Judah Touro
Judah Touro (June 16, 1775 – January 18, 1854) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Early life and career Touro's father Isaac Touro of Holland was chosen as the hazzan at the Touro Synagogue in 1762, a Portuguese Sephardic congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. The family moved to New York in 1780 after the British occupied Newport during the American Revolutionary war; they moved to Kingston, Jamaica in 1782. Isaac died in 1783, and his wife Reyna moved the family to Boston to live with her brother Moses Michael Hays. She died in 1787, and Judah and his siblings were raised by his uncle, a merchant who helped found Boston's first bank. Touro fell in love with his cousin but was forbidden marriage by her father, who sent him on a trading voyage to the Mediterranean in hopes of ending the romance. Judah went to New Orleans in October 1801 where he opened a small store. He sold soap, candles, codfish, and other exports of New England, eventually becoming a prominent merchant and ship owner, particularly after the Louisiana Purchase propelled the growth of the region and its commerce. He enlisted in Andrew Jackson's army in the War of 1812