Ida Leah Benioff (1891-1949)
Ida Leah Benioff (1891-1949)

Ida Leah Benioff Phillips

Ida was born 18 May 1891 in NYC at 342 Cherry Street. She married Fred Phillips on May 27, 1917, at the home of her brother George, at 607 Central Ave, a small ceremony performed by Rev. Dr. Nieto. Fred, a furrier from Poland, came to the US in 1901 and was naturalized in 1907. They had two children, Ethel Hope Phillips, born 26 Mar 1922 in San Francisco,  and Webster Fred Phillips, born 17 Sep 1924 in San Francisco. In 1900, at the age of 9, Ida was living in North Murderkill, Delaware. In 1910, when she was 19, she was no longer in Delaware, although the rest of the family was. In 1920, 1930 and 1940 (census data),  Ida and Fred & family were living in Reno, NV (but children born in San Francisco). Fred Phillips established the Hudson Bay Fur Co. in Reno in 1919. Which later became the Fred Phillips fur company. He ran for and was elected 4x to the State Assembly, running as a progressive democrat. He also ran for Police Judge. He served 3 years in the US Army.

The family vacationed in Santa Cruz, CA, and the East. But, according to Ida’s Obituary, they had moved to San Francisco by 1934 (1942 is more likely). Fred Phillips died there on January 21, 1944. It appears that the couple had separated. Fred died in a hotel room at 935 Geary Street, of a possible suicide

Ida died 10 Nov 1949, in Allentown, PA, at the Sacred Heart Hospital, of cerebral vascular hemmorhage. Her address on the death certificate was 10 Parker Ave in San Francisco (where her children were still living in 1950). She was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery and Emanu-El Mausoleum, in Colma, CA.

I invite you to send me any stories, memories, letters (even if untranslated), documents and photos concerning Ida Leah Benioff Phillips and I will add them to this website.