Samuel Bissinger
Sampson "Samuel" Bissinger (1825–1897) was a successful merchant, friend of President Andrew Johnson, and an uncle of newspaper publisher Adolph Simon Ochs. Bissinger is considered one of the leaders of early Jewish life in Tennessee. Biography Sampson "Samuel" Bissinger was born in Ichenhausen, Bavaria to Baruch Benedig Bissinger (1783–1834) and Brendel Babette (Mayer) Bissinger (1790–1856). Samuel's mother, Brendel, came from a long line of important Jewish figures in Germany and Eastern Europe. Her grandfather, Simcha Bunem Rappaport (1734–1816), was a member of the Rappaport Rabbinic Dynasty and one of 71 leaders invited to the 1807 Napoleonic Sandrehin. With a wave of other German Jewish immigrants, Bissinger left Bavaria for the United States sometime in the early 1840s, settling in Kentucky. In 1849, he was married to Caroline "Sarah" Ochs (1821–1897). Not long after, Bissinger removed to Tennessee with his brother-in-law Julius Ochs, where he became a prominent businessman and citizen. Though most widely known for his clothing stores in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Bissinger also ran a dry goods business and small inn during the Civil War. While President Andrew Johnson was in office, he had his suits made by Bissinger's merchant tailoring company in Knoxville. The President was a former