Levitus family
Levitus family is a Jewish family from Glasgow, with earlier members in Edinburgh. Members of the family have been involved in moneylending and property finance through Harry Smith, Limited, in the Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue, and in Jewish National Fund fundraising in Scotland.
Business
In April 1920 the London weekly Truth reported that Harry Levitus, of 31 St Andrew's Drive, Pollokshields, Glasgow, and Emanuel Levitus, of 18 Montague Street, Edinburgh, ran a moneylending business under the name of Henry Smith, Limited, 173 Vincent Street, Glasgow, and that Harry Levitus was also a director of City Financiers, Limited and Edward Carswell, Limited.[1] Henry Smith, Limited is the company now registered as Harry Smith, Limited (SC008622), incorporated on 15 April 1913; Companies House does not list any previous company names for it. Its directors until 8 April 1998 included Maurice Levitus (born July 1910) and Raymond Saul Levitus (born April 1939), and its officers since then have included David Clive Levitus, Sylvia Deborah Levitus, Harry Peter Levitus, Susan Levitus and Joanne Levitus.[2] Other family companies recorded by Companies House include Residential Loans Ltd., whose officers include David Clive, Susan Adele, Abigail Charley, Harry Peter and Sarah Ainsley Levitus,[3] and Cheviot Finance Co. Limited, whose directors included Maurice, Raymond Saul and Sylvia Deborah Levitus.[4] ScotlandsPeople valuation rolls record Solomon, Emanuel and Harry Levitus as proprietors of shops and warehouses in Glasgow in the 1930s and 1940s.[5]
Communal life
- 1903 – D. Levitus was one of the consecrating officers and a secretary of the Grand Order of Israel, Lord Milner Lodge, No. 21 in Cape Town.[6]
- 1938 – The foundation stone of the Giffnock synagogue at May Terrace was laid by E. Levitus on 14 August 1938.[7]
- 2008 – The Jewish Chronicle pictured David Levitus at the annual Pro-Am golf tournament of JNF KKL Scotland at Bonnyton Golf Club, which raised £30,000 for the Gazit Reservoir in the Galilee.[8]
- The Glasgow Jewish Representative Council directory lists David Levitus as Honorary Treasurer of the Glasgow Hebrew Burial Society.[9]
Members
- Emanuel Levitus (born 1893, Glasgow; died 1982, Bournemouth)
- David Levitus (born 1882)
- Maurice Levitus (born 1910)
- Raymond Saul Levitus (born 1939)
- Sylvia Deborah Levitus (born 1944)
- David Clive Levitus (born 1968)
- Joanne Levitus (born 1970)
- Sarah Ainsley Levitus
- Harry Peter Levitus
- Abigail Charley Levitus
See also
Notes
- ↑ Truth, 21 April 1920, report on moneylending companies in Glasgow.
- ↑ Companies House, HARRY SMITH, LIMITED (SC008622) and officers, Find and update company information, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, RESIDENTIAL LOANS LTD. (03612626): officers, Find and update company information, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, CHEVIOT FINANCE CO. LIMITED (00950944): officers, Find and update company information, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ ScotlandsPeople, valuation rolls, Glasgow, 1930s and 1940s, entries for Solomon Levitus, Emanuel Levitus and Harry Levitus as proprietors of shops and warehouses.
- ↑ Jewish Chronicle, 21 August 1903, report from Cape Town on the consecration and installation of the Lord Milner Lodge, No. 21.
- ↑ Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue, Our History, gnms.org.uk, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ "In Scotland, golfers make £30k for an Israeli project", Jewish Chronicle, 4 July 2008, p. 49, archive.
- ↑ Glasgow Jewish Representative Council, Glasgow Hebrew Burial Society Glasgow Jewish, accessed 30 October 2026.