Aaron Philip Hart ( Hebrew name; משה אורי בן יחזקאל, ''Moses Uri ben Ezekiel''; August 16, 1724 – December 28, 1800) was a

businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

and one of the first Jews to settle in the colony. He is considered the father of Canadian Jewry. He was one of the founding members of

Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal, also known as Shearith Israel, is a Montreal synagogue, located on St. Kevin Street in Snowdon, which is the oldest Jewish congregation in Canada. The Congregation traces its history back to 176 ...

(Shearith Israel), a wealthy man with numerous landed estates, and the married father of four sons, including the future politician

Ezekiel Hart Ezekiel Hart (15 May 1770 – 16 September 1843) was an entrepreneur and politician in British North America. He is often said to be the first Jew to be elected to public office in the British Empire,. He was elected three times by the voters of ...

, and four daughters.

Biography

Early life

Aaron was born August 16, 1724, at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, to Yehezkel (Ezekiel) and Judith Hirsh, immigrants from Fürth, now in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

(they later changed their name to Hart, the English version of their name). He became a member of the St. Paul's Lodge of Freemasons on June 10, 1760, making him one of the first Jews in North America to become a Mason. Some accounts say mistakenly that Hart crossed the Atlantic with Sir

Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand, KB (11 August 1718 – 5 June 1791) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. From 1778 to 1786, he serve ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

between England and France. Hart was appointed commissary officer in Jeffrey Amherst's army, and he travelled north and entered

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

with Amherst's army in 1760. He settled at

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

in 1761. Hart supplied the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

troops stationed there. He was appointed postmaster of Trois-Rivières in August 1763. One of the first Jews in Canada, in 1768 Hart became a founding member of Canada's first synagogue; Shearith Israel, the Sephardic synagogue in Montreal. He was an Ashkenazi Jew who spoke and wrote fluent Jiddisch-Deutsch (Jewish-German, related to Yiddish), but at that time, most of the British Jews were of Sephardic descent and ritual.

Marriage and family

On January 14, 1768, Aaron wed his cousin Dorothea Catherine Judah in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, England.

Career

Hart invested in the fur trade, then quite lucrative, and later acquired a vast amount of property, having more than seven seigneuries, notably the seigneuries of Sainte-Marguerite, Vieux-Pont, and Bécancour. He bought the

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

of Bruyères, the marquisate of Le Sable, and numerous other properties in and around Trois-Rivières. He also owned part of Trinity Island, and the mouth of Saint-Maurice. Hart also operated a store in Trois-Rivières, where he conducted a diverse

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

and

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...

business. He made commercial and real estate loans throughout a wide area around the town. Prospering by these diverse operations, he bequeathed a huge legacy to his and Catherine's eight children; his four sons inherited the vast bulk of his estate, while his four daughters received £1,000 each. At their residence in Trois-Rivières, the Harts received a visit from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (father of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

), and received the Papal Envoy. Hart participated in repelling Montgomery's invasion in the winter of 1775. He took an active part in the military operations during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Death

Hart died at Trois-Rivières on December 28, 1800, at the age of 76. At his death he was reputed to be the wealthiest man in British Canada. He was survived by his wife Dorothea Catherine and four sons: Moses, Ezekiel, Benjamin, and Alexander, and four daughters: Catharine, Charlotte, Elizabeth, and Sarah. A number of his descendants settled in New York, where they became members of the

Congregation Shearith Israel The Congregation Shearith Israel (Hebrew: קהילת שארית ישראל ''Kehilat She'arit Yisra'el'' "Congregation Remnant of Israel") – often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue – is the oldest Jewish congregation in the Unit ...

. Most of Aaron Hart's children and grandchildren had remained Jews, and despite speculation to the contrary, many of Aaron Hart's descendants continue to live in the Jewish faith to this day. His second son,

, who entered into the family business at Trois-Rivières and later opened a brewery with his brothers, was elected to the legislative assembly. Later he was expelled from his seat because he was a Jew. His son Moses became a businessman at William-Henry (later Sorel) and ran unsuccessfully several times for a seat in the legislative assembly. His son Benjamin became an important businessman in

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Aaron 1724 births 1800 deaths Aaron Hart English Jews Canadian Ashkenazi Jews Canadian people of English-Jewish descent Settlers of Canada Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople English emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Yiddish-speaking people English people of German-Jewish descent Canadian people of German-Jewish descent Jews and Judaism in Quebec Immigrants to New France