Letters to Richea Gratz
Simon Gratz
Samuel Hays
1793
Lancaster, August 5th 1793
Miss Richea Gratz,
Philadelphia
The letter of the 1st instant from my dear sister I now seat myself to accknowledge. Its contents I duly note. The subject it treats on is of the most interesting nature, and I hope dear sister gave it the consideration due.
You are now about to enter into a state wherein I hope and pray you…
Creator Bio
Simon Gratz
Simon Gratz was a successful businessman in Philadelphia. One of his sisters, Richea Gratz, was apparently the first Jewish female student to attend college in the United States.
Creator Bio
Samuel Hays
Samuel Hays was a trustee of the Mikveh Israel congregation in Philadelphia. He married Richea Gratz in 1784. Their son, Isaac Hays, would become an important scientist and writer.
Related Guide
Literature, 1750–1880
Jewish writing in the period spanning 1750–1880 reflects the profound changes that confronted Jews in modernity. Some writers self-consciously broke with traditional and religious models; others definitely embraced it.
Related Guide
Life Writing: Biography, Autobiography, and Ego Documents, 1750–1880
The famous and the obscure, women and men, in epitaphs and private letters, ethical wills, cookbooks, and religious reflections, all reflect aspects of Jewish life in a period of great transition.
As the first Jewish woman to attend college in the United States, Richea Gratz was shaped by the privilege of an upper-middle-class upbringing and liberal arts education, and by an equally strong rearing in Jewish tradition. Her father was a successful Philadelphia-based merchant, originally from Germany, and the descendant of a long line of rabbis, while her maternal grandfather was a wealthy Pennsylvania fur trader. In 1784, Richea married Samuel Hays, a trustee of the Mikveh Israel congregation in Philadelphia. She became a dedicated philanthropist and a patron of the arts and education. Her son, Isaac Hays, would become an important scientist and writer.
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