In 1854, Lazarus Strauss brought his wife and four children to Talbotton to their first home in America. There he established a store, the first in a series that led to Macy’s, one of the leading department stores in the world. Strauss and his sons, Isidor, Nathan, and Oscar, are counted among the men in American Jewry of whom all Jews are most proud. Isidor won acclaim as a merchant, Nathan as a pioneer in public health, Oscar as one of the earlier career diplomats, and all were recognized as philanthropists and patriots.