Judah Solomon

Judah Moss Solomon (21 December 1818 – 29 August 1880) was a successful businessman, Mayor of Adelaide and member of both houses of South Australian Parliament.

History Solomon was born in London, a son of Moss Samuel Solomon (c. 1796–1849) and his first wife Elizabeth née Myers, (c. 1799–c. 1825). He emigrated to Sydney around 1831 and was educated at Sydney College, which later became the University of Sydney, then for several years was employed by his uncles V. & E. Solomon as supercargo on their vessels, which traded around Australia and nearby islands, and in that capacity first visited Adelaide on 20 October 1839, in the barque Strathisla with a cargo of 99 Timor Ponies, 50 being for South Australia. He worked for his uncle Isaac Solomon (1816/18–1901) as government auctioneers in Sydney, then in 1842 moved to Moreton Bay (now Brisbane, Queensland), where he was appointed Government Auctioneer, and conducted the first sale of township allotments.

In 1846 he moved to Adelaide, where he founded the auctioneering firm E. Solomon & Co. in conjunction with Emanuel Solomon (1800–1873) and Isaac Solomon (1816/18–1901). He was in England from 1854 to 1857, hoping to regain his failing health. E. Solomon & Co. was dissolved around this time and he set up in business on his own account, which he pursued until a few years before his death.

Politics J. M. Solomon was elected an alderman for the Adelaide City Council in 1852, and held that position until late 1854, when he resigned, and John Lazar won the ensuing by-election. In December 1869 he was elected Mayor, to which office he was returned unopposed the following year. No matter what position he undertook, he devoted himself heart and mind to the mastering of its requirements, and he was never satisfied till he had investigated even to the minutest details every thing which might be brought before him. This quality, united to singular clear-headedness, a close insight into figures, fluency of speech, remarkable tact in administration, and consideration for his subordinates, caused him as mayor to be essentially the right man in the right place. He was an ardent supporter of Free Trade, but had limited success as a politician due to his fixity of purpose: once his mind was made up, no compromise was possible. and later often acted in that position.

He was a great supporter of J. L. Young's Adelaide Educational Institution, where many of his sons were educated.

Family Solomon (1818–1880) married twice: to Rachel Cohen (1819 – 9 January 1864) on 7 August 1842, then on 4 September 1867 to Adela Pulver (c. 1844 – 21 September 1875). He and Rachel had sixteen children, of whom seven survived him, notably: Moss Judah Solomon (15 June 1843 – 11 February 1933), auctioneer, married cousin Anna Benjamin (c. 1842 – 24 October 1894) on 13 September 1865. He married again, in 1895, to Fanny Bennett (c. 1857 – 7 June 1927), daughter of Gabriel Bennett. (Colonel) Benjamin Solomon (3 Nov 1844 – 18 September 1922), prominent member of Volunteer Militia, married Louise (or Louisa) Lee on 27 February 1867. Vaiben Louis Solomon (13 May 1853 – 20 October 1908), Premier of South Australia, married the widow Mary Ann Bridgland (née Wigzell) (c. June 1856 – 7 January 1885) on 6 December 1880; he married again, to Alice Cohen ( – 19 May 1954) of Richmond, Victoria, on 22 July 1896. Selena Sarah (or Sara) "Lena" Solomon (d. 18 September 1939) married Henry Louis Harris M.B. (d. 4 April 1927) on 30 March 1881.

Adela had two children by him: Elias in 1870 and Rosetta on 8 September 1871, of whom no trace has been found. Solomon died of cancer in Adelaide, South Australia on 29 August 1880.

Note: Confusingly, at least three other South Australian descendants of Samuel Moss Solomon were named Judah Moss Solomon: two, Judah Moss Solomon BA LLB (1857–1925), later Solomon-Senior, and J. Moss Solomon BA LLB (1869–1949), were lawyers who practised independently around the same time and were removed from the rolls a few years apart for separate transgressions.