The Straus family of New York City were the descendants of Lazarus Straus (1809-1898) and Sara Straus (1823-1876) who emigrated from Otterberg, Germany in the early 1850s with their four children: Isidor (1845-1912), Hermine (1846-1922), Nathan (1848-1931), and Oscar (1850-1926). They settled in Talbotton, Georgia where Lazarus opened a dry goods store. In 1865 the Strauses relocated to New York City and Isidor and Nathan joined their father in establishing L. Straus and Sons, a glass and chinaware store. They became partners with R.H. Macy's & Company in 1888 and by 1892 were also partners in the Brooklyn N.Y. retail company Abraham & Straus. Isidor Straus represented New York City's fifteenth district in the U.S. Congress, 1893-1894; and was founder and president of the Educational Alliance, an organization for immigrants living in New York. He and his wife were among the passengers who lost their lives in the sinking of the Titanic. Oscar Straus served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey from 1887 to 1900 and 1909, Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 to 1908, and advisor to Woodrow Wilson during the first World War.
From the guide to the Straus family papers, 1810-1962, 1870-1912, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)
