The son of a London broker, Jacob Franks came to New York to seek his fortune in 1708 and never left it. Within two years, he was made a freeman of the city in August of 1710. A merchant involved in the import/export trade, by 1712 Franks constituted the New York leg of his extended family’s transatlantic trade, becoming part of a British colonial mercantile network that would eventually stretch from the Caribbean to India.

An early measure of his success in commerce can be found in the December 1711 contract between Franks and a marriage broker to secure for Franks the hand of Bilhah Abigail Levy, the teenage eldest daughter of wealthy New York merchant Moses Raphael Levy, in marriage. Evidently, Franks’ abilities as a merchant were in no doubt, as the broker had little trouble persuading the self-important Levy of the efficacy of the match. Abigail and Jacob Franks were married within the year.

Franks played an active role in New York’s nascent Jewish community, particularly once the decision had been taken in November 1728 to construct a synagogue. Franks was one of four men to serveon the committee to collect funds and oversee the construction. He was also a major contributor to the project, purchasing the right to lay one of the four cornerstones of the Mill Street structure for Congregation Shearith Israel in September 1729. He would serve as parnas of the congregation seven times between 1729 and 1764, the first time in 5490 (1729-1730).

Although a successful merchant by any standard, Franks was never able to achieve the level of wealth that he and his wife believed he should have attained from the strength of his efforts. His wife believed this was because his relatives in England, on whose behalf he conducted much of his trade, consistently took advantage of him, regarding him as less than a partner in the family enterprise. Writing to their eldest son, Naphtali, who had gone to London to work under the direction of his paternal uncle, Abigail complained, “I think your Fathers Treatment from you & your Uncle Especially from the Latter is more Like a Slave than Freeman.”

Despite these trials and tribulations, Franks and his family enjoyed an affluent lifestyle, owning properties in both the city and the country, and participating in a broad social milieu befitting their economic status among New York’s mercantile elite. Franks and his wife had nine children, seven surviving into adulthood, whom they educated to become genteel adults. Abigail died in 1756, and Franks survived her by 13 years, cared for by their unmarried daughter, Richa. He died in January 1769 at age 83.