Moses Levy - Biography

Moses Levy (b. Philadelphia 1757; d. there May 9, 1826) was a prominent Jew, from a prominent Jewish family, in Colonial America. His father, Samson Levy, was a signatory of the celebrated resolutions not to import goods from England until the Stamp Act had been repealed. Moses was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1772. On March 19, 1778, he was admitted to the bar; from 1802 to 1822 he was recorder of Philadelphia; and from 1822 to 1825, presiding judge of the district court for the city and county of Philadelphia. At one time he was a member of the Pennsylvania legislature, and he was a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania for twenty-four years.

Levy was one of the few Jewish plantation owners in the entire South and owned as many as five Slave ships. Despite this fact, he was also an abolitionist and published a pamphlet against slavery, during an extended stay in London in 1828.

See also

• Jewish history in Colonial America

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