{{Short description|German-born American businessman}} {{Infobox person | name = Joseph Brandenstein | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1826 | birth_place = Hümme, Germany | death_date = 1910 (age 84) | death_place = San Francisco, California | education = | other_names = | known_for = | occupation = Businessman | spouse = Jane Rosenbaum | children = 11 including Max J. Brandenstein | parents = | family = Frederick Jacobi Jr. (grandson) }}
'''Joseph Brandenstein''' (1826–1910) was a German-born American businessman and philanthropist.
==Biography== Brandenstein was born to a Jewish family in 1826 in Hümme, Germany.<ref name=JMAW>{{Cite web|title= Joseph Brandenstein: Jewish Pioneer Philanthropist of Early San Francisco Area |website=Jewish Museum of the American West|url= http://www.jmaw.org/brandenstein-jewish-san-francisco/ }}</ref><ref name=WSJH>{{Cite book|first=Norton B.|last=Stern |title= Western States Jewish History|date=February 18, 2019 }}</ref> In 1850, he immigrated to California and settled in Placerville, California.<ref name=JMAW /><ref name=Trobits>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zBSFDwAAQBAJ&q=Joseph+Brandenstein&pg=PT115|first=Monika |last=Trobits|title=Bay Area Coffee: A Stimulating History|publisher=The History Press|date=18 February 2019|isbn=978-1467140614}}</ref> He first tried his luck at mining for gold but failed.<ref name=Trobits /> In 1852, he moved to San Francisco where he partnered with Joseph P. Newmark and founded a dry goods store.<ref name=JMAW /> In 1854, Newmark moved to Los Angeles and Brandenstein then partnered with brothers Albert and Moses Rosenbaum and founded a wholesale leaf tobacco and cigar business.<ref name=JMAW /> Their company stocked large amounts of tobacco and during the American Civil War benefited greatly when shortages developed.<ref name=Trobits /> He retired in 1880.<ref name=JMAW />
Brandenstein was president of the German Benevolent Society, the founder and president of the German senior citizen's home Alennheim, served on the board of the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, and served as president of the Mt. Zion Hospital Association.<ref name=JMAW /> He was an active member of the Eureka Benevolent Society and Congregation Emanu-El.<ref name=JMAW />
==Personal life== Brandenstein married Jane Rosenbaum, the sister of his partners in the tobacco business; they had eleven children<ref name=JMAW /> of which 10 survived him: Max Joseph Brandenstein, Manfred Brandenstein, Henry U. Brandenstein., Edward Brandenstein, Charles Brandenstein, Flora Brandenstein Jacobi (married to wholesale wine merchant Frederick Jacobi Sr. and mother of composer Frederick Jacobi Jr.), Edith Brandenstein Jacobi (married to Jacob Jackson "J.J." Jacobi), Mrs. William Greenbaum, and Agnes Brandenstein Silverberg (married to Joseph S. Silverberg).<ref>{{Cite news|title= Death of Joseph Brandenstein |newspaper=California Grocers Advocate, Volume 15, Issues 1-25|date= January 7, 1909|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WPM9AQAAMAAJ&q=Joseph+Brandenstein&pg=RA6-PR17 }}</ref> Their son Max, who founded MJB Coffee and was joined by his brothers Manfred, Charles, and Edward.<ref name=JMAW />
==References== {{reflist}} {{Portal|San Francisco}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenstein, Joseph}} Category:American company founders Category:Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States Category:1826 births Category:1910 deaths Category:19th-century German Jews Category:Businesspeople from California Category:19th-century American businesspeople