Baruch Hays
by
Stefan Bielinski


Baruch Hays was born about 1745. He was the son of Solomon Hays, a New York City merchant. His father and several brothers had emigrated from Holland during the eighteenth century. These Jews prospered in business and were prominent members of the colonial city's Jewish community.

By 1765, he was identified as a merchant in Albany and was conducting business with Sir William Johnson. In 1766 and 1767, his first ward house and property were listed on Albany assessment rolls.

Baruch Hays may have been married twice - first to a woman named Prudence; and then, in 1783, to Rachel da Costa. He fathered a son and possibly other children as well.

In 1768, he was made a freeman and identified as "Vendue Master" in New York City. He was a member of Temple in Manhattan.

He may have been an officer in the Revolutionary army or a loyalist who sought to liquidate his holdings before he left New York at the end of the war. He joined his brother in business in Canada and petitioned the British for relief.

A Baruch Hays died in the West Indies in April 1845!

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notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Baruch Hays is CAP biography number 8386. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Family information is available online! We seek defining information on his origins, fate, and on the greater part of his life as he lived in Albany for only a few years.




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first posted: 4/5/03