History of the Jews in Colonial America facts for kids

The history of Jewish people in Colonial America starts when they first arrived in the 1650s. The very first Jews to come to the New World were Sephardi Jews, who settled in New Amsterdam. Later, more Jewish communities grew in places like New York, New England, and Pennsylvania.

Jewish settlers faced some challenges and unfair treatment, but they still played a big part in shaping the colonies.

First Jewish Arrivals in America

Elias Legarde: An Early Settler

Elias Legarde (also spelled Legardo) was a Jewish person who arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1621. This idea comes from the sound of his last name, though its spelling was sometimes unclear.

Solomon Franco: A Scholar in Boston

The first Jewish person known to live in northern North America was Solomon Franco. He was a Sephardic Jew from Holland and is thought to have settled in Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1649. Franco was a smart scholar and worked for a Dutch merchant. He delivered supplies to a military leader named Edward Gibbons. After a disagreement about who should pay Franco, the Massachusetts General Court decided he should leave the colony. They gave him money for ten weeks to help him get back to Holland.

Solomon Pietersen: A Merchant from Amsterdam

Solomon Pietersen was a merchant from Amsterdam who arrived in 1654. In 1656, he became the first known Jewish person in America to marry a Christian. While there are no records of him officially changing his religion, his daughter Anna was baptized when she was a child.

Jacob Barsimson: Fleeing Persecution

On July 8, 1654, Jacob Barsimson left Holland and arrived in New Amsterdam (which is now Lower Manhattan, where Wall Street is). Barsimson worked for the Dutch East India Company. He had escaped from Portuguese settlements in the New World, where the Portuguese Inquisition had started after the Portuguese took over a Dutch area.

Asser Levy: Fighting for Rights

Asser Levy (Van Swellem) is first mentioned in public records in New Amsterdam in 1654. He was connected to a group of 23 Jews who arrived as refugees from Brazil. It's likely he was there before them. Levy was the kosher butcher for the small Jewish community. He bravely fought for Jewish rights in the Dutch colony. He is famous for getting Jews the right to be admitted as citizens and to serve guard duty for the colony.

Amore De Torres: A Farmer in Virginia

Amore De Torres (also known as Yosuf Ben Levy The Haivri) lived from 1600 to 1677. He settled in Surry County, Virginia. He is mentioned in a book called "The Jews of Virginia" as a Spanish Jewish farmer living south of Richmond.

Jewish Group Arrives from Dutch Brazil

The first large group of Jews arrived in the northern colonies in early September 1654. Jacob Barsimson is said to have met them at The Battery when they arrived. This group included twenty-three Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands. There were four couples, two widows, and thirteen children.

Like Barsimson, they had fled from a former Dutch settlement. This group had left Dutch Brazil after the Portuguese took it over. Fearing the Inquisition, the Jews left Recife. They first stopped in Spanish Jamaica and Spanish Cuba, but the Spanish did not let them stay. Their ship, Ste. Catherine, went to New Amsterdam instead.

They settled there even though local merchants and the local Dutch Reformed Church did not want them. The colonial governor, Peter Stuyvesant, tried to have the Jews expelled. He wrote a letter to the directors of the Dutch West India Company on September 22, 1654. He said the Jews were "very repugnant" and feared they would become a burden. He asked that this "deceitful race" not be allowed to "infect and trouble this new colony."

However, some influential Jews were among the directors of the Dutch West India Company. They spoke up for the refugees. Company officials disagreed with Stuyvesant. They ordered him in a letter dated April 26, 1655, to let the Jews stay in New Amsterdam. They said this was "unreasonable and unfair" because of the losses this group had suffered in Brazil. They also noted the large amount of money Jews had invested in the company. The company allowed them to stay, "provided the poor among them shall not become a burden to the company or to the community."

When the English took over the colony in 1664, the rights of the Jews were not changed. For twenty years, they lived much as they had before English rule. Their numbers did not increase much. Before this, Jews had been banned from all English territory for 400 years. Oliver Cromwell, who ruled Britain from 1649 to 1660, lifted this ban. Soon after, the first major Jewish settlement was founded in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1672, Rabba Couty became well-known. He appealed to the King's Council in England. This was after a court in Jamaica took one of his ships. His appeal was successful and helped establish the rights of Jews as British subjects. This was likely the first time a colonial grant of citizenship was recognized as valid.

Jewish Life in New York

In 1685, Saul Brown (originally Saul Pardo) was not allowed to trade at retail. Jews were also denied the right to practice their religion publicly. However, they likely held private services in a specific place. A map of New York from 1695 shows a Jewish synagogue on Beaver Street. Saul Brown was the minister, and the community had twenty families. Five years later, the synagogue's location was so well known that it was used as a landmark in property documents.

