Daniel Hart was born in Mannheim, Germany, and made his way to Charleston in 1783, following in the wake of his uncle, Israel Joseph, who had been there for two decades and was by then well-established in the community. There, Hart married English-born Bella Levy, who arrived in Charleston just two years later, and fathered seven children.

Hart’s genius lay in commerce, and he was instrumental in rebuilding trade networks, which had languished during the exigencies of the Revolution, and in helping to re-establish the city’s Chamber of Commerce. Hart was also a generous contributor to Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, providing major contributions toward the construction of its first synagogue building in 1792 as well as large donations for the maintenance of the congregation.