Esther Andrews was the sixth child born to Sallie Salomon and Joseph Andrews. Though born in New York, by the mid1810s, she had moved with her family to Philadelphia where they were active in Congregation Mikveh Israel.

In 1826, in Philadelphia, she married Simeon Dreyfous. Born in Paris, Dreyfous had moved to New York around 1810. Their first child, Hannah, is depicted here a year or so after her birth in 1827. Four more children would follow over the next nine years. The couple seems to have made their home between New York and Philadelphia—the former the site of much of Dreyfous’ business dealings; the latter the nexus of family and community. Esther and Simeon were also active in Mikveh Israel. In a letter from 1837, the congregation’s hazan, Isaac Leeser, complained to his uncle, Zalma Rehine, that Dreyfous has never supported him and reasons he could not understand.