In 1710, the minister, Abraham de Lucena, was excused from civil and military service because of his religious duties. Records of the Congregation Shearith Israel in New York begin in 1729. The congregation was located on Mill Street and had records going back to 1706. This congregation built the first synagogue in what would become the United States on Mill Street in 1730.

It seems that Jewish settlers gained religious and political rights in the early 1700s. An act passed by the General Assembly of New York on November 15, 1727, allowed Jews to omit "upon the true faith of a Christian" when taking an oath. Three days later, Daniel Nunes da Costa was granted citizenship. However, a political debate in 1737 led the General Assembly to decide that Jews could not vote for its members.

In 1740, the British Parliament passed the Plantation Act. This law specifically allowed Jews to become citizens in the colonies. Before this, the New York Colonial Assembly had passed many special laws for citizenship. Some were for individuals, and others were more general. These allowed Jews to become citizens without taking the Christian oath. Between this time and the Revolutionary War, the Jewish community in New York slowly grew. Most immigrants came from Spain, Portugal, and the West Indies.

During the French and Indian War, Jacob Franks was a royal agent. He worked with a British group to supply British forces in America. His business with the crown during this time was worth over £750,000.

Jewish Settlements Beyond New York City

Most early Jewish immigrants settled in New York City. However, a few settled outside the city, some even reaching what is now Pennsylvania. In 1661, when Albany was just a trading post, Asser Levy owned land there. But there are no records of other settlers in Albany until the early 1800s. They did not have enough people to form a congregation until 1838, and they did not have a rabbi until 1846.

Jewish Communities in New England

A group of Jews settled in Newport, Rhode Island, in the late 1600s. This was because the colony, founded by Roger Williams, officially allowed religious freedom. In other parts of New England, there might have been a few settlers in the 1600s and 1700s. However, the strictness of the Puritans made it impossible to form any religious communities.

Some sources suggest that Moses Simonson, who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621, might have had Dutch Jewish ancestors. An interesting person was Judah Monis. He converted to Christianity and taught Hebrew at Harvard College from 1722 until his death in 1764.

A Jew is mentioned in Connecticut on November 9, 1659, and another in 1670. The first Jewish family to settle in New Haven arrived in 1772. A few individuals who had converted to Christianity lived there a few years earlier. The first congregation was established around 1840. Its members were about twenty families from Bavaria. From that time, the community slowly grew. There are also Jewish settlements in Bridgeport, Ansonia, Derby, Waterbury, New London, and Hartford. The first congregation in Hartford was established in 1843. Since 1891, many Jewish farmers have settled in various parts of the state.

The earliest mention of a Jew in Massachusetts is from May 3, 1649. There are also references to Jews living in Boston in 1695 and 1702. But these were likely just a few individuals. No large groups of settlers made their homes in Massachusetts until the Revolutionary War. This war caused Jews to leave Newport. In 1777, Aaron Lopez and Jacob Rivera, along with fifty-nine others, moved from Newport to Leicester. They settled there, but this community did not last after the war ended.

Some Jews, including the Hays family, settled in Boston before 1800. Of these, Moses Michael Hays was the most important. In 1830, some Algerian Jews went to Boston, but they soon left. The history of the current community begins in 1840, when the first congregation was established.

Not many Jewish immigrants have settled in Vermont and New Hampshire. However, there are congregations in Burlington, Vermont and in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Portsmouth, and Dover, New Hampshire. Not much is known about the early community life of Jews in New England. Their numbers grew slowly until after 1882, when many Russians began to emigrate. People from New York and Canada started to move into New England.

The growth of the American West made farming in New England less profitable. This caused many hardworking farmers to leave New England for better opportunities in western states. Interestingly, many of these abandoned farms, especially in Connecticut, have been taken over by Russian Jews. They have become dairy farmers and have added a new and helpful group to the farming community.

Jewish Presence in Maryland

It seems that only a few Jews came to Maryland during the first half of the 1600s. The first settlers in this colony arrived as individuals, not in large groups like in New York, Newport, Savannah, and Charleston. Based on names alone, it appears a few Jews lived in Maryland from the colony's earliest days.

The most important figure, who was definitely Jewish, was Dr. Jacob Lumbrozo. He arrived on January 24, 1656. In 1658, he was tried for a religious offense, but he was released because of a general pardon given when Richard Cromwell became ruler (March 3, 1658). Lumbrozo was granted official permission to live in the colony on September 10, 1663. Besides being a doctor, he also owned a plantation, traded with Native Americans, and did business with London merchants.

