Born in Bavaria in 1822, Julius Katzenberg set sail from London with his wife, Rosa, arriving in New York in July 1849. They would make that city their home, living first on the Lower East Side and later moving to 52nd Street. Katzenberg taught Hebrew school and wrote several Jewish textbooks, including Blossom and Fruit: Choice Collection of Hebrew Texts for Jewish Public and Private Instruction (1869), The Phonetic Hebrew Primer (1877), Biblical History for School and Home (1878), and Faith and Deed: Catechism for School and Home (1879). Julius and Rosa had one child, Eliza, born in 1856, who married Randolph Guggenheimer.