Moses Mocatta II

Moses Mocatta II (1768-1857) was part of the Mocatta family of gold dealers and brokers who came to London from Amsterdam in the late 1600s, led by the first Moses Mocatta (d. 1693) and prominent thereafter among London’s Jewish community. The elder Moses Mocatta's two sons took over his business: Abraham (d. 1751) and Isaac (d. 1729), the former being London’s premier silver broker at the time of his death. Abraham Mocatta de Mattos (1730-1800), grandson of the first Moses Mocatta, inherited the business in the 1750s and became immensely successful, serving as exclusive broker in precious metals to the Bank of England. In 1791 he changed his name to Mocatta.  He and his wife, Esther, had six sons and five daughters. In 1779 Asher Goldsmid joined the firm as a partner, with the name changing to Mocatta and Goldsmid around 1782. Upon Mocatta’s death in 1800, control of the firm went to Goldsmid, with three of Mocatta’s sons remaining as partners: Isaac (1765-1801), Moses II (1768-1857), and Jacob (1770-1825). Moses retired in mid-life to devote himself to social and philanthropic activities. His son, David Alfred Mocatta (1806-1882) became a noted architect for the railroads. For most of the first half of the 19thcentury, the Goldsmid’s dominated the firm, especially Asher (d. 1822) and his sons Isaac and Aron. During the 1840s the firm came back under the leadership of a Mocatta, this time Abraham Mocatta III (1797-1880), grandson of Abraham II through his son, Jacob.  The Mocatta in whose house Eliza Fenwick lived as a governess for several years, mostly in Tavistock Square, was Moses Mocatta II.