Philip Heidelbach

Philip Heidelbach was an American businessman who co-founded dry goods merchant Heidelbach, Seasongood & Co. in Cincinnati and the private bank Heidelbach, Ickelheimer & Co. In New York City.

Philip Heidelbach
Born1814
DiedNovember 29, 1885
NationalityUnited States
Spouse(s)Hannah Heidelbach
FamilyAlfred Heidelbach (nephew)

Biography

Heidelbach was born in Bavaria in 1814[1] where he was learning the butcher trade[2] In 1837, he immigrated to the United States first settling briefly in New York City[3][4] where he invested all his money in $8 of merchandise which he converted into $150 after three months.[5] In the same year, he moved to Cincinnati where he continued to peddle, increasing his capital to $2,000 after a year.[5] In the early 1840s, he went into business with another Jewish peddler, Jacob Seasongood, founding dry good store Heidelbach, Seasongood & Co.[3][4] By 1860, they had a large clothing factory[2] which prospered making clothing and blankets for the Union Army with $1.2 million in sales by 1864[6] becoming the largest clothing manufacturer in the Mississippi Valley.[1] In 1861, he co-founded the bank Espy, Heidelbach & Co with a gentile partner.[3][2] In 1865, he moved to New York City and set up his own private bank.[3][2] In 1876, his firm was renamed Heidelbach, Ickelheimer & Co after his son-in-law, Isaac Ickelheimer (married to Jennie Heidelbach Ickelheimer), became a partner.

Heidelbach was one of the first trustees of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad.[4] He served as president of the School Board of B'nai Israel and was active in the Hebrew Benevolent Society.[4] He was married to Hannah Heidelbach.[7]

References
  1. Markens, Issac. The Hebrews in America (PDF). Library of Congress. p. 143.
  2. Marcus, Jacob Rader (2018). United States Jewry, 1776-1985, Volume 3, The Germanic Period, Part 2. Wayne State University Press.
  3. "Banking and Financial Items". The Bankers Magazine, Volume 41. January 1877. pp. 480 and 547.
  4. The Origins of the Jewish Community of Cincinnati, 1817-1860 (PDF). Cincinnati Museum.
  5. Sarna, Jonathan. "Jews on the Prairie and the American West". myjewishlearning.com.
  6. Mendelsohn, Adam. "Beyond the Battlefield: Reevaluating the Legacy of the Civil War for American Jews" (PDF). American Jewish Archives Journal.
  7. "Mrs. Hannah Heidelbach, wife of Philip Heidelbach, senior partner of the firm of Espy, Heidelbach & Cos., of Cincinnati, died in New York last Sunday, on her sixty ninth birthday, of cancer of the stomach". The Catholic Telegraph. December 10, 1885.
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