LEVY, HAYMAN

LEVY, HAYMAN (1721–1789), New York merchant and landowner. Levy was born in Hanover, Germany, and went to New York shortly before 1748. He was naturalized and made a freeman of New York in 1750. During the Seven Years' War he had a considerable Indian trade and he owned trade ships engaged in privateering. Early in the Revolutionary War Levy left the British-occupied city for Philadelphia, where he served in the militia. After the war he returned to New York and opened a commission store. Very much involved in Jewish affairs, Levy served as president of Congregation Shearith Israel six times. He had 11 children who became important members of the New York community. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J.R. Rosenbloom, Biographical Dictionary of Early American Jews (1960), s.v. Levy and Sloe Myers; L. Hershkowitz (ed.), Wills of Early New York Jews (1967), 165–85. (Leo Hershkowitz)