Alfred Huger Moses was born to a Jewish family in 1840 in Charleston, South Carolina, the oldest son of Adeline and Levy Moses.[1] In 1860, he graduated from the College of Charleston and moved to Montgomery, Alabama where he apprenticed in a local law office.[1] During the Civil War, he served as the clerk of the Confederate District Court and enrolled in the civil defense volunteer militia company, Alabama Rebels.[1] After the war, his brothers, Mordecai and Henry, also moved to Montgomery and together, they invested in the then depressed real estate market via their investment firm eventually building Montgomery's first skyscraper, the six-story Moses Building.[1] In 1875, his brother Moredcai L. Moses, was elected as the first Jewish mayor of Montgomery and later as president of the Montgomery Gas and Electric Light Company.[1][2] In 1880, coal and iron ore were found in the northern reaches of Alabama and Moses and his brothers invested in some mines near Florence, Alabama and purchased 30,000 acres across the Tennessee River and incorporated a new city named Sheffield, Alabama after the steel-producing city Sheffield, England.[1] Moses served as the town's first mayor.[2] He secured investors to fund the building of a blast furnace as well as railroad links between Birmingham, Mobile, and Chicago and sold stock to his investors via his Sheffield Land, Iron and Coal Company. By 1886, the first blast furnace was operating and in 1887, the Alabama and Tennessee Iron and Coal Company choose Sheffield as its headquarters and built three new blast furnaces.[1] In 1891, the venture and the local Moses-founded bank failed after the price of pig iron plummeted and the local supply of iron was found to be inflated causing the railroads to pull out from completing the links from Sheffield to the rail network.[1] After the Panic of 1893,[2] the blast furnaces were closed, the city depopulated, and the Moses family moved to Saint Louis, Missouri.[1]
In 1901, Sheffield's blast furnaces were restarted but closed in 1907; US Steel then purchased the mills but permanently closed them just prior to the Great Depression of 1929.[1]
^ abcdefghijklFeldberg, Michael. "Alfred Huger Moses, industrial visionary". Jewish World Review. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
^ abcMontgomery, Alabama, Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, retrieved January 31, 2009
February 09, 2024
alfred, huger, moses, 1840, 1918, american, banker, investor, founded, city, sheffield, alabama, born1840charleston, south, carolinadied1918, nationalityamericanoccupation, banker, investorknown, forpresident, sheffield, land, iron, coal, company, first, mayor. Alfred Huger Moses 1840 1918 was an American banker and investor who founded the city of Sheffield Alabama Alfred Huger MosesBornAlfred Huger Moses1840Charleston South CarolinaDied1918 age 78 NationalityAmericanOccupation s Banker InvestorKnown forPresident of the Sheffield Land Iron and Coal Company First mayor of Sheffield AlabamaParent s Adeline and Levy MosesRelativesCarl M Loeb son in law John Langeloth Loeb Sr grandson Biography editAlfred Huger Moses was born to a Jewish family in 1840 in Charleston South Carolina the oldest son of Adeline and Levy Moses 1 In 1860 he graduated from the College of Charleston and moved to Montgomery Alabama where he apprenticed in a local law office 1 During the Civil War he served as the clerk of the Confederate District Court and enrolled in the civil defense volunteer militia company Alabama Rebels 1 After the war his brothers Mordecai and Henry also moved to Montgomery and together they invested in the then depressed real estate market via their investment firm eventually building Montgomery s first skyscraper the six story Moses Building 1 In 1875 his brother Moredcai L Moses was elected as the first Jewish mayor of Montgomery and later as president of the Montgomery Gas and Electric Light Company 1 2 In 1880 coal and iron ore were found in the northern reaches of Alabama and Moses and his brothers invested in some mines near Florence Alabama and purchased 30 000 acres across the Tennessee River and incorporated a new city named Sheffield Alabama after the steel producing city Sheffield England 1 Moses served as the town s first mayor 2 He secured investors to fund the building of a blast furnace as well as railroad links between Birmingham Mobile and Chicago and sold stock to his investors via his Sheffield Land Iron and Coal Company By 1886 the first blast furnace was operating and in 1887 the Alabama and Tennessee Iron and Coal Company choose Sheffield as its headquarters and built three new blast furnaces 1 In 1891 the venture and the local Moses founded bank failed after the price of pig iron plummeted and the local supply of iron was found to be inflated causing the railroads to pull out from completing the links from Sheffield to the rail network 1 After the Panic of 1893 2 the blast furnaces were closed the city depopulated and the Moses family moved to Saint Louis Missouri 1 In 1901 Sheffield s blast furnaces were restarted but closed in 1907 US Steel then purchased the mills but permanently closed them just prior to the Great Depression of 1929 1 Personal life editHis daughter Adeline Moses married German born Carl M Loeb then working for the local office of German metal trader Metallgesellschaft AG and would later serve as the president of the American Metal Company and founder of the investment firm Carl M Loeb amp Co 1 Moses was buried in Montgomery Alabama 1 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l Feldberg Michael Alfred Huger Moses industrial visionary Jewish World Review Retrieved December 22 2017 a b c Montgomery Alabama Goldring Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life retrieved January 31 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alfred Huger Moses amp oldid 1112124712, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
