Skip to Main Content

Primary Resources on Jewish History in Arizona and the Southwest

Jacobs Family Papers (AZ 196)

Jacobs Family Papers (AZ 196), The L.M. Jacobs and Company, formerly M.I. Jacobs and Company, was a family business serving the mining camps and military establishments in Arizona during the 1870s. Their money exchange business grew and expanded significantly by 1871; gold coins from San Francisco were often exchanged for paper money in Tucson. The brothers then sold the mercantile part of the business in 1880 in order to further focus on banking.  This collection offers excellent examples of mercantile and banking practices at the end of the 19th century.