The biography of the Benario family is typical of the development of rural Jewry. When the Jews in Bavaria had to adopt new family names instead of their traditional names in 1817, Moses Loew chose the name Lobbenstein. This was refused to him, so he called himself Benario (from nen ari; Hebrew for son and lion) and added the O for Obernbreit. The purchase is recorded in the register: "Mixed goods business".
As the business was not profitable enough for the five sons, Aron, born in 1823, tried his hand at other trades: he became an apprentice to a watchmaker and hired himself out to Obernbreit farmers. "So I grew older and older in stupidity . . . until I reached the age of eighteen". At the same time, he was not idle in business. In his autobiography, he reports on an extremely successful exchange of Coburg coins together with his brother, who had a one-horse carriage. "Later we bought a pair of small horses . . . the harness for which Mr. von Hirsch lent me . . which I later bought cheaply . . . . Now the carriage was complete, and so the driving began".
From these beginnings, he built up an unrivaled haulage business, becoming particularly wealthy from the construction of the railroad line.
He bought "land at auction, which was cheap at the time "and sold it at a profit". "By the time the railroad work was completed . . . I dared . . to start an iron business."
He was also extremely successful in this business. He built a prestigious house opposite the town hall. Following the trend of the time towards convenient locations, he first set up a branch in Marktbreit and gave up the business in Obernbreit in 1879.
His economic success was accompanied by his reputation in the town. From 1865, he was the first Jew to be elected to the municipal council twice.
When he died in 1890, none of his brothers and none of his eleven children were still living in Obernbreit. Friendly ties still exist between descendants in America and the Association for the Support and Promotion of the Former Obernbreit Synagogue.
