Minnie Lichtenstein Marcus
Encyclopedia
Minnie Lichtenstein was born in Dallas in 1882. Her father Meyer Lichtenstein had immigrated from Königsberg, Germany and her mother Hattie Mittenthal had come from Russia via Peoria, Illinois
. She married Herbert Marcus
in 1902 and gave birth to the first of their four sons Stanley Marcus
in 1905. The Marcus family and the newly married Carrie Marcus Neiman
and Abraham Lincoln Neiman
who were her sister in law and her husband then moved to Atlanta, Georgia to do sales promotion work. The Coca-Cola Company
and other clients brought in substantial income but Minnie and others became homesick for Dallas. The Neiman and Marcus families relinquished sales territories in the nascent soft drink concern for $25,000 which they used to found Neiman Marcus
, which initially specialized in ready-to-wear women's finery, in Dallas in 1907.
Minnie gave birth to her subsequent three sons, Edward, Herbert Jr., and Lawrence in roughly four year intervals. In 1928 she and her husband took an extensive trip to Europe while her son Stanley worked with Mr. Neiman and an expanding group of employees in the constantly growing enterprise. After their return they discovered that Stanley Marcus and A. L. Neiman had clashed on many issues and that Carrie had been told first hand about her husband's marital infidelities. Minnie's sister in law asked for a divorce and Herbert officially made a decision to take a loan to buy out the Neiman share for $250,000 in return for Mr. Neiman being legally barred from competing with Neiman Marcus in Dallas in the future.
The World War II years brought duties to Neiman Marcus the store as rationing and other realities set in and to Minnie's sons via the Selective Service System
and other government programs. Lawrence was injured in Africa and Stanley joined the War Production Board
to help the war efforts with his knowledge about clothing and business in general. Her husband Herbert died in 1950 and his sister Carrie shortly thereafter in 1953 leaving Stanley as CEO and her younger sons as other executives of the expanding retail chain. She officially became Vice President in charge of horticulture for Neiman Marcus and she attended many events such as art and fashion shows and the opening of the Houston Galleria Neiman Marcus as the chain expanded outside of Dallas. Stanley and others negotiated a merger of Neiman Marcus with California based Broadway-Hale in 1969 and Neiman Marcus began expanding outside of Texas. Marcus family members then had somewhat less influence at the stores but her grandson Richard Marcus did become CEO of Neiman Marcus stores too. Minnie helped Stanley write books, was made an honorary lifetime president of the Dallas Garden Center, helped many Jewish and interfaith organizations and even donated land to Dallas Taping for the Blind before her death in 1979.
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
. She married Herbert Marcus
Herbert Marcus
Herbert Marcus was one of the co-founders of Neiman Marcus, and later became its chief executive officer.Marcus was born in Kentucky but moved to Hillsboro, Texas after dropping out of high school to work and live near his brother Theodore, his three sisters and his parents...
in 1902 and gave birth to the first of their four sons Stanley Marcus
Stanley Marcus
Harold Stanley Marcus was an early president and later chairman of the board of the luxury retailer Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, which his father and aunt had founded in 1907...
in 1905. The Marcus family and the newly married Carrie Marcus Neiman
Carrie Marcus Neiman
Carrie Marcus was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Jewish German immigrants Delia and Jacob Marcus. Jacob was a cotton broker and in 1895 the family followed a daughter to Hillsboro, Texas when she married a grocer there. Carrie moved with her family to Dallas, Texas in 1899 and married Abraham...
and Abraham Lincoln Neiman
Abraham Lincoln Neiman
Abraham Lincoln "Al" Neiman was born on July 4, 1875 in Chicago, Illinois and raised in a Jewish orphanage in Cleveland, Ohio. He met his first wife Carrie Marcus Neiman in Dallas, Texas while they were working at A. Harris & Company...
who were her sister in law and her husband then moved to Atlanta, Georgia to do sales promotion work. The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
and other clients brought in substantial income but Minnie and others became homesick for Dallas. The Neiman and Marcus families relinquished sales territories in the nascent soft drink concern for $25,000 which they used to found Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...
, which initially specialized in ready-to-wear women's finery, in Dallas in 1907.
Minnie gave birth to her subsequent three sons, Edward, Herbert Jr., and Lawrence in roughly four year intervals. In 1928 she and her husband took an extensive trip to Europe while her son Stanley worked with Mr. Neiman and an expanding group of employees in the constantly growing enterprise. After their return they discovered that Stanley Marcus and A. L. Neiman had clashed on many issues and that Carrie had been told first hand about her husband's marital infidelities. Minnie's sister in law asked for a divorce and Herbert officially made a decision to take a loan to buy out the Neiman share for $250,000 in return for Mr. Neiman being legally barred from competing with Neiman Marcus in Dallas in the future.
The World War II years brought duties to Neiman Marcus the store as rationing and other realities set in and to Minnie's sons via the Selective Service System
Selective Service System
The Selective Service System is a means by which the United States government maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Most male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of...
and other government programs. Lawrence was injured in Africa and Stanley joined the War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
to help the war efforts with his knowledge about clothing and business in general. Her husband Herbert died in 1950 and his sister Carrie shortly thereafter in 1953 leaving Stanley as CEO and her younger sons as other executives of the expanding retail chain. She officially became Vice President in charge of horticulture for Neiman Marcus and she attended many events such as art and fashion shows and the opening of the Houston Galleria Neiman Marcus as the chain expanded outside of Dallas. Stanley and others negotiated a merger of Neiman Marcus with California based Broadway-Hale in 1969 and Neiman Marcus began expanding outside of Texas. Marcus family members then had somewhat less influence at the stores but her grandson Richard Marcus did become CEO of Neiman Marcus stores too. Minnie helped Stanley write books, was made an honorary lifetime president of the Dallas Garden Center, helped many Jewish and interfaith organizations and even donated land to Dallas Taping for the Blind before her death in 1979.