The Fox Family

Beginning with the arrival of Gerson Fox from Germany, the Fox family was a prominent part of Hartford's Jewish community for more than three generations. In addition to running one of the most successful department stores in the country for more than a century, the Foxes were deeply committed to the Hartford community and were generous philanthropists. Beatrice Fox Auerbach, the best known member of the Fox family, was particularly involved in the community, and her legacy of philanthropy continues to benefit the people of Hartford to this day.

Born in Bavaria, Germany, Gerson Fox immigrated to the United States as a young man. He settled in Hartford by the early 1840s and began his career as a peddler, selling his wares around the city. He opened a fancy goods store with his brother, Isaac Fox, in 1847 and married Hannah Bamberger, also from Germany, around this time. In 1848, the couple welcomed their first child, Leopold, and over the next few years, they had four more children, Moses, Anna, Emma, and Isaac.

Gerson was a founding member of Congregation Beth Israel, the first synagogue in Hartford, and served as its treasurer for many years. He also served as treasurer of the Hebrew Widows and Orphans Society and contributed financially to many organizations, including establishing a fund in his wife's memory at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, after her death in 1875.

Moses Fox grew up in his father's store, leaving school at the age of thirteen to begin working at G. Fox & Co. fulltime. Moses and his first wife, Sophie Korn (or Kohn) of New Jersey, were married sometime after Gerson's death in 1880; in 1883, the couple welcomed a daughter, Sophie. Tragically, Sophie died shortly after her daughter's birth. Three years later, Moses married Theresa Stern of Newburgh, New York. The couple had two daughters, Beatrice and Fannie. Moses' eldest daughter, Sophie, died after an illness in 1893 at the age of ten, while Beatrice and Fannie grew up to marry two brothers from the Auerbach family of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Moses traveled extensively with his family, vacationing all over the world and acquainting his children with other cultures. He was a generous philanthropist to the Hartford community, particularly its hospitals, Hartford Hospital, St. Francis, and Mt. Sinai. As company president, Moses continued to work daily at the store until ten days before his death at the age of eighty-seven.

Beatrice Fox Auerbach became president of G. Fox & Co. in 1938, at a time when very few women held retail management positions. Growing up, Beatrice Fox attended the Beacon School, a private girls' school in Hartford, and the Benjamin Deane School in New York, although much of her education took place outside of the classroom. While Beatrice strongly valued higher education - a fact made known through her generous support of several Connecticut colleges - she would later say that her greatest educational experiences came from the extensive traveling she did as a child with her family.

In 1909, her family vacationed in Europe, traveling with another family, the Auerbachs, owners of a large department store in Salt Lake City, Utah. During this trip, Beatrice became acquainted with George S. Auerbach and, in 1911, they married and moved to Salt Lake City. The couple's first child, Georgette, was born there in 1916. The Auerbachs returned to Hartford in 1917 so that George could help his father-in-law rebuild after fire destroyed the G. Fox & Co. building. Their second child, Dorothy, was born in Hartford in 1919.

When her husband died suddenly in November of 1927, Mrs. Auerbach assumed his position as secretary of the board, working side-by-side with her father. Although she had no formal business training, she quickly acquired the skills and knowledge necessary to run the company. When Moses Fox died a decade later, Mrs. Auerbach assumed the presidency of G. Fox & Co., a position she held until shortly before her own death in 1968.

Mrs. Auerbach was as well known for her philanthropy and community involvement as she was for her business acumen. She was especially active in the Hartford Jewish community, working with the Deborah Society, United Jewish Charities, and the Hartford Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women, among other groups. She established the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation to aid charitable and educational organizations in Connecticut and Hartford in particular. She also founded the Women's Service Bureau, which provided support for women's organizations in Connecticut. She further supported these groups by providing them with office space in the store as well as free use of Centinel Hill Hall, an auditorium located on the store's top floor.