Hays (Family)

Hays, Barrak, -1845
Hays, Isaac, -1765
Hays, Jacob, 1772-1850
Hays, Judah, 1703-1764
Hays, Moses Michael, 1739-1805
Hays, Solomon M., 1770-

the receipt books of Judah Hays (1 original, 1 transcribed); vouchers and estate inventory of Jacob Hays; legal documents pertaining to incarceration of Solomon M. Hays; the correspondence of Moses Michael Hays; a copy of a bill to Isaac Hays; and copies of court documents for case involving Barrak Hays.

Hays was born in New York City in 1739 to Dutch Jewish immigrants Judah Hays and Rebecca Michaels. They were Sephardic, 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, serving as second parnas (vice-president) in 1766 and parnas in 1767. 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.