Moses Michael Hays (March 9, 1739 – May 9, 1805) was an American banker, merchant, and philanthropist. As Boston's most prominent 18th-century Jewish citizen, Moses Michael Hays set a high standard for civic leadership and charity. He helped establish the New England Masonic movement and was elected as Grand Master in 1792 with

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, ...

as his deputy.

Early life

Hays was born in New York City in 1739 to Dutch Jewish immigrants Judah Hays and Rebecca Michaels. They were

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, descended from Jews who had left Spain and Portugal. 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. Moses continued his father’s commitment to

Congregation Shearith Israel The Congregation Shearith Israel (), often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 2 West 70th Street, at Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, Unit ...

, serving as second ''parnas'' (vice-president) in 1766 and parnas in 1767. In 1766, Hays married Rachel Myers, younger sister of Myer Myers, a famed New York silversmith. The couple moved to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

in 1769, where Hays continued his shipping business. Business reverses landed him in debtor’s prison but he was set free when he liquidated his assets and repaid his creditors. He immediately reestablished himself in the trans-Atlantic trade.

Declaration of loyalty

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, standing firm on the philosophy of "all men created equal". Instead he offered a letter affirming his belief that the Revolution was a just cause. Hays signed when the Christian portion of the oath was omitted.

Move to Boston

The Hays family left Newport for Boston ahead of the British occupation in 1776. He 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 part of the

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

Legacy

In 1783,

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Isaac de Abraham Touro, husband to Hays' sister Reyna, died in Jamaica. Reyna had three children: Abraham, Judah and Rebecca. Moses Hays brought Reyna and her family to Massachusetts and raised her children as his own. Hays also helped to establish the New England Masonic movement. When Hays was accepted into the Massachusetts Lodge in November 1782, he was the only Jew. (There were numerous Jewish men among founders of lodges in Charleston, South Carolina and cities in other Southern states.) In 1792, the lodge members elected Hays as their Grand Master, with

as his Deputy. Hays provided financial support to beautify

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

, establish theaters, and endow

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. Hays descendants helped found the

Boston Athenæum The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in ...

and the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

, and remain prominent in Boston public life to this day. Hays died in 1805 and is buried at The Colonial Jewish Burying Ground in Newport. His story was used for an episode of '' Liberty's Kids''.''Liberty Kids''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Moses Michael 1739 births 1805 deaths 18th-century American Jews 18th-century American merchants 18th-century American philanthropists American bankers American businesspeople in retailing American businesspeople in shipping Merchants from colonial New York American people of Dutch-Jewish descent Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Boston Philanthropists from New York (state)