William Hort Levin (1845 - 1893)

Born 7 Aug 1845 in Wellington, New Zealand

Ancestors

Husband of Amy May (FitzGerald) Levin — married 20 May 1876 in Wellington, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 15 Sep 1893 at age 48 in Tinakori Road, Wellington, New Zealand

William Levin is Notable.

William Levin lived in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.

Biography

William Hort (Willie) Levin (7 August 1845 – 15 September 1893) was a 19th-century merchant, philanthropist and politician who lived in Wellington, New Zealand. ^[1]

Business Ventures

He ran a business, W H Levin and Co which had been founded in Wellington by his father Nathaniel William Levin in 1841. William took over the business in 1868 aged only 22 when his father prepared for his own permanent return to London though it was delayed until 1869. His first partners (for a ten-year term to March 1878) were C J Pharazyn, who withdrew early in 1871, and W W Johnston. Later on, he conducted the business without a partnership as W H Levin until 1889 when he took in Edward Pearce and John Duncan as new partners, both of which had previously managed the business, and it was again renamed to Levin & Co.

Death

Well-liked and a capable businessman Levin's health had never been strong. He died suddenly at his home in Tinakori Road aged 48 on 15 September 1893 leaving his wife, Amy, daughter of James Edward Fitzgerald and four young children; two sons and two daughters. Learning of his death Parliament closed until the evening session after valedictory speeches. Flags were flown at half-mast by consulates (Levin represented the United States in New Zealand) and businesses and a special theatrical performance was indefinitely postponed.

Furthermore the event of his death brought the four-year-old partnership a serious problem. This is because neither of his sons wanted to go into their father's business.

Finally, near three years later, a buyer with the necessary capital was found in Dunedin. In March 1896 Mr Ritchie of the National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand settled current rumours by announcing that his company had taken an interest in a new company, Levin & Co Limited, formed to take over the old established business of Levin & Co. Ritchie advised that the management would remain under the control of the old partners as well as the Levin family.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia - last edited on 8 January 2022, at 18:20 (UTC). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Levin

• Anglican Parish Registers. Woking, Surrey, England: Surrey History Centre.
• M. N. Galt. 'Levin, William Hort', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993, updated November, 2011. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2l9/levin-william-hort (accessed 13 August 2018)
• http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc01Cycl-t1-body-d4-d9-d14.html
• Wikidata: Item Q8014525

• NZ marriage registration 1876/845
• NZ death registration 1893/3831

• Find A Grave: Memorial #184559001