Alexander Zuntz (May 15, 1742 – October 15, 1819) was a Hessian

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

who was a noted figure in the early American Jewish community and was one of the founders of the Bank of New York in 1784 and the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

Early life

He was born May 15, 1742 in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

, Germany. Zuntz came to America in 1779 during the Revolutionary War with the British army. He was a civilian commissary, army supplier, and adjutant of the Hessian mercenary forces, that were employed by England's

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, who was a German himself, to fight the revolutionaries.

Jewish community

Zuntz played an important role in saving 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 ...

, founded in 1654 as the first Jewish congregation in America, by persuading the military leaders to not use the sanctuary as a hospital. During the time the British controlled New York, Zuntz replaced Gershon Mendes Seixas as ''hazzan'' in the Shearith Israel Congregation, because like many Hessian and British Jews, Zuntz, in contrast to Seixas, preferred to stay in America and not go back to Europe. Zuntz remained involved in the Jewish community and after he became treasurer, he took over the presidency of the Shearith Israel Congregation from Lyon Jonas.

Career

Zuntz worked as a merchant and was one of the founders of the

Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Fina ...

in 1784 and the New York Stock Exchange. In 1785, he had to post his insolvency because of the economic crisis in the United States, caused by the British by flooding New York with manufacturers. However, in 1797, he finally became successful as a broker and money lender.

Death

He died October 15, 1819 in New York.

References

Hirschfeld, Fritz. “George Washington and the Jews.” University of Delaware Press, 2005. Phillips, N. Taylor “The Congregation Shearith Israel. An Historical Review.” Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 6, 1897, pp. 123–140. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43058644. Phillips, Rosalie S. “American Jewish Historical Quarterly, Band 18.” American Jewish Historical Society, 1909. Sarna, Jonathan D. “The Impact of the American Revolution on American Jews.” Modern Judaism, vol. 1, no. 2, 1981, pp. 149–160. JSTOR. www.jstor.org/stable/1396058. Kohler, Max J. “The German-Jewish Migration to America.” Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 9, 1901, pp. 87–105. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43058848. “Alexander Zuntz”. Find A Grave, findagrave.com. 9 Jul. 2017. Rock, Howard B. "Haven of Liberty: New York Jews in the New World, 1654-1865, Volume 1." NYU Press, 08.01.2015. Reiss, Oscar. “The Jews in Colonial America.” McFarland, 02.01.2004. "Zuntz, Alexander". Encyclopaedia Judaica, Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuntz, Alexander 1742 births 1819 deaths 18th-century German Jews Hessian military personnel of the American Revolutionary War People from former German states in North Rhine-Westphalia German emigrants to the United States Hazzans American bankers Jewish-American history