Hays, Moses Michael, 1739-1805

Moses Michael Hays (9 March 1739 – 9 May 1805) was an American banker, merchant, and philanthropist.[1] 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 in 1792 was elected as Grand Master, with Paul Revere as his deputy.

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

In 1766, Hays married Rachel Myers, younger sister of Myer Myers, a famed New York silversmith. The couple moved to Newport, Rhode Island 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.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. In 1783, Rabbi 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. In 1792, the lodge members elected Hays as their Grand Master, with Paul Revere as his Deputy. Hays provided financial support to beautify Boston Common, establish theaters, and endow Harvard College. Hays descendants helped found the Boston Athenæum and the Massachusetts General Hospital, and remain prominent in Boston public life to this day.