Moses Tannenbaum and Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: B448

Staff Only

Dates

Other: 1912 - 2000

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Biographical / Historical

Moses Tannenbaum was born in 1868 in Brest-Litovsk, a small town near Warsaw Poland. Tannenbaum came to the United States in 1888, immediately making his way to Colorado where he had relatives. He started out as a farmer on a government homestead, but soon after moved into the city of Denver. He married in 1892, but his wife died a short time after. Later he met and married Hannah Berger in 1898. In the 1906 election cycle, he ran for a spot in the Colorado House of Representatives and achieved the 11th most votes, which was enough to garner a seat. In 1916, his daughter Ethel died and Moses decided it was time to move, and opted for Los Angeles. Having successfully engaged in the burlap, cotton bag, and wholesale metal business in Denver, he opened a similar business in Los Angeles which was successful until the time of his death in 1935. Hannah Berger Tannenbaum died in 1929 and Moses remarried in 1931 to Hannah Gold Tannenbaum. Moses had six children during his life: Esther, Abraham, Benjamin, Ethel, Bella, and David.

Moses was affiliated with a host of Jewish institutions, including the Jewish Consumptives Relief Society in Denver, of which he was a member of the board of directores. In Los Angeles, he was affiliated with the Conservative movement of Judaism and was a member of Sinai Congregation. He served as chairman of the building committe as the congregation built its second location. He was also a B'nai B'rith member (Lodge 487), financial secretary and a director of the Hebrew Sheltering Home for the Aged, member of the board of directors of the United Jewish Community, among others.

David Tannenbaum, son of Moses Tannenbaum, was born in 1899 in Denver, Colorado. He attended East High and then left Denver for college at Stanford. Following his graduation from Stanford, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a law degree from the University of Southern California. Upon passing the Bar, David sought out a position with the District Attorney of Los Angeles. David was elected the Mayor of Beverly Hills in 1952 and subsequently re-elected in 1956, however he died in 1957, near the beginning of his second term.