Samuel Myer Isaacs was one of the major Jewish spiritual leaders in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Born in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden, Isaacs was the son of merchant Myer Samuel Isaacs. His father suffered serious economic losses during the Napoleonic Wars, and, in 1814, the family moved to London. Of Myer Isaacs’ five sons, four would pursue religious vocations, in sites across the English-speaking world—Britain, Australia, and America.

In 1839, Isaacs married Jane Symmons, and that same year they set sail for New York, where Isaacs had accepted an appointment at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun on Elm Street. It was through his work with the Neveh Zedek orphan asylum in London that the New York congregation had found him. Although Isaacs had no official ordination, he had demonstrated great skill as a leader and educator, and now assumed the role of hazzan and unofficial rabbi at New York’s largest Ashkenazic congregation. He became the second person in the United States, after Isaac Leeser, to conduct synagogue services—at least partially—in English, rather than in Hebrew or German.

In 1845, a conflict among two groups of congregants at the synagogue led to a split. Isaacs threw in his lot with the defectors and became leader of the newly established Congregation Shaaray Tefila. Initially meeting on Franklin Street, the congregation built a synagogue on Wooster Street in 1846, before moving uptown to its second synagogue, in 1869. Although the congregation remained Orthodox, under Isaacs’s tenure, various liberalizing policies came into place, including shortening of services, increasing use of English liturgy, and the introduction of organ music.

In 1857, Isaacs founded the newspaper the Jewish Messenger and served as editor from 1867 to 1878. In 1845, he helped found the United Hebrew Charities (now the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services), and, in 1852, the Jew’s Hospital (now Mount Sinai Hospital). He also served on the Board of Delegates of American Israelites

Samuel and Jane had five children, including sons Myer, Isaac, and Abram who were all prominent advocates for Jewish rights around the world and active in international aid organizations.