Joseph Rowntree (1836-1925), was the son
of another Joseph (1801-1859) who was
a grocer in York, and his wife, Sarah.
Starting out as an apprentice in the
shop, the younger Joseph went into
partnership with his brother Henry Isaac
at the struggling cocoa factory in 1869. In
the course of his own lifetime, he turned
Rowntree’s into one the most famous
chocolate factories in England. Joseph
married twice - first to Julia Seebohm, who
died in 1863 soon after giving birth to their
only child (Lilley, who died six years later), and
then in 1867 to Emma Antoinette Seebohm (known
as Antoinette and, to the family, as Tonie). Antoinette died
in 1924, shortly before Joseph. They had six children, one of
whom was Seebohm Rowntree (1871-1954) whose studies of
poverty in York at the turn of the century helped to shape the
welfare state formed after the Second World War. Amongst
other members of this extraordinary family, we should also
note Arnold Rowntree (1872-1951), Joseph’s nephew, who was
for many years Liberal Member of Parliament for York, voted
out in 1918 because of his anti-war stance.