Spiegelberg, Flora, 1857-1943.

Flora Spiegelberg was born Flora Langermann in New York City in 1857. She grew up in San Francisco, New York, and Germany. She married Willi Spiegelberg and moved to New Mexico in 1875. She was accepted into Santa Fe society as a member of one of its wealthiest, commercially successful families, quickly became a leading socialite and civic leader. In the 1890s she and her family relocated to New York City. She continued her active community life there, becoming a civic reformer, vocational educator, and author of stories for children. Flora Spiegelberg died in 1943.

From the description of Flora Spiegelberg papers, 1919-1975. (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 39684571

Flora Spiegelberg was born Flora Langermann in New York City in 1857. She grew up in San Francisco, New York, and Germany. At the age of seventeen she married Willi Spiegelberg in Nuremberg and returned with him to the United States, arriving in New Mexico in 1875. Her husband was the youngest of five Spiegelberg brothers who operated a large mercantile business founded in 1946 by Jacob Spiegelberg in Santa Fe. Spiegelberg Brothers was the first great mercantile enterprise in the territory following the American takeover.

Accepted into Santa Fe society as a member of one of its wealthiest, commercially successful families, Flora Spiegelberg quickly became a leading socialite and civic leader. She entertained such notable guests as President Rutherford B. Hayes, Archbishop Lamy, Governor Lew Wallace, Robert Ingersoll, and Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Phillip Sheridan. Also active in civic matters, Spiegelberg was especially concerned with education. Forming the first non-sectarian school in the largely Catholic city, she hired a Presbyterian teacher to instruct the Jewish and Protestant students. Maintaining her faith was also important to Spiegelberg. Without enough Jews in the Santa Fe area to start a synagogue, the Spiegelbergs invited others to join them in their family celebrations of major Jewish holidays. She also organized a Sabbath school for Jewish children. Despite her influence in Santa Fe society, Spiegelberg came to miss regular contact with a broader Jewish community.

Flora and Willi Spiegelberg and their two daughters relocated to New York City in the 1890s. She continued her active community life there, both within and outside of the Jewish community, becoming a civic reformer, vocational educator, and author of stories for children. One of her stories, "Princess Goldenhair," was made into both a stage production and a film.

After her husband died in 1929, Spiegelberg began writing articles, some of which were published, based on her experiences in New Mexico territory. Flora Spiegelberg died in 1943.

From the guide to the Flora Spiegelberg Papers, 1857-1943, (The University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)