Moses Hutzler

Moses Hutzler
Moses Hutzler, 1888, Portrait by Louis Dieterich (1842–1922)
BornNovember 28, 1800
Hagenbach, Bavaria, Germany
DiedJanuary 13, 1889 (age 88)
Baltimore, Maryland
OccupationBusinessman
SpouseCaroline Neuberger
Children7 including Abram G. Hutzler
FamilyLouis Bamberger (grandson)
Caroline Bamberger Fuld (granddaughter)

Moses Hutzler (November 28, 1800 – January 13, 1889) was a German-born American businessman and co-founder of the first Reform Jewish congregation in the United States, Har Sinai.

Biography

Moses Hutzler was born in Hagenbach, Bavaria, the son of and Beuleh (née Baer) and Gabriel Hutzler.[1] After attending school in Hagenbach, he learned the tailoring and dry-goods business.[1] In December 1839, he emigrated to the United States and opened a tailoring shop for women in Baltimore, Maryland which was unsuccessful.[1] He then moved to Frederick, Maryland where he opened a haberdashery business.[1] In 1840, he returned to Baltimore. In 1858, his son Abram G. (1836-1927) opened the company M. Hutzler & Son as Moses signed the note backing the company.[1] After two of his other sons, Charles G. (1840-1907) and David (1843-1915), joined the business, it was redenominated Hutzler Brothers.[1] Hutzler's became the premier department store in Baltimore.

In May 1842, Hutzler founded the Har Sinai Association, an association of reform-minded Jews in Baltimore that formed a community modeled on the Hamburg Temple. The meetings were initially held in Hutzler's house[2] and it was not until 1855 that David Einhorn became the first permanent rabbi.

Personal life

Hutzler married twice. His first wife was Sophie Hutzler; they had two children that lived to adulthood:[3]

  1. Babette Hutzler (born 1824), married Abraham Gold, 4 children
  2. Caroline Hutzler (1828–1907), married Edward Goldsmith, 9 children


In 1829, he married Caroline Neuberger (born 1804), the daughter of Eli B. Neuberger, a merchant.[1] They had five children that lived to adulthood:[3]

  1. Theresa Hutzler (1830–1896), married Elkan Bamberger, 7 children including Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld (married to Felix Fuld)
  2. Rosa Hutzler (1834–1910), married Levi Spandaeur, 9 children
  3. Abraham G. Hutzler (1836–1927)
  4. Charles Gabriel Hutzler (1840–1907), married Henrietta Sonneborn, 7 children
  5. David Hutzler, married Alla Joline Gutman, 6 children


He died in Baltimore, Maryland on January 13, 1889.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. XI. James T. White & Company. 1901. p. 398.
  2. ^ "History of the Har Sinai Community". Har Sinai Congregation. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Hutzler, Charles S. (January 1980). "Family Tree of the Hutzler Family - Richmond, Virginia". Hutzler Family.