Mayer Lehman was a German-born American businessman, banker, and philanthropist. He was one of the three founding brothers of the investment bankLehman Brothers.
Early life
Mayer Lehman was born in 1830 to a German Jewish family in the small Franconian town of Rimpar near Würzburg. He was the son of a cattle merchant, Abraham Löw Lehmann.
In 1850, Mayer emigrated to the United States, joining his brothers, Henry Lehman and Emanuel Lehman in Montgomery, Alabama. His brother Henry had left Germany in 1844 and opened a dry goods store named "H. Lehman". His brother Emanuel left Germany in 1847 and joined Henry in his business endeavor, which they renamed "H. Lehman and Bro." With the arrival of Mayer in 1850, it became Lehman Brothers. As cotton was the most important crop of the Southern United States and global demand led to profitable business, the Lehman brothers became cotton factors, accepting cotton bales from customers as payment for their merchandise. Cotton trading eventually became the main thrust of their business. Mayer was also one of twenty men who established the first important iron furnace in the South before the war. Mayer Lehman supported the Southern cause during the American Civil War. Mayer was listed as the owner of seven slaves in the U.S. Census of 1860. In 1864, the Governor of Alabama, Thomas H. Watts, appointed Mayer as a Commissioner to visit and look after the interests of AlabamaConfederate soldiers being held as prisoners of war in the North. Other offers of public position were made to him but he declined. In 1855, his brother Henry died from yellow fever while travelling in New Orleans. In 1867, Mayer and Emanuel moved the company's headquarters to New York City, leaving their New Orleans cotton operation in the hands of their brother-in-law Benjamin Newgass. They eventually built their New York operation into an important American investment bank, which was in operation for over 150 years until its September 2008 collapse. Mayer Lehman was one of the organizers of the New York Cotton Exchange, the oldest commodities exchange in New York City, and served as its director. Mayer Lehman concentrated on the railroad, land, industrial and mining enterprises of the business. He served as the director of The Hamilton Bank, The American Cotton Oil Company, The Union Oil Company of Providence, Rhode Island, and The N.K. Fairbank Company of Chicago.
Philanthropy
Mayer Lehman took an active interest in philanthropic work and was a trustee of Temple Emanu-El as well as a generous giver to the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He was also a member of the Harmonie Club.
Personal life
In 1858, Mayer Lehman married Babetta Newgass, the daughter of Isaac Newgass. Her sister, Esther, was married to banker Isaias W. Hellman. Together they had eight children of which seven survived childhood:
The couple were Reform Jews who, although they always observed the religious holidays, frowned on many other religious traditions and practices, instead focusing on educating their children in language, history and culture. The one tradition that Mayer emphasized was the Jewish tradition of tsedaka or the joy of giving. In order to instill the importance of charity into his children, Mayer would take his three youngest — Arthur, Irving and Herbert — to Mount Sinai Hospital every Sunday to see the great needs of the less fortunate. Mayer Lehman died in 1897.
