Moses Haim Montefiore Bt (1784 - 1885)

Born 24 Oct 1784 in Livorno, Granducato di Toscana, Italy

Ancestors

Died 28 Jul 1885 at age 100 in Kent, England

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Biography

Moses Montefiore Bt has Jewish Roots.

Moses Montefiore Bt is Notable.

Moses Montefiore Bt was a centenarian, living to age 100.

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, FRS was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Jewish family, he donated large sums of money to promote industry, business, economic development, education and health amongst the Jewish community in the Levant (modern day Israel), including the founding of Mishkenot Sha'ananim in 1860, the first settlement of the New Yishuv. As President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, his correspondence with the British consul in Damascus Charles Henry Churchill in 1841-42 is seen as pivotal to the development of Proto-Zionism.^[1]

Montefiore was Sheriff of London, 1837-1838, and was knighted by Queen Victoria. He received a baronetcy in 1846 in recognition of his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the Jews. ^[2] He was president of the British Board of Deputies from 1835-1874, with one brief interruption. Despite his position, he did not play a prominent role in the emancipation struggle, preferring to helped oppressed Jewish communities abroad.^[3]

He was known to have such stature that he visited Russia in 1846 to ask the authorities to stop persecution of the Jews. He also visited Morocco in 1863 and Romania in 1867 for the same purpose. Montefiore deeply loved Eretz Yisrael and believed in its messianic restoration as opposed to the large-scale, planned development of the country as the solution to the Jewish problem.^[4]

Sir Moses Montefiore's physical stature (he was 6 ft. 3 in. tall), together with his background and his philanthropy, made him highly respected and admired in England and abroad. His 100th birthday was a public holiday in Jewish communities around the world.^[5]

Moses died in Ramsgate, Kent, England^[6] and was buried in the family mausoleum there.^[7]

• Census: 1841 Park Lane Grosvenor Gate, London, England^[8]
  • Sir Moses Montefiore, Male, 56
  • Lady Judith Montefiore, Female, 45, Middlesex
  • Robert Buck, Male, 39, Middlesex
  • Thos Sheffield, Male, 24, Middlesex
  • Leah Lee, Female, 29, Middlesex
  • Sarah Hunt, Female, 24, Middlesex
  • Mary Ellson, Female, 23, Middlesex

• Census: 1851 Harbour Street, Ramsgate, Kent, England^[9]
  • Moses Montefiore, Visitor, Male, 66, Leghorn (Baronet)
  • Judith Montefiore, Visitor, Female, 58, London

• Census: 1871 England (other details missing from record)^[10]
  • Moses Montefiore, Visitor, Male, 80, Leghorn, Italy (Widower)

• Death: Moses Montefiore age 100, reg. Sep 1885 2a 492 Thanet, Kent, England^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ Sir Moses Haim Montefiore at Wikipedia
2. ↑ Baronetcy announcement in the London Gazette 30 June 1846 Issue 20618, page 2391 The Gazette online accessed 13 April 2022
3. ↑ Jewish Virtual Library Biography
4. ↑ Jewish Virtual Library Biography
5. ↑ Jewish Virtual Library Biography
6. ↑ "British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q26M-RLMB : 26 October 2019), Sir Moses Montefiore, 29 Jul 1885; citing Obituary, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, page , Records extracted by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch. The British Library, London; FHL microfilm 102,001,199.
7. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKR-KQBV : 13 December 2015), Moses Haim Montefiore, 1885; Burial, Ramsgate, Thanet District, Kent, England, Montefiore Mausoleum; citing record ID 52460483, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
8. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQJV-TD2 : 22 May 2019), Moses Montefiore, Sir, St George Hanover Square, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
9. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGLL-PLD : 9 November 2019), Moses Montefiore in household of Elizabeth Holman, Ramsgate, Kent, England; citing Ramsgate, Kent, England, p. 15, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
10. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VF6B-ZRC : 27 September 2019), Moses Montefiore in entry for Maud M Tomkins, 1871.
11. ↑ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2J6Q-BNY : 31 December 2014), Moses Montefiore, 1885; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Thanet, Kent, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

• Tuchman, Barbara W.; Bible and Sword; England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1956.
• http://london.wikia.com/wiki/Moses_Montefiore London Wiki]
• Jewish Virtual Library Biography

See also:

• Wikipedia: Moses Montefiore
• Wikidata: Item Q733118, en:Wikipedia