ALICE HAAS
(1885-1972)
The youngest child of William and Bertha, Alice was born in 1885. On November 3, 1909, Alice married Samuel Lilienthal. Sam and Alice lived at 2221 Gough before returning to 2007 Franklin in order to care for her mother after her father passed away in 1916. They had three children; Ernest, Elizabeth and Frances. Alice was the last family member to reside in the house.
Read more about Alice and her sister Florine's adventures in
"The Haas Sisters of Franklin Street: A San Francisco Memoir of Family and Love" by Frances Bransten Rothmann.
THE LILIENTHALS
The Lilienthals were of German-Jewish descent. In the 18th century, they had become fiscal agents for the Bavarian court and were recognized leaders of the Jewish community.
Samuel Lilienthal (grandfather to Samuel), immigrated to America in 1840. He became a well-known homeopathic physician in New York.
Samuel's son, Ernest Rueben Lilienthal, was born August 30, 1850, in Lockport, New York. With the support and financial backing of his Uncle Max, Ernest embarked on starting a wholesale liquor agency. In the summer of 1871, he arrived in San Francisco and opened an office at 223 California. His business grew into 'Crown Distilleries", their best selling product a whisky named "Cyrus Noble".
In 1876, E.R. Lilienthal married "Bella" Sloss. They had seven children, including Samuel, who ran the business with his brothers, and later married Alice Haas.
SAMUEL LILIENTHAL (1884-1957)
Born the son of prominent liquor wholesaler, Samuel Lilienthal was one of four brothers, and three sisters.
In 1906, his family experienced a devastating loss when the offices of the business his father built, Crown Distilleries, burned to the ground due to the earthquake and fire. in addition, their home on Van Ness was dynamited to create a fire break to halt the fire’s spread. The Lilienthal family subsequently evacuated to San Rafael. The Lilienthals worked to restore the business after that.
In 1909, after a short formal engagement, he married Alice Haas in her family's home at 2007 Franklin St. They had three children: Ernest, Frances and Elizabeth. Eventually, he went to work for her family's grocery business, Haas Bros. After prohibition, he purchased the trademark for "Cyrus Noble" whisky, then sold it to Haas Bros., who continued to market it.
