Joseph Simson | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1686 Germany |
| Died | 1787 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Known for | President of Congregation Shearith Israel; Hebrew learning |
| Children | Sampson Simson (c. 1725 – 1773) Solomon Simson (1738–1801) |
| Relatives | Sampson Simson (grandson) |
Joseph Simson (c. 1686 – 1787) was a German-born Jewish merchant in colonial New York City. Rising from beadle to president of Congregation Shearith Israel, he was known for his Hebrew learning and lived to about 101. He was the patriarch of the Simson family of New York, whose members included his sons, the merchants Sampson and Solomon Simson, and his grandson Sampson Simson, the first Jewish graduate of Columbia College.
Simson was born in Germany around 1686 and came to North America around 1718. In New York he had a varied career; having once served Congregation Shearith Israel as its beadle, he later became its president, and he was known for his knowledge of Hebrew.
In 1770 Simson was at the center of a public quarrel within the congregation. Manuel Josephson, a learned member of the congregation's religious court, publicly criticized the 84-year-old Simson for his unkempt prayer shawl and his manner in the synagogue. Simson's son Sampson retorted that Josephson was teasing a man old enough to be his grandfather, and the dispute ended in a civil trial.
Simson made his will in 1781. In 1784, in his late nineties, he was visited by the Virginia diplomat and congressman Arthur Lee. He died in New York in 1787, at about 101.
Simson's son Sampson (c. 1725 – 1773) and son Solomon (1738–1801) were prominent New York merchants who helped found the New York Chamber of Commerce. Solomon supported the Revolution, moving to Connecticut during the British occupation, and was later a founder and president of New York's Democratic-Republican Party. Solomon's son Sampson Simson (1781–1857) was the first Jewish graduate of Columbia College and a founder of Mount Sinai Hospital.