Bethel Jacobs

Life & Legacy

Bethel Jacobs (1812–1869) was born in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, becoming a prominent member of Hull's Jewish community, and highly regarded in the Town's civic circles. A successful silversmith and polymath who lived in a large house on George Street, he was son of jeweller and synagogue president Israel Jacobs, and son-in-law to Joseph Lyon, president of the rival synagogue. He married Esther Lyon in 1836, by whom he had 14 children. He died of liver disease in 1869 age 57, and was given a major public funeral. Amongst many talented descendents, his son Charles M. Jacobs constructed under-river tunnels in New York and Paris.