Seven Generations of Merchants

Born in the Prussian town of Langendorf (Poland), Michael and his five siblings were orphaned when their father, Solomon Gratz, died. Michael and his brother, Barnard, lived in the household of their oldest brother, Hayim, until they were of age to leave home. Michael had gone first to Berlin to try to make it in business, but when that attempt failed, he found himself in Amsterdam, and then London. He next sailed for the English trading posts in India but returned again without having met success. All of this took place by the time he had turned 18.

Barnard invited Michael to join him in Philadelphia in 1758. Michael, 18, quickly accepted. Less than a year later, Michael began small ventures in trade both with Barnard and independently. The firm of B. & M. Gratz was born, and together the brothers engaged in a variety of trading activities, from Indian trade and land speculation to the coastal trade with the Caribbean. Among their more important business connections was Joseph Simon, an Indian trader established in Lancaster, PA. Simon, a devoutly observant Jew, was on the lookout for potential husbands for his six daughters who met both his exacting religious standards and his need for business partners. Although at first he disliked Michael, Simon was eventually won over. His eldest daughter, Miriam, then 20, wed the 29-year-old Gratz in 1769.

Michael and Miriam would have twelve children, of whom only one died young, sparking the predominance of the Gratz family in Philadelphia circles. Michael’s business instincts were successful over the course of many years, and his family enjoyed the benefits that wealth and standing brought. Among their children were Frances, Rebecca, Benjamin, Rachel, Hyman, and Joseph. 

Benjamin, born at Philadelphia in 1792, was the last of twelve children born to Michael and Miriam. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania, Gratz interrupted his studies to enlist in the militia under General Thomas Cadwalader when war broke out with Britain in 1812. He would transfer to the Pennsylvania Volunteers as a Second Lieutenant under command of Capt. John Smith the following year. At the end of the war, he resumed his studies at Penn and was awarded an M. A. in 1815. Two years later, he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, making him one of just a handful of Jewish lawyers in the United States. He also joined a Federalist organization called the Washington Association of Philadelphia, and served as president of the organization. 

On November 24, 1819, Gratz married Maria Cecil Gist, the niece of Kentucky statesman Henry Clay, at Lexington, Kentucky. Gratz manufactured hemp, and soon became one of the leading businessmen in the growing town. His election as trustee of Transylvania University was a clear sign of his growing prominence. He would reside in Kentucky for the remainder of his life, and remained a trustee of the university for 60 years. Gratz and Maria Gist had six children – five sons who grew to adulthood and another child who died in infancy. His legacy in Lexington lives on in Gratz Park, a historic district in Lexington. Mount Hope, the home that Gratz purchased for his family in 1824, still stands in this neighborhood, at 231 North Mill Street, facing the park.

Born in Upper Chichester Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Crosby is a descendant of John Morton, signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Crosby was appointed midshipman in June 1838. He reached the rank of Lieutenant in September 1853 after a decade and a half in ships of the Home and Mediterranean Squadrons, plus coast survey duty. He served in the sloop-of-war Decatur and the schooner Petrel in the Mexican–American War, and had shore assignments in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

During 1861, as the Civil War ran through its first half year, Crosby served in the sloop of war Cumberland and briefly commanded the new gunboat Pembina. He went to the Gulf of Mexico as Commanding Officer of the gunboat Pinola at the beginning of 1862. In Pinola, assisted by Itasca, he broke the chain barrier across the Mississippi to make possible the passage upriver of Flag Officer David Farragut's squadron, and the capture of New Orleans.  He finished the war in the Gulf, commanding the gunboat Metacomet, and took part in clearing mines from Mobile Bay.

He finished his active career as a Rear Admiral, commanding the South Atlantic Squadron in 1882–1883 and the Asiatic Squadron later in 1883. Soon after, Admiral Crosby was elected to serve as the Assistant Secretary of State in Washington, D.C. He continued his efforts of development in Lexington and Washington, D.C. until his passing in 1899.