Samuel Moss Solomon

Samuel Moss Solomon (c. 1769 –13 May 1842)[1] was an English pencil maker and early Jewish settler in Australia. He has thousands of descendants in the country,[2] many of whom achieved a degree of notability.

Biography

Solomon was born in Spitalfields, an area in east London, to Moss Solomon and Julia née Moses. Solomon was a high ranking Freemason. His Masonic apron is preserved at the Grand Lodge in Adelaide, Australia.[3]: 1051–2 

He married Elizabeth Moses (c. 1772–c. 1814) and had four sons: Moss Samuel, Emanuel, Vaiben and Phillip, and four daughters: Susan, Hannah, Sarah and Esther.[3]: 1051  After the death of Elizabeth he married his first cousin Esther Davis (31 December 1774 –13 July 1875),[4] with whom he had another two children, Isaac and Elizabeth "Betsy". Solomon also had a son who went to Jamaica around 1818 and was subsequently disowned.[3]: 1051–2 

According to author John Levi, Solomon invented the technique of manufacturing lead pencils,[3]: 1051  however this is disputed as improbable.[5] On a silver snuffbox from 1833, part of a collection at the Jewish Museum of Australia,[6] is an inscription that reads "Presented to Samuel Moss Solomon the inventor of lead pencils by his London friends."[7]

Solomon made pencils in the Houndsditch area. In 1823, he was falsely accused of trading products without a license, for which he had to defend himself before the Magistrate. His accuser was then charged with "committing an assault on an honest Jew."[8] Just a few years earlier, in 1817, two of his sons,[3]: 1062  Vaiben and Emanuel (who was 17 at the time),[9] were convicted of being in possession of stolen goods[4] and sentenced to death. They invoked the benefit of clergy commuting their sentences to seven years imprisonment at Van Diemen's Land. They were transported to Sydney on Lady Castlereagh in 1818. After their release in 1824, they were among the first Jewish settlers of the area.[10] They opened a wholesale retail warehouse in 1826 and a wine cellar in 1833 on George Street.[3]: 1062–3  In 1833, Solomon joined his sons and immigrated to Australia aboard the Enchantress, arriving on 24 April, opening an auction room near his sons' businesses on George Street.[3]: 1051 

In 1839, Solomon helped finance the construction of a new synagogue and served on the first Sydney Synagogue committee. He died in Sydney in 1842. Ten years after the death of her husband, Esther moved to the home of her son Isaac in Adelaide, where she died some 23 years later.[3]: 1052 

In 2012, it was estimated that Solomon had 4,500 descendants. His son Emanuel founded Solomontown, South Australia, and one of his descendants was among those who drafted the Constitution of Australia.[9]

Notable relatives

See also: List of notable descendants of Samuel Moss Solomon

Descendants

Other relatives

There were other Jewish Solomon families involved in the settling of Australia, many of whom arrived as penal transports.[3] Some of Solomon's descendents married into other Solomon families.[9]

  • Robert Solomon (1931–2024), a member of parliament and geographer. He was a great nephew of Miriam Solomon,[14][15] a daughter of Abraham and Julia Solomon who had arrived in Australia as steerage.[3]: 997  Miriam married Solomon's grandson in 1868.[3]: 1019 

References

  1. ^ "Biography – Samuel Moss Solomon – People Australia". peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  2. ^ Silbert, Gavin (2024). "Book Review: Descendants of Samuel Moss Solomon; Descendants of Abraham and Julia (Née Isaacs) Solomon". Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal. 27 (1). Australian Jewish Historical Society: 157–158.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Levi, John S. (2014). These Are the Names: Jewish Lives in Australia 1788–1850 (Epub ed.). Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522862294.
  4. ^ a b Cohen, Trevor (2006). "Emanuel Solomon and Mary MacKillop". Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal. 18 (2). Australian Jewish Historical Society: 160–172.
  5. ^ Bailey, Margot (September 2011). "The Hon. Vaiben Louis Solomon: South Australia's Only Jewish Premier" (PDF). The Compass. 2 (1). Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group Inc.: 4–8. ISSN 1836-7852.
  6. ^ Gocs, Danny (20 June 2012). "Milestones of Jewish migration". Australian Jewish News. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  7. ^ Cohen, Trevor (1975). "The Honourable Vaiben Louis Solomon". Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal. 8 (3). Australian Jewish Historical Society: 89–100.
  8. ^ "Queen-square: Solomon Triumphant". The Kent and Essex Mercury. 9 September 1823.
  9. ^ a b c d Money, Lawrence (12 March 2012). "The Solomons mine their treasures and memories". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  10. ^ Jacks, Timna (3 April 2012). "A wealth of Solomons". Australian Jewish News. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Obituary - Isaac Solomon - Obituaries Australia". oa.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  12. ^ Curtis, Leonard Samuel (2016) [1908]. The history of Broken Hill; its rise and progress. Wentworth Press. ISBN 1362675571 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ Rosenthal, Newman, "Isaac Herbert Boas (1878–1955)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 24 January 2026
  14. ^ Solomon, R. J. (1988). The Richest Lode : Broken Hill 1883 - 1988. Sydney, Australia: Hale & Iremonger. ISBN 9780868063331.
  15. ^ Cowen, Jenny; Edelman, James (2019). Descendants of Samuel Moss Solomon and Descendants of Abraham and Julia (nee Isaacs) Solomon. Jenny Cowen. ISBN 9780994517319.
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