
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