Leffert Lefferts

Leffert Lefferts (April 12, 1774 – March 22, 1847) was the first President of the Long Island Bank, the first bank in Brooklyn, New York.

Early life Lefferts was born at the Bedford homestead on April 12, 1774. He was the son of Leffert Lefferts (1727–1804) and Dorothy (née Couwenhoven) Lefferts (1738–1816). The Lefferts family were an important family in the history of Brooklyn and were among the financiers of the State of New York.

He attended Columbia College in 1794. In 1824, Lefferts, along with Jehiel Jagger, Fanning C. Tucker, Jacob Hicks, Thomas Everitt Jr., founded the Long Island Bank, the first bank in Brooklyn, of which Lefferts served as president.

Judge Lefferts also owned substantial land holdings, which were managed by his son-in-law, James Carson Brevoort, who served as private secretary to Washington Irving when Irving was appointed as United States Minister to Spain in 1842. Clerk of the New York State Senate. She was also the sister of New York City Alderman Egbert Benson and niece of U.S. Representative, Egbert Benson. Together, Maria and Leffert were the parents of: Leffert Lefferts (1826–1827), who died young.