Mayer Lehman
| Mayer Lehman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 9, 1830 Rimpar, Lower Franconia Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Died | June 21, 1897 (aged 67) |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Spouse(s) | Babetta Newgass |
| Children | Sigmund M. Lehmann Hattie Lehman Goodhart Lisette Lehmann Fatman Clara Lehman Limburg Arthur Lehmann Irving Lehman Herbert H. Lehman |
| Parent(s) | Abraham Löw Lehmann |
| Family |
Henry Lehman (brother) Emanuel Lehman (brother) |
Mayer Lehman (January 9, 1830 – June 21, 1897) was a German-born American businessman, banker, and philanthropist. He was one of the three founding brothers of the investment bank Lehman Brothers.
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 (b. 1822) 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 ("three males and four females ranging in age from 5 to 50") 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 Alabama Confederate soldiers being held as prisoners of war in the North. Other offers of public position were made to him but he declined.
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