| Isidor Straus was a passenger on the RMS Titanic. Join: Titanic Project Discuss: titanic |
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Isador Straus was the oldest of five children, born on February 6, 1845 to Lazarus (1809–1898) and Sara (1823–1876) Straus in Germany. He, his mother, and his siblings immigrated to the United States in 1854, after his father had immigrated two years earlier. They lived in Talbotton, Georgia, where Lazarus had opened a crockery department in the basement of Rowland Hussey Macy's store.
Isidor married Rosalie Ida Blun in 1871, with whom he had seven children. Isidor and Ida were in love and wrote to each other every day when they were separated due to travel.
According to the 1860 census, Isador worked for his father in the store.
In 1862, during the American Civil War, Isador worked for a company that ran barricades for the Confederate Army. After the war, he and his brother moved to New York where they began to work for R.H. Macy & Co.
On January 30, 1894, Isador began to serve as a U.S. Congressman, a Democratic representative to New York's 15th congressional district. He held the title until March 3, 1895. Later, he would be offered the position of Postmaster General by President Grover Cleveland. He declined.
By 1896, Isador and his younger brother, Nathan, had gained full ownership of R. H. Macy & Co, the store, in which, their father had opened a department forty years earlier.
Additionally, Isador was passionate about reforming civil service and extending education and was the president of The Educational Alliance.
After touring Europe with his wife, Isador boarded the Titanic with Ida, his manservant and Ida's maid. On the night the Titanic sank, they watched as Ida's maid, Ellen Bird, boarded lifeboat number 8. The crew in charge of loading the lifeboat offered him and his wife a seat, but he refused, saying that he would not board a lifeboat while there were still women and children aboard the sinking ship. He urged his wife to go, but she refused, stating that she would not be separated from him and would go where he went.
Isidor Straus's body was recovered and identified. His body lies in the Straus Mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery. Though Ida's body was never found, a memorial is included on the mausoleum, where an inscription reads, "Many waters cannot quench love—neither can the floods drown it." (Song of Solomon (8:7) )
"United States Census, 1860"[1]
"United States Census, 1880,"[2]
"United States Census, 1910,"[3]
"New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940,"[4]
Featured German connections: Isidor is 21 degrees from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 25 degrees from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 27 degrees from Lucas Cranach, 17 degrees from Stefanie Graf, 18 degrees from Wilhelm Grimm, 22 degrees from Fanny Hensel, 30 degrees from Theodor Heuss, 20 degrees from Alexander Mack, 36 degrees from Carl Miele, 14 degrees from Nathan Rothschild and 18 degrees from Ferdinand von Zeppelin on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
Categories: New York, Notables | Jewish Notables | Jewish Roots | Macy's | German Roots | RMS Titanic | 1st Class Passengers on Titanic
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Maddy
Edited to fix typo
edited by Maddy Hardman