Abraham Abrahams

Abrahams was born in Sheerness, Kent, and was educated in Colchester, England, then went to work for Hyams & Co., clothing retailers of London, and became a commercial traveller for the company.

[1] In 1864 he accepted positions as secretary to the Imperial Permanent Building Society for a short time, and to the Equitable Fire Insurance Company, which he held until 1891.

[2] In 1880 Abrahams, with Catherine Helen Spence, William Kay and a few others, founded the Executor, Trustee, and Agency Company in South Australia,[3] using Dutch companies in South Africa as a model, and was elected its manager, a post he held until September 1891, when forced to resign by failing eyesight.

He was one of the oldest members of the Jewish Synagogue in Adelaide, and at various times served as secretary and treasurer, though not as actively involved in later years.

In January 1892, feeling the effects of a hot summer, he made a rare trip outside South Australia to Hobart, Tasmania, and died in Melbourne on the return voyage.