Mary Goldsmith Prag

(1846 - 1935)

Born in Poland, Prag arrived in California with her family during the Gold Rush. Educated at a community religious school and the San Jose State Normal school, she married one of the founding members of San Francisco's Jewish communities.  She taught at Temple Emanu-El and at the Girl's High School and was the first Jewish member of the San Francisco Board of Education.  She recorded much of her life history in unpublished manuscripts that offer a glimpse into Jewish life in the 19th century American West. Prag had two children; Jessie, who died at age ten, and Florence, who married Congressman Julius Kahn and succeeded him in Congress after his death.

Sources: Jewish Women's Archive