The Goldschmidt Family

Mozes Goldsmid married Judith Goldsmid Cassel, daughter of Wolf GoldsmidCassel and Sara Arents at the age of seventeen. His father-in-lawbelonged to the rich upper layer of the High German community ofAmsterdam. In addition, he was governor or Parnas of the community. Likehis father, Mozes probably traded in precious metal and jewels. It isknown that he traded in textiles and ‘colonial’ wares. We still know verylittle about his business activities in detail. What we do know is thathis business contacts were intimately tied up with the trade routes ofthose Days, as is proven by a deed of 1722. In this year he and MozesTraub from Hamburg set up a trading company. Its purpose was the tradewith and in London. Traub contributed 2000 guilders and Goldsmit 12,000guilders. The contract, which would last for twenty years, furtherstipulated that Traub would settle in London and would report every yearon profits and losses”
(Schut 1995, pp. 51-2, which is partly based on Bennett 1988).

In 1731 the dean of the Reformed Church Jacobus Aelders became the newLeaseholder [of the pawnshop of Groningen] for the amount of 1300guilders. ... Aelders was not the only Leaseholder. In 1731 he had signeda contract in Amsterdam with Mozes Goldsmid to Lease the pawnshoptogether. It is unknown whether Aelders and Goldsmid knew each other orhad done any business before. In the contract which was drawn up inAmsterdam it was stipulated that Aelders would be in charge of the dailymanagement, although he was probably not suited for this job, because inthe following year they agreed about seVeral additional clauses, such asthe location of the pawnshop. It would be located in a house in thePoelstraat, where the moVietheater Concerthuis is located toDay. MozesGoldsmid or his deputy would from now on live in the house. The‘salesroom’ of the pawnshop would be in the smaller house at the back.This house would also serve as the home of Philip Abrahams, who wasappointed as cashier and was to receive a salary of 400 guilders per year. Aelders himself would be housed in two smaller houses on the east sideof the bank. The Leasing of the pawnshop was a very important event inthe Genesis of the Jewish community of Groningen. A few months before Theadditional agReement with Aelders in 1732, Mozes Goldsmid petitioned thetown’s administration. He reminded the City Fathers, that they had givenhim (as Leaseholder of the pawnshop) and his family and other Jews theliberty to practice their religion. For this purpose he had arranged partof his house as a synagogue and he asked the magistrate of Groningen tokeep their promise in the Lease offer. They did and services wereallowed. A second request for the construction of a cemetery would betaken into consideration” (Schut 1995, pp. 49-51).