Sir Arthur Schuster, 1851-1934

From early times Frankfort-on-Main has been the home of a number of celebrated Jewish families, amongst whom the Schuster family takes a high place. Records of this family in Frankfort can be traced back to 1607 ; but few details are available until about the middle of the eighteenth century, when Juda Joseph started a business in cotton goods, trading principally with England. The business connexion between the Schuster family in Frankfort and the cotton trade in England continued under various members of the family until 1869, when Francis Joseph Schuster (1823-1906), the father of Sir Arthur, transferred the business from Frankfort to Manchester in order to escape Prussian nationality when Frankfort was annexed by Prussia at the end of the Seven Weeks’ War. Francis Joseph Schuster had three sons and one daughter, Ernest (a K.C. who specialized on International Law, died 1924), Arthur, Felix (now Sir Felix Schuster, Bart.), and Paula (married Sir Lawrence Jones, Bart.). Arthur was born at Frankfort on September 12, 1851.