The Speyer family is a prominent
Jewish family of
German descent. It can be traced back to Michael Isaac Speyer (1644–1692), who had briefly been the head of the Jewish community in
Frankfurt am Main in 1691–92. The family originates from
Speyer in
Palatinate, hence the surname.[1] In the late eighteenth century, the Speyers were the wealthiest Jewish family in Frankfurt, well above the
Rothschild family.[2]
Business activities
The patriarch of the family, Joseph Lazard Speyer, took over the Ellissen bank, inherited from his wife Jette Ellissen, and renamed it to J. L. Speyer-Elissen in 1818.[3] When their son, Lazard Joseph, got to the helm of the family business in 1838, the name was changed to
Lazard Speyer-Ellissen.
In 1938, James Speyer retired and decided to close Speyer & Co. in New York rather than let his name continue with the remaining partners. Therefore, the last of the three Speyer banking branches was liquidated in 1939.[8]
The Speyer family belonged to Frankfurt’s patrons and made considerable foundations to support science and scientific education. Their funds provided the basis for the
University of Frankfurt am Main.
Family tree
Joseph Lazard Speyer (1783–1846), married to Jette Ellissen
Lazard Joseph Speyer (1810–1876), married his cousin Therese Ellissen (1808-?) in 1832
^Kopper, Christopher (1995). Zwischen Marktwirtschaft und Dirigismus : Bankenpolitik im "Dritten Reich" 1933–1939 (in German). Bonn: Bouvier. p. 246.
ISBN3-416-02529-6.
^Supple, Barry E. (1957). "A Business Elite: German-Jewish Financiers in Nineteenth-Century New York". Business History Review. 31 (2): 143–178.
doi:
10.2307/3111848.
JSTOR3111848.
S2CID145758162.
Liebmann, George W. The Fall of the House of Speyer: The Story of a Banking Dynasty (I.B. Tauris, 2015) xii + 244 pp.
ISBN978-1-78453-176-8.
online review