Moses Ferst
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Moses Ferst | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 September 1828 Altdorf bei Nürnberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany |
| Died | 13 August 1889 (aged 60) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Laurel Grove North Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Owner of M. Ferst & Co. |
| Spouse | Regina Hannah Epstein |
Moses Ferst (24 September 1828 – 13 August 1889) was a German-American businessman based in Savannah, Georgia, where he was a merchant and a noted citizen. A stained-glass window in Savannah's Congregation Mickve Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States, was made and installed in his honour.
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Ferst was born in 1828 in Altdorf bei Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany.[1] His family emigrated to the United States in the early 1840s. They settled in New York, where Ferst later founded a wholesale grocery business, Lehman and Ferst, which became very successful.[2] A Jew, he became a member New York's B'nai B'rith Lebanon Lodge.[2]
Career
In June 1865,[1] after the conclusion of the American Civil War, Ferst and his family moved south to Savannah, Georgia, where he established his own wholesale grocery business, M. Ferst and Company, and became recognised as a leading citizen.[1] His company became one of the largest such businesses in the state, and its success allowed it to move to the northern side of Savannah's Bay Street,[2] immediately to the west of the City Exchange, which was replaced in 1905 by today's Savannah City Hall.[3] The business was previously located on the southern side of West Bay Street,[4] at today's number 103.[5] Next door to the west was fellow grocer Simon Guckenheimer – another Bavarian,[6] from Burghaslach.[7] Ferst's sons were also involved in the business at its new location.[2]
The building was demolished in 1969 and replaced, twelve years later, by today's Hyatt Regency Savannah.[8]
Personal life
Ferst married compatriot Regina Hannah Epstein (1835–1874) in New York. They had three children there: Joseph (1858–1926), Aaron Harold (1859–1919) and Rachel (born 1861).[1][9] Joseph was a director of the Southern Bank of Georgia in 1902.[10]
After moving to Savannah, where the family lived at 108 Liberty Street,[11] the connections he made in the north assisted in the procuring of funds to help build a new (and current) sanctuary at the Congregation Mickve Israel in the 1870s.[2] He was also part of a committee that hired Rabbi Isaac Mendes, who served as the synagogue's rabbi for around 25 years[2] and who officiated at Ferst's funeral.[11]
Prior to Hannah's death in 1874 at the age of around 39, the couple had four more children in Savannah (two of whom died very young): Henry (1866–1867), Gertrude Rebecca (1869–1872), Leopold ("Leon"; 1870–1927) and Miriam ("Mazie") (1874–c. 1885).[1][9]
Ferst was active in Savannah at the same time as fellow Bavarian, architect Augustus Schwaab.[12]
