DAR Record for Ancestor A101642

Benjamin was a saddler with a shop of his own in NYC. When the British occupied NYC in 1776, he fled with his kin to Stratford, CT. There, his father found a pleasant task to perform -- he asked his friend Hayman Levy on Ben's behalf for the hand of his daughter Zipporah in marriage. The prospective groom was 30; the bride 18. Hayman Levy, one of NY's leading fur traders and merchants, had moved to Philadelphia with the coming of the enemy. Ben's marriage to Zipporah was successful, certainly in one respect -- they had 21 children. Ben stayed in Philadelphia until the end of the war, when he returned to New York. In later years, Ben became one of NY's distinguished Jewish citizens, a founder of the NY Stock Exchange and president of the synagogue. From Jacob R. Marcus, The American Jewish Woman (Ktav Pub Inc., 1981)

Simon Nathan and Benjamin Seixas were designated to represent Masonry in the Carolinas in June, 1781. Four of the founders of the Scottish Rite in Charleston in 1801 were Jewish Masons (including Solomon Harby), and many others participated. Jews have been founders and masters of lodges, even grand masters, and Masonic squares-and-compasses are not uncommon in Jewish cemeteries in the U.S.