Benjamin Gomez

Benjamin Gomez was a member of one of the first prominent Jewish families in New York and colonial America. His father, Luis Gomez, born in Madrid to a wealthy converso, had married his mother, a Sephardic Jew from Jamaica, by prearrangement on his way to America. In New York, the Gomez family made a living trading with Native Americans. Their home, known today as the Gomez Mill House, is considered the oldest Jewish building in North America. The family also helped secure funding for the Shearith Israel Synagogue in Manhattan. Each member of the Gomez family served an important role in the observance of Jewish ritual: Benjamin was the family mohel.