Gutle Rothschild (1753-1849)

Gutle Schnapper married Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812) in 1770. The daughter of Baruch Schnapper, a Frankfurt tradesman, little is known about her early life, but after her marriage she lived with her husband in the Frankfurt Judengasse at No. 148. It was here that she raised her ten children: Jeanette, Amschel Mayer, Salomon Mayer, Nathan Mayer, Isabella, Babette, Carl Mayer, Julie, Henriette and James Mayer, all born between 1771 and 1792.

They held their mother in the deepest respect, and visited her regularly. In spite of repeated efforts by her five prosperous sons to persuade her to move to a larger and more luxurious house, Gutle refused to move. She was a formidable woman, and was thought to be obstinate and dominating, insisting that family weddings and other events take place in Frankfurt, but was also warm-hearted. She died on 7 May 1849 in her 96th year, the City Treasurer of Frankfurt recording very few possessions in her humble home.

See 'Gutle, 1753-1849' in Random Variables, Lord Rothschild (Collins, 1984).