Ephraim Hart (1747 - July 16, 1825) was an American merchant who helped to organize the Board of Stock-Brokers, now known as 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 ...

Biography

Hart was born in

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...

, a city in the region of

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

which lies 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 ...

, Germany. Since 1440, a prospering Jewish community existed in Fürth. Hart's original surname was Hirz which he changed when he came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. By 1782, he was residing as a merchant in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and in that year he joined the Mickvé Israel congregation. He married in 1783 Frances Noah, a sister of Manuel Noah, and their son was Joel Hart. Later he removed to New York and engaged in the commission and brokerage business. On April 2, 1787, he was registered as an elector of the Shearith Israel congregation. By 1792, he had become one of the most successful merchants in the City, and at this time he helped to organize the Board of Stock-Brokers, now known as the

, being one of the signatories of the Buttonwood Agreement of 1792 that founded the Exchange. His name also appears in 1799 in a "list of owners of houses and lots valued at £2,000 or more." He was one of the founders, in 1802, of the ebra Hesed Veemet, a charitable organization connected with the Shearith Israel congregation. He owned at least one enslaved Black woman named "Silvia". He died in New York City and is buried at the Second Cemetery of Shearith Israel on 11th Street, near Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue). His gravestone reads "Ephraim Hart / Pennsylvania / Pvt Capt Henry Graham's Co / Rev War / July 16, 1824"

References

* American merchants American people of German-Jewish descent People from Fürth Businesspeople from New York City 1747 births 1825 deaths Ephraim People of colonial Pennsylvania {{US-business-bio-1740s-stub