My second Seligmann update is about James Seligman, who was born Jakob Seligmann in Gau-Algesheim, Germany in about 1853; he died in Birmingham, England on March 11, 1930.1
James Seligman was the son of Moritz Seligmann and Babette Schoenfeld and the younger brother of my great-great-grandfather Bernard and Wolfgang’s great-grandfather August. I wrote a post about James and his life back on December 8, 2017, describing his life and business in England and Scotland. James went to England as a young man to represent Seligman Brothers, the wine business that he was in with his brothers August and Hieronymous. In 1890, the partnership with his brothers was dissolved, and James continued the wine business on his own in England and then Scotland as Seligman & Co. He also became involved in the hotel business in both Scotland and England. A good portion of the information and images in that earlier post came from Wolfgang.
In looking through old emails recently, I realized that I had never posted some of the photographs that Wolfgang later sent me of one of James Seligman’s hotels, the George Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. I also had forgotten to post some of the photographs my cousin-by-marriage Shirley had sent me of the Grand Hotel in Birmingham, England, where James had been the managing director. My apologies to Wolfgang, Shirley, and my three-times great-uncle James Seligman for somehow letting these wonderful images slip through the cracks.
Here are the photographs and other images that Wolfgang sent of the George Hotel in Edinburgh and some stationery letterhead that Wolfgang found on the internet showing the hotels owned in 1911 by James Seligman and August Mackay.
It looks like a gracious old hotel with a beautiful lobby. It is still in business and just had extensive renovations done. If I ever get to Edinburgh, this is where I will stay.
Shirley’s photographs are of the Grand Hotel in Birmingham where James was the managing director. It also is a grand and gracious old hotel:
I was able to learn a lot more about this hotel from its website:
The Grand Hotel first occupied part of the building constructed by Isaac Horton, on Colmore Row and Church Street between 1877 and 1879, with 100 bedrooms and a first floor reception. It was let to Arthur Field, a hotel operator from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and opened on 1st February 1879…. For the next 74 years the hotel was operated by Hortons. During this time it played host to royalty, politicians and film stars as well as staging many dinners, concerts and dances in the Grosvenor Suite. The room had many admirers including Sir John Betjeman who described it as “a unique, simply stunning, masterpiece.” The list of those attending functions at or staying in the hotel included King George VI, the Duke of Windsor, Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, Charlie Chaplin, James Cagney and Joe Louis to name but a few.
Maybe some of those people stayed in the hotel while James Seligman was the managing director. According to its website, the Grand Hotel is currently in the process of substantial renovations. Maybe someday I will get to stay there also.
As for the wine business, Seligman & Co stayed in business long after James’ death. In fact, Wolfgang found an obituary for a man named David Smith who was also in the wine business and who had been a director of Seligman & Co. in Birmingham as late as 1989. Shirley took a photograph of the location that once housed the Seligman & Co. wine business in Birmingham.
Thank you to Wolfgang and Shirley for their help in telling the story of James Seligman.
- General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 6d; Page: 198, Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 ↩
I see several more overseas trips in your future, Amy. The letterhead is amazing.
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I hope so!! Thanks, Cathy!
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Hi, I came across your blog as I was googling James and Henrietta Seligman, because I just this morning came across their shared headstone in my local churchyard, St. Peter’s, Harborne. I did take a photo of it, by way of a prompt, but I’m afraid I can’t see a way of sharing it with you. Great blog.
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I am on the road, but will email you when I get to my destination! Thank you so much!
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Very welcome!
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I assume he was no longer identifying himself as Jewish since he was cremated and service on a Saturday. Both not done by Jews if the time. And still no burials on Shabbat. The hotels do look lovely!
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I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t believe either of his wives were Jewish.
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I am glad you found these photo’s to share ~ You hardly’see gorgeous letterhead like that anymore- such a shame. I know you have written about the wine business before Amy, but I am curious and don’t remember, is the winery still function? under another name?
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Thanks, Sharon. I don’t think so. The last mention we’ve found of it is the one mentioned in the blog.
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Another post so rich in photos about a James Seligman and his business success in the UK! If you continue to dig up ancestors coming from Germany we may find, that in a round-about way we are indeed related. Haha! Have a great week, Amy
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LOL! Somehow I doubt we will find that connection, but since you do have some mysterious Jewish ancestor (allegedly), you never know. Thanks, Peter!
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When I am finished with all my aunts and uncles, I will deal with my grandmother Emma, parents and grandparents with their definite Jewish ancestry, which Georg von Waldenfels so desperately tried to hide.
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I will be excited to read about that when you get there. 🙂
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Lovely photos Amy. I know the George Hotel in Edinburgh. I haven’t stayed there, but I have eaten in the cafe (much more within my budget). 😀
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Perhaps someday we will meet there while you search for your ancestors and I for mine!
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That would be fabulous!!
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George Hotel, Glasgow? I’m sure I have a memory of such a place when I was a student there in the ‘60s, somewhere near Strathclyde Uni. ?
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I don’t know where the Glasgow hotel was located, but from the letterhead, it appears to have been one that he and his partner owned.
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What beautiful buildings! And so special to have a connection to them.
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I know! Those were the days when hotels were truly gracious and luxurious.
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Interesting!
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Thanks!
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You’re welcome 😇
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Amy, I do hope you get to stay at these hotels.
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Thanks, Emily! Hope you are enjoying your summer.
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Hi Amy. I’ve been jumping. So much going on. I met a cousin from the Rosenbaum line on my paternal Grandmother’s side. It was a wonderful get-together. So much about her family I did not know. You can read about it here: https://friendsandfamilygazette.wordpress.com/2019/07/30/rosenbaum-family-get-together-sunday-july-14-2019/
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Will do!
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A beautiful hotel! Do go to Edinburgh. The gardener and I love it there.
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It is on my list! (And was even before I knew of the family connection.)
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I used to think I lived in Scotland in a past life ;).
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You probably did—or some relative you haven’t yet uncovered did.
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Maybe!
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Wow, Amy! We’ve just returned from an off-grid holiday. What an interesting post about
James Seligmann and his business. Thank you for sharing it. He must have done well in life as Yateley Road Edgbaston is in an upmarket area. They are still renovating parts of The Grand Hotel, Birmingham. Edinburgh is
extremely well to do also. James Seligmann’s non-Jewish funeral was held about 6 miles away from where he lived, many of my ancestor’s funerals were held there too. It’s a small world!
You’ll be thinking about another trip across The Pond someday ……..
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I am already thinking about it! There’s still so much more to see—Scotland, Ireland, Wales, not to mention most of England!
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