The Jacobs Family

Benjamin N. Jacobs (1852-1899) immigrated to the United States from England before 1879. He was the son of Rev. Nathan Jacobs, a Polish immigrant, who was a jeweler and tobacconist and a leader of the Jewish community of Oxford, England. Benjamin Jacobs was related to the Gusky family of Pittsburgh.  Upon arriving in the city, he worked in the Gusky department store, downtown, eventually becoming chief bookkeeper. He left Gusky’s shortly before his death to start a transatlantic business venture with his brothers.

Jacobs was a member and president of Tree of Life Congregation. When he died, the congregation draped his seat in the synagogue in mourning for 30 days. He was also secretary of the Gusky Home and Orphanage and the Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged.

In 1879, Jacobs married Lottie Pichl of Pittsburgh. Their son Isidore Jacobs owned a brokerage firm in the Berger Building, downtown. He married Betty Mendel. Isidore and Betty Jacobs had a daughter, Lucille. The family traveled to Chicago in June 1933 to attend the Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the World’s Fair.

A member of the first Girl Scout troop at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Lucille Jacobs later founded a Brownie troop at the Colfax school. She subsequently became co-chair of the Central District Girl Scouts. She was one of 12 women in the country chosen to attend the International Conference of Girl Scout Leaders in Pleasantville, New York, in 1952.

Lucille Jacobs married Benjamin Wedner in 1936.