Isidore Levinson

## Mr.Isidore Levinson

Father (by Cora and Harold)
 Granpapa Isidore (by Mary, Edith, Sybil, and Alexander)

Mr. Matthew Crawley † (grandson-in-law)
 Mr. Tom Branson (grandson-in-law)
 Mr. Henry Talbot (former grandson-in-law)
 Herbert Pelham, Marquess of Hexham (grandson-in-law)
 Josephine Crawley, Countess of Grantham (granddaughter-in-law)
 Miss Sybbie Branson (great-granddaughter)
 Mr. George Crawley (great-grandson)
 Miss Marigold Pelham (great-granddaughter)
 Miss Caroline Talbot (great-granddaughter)
 Peter Pelham, Earl of Brancaster (great-grandson)
 Lord Theodore Pelham (great-grandson)
 Arthur Crawley, Viscount Downton (great-grandson)
 Lord Benedict Crawley (great-grandson)
Lord Christopher Crawley (great-grandson)
 Lady Diana Crawley (great-granddaughter)
 Lord Edmund Crawley (great-grandson)

Mr. Isidore Levinson (circa 1880s)

**Mr. Isidore Levinson** (b. 13 May, 1844-d. 15 January, 1900) was the husband of the late Martha Levinson and the father of the late Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, and Harold Levinson. He was the patriarch of the Levinson Family until his death.

## Biography

* Early Life
* Marriage and Children
* Death

Isidore was born in Cincinnati, on 13 May, 1844, the youngest child of Jewish immigrants. He had an older brother, but died during due to unknown sickness, which occurred after arriving with his parents from Scotland—which was three years before his own birth. At the time of his birth, he was also named Daniel, after his older brother—which is why he goes by his second name.

During his childhood, his parents established a small hat shop in Cincinnati, where his father was a hat maker and his mother was a saleswoman. And as he grew up, he learned the business trade from both of them.

It was during his travels in Illinois as a slowly establishing dry goods merchant, where he met his future wife—Martha. After only a few months of courtship, the two of them got married in 1864, surrounded by family and a few friends. They both got married in both Jewish and Episcopalian traditions.

Isidore and Martha had two children together: Cora Elizabeth (b. 1868) and Harold Ernest (b. 1870). Isidore's religion remained Ashkenazi Jewish, but his wife and their children are all Episcopalians.

He fortunately got to witness his daughter's marriage to the Viscount Downton in 1890—as well as got to be close to his first three grandchildren: Mary, Edith, and Sybil Crawley.

Isidore died on the 15 January, 1900—only 5 days after the death of his son-in-law's father. He passed away due to miliary tuberculosis—a rare and deadly form of tuberculosis.

Before he died, he made sure that both Harold and Cora were well looked after and received equal shares of his fortune. He also made sure that the money was tied down so no one else could touch their shares of the Levinson fortune.
## Appearance and Personality

Isidore had brown eyes and dark hair—the former was inherited by both of his children, while the latter was inherited by his son, Harold.

He was a hard-working man, building his way up to the established merchant—one of the best, and the richest. Apart from being a dry goods merchant, he was also an investor in the trending railroad business and was dubbed as one of the many robber barons at that time. And even with his amassed wealth and fortune, he still kept his parents' hat shop in Cincinnati, and made it part of his group of companies.

Among his two children, Isidore was closer to daughter, but his relationship to his son was not bitter as the young man had with his mother. He takes his children to his office, and teaches them a thing or two on their family business—hoping that someday, one or both of them will inherit his enterprise.

## Present Family

While Harold never married nor had any children, he is the grandfather of Robert and Cora's four children: Mary Josephine (b. 1891), Edith Violet (b. 1892), Sybil Cora (b. 1895), and Alexander Isidore (b. 1914). His only grandson is the current holder of the Earldom of Grantham.

Through his grandchildren, he has eleven great-grandchildren: Mary's children, son George, and daughter Caroline; Sybil's daughter Sybbie; Edith's children, daughter Marigold, and sons Peter and Theodore; and Alex's children, sons Arthur, Benedict, Christopher, Edmund, and daughter Diana.

## Name Etymology

* **Daniel** is a male name a unisex name of Hebrew origin, meaning *"God is my judge"*.
	+ He shares a name with his older brother, **Daniel Levinson**.
* **Isidore** is a male name of Greek origin, meaning *"gift of Isis"*.
	+ He shares a name with his only grandson, Alexander Crawley.