Jacob Franks

Jacob Franks (1688–1769) was a London-born merchant in colonial New York City and the founder of a prominent Jewish mercantile family. A leader of Congregation Shearith Israel, he helped found its Mill Street synagogue, the first purpose-built synagogue in North America. His descendants included the loyalist merchant David Franks and the American Revolutionary War officer Isaac Franks.

Early life and marriage

Franks was born in London in 1688 and came to New York in 1708 or 1709. He was made a freeman of the city in 1711. While boarding in the household of the merchant Moses Levy, one of the wealthiest Jews in New York, he married Levy's sixteen-year-old daughter, Bilhah Abigail, in 1712.

Business

Franks became one of the leading merchants of colonial New York. His trade, conducted partly with his father-in-law, with Nathan Simpson, and later with his own sons, included dry goods, liquor, and enslaved people. He also traded with members of the Van Cortlandt, Philipse, and Livingston families, among the most powerful in the colony. His commerce was part of a family network that linked New York with relatives in London; his brother Abraham Franks remained in London.

Civic and religious life

In 1711 Franks contributed to the building of the steeple of Trinity Church. He was elected constable of the Dock Ward in 1720 but declined to serve, and he later served in the militia during the French and Indian Wars.

Franks was a central figure in Congregation Shearith Israel, holding a series of offices including president (parnas) in 1729. He was one of the founders of the congregation's synagogue on Mill Street, consecrated in 1730, and helped buy the congregation's burial ground near present-day Chatham Square.

Family

Franks and his wife had nine children. Three sons, Moses, David, and Naphtali, became successful merchants in England and the

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