Moses Raphael Levy

Moses Raphael Levy (1665 – June 14, 1728) was a German-born Jewish merchant and shipowner in colonial New York City. One of the wealthiest Jewish merchants in the colony, he was president of Congregation Shearith Israel at the time of his death. Through his twelve children he was the progenitor of several prominent early American Jewish families: his descendants included the founder of Philadelphia's Jewish community, Nathan Levy, and, through his daughter Rachel, the Seixas family.

Early life

Levy was born in Germany in 1665 to Isaac and Beila Levy. He moved to England, and in 1695 he married Richea (Rycha) Asher at the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London. Three of their children were born in London: Bilhah Abigail (1696), Asher (1699) and Nathan (1704).

Around 1705 Levy brought his family to New York. They were accompanied by his brother Samuel and Samuel's wife, Rachel Asher, a sister of Richea, and by the young Jacob Franks, who later married Levy's daughter Abigail.

Merchant

Using family and business connections in London and the West Indies, Levy built a successful trade exporting beaver pelts and grain and importing manufactured goods. He came to control a fleet of ships, one of which he named after his daughter Abigail. In 1711 he joined other wealthy Jewish merchants in contributing to the completion of the spire of Trinity Church. Four years later the New York Assembly passed an act naturalizing foreign-born landowners regardless of religion, giving Levy and his heirs the same rights as their non-Jewish neighbors.

Like other merchant-shippers of the period, Levy suffered reverses. In one well-documented episode, he stood as bondsman for Isaac Napthaly, a Rhode Island butcher turned merchant, who later ran up a debt with Levy and fled the colony to escape imprisonment for debt.

Congregation Shearith Israel

Although the Levys were Ashkenazim, New York's Jewish community was dominated by Sephardim, and with no Ashkenazi congregation in the city the family joined the Sephardic Congregation Shearith Israel and adopted its customs. Levy served as the congregation's parnas (president) for several years, and he held that office when he died on June 14, 1728.

Family

Richea Levy died in 1716, leaving five children. In 1718, in London, Levy married Grace Mears of Spanish Town, Jamaica, with whom he had seven more children. His children included:

• Bilhah Abigail (1696–1756), wife of Jacob Franks and mother of David Franks; her letters are an important source on colonial Jewish life.
• Nathan Levy (1704–1753), founder of the Jewish community of Philadelphia.
• Rachel (born 1719), who married Isaac Mendes Seixas and was the mother of Gershom Mendes Seixas, Moses Seixas, Benjamin Mendes Seixas, Abraham Mendes Seixas and Grace Seixas Nathan.
• Samson Levy (1722–1781), Philadelphia merchant.
• Benjamin (1726–1802), among the first Jews in Baltimore and a signer of Continental currency.

A grandson, also named Moses Levy, was considered by Thomas Jefferson for a cabinet post.

Portrait

A portrait of Levy is among the Levy-Franks family portraits, a group of paintings that are among the earliest surviving portraits of Jews in America.

References