Simon Levy van Essen was the youngest of the ten children of Levy Nathan van Essen and Betje van Creveld. He was a wool agent and travelled to Hamburg. He and his brother Abraham Levy van Essent also ran a large wholesale firm for colonial products, located on the Hoofdstraat in Veenendaal.
Simon Levy van Essen served two terms with the Veenendaal town council. In the 1914 municipal elections he stood for the liberals against the anti-revolutionary candidate A. de Gooyer. Van Essen obtained 341 votes versus 287 for De Gooyer.
Simon Levy van Essen married Emma Bernstein, born on 5 November 1873 in Elberfeld, Germany, on 27 November 1900. The couple had three children. Emma died on 22 January 1925 in Veenendaal. Simon Levy van Essen remarried his housekeeper Anna Koetsier. After the war, one of his children wrote about the family: 'We kept kosher and had our meat delivered from Ede by carrier. During the long ride, it often spoiled in the summer.' Two children survived the war. A daughter, Bertha Emilie, was killed in Auschwitz.
M. Brink and D. van Kreveld, Geschiedenis van de Joodse gemeenschap in Stichts en Gelders Veenendaal (Veenendaal 2001) 142, 149, 170, 180, 202 en 319
In addition, a Jokos file (number 2627) on this family is at the Amsterdam Municipal Archive. Access is subject to authorization from the Stichting Joods Maatschappelijk Werk.The Jokos file reveals that a claim was lodged for compensation for looted securities or bonds. (W-claim, number C17OS2-19/533).