Samuel Nordheimer (February 6, 1824 – June 29, 1912) was a businessman and music promoter in 19th century

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In part to build this business, Nordheimer became one of the most active promoters of music in Canada. He brought prominent foreign stars to the city, such as

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria Lind (Madame Goldschmidt) (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in ...

; opened a concert hall in Montreal, founded the Chamber Music Association, and for many years directed the Toronto Philharmonic Society.

Biography

Born in Memmelsdorf,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, in 1839 he came with his older brother

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where their older brother

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

was already living. The brothers learned English and then Nordheimer worked as a clerk. The two brothers moved to

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

in 1840 and then settled in Toronto in 1844. They established a

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

importing business, A.& S. Nordheimer Co. The business prospered and expanded. It became Canada's leading publisher of

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

, and initially had the sole right to publish copies of ''

The Maple Leaf Forever "The Maple Leaf Forever" is a Canadian patriotic song written by Alexander Muir (1830–1906) in 1867, the year of Canada's Canadian Confederation, Confederation. He wrote the work after serving with the Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto in defence ...

''. The company also opened branches in other cities across Canada. As well as continuing to import pianos, in 1890 the firm opened its own factory in Toronto and quickly became one of Canada's best known domestic piano brands. Nordheimer Ravine

Nordheimer became a prominent member of the city's commercial class, serving on a number of corporate boards. In 1871, the year married Edith Boulton, Nordheimer completed work on a massive home named Glenedyth. It was located on Davenport Hill, near James Austin's Spadina House. While the house was demolished in the 1920s, the

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

running by the site is still known as the Nordheimer Ravine. Nordheimer remained head of the company until his death, when the firm was taken over by his nephew Albert. Upon his retirement from the business in 1928, the firm was taken over by Heintzman & Co. His legacy included a section of Castle Frank Brook being named after him.

Family

In 1871 Nordheimer married Edith (1847–1912) — daughter of James Boulton and Margaret Neilina. They had a son and seven daughters. Nordheimer left the Jewish faith and converted to the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. His brother Abraham would remain a member of Toronto's Jewish faith. His wife,

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning ''wiktionary:strife, strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English language, Englis ...

(), was from a prominent Toronto family that had played a leading role in the

Family Compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today's Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in L ...

and had built The Grange. She was an Anglican philanthropist and imperialist who became the first national president of the

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

(IODE) in 1901 and vice-president of the Toronto South African Memorial Association at the beginning in 1904 (the association established memorials for those who had fought in the

South African War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902)).

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nordheimer, Samuel 1824 births 1912 deaths People from Bamberg (district) 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Piano makers 19th-century Canadian Jews 19th-century German businesspeople 19th-century German Jews Emigrants from Bavaria Immigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Businesspeople from Toronto German emigrants to Canada

Biography

Family

See also

Notes

References