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James Mayer de Rothschild

Posted 2023-05-16 by Pat R
Weekly Arizona Miner (Prescott, Arizona)
Saturday, January 9, 1869, p. 4

DEATH OF BARON ROTHSCHILD--The death of Baron James Rothschild at Paris,
on Saturday, November 8th, is announced. He was the head of the French
branch of the great European banking house of the Rothschilds, and the
youngest and only surviving son of the founder of the house--Mayer
Anselm Rothschild, of Frankfort-on-the-Main.

With Baron James, the second generation of this great family of money
lenders, so often the prop of tumbling thrones, the ready succors of
exhausted treasuries, has passed away. There were five sons, who were
taken into the "House of Rothschild" as fast as they became of age.
These were Anselm, Solomon, Nathan Mayer, Charles and James.

Anselm was his father's partner and successor at Frankfort; the second
son, at first traveling partner, was eventually established at Vienna;
Nathan Mayer settled in London in 1798, and became the most prominent,
as he was generally deemed the ablest, financier of the family; Charles
settled at Naples in 1821; and James, after being awhile with his
brother in Vienna, established himself in Paris. Thus, when the father,
Mayer Anselm, died, his sons had increased the influence of the house,
and stood at the head of five immense establishments, united in a
copartnership the most wealthy and extensive the world has ever seen.

James was born at Frankfort on the 5th of May, 1792, and took up his
residence in Paris in 1812. A few years later he was appointed Consul-
General for Austria in France. During the early years of his life in the
French Empire he was interested in railroad affairs to a great extent,
and was noted for the boldness of his speculations. After the great
famine of 1847, he was charged with having caused much of the fearful
suffering of that time by his transactions, and became very unpopular
with the mass of the people, so that in 1848, when the revolution broke
out, a portion of his property, the Castle of Suresnes, was sacked by
the populace. He was married late in life, to his niece, the daughter of
his brother Solomon. He founded several Jewish charitable institutions
during his life, and gave large sums of money at various times to other
like institutions. In Paris he was known, on account of his frequent
dealings with crowned heads, as "Le preteur desRois," "The Kings' money
lender."

His title of Baron was received from Austria. The Austrian Emperor
conferred on each of the brothers a patent of nobility with the title of
Baron of the Empire, on account of the promptness and courtesy with
which they responded to Metternich's application for a loan in 1813.







Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.

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