Benjamin Gratz, of Lexington, Kentucky^{[1, 2]}

1792 - 1884  (91 years)

• Name	Benjamin Gratz  [3, 4, 5]
  Suffix	of Lexington, Kentucky
  Born	4 Sep 1792	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania   [3, 4, 5, 6]
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	1847
  Died	17 Mar 1884	Lexington, Fayette, KY   [3, 4, 5, 6]
  Person ID	I1847	aojd
  Last Modified	11 Nov 2011

  
  

  Mother	Miriam Simon,   b. 21 Dec 1749,   d. 12 Sep 1808, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  (Age 58 years)
  Family ID	F660	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Benjamin Gratz settled in Lexington, Kentucky, and eventually married twice, both times to Christian women who raised the children in a mix of Judaism and Christianity. (Research):AJLLJ Portrait Database 5 Aug 2011 Benjamin was the youngest of Michael and Miriam Simon Gratz's twelve children, which included older sisters Frances and Rebecca.      With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Gratz put aside his studies and enlisted to fight under General Thomas Cadwalader. By the end of the war he had reached the rank of first lieutenant. In 1815 he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and was soon after admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, making him one of just a handful of Jewish lawyers in America at the time. He also joined a Federalist organization called the Washington Association of Philadelphia, where he served as vice president.      In 1822 Gratz married Maria Gist, and the couple moved to Lexington, Kentucky, initially to look after family interests in the region. Gratz became one of the leading businessmen in the growing town and was elected trustee of Transylvania University. The couple would remain in Lexington for the rest of their lives. They had five children, and when Maria died in 1841, Gratz remarried to Ana Maria Boswell, with whom he had two more children. His name lives on in Gratz Park, the historic district of Lexington. Gratz's home stands at the edge of the neighborhood, on the corner of Mill and New streets. [7]

  
  

• Sources

  [S81] . [S285] . [S4] PG. 87 GRATZ (1) (Reliability: 3). [S4] PG. 88 GRATZ (2) (Reliability: 3). [S72] PG. 267 MINDERVA CAMPBELL ANDERSON (Reliability: 3). [S47] . [S294] GRATZ, BENJAMIN (Reliability: 3).