|
|
|
Meet Paul Revere's pal, the Orthodox Jew who played a key role in laying Boston's cultural and business infrastructure By Michael Feldberg
Set a high standard for civic leadership and charity
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
While some colonial Jews experienced difficulty living both
as Jews and Americans, Boston's Moses Michael Hays
created a different experience. Boston's most prominent
18th-century Jewish citizen, Hays set a high standard for
civic leadership and charity. Without the companionship
and support of an organized Jewish community and
without legal guarantees of religious freedom, Hays
thrived in the "first circles" of Boston society while
publicly practicing his Judaism.
Moses Michael Hays was born in New York City in 1739 to
Dutch immigrants Judah Hays and Rebecca Michaels
Hays. Judah Hays took his son into his shipping and retail
business and, upon his death in 1764, left him the
business and largest share of his assets.
Judah Hays left Moses Michael Hays something else as
well: a firm grounding in his Jewish faith and
responsibilities. Moses served New York's Congregation
Shearith Israel as second parnas (vice-president) in 1766
and parnas in 1767. Even after moving to Boston, Moses
retained an attachment to Shearith Israel, appearing on
its donor list throughout his life.
In 1766, Moses married Rachel Myers, younger sister of
famed New York silversmith Myer Myers. In 1769, the
couple moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where Hays
continued his shipping business. Business reverses landed
Hays in debtor's prison but, under a 1771 reform law,
Hays liquidated his assets, gave them to his creditors
and was set free. He immediately reestablished himself in
the trans-Atlantic trade.
The American Revolution brought Hays a new challenge
as a Jew. In 1775, seventy-six men in Newport were
asked to sign a declaration of loyalty to the American
colonies that included the phrase, "upon the true faith of
a Christian." Hays publicly objected to the phrase and
refused to sign, instead offering a letter affirming his
belief that the Revolution was a just cause. When, after
much wrangling, the Christian portion of the oath was
omitted, Hays affixed his name.
Hays and his family left Newport for Boston ahead of the
British occupation in 1776. Hays opened a shipping office
in Boston and was among the first merchants there to
underwrite shipbuilding, trade and insurance to newly
opened Far Eastern markets. In 1784, Hays became a
founder and the first depositor of the Massachusetts
Bank, still doing business today as Fleet Bank
Corporation. With his close friend Paul Revere and
fourteen other Boston businessmen, Hays formed several
insurance companies.
The Hays family filled a large brick home with 15 rooms
and 31 windows in Boston's fashionable Middle (now
Hanover) Street. The Hayses had seven children and,
when Moses's widowed sister Reyna Touro died in 1787,
Moses and Rachel raised his young nephews and niece.
Samuel May, Louisa May Alcott's grandfather, was a
close childhood friend of the Hays and Touro children and
recalled "Uncle and Aunt Hays" for their pride in their
Judaism.
Moses Michael Hays died in 1805. His obituaries in the secular press remembered him as "a most valuable citizen . . . now secure in the bosom of his Father and our Father, of his G-d and our G-d." Hays lived his life successfully as an American and a Jew, accepted by the Boston community with respect as both.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here.
Michael Feldberg is the director of the American Jewish Historical Society. Comment by clicking here.
An all but forgotten Colonial doctor who put his Jewish values before his life
© 2006, Michael Feldberg | ||||||||||
