Nathan Joseph Edward 1835 1876 Wellington Nz

edmondsallan - Hello - " Joseph " - came from a Jewish family originally from very early Europe .I think many many " Nathan's " right around the world came from the same family . Their ancestory could be well over 2,000 years . It is my intention to research this family and its name . When I do I'm expecting it will take me over 12 months , even with " old faith ful's " help. Yes sir that will be a biggy !!!The Nazi destruction of the Jews may stop me from ever completing my research .
Nathan, Joseph Edward
Merchant, dairy manufacturer and exporter

Joseph Edward Nathan was born probably on 2 March 1835 in Houndsditch, in the East End of London, England. He was the sixth son and eighth child of Jewish parents Rachel Davis and her husband, Edward Ezekiel Nathan, a tailor. He started life with few material advantages and received very little formal education. At the age of 12 Joseph started working with his father as a jobbing tailor. Later he worked in a furniture store and at the same time attended night classes at Bishopsgate Institute.

In August 1853 he emigrated to Australia, arriving in Melbourne on the William Ackers on 27 December. There he opened a miners' supply store behind a hotel in Little Collins Street. Because his prospects in Melbourne were limited by lack of capital, Nathan looked for new opportunities in New Zealand, where several of his relatives had settled. His sister Kate had married a Wellington merchant, Jacob Joseph (a relative of the Nathans), who although handicapped by blindness had prospered. Late in 1856 Nathan visited Wellington where Joseph, who was planning a trip to England, offered him employment. Nathan accepted on condition that he receive a salary of £300 per annum plus a share of profits. Before starting work he returned to Melbourne, wound up his affairs and on 18 November 1857 married Dinah Marks in a Jewish ceremony. The newlyweds arrived back in Wellington on the Cheetah on 9 December 1857. They were to have at least 13 children of whom 11, seven boys and four girls, were to survive to adulthood.

Jacob Joseph and Company imported goods from England for supply to the retail trade. Soap, candles, tar, ironware, stationery, drapery, groceries and patent medicines were unloaded in the company's Wellington warehouse and orders dispatched by horse-drawn wagons or bullock carts. In time, the company also bought wool from local farmers for export, and in season sold Wellington butter.

On 1 January 1861 Nathan was made a partner of Jacob Joseph and Company. The Nathan family then lived in the company's storehouse on Lambton Quay. Business hours conformed to Jewish practice, with the sabbath observed on Saturday. Nathan became a leader of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation; he was president from 1870 to 1874 and initiated the building of a synagogue, consecrated in 1870.

Joseph Nathan bought land in the interior, and by 1867 held one of the largest areas in Manawatu. One purchase method - viewed by some as sharp practice - involved buying land certificates (issued by the government in lieu of payment) from soldiers returning from the New Zealand wars. These government land grants, for which Nathan generally paid £25, were of moderate size but of variable quality.

Nathan's partner, Jacob Joseph, was a much older man and known to be difficult; the partnership dissolved on 26 June 1873. After Jacob Joseph retired that year Nathan purchased the assets of the business and set up Joseph Nathan and Company. He built a new four-storeyed office building on the corner of Grey and Featherston streets and a substantial family home in Hawkestone Street. Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan