Jacob Schieffelin

Jacob Schieffelin (August 24, 1757 – April 16, 1835) was an American loyalist, merchant, landowner and philanthropist.

Early life Jacob Schieffelin was the first son of Jacob Schieffelin and Regina Margaretha Ritschauer. He was born in Philadelphia in 1757, to where his grandfather and father emigrated (his father was only 16 years old at the time of his emigration) in 1749 and 1750 from Weilheim an der Teck, Territory of the Free Imperial City of Esslingen am Neckar (in 1802–1803 becoming part of the Duchy of Württemberg).

Jacob's grandfather Johan Jacob Scheuffelin and his father Jacob Schieffelin had left Weilheim an der Teck not out of economic, political, or religious need, but from their desire for adventure and for a freer and better life, which they hoped to find in the maturing colony of America. From 1743 on, Johan Jacob Scheuffelin (1712 – 1750) sold many properties, fields, vineyards, and land in Weilheim an der Teck to fund his and his sons' emigration to America. He brought his large fortune to America to buy land. The couple married secretly in Manhattan, six weeks after they met. A few day later, Hannah was expelled from the Quaker Association because her wedding plans had not been approved. At the time of their wedding, Jacob was still a British officer, while the Quakers were mostly anti-British.

Young man in Montreal and military service On November 12, 1774, Jacob Schieffelin was one of the signers of the Petition to the King for Repeal of the Quebec Act of 1774, in which George III and the British government rejected the habeas corpus writ to the province of Quebec. This petition by Quebec colonists addressed the same issues as the Petition to the King by the First Continental Congress in October 1774.

When Jacob Schieffelin was eighteen years old, he started trading with the British military in Montreal in 1775. He volunteered for the British Army when a new military unit was formed to fight against the American colonists who had invaded Canada. On September 25, 1775, he had his first mission during the American Revolutionary War, when the colonists under the command of Ethan Allen attacked Montreal.

On August 13, 1780, six weeks after they met, Hannah and Jacob married secretly.

A few months after their wedding, Hannah and Jacob planned to leave for Detroit. Jacob Schieffelin received correspondence from General Frederick Haldimand, Governor of the Quebec Province in British service.

Young family in Detroit and Montreal On September 15, 1780, the young couple boarded a small sailing ship leaving Manhattan. They arrived in Quebec on October 17, 1780, where Jacob received his salary for his military service between 1778 and 1780. Hannah and Jacob sailed on to Montreal and then through Lake Ontario to Fort Niagara.

The success of Lawrence & Schieffelin led Jacob to expand the business beyond pharmaceutical goods. The New York port was better suited to large ships than the port in Philadelphia, allowing for a greater turnover of goods. Jacob expanded the business to include international trade, buying several warehouses in New York City where he stored the imported goods. Jacob had already started to enter international shipping in 1795. His partner, John Lawrence, did not support Jacob's business expansion. John Lawrence withdrew from the partnership with Jacob in 1799 and opened a new store a few blocks away on 199 Pearl Street. Jacob paid out John's shares in the company and took over the warehouse. He continued to run the Drugs & Medicines store at 195 Pearl Street. The company was renamed to Jacob Schieffelin and existed from 1799 to 1805.

In 1805, Jacob took his son Henry Hamilton Schieffelin into the company's management and renamed the company Jacob Schieffelin & Son, which existed from 1805 to 1814. in Manhattanville.

In 1800, Jacob Schieffelin sold half of his property to his friend Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton acquired a right-angled, 15-acre plot of land at a reasonable price. Hamilton built his country house there, which he called Hamilton Grange, named after the country estate of his ancestors in Scotland and the house of his uncle in St. Croix on the Virgin Islands. The Hamiltons and the Schieffelins became neighbor and friends in Manhattanville. The Schieffelins worshiped with Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the widow of Alexander Hamilton after his death in 1804. St. Mary's was built between 1824 and 1826 and was inaugurated on Thanksgiving Day. St. Mary's in Manhattanville was the first free-pew church in New York City. St. Mary's church contains the burial vault "Jacob Schieffelin's Vault“.

Death Jacob Schieffelin died of a stroke on April 16, 1835. He left Hannah Lawrence Schieffelin and his children a huge fortune. Jacob Schieffelin was buried in St. Mary's church in Manhattanville, like his wife Hannah Lawrence Schieffelin.