Moses Ledonitz

Moses Ledonitz (1809-1882) was a Braslander banker.

Moses was born in a Jewish family of Thurwald. The Jews were not particularly discriminated by Braslander laws, but in practice gentile society did discriminate them. They lived in their own neighborhoods and worked mostly with each other.

Moses started to work with his uncle Amschel, who was a moneychanger and trader in silk cloth. Later he became a dealer in rare coins and won the patronage of Prince Adam II von Hohenburg. Moses' business grew and included several other noble patrons, and then expanded through the provision of banking services to the Crown. By the early 1860s he had become a principal international banker to King George II and began to issue his own international loans, borrowing capital from the King.

In 1850 he married Julie Herzen. They had seven children: Isaac (born 1851), Solomon (born 1853), Caroline (born 1855), Isabella (born 1856), Helene (born and died 1857), Abraham (born 1859) and Henriette (born 1862).

Moses educated his sons as bankers and incorporated them into his business from an early age. When they became older he sent them to Markund, Halvan and Ormarstadt to found new houses of the Ledonitz business.

Moses died in 1882 in Thurwald.