Peixotto was born on July 18, 1800, in
Amsterdam,
Holland, the son of Moses Levy Maduro Peixotto and Judith Lopez Salzedo. He studied in
Curaçao under Professor Strebeck. His father was a merchant in Curaçao who later became rabbi of
Congregation Shearith Israel in
New York City following the death of
Gershom Mendes Seixas. Peixotto immigrated to America with his father in 1807 and settled in New York City. He graduated from
Columbia College in 1816. He then studied at Columbia University, graduating from there with an
M.D. in 1819 and an
M.A. in 1825. Before he got his medical degree, he studied medicine in the office of Dr.
David Hosack. He spent several years practicing medicine in the
West Indies after graduating, returning to New York in 1823. He worked as a physician for the New York City Dispensary, and from 1826 to 1827 he lectured on "abdominal diseases and complain[t]s of females." In 1825, he was a founder of the Academy of Medicine and served as its first secretary. He also helped organize the Society for Assisting the Widows and Orphans of Medical Men, and supported the establishment of a medical library. From 1825 to 1826, he co-edited
The New York Medical and Physical Journal with Drs. Beck and Bell. He became sole editor of the
Journal in 1829, and wrote a number of articles for it. An active member of the
New York County Medical Society, he served as its president from 1830 to 1832. In 1836, Peixotto was elected an Honorary Member of the Medical Society of Lower Canada and appointed Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine and Obstetrics. That year, he also became president of the
Willoughby Medical College and moved to
Cleveland, Ohio, to serve as the college's dean of the faculty for the next several years. He was a close friend of
Andrew Jackson, supporting his election to the presidency and editing the
True American on his behalf. He was also connected to the
New-York Mirror when it was under the control of
N. P. Willis and
George P. Morris. While teaching in
Willoughby, he was contacted by a
Mormon Temple in
Kirtland to teach the congregation Hebrew. He resigned from the Medical College in 1838 and continued practicing medicine in Cleveland for the next few years. In 1823, he married Rachel M. Sexias, Sarah, Rebecca, and Miriam. == References ==