He was one of the first doctors in the colony. His life shows a lot about religious tolerance in Maryland. Because of his strong personality, he was able to ignore almost all the laws that would have made it impossible for him to live in the colony. He seems to have practiced his faith even though it was forbidden by law. The difficult environment made it hard for Jews to be admitted to Maryland. Few Jews settled in the colony until the Constitution of 1776 established religious rights for everyone.

Jewish Communities in Pennsylvania

Records show that Jews from New Amsterdam traded along the Delaware River as early as 1655. There were probably some settlers in the southeastern part of the land that William Penn took possession of in 1681. Many early Pennsylvania colonists were German Jews. The first Jewish resident of Philadelphia was Jonas Aaron, who lived there in 1703.

Another early and important pioneer was Isaac Miranda. He was the first to settle in Lancaster. There, and also in Shaefferstown, Jewish immigrants arrived early. Miranda converted to Christianity and held several state jobs. Many Jews settled in Philadelphia in the first half of the 1700s and became important in the city's life. These included David Franks, Joseph Marks, and Sampson Levy. The Non-Importation Resolutions of 1765 had the signatures of eight Jews. This shows how important the Jewish community was at this time.

As early as 1747, some people held religious services in a small house in Sterling alley, and later in Cherry alley. They were mostly German and Polish Jews. Their disagreements about which prayer style to follow prevented them from forming a regular congregation at that time. Attempts were made in 1761 and 1773 to form one. But a congregation was not established until many Jews from New York arrived during the Revolutionary War. With the arrival of Gershom Mendes Seixas, the community became strong enough to achieve this goal. A piece of land was bought, and a synagogue was built. It was dedicated in September 1782.

Many Philadelphia Jews served in the Revolutionary army. The extremely valuable help given by Haym Salomon to Robert Morris in financing the Revolution makes his name stand out as the most important Jewish person in early America.

Jews have lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, since at least 1730, even before the town and county were officially organized. Joseph Simon was the most famous of the first arrivals. Meyer Hart and Michael Hart were among the early settlers in Easton. They arrived there before the Revolutionary War. A synagogue was established there in 1839. Shaefferstown had a few Jewish settlers early on, and a synagogue and cemetery in 1732. For many years before the Revolutionary War, several Jews in Pennsylvania were involved in developing and selling lands in western Pennsylvania. Among the most prominent were Jacob and David Franks, Barnard and Michael Gratz, Joseph Simon, and Levy Andrew Levy.

Jewish Life in the American South

The Jewish settlement in Georgia began almost at the very start of the colony. The early history of Georgia is largely the story of Savannah's growth, with Jewish life centered in that city. It seems that a plan was started in London to settle some Jews in the colony even before James Oglethorpe led his first group of followers to what became Savannah in June 1733.

The second ship to reach the colony from England (on July 11, 1733) had forty Jewish immigrants among its passengers. Although their arrival was unexpected, the open-minded governor welcomed them. This was despite knowing that the colony's trustees in England had expressed some opposition to allowing Jews to settle there. These first settlers were all of Spanish, Portuguese, and Prussian background. Within a year, others, who were apparently German Jews, also settled there. Both groups of settlers received fair treatment from Oglethorpe. They became the ancestors of one of the most important Jewish communities in the U.S. Many of their descendants still live in various parts of the country. The first white male child born in the colony was a Jew, Philip (Uri) Minis, on July 11, 1734.

Among the first immigrants was Dr. Nunis. He was welcomed because of his medical knowledge. He and others brought enough wealth to the colony for the immigrants to buy large areas of land. A congregation was formed as early as 1734. Three years later, Abraham de Lyon, who had been a grape grower in Portugal, introduced grape cultivation. Growing and making silk, farming, and trade were the main jobs of these early settlers.

A disagreement with the colony's trustees about bringing in slaves caused many people to move to South Carolina in 1741. This led to the congregation breaking up. But in 1751, many Jews returned to Georgia. In the same year, the trustees sent Joseph Ottolenghe to manage the large silk industry in the colony. Ottolenghi soon became important in the political life of his community. He was elected a member of the Assembly in 1761 and in later years. There seemed to be little social difference between Jews and other settlers. Educational and charity organizations seemed to be supported by everyone.

The generous charter that John Locke created in 1669 for the Carolinas should have attracted Jews early on. This charter granted "Jews, heathen, and dissenters" full freedom of religion. Although political changes later changed Locke's original plans, the spirit of tolerance remained. However, no large numbers of Jews seem to have come to South Carolina until the move from Georgia between 1740 and 1771.

However, one Simon Valentine, one of four Jews who applied for citizenship in 1697, became the first documented Jewish landowner. This allowed him to vote. A few others followed him. In 1703, a protest was raised against "Jew strangers" voting in an election for members of the Assembly.

In 1748, some important London Jews planned to buy 200,000 acres (809 km²) of land in South Carolina. Nothing came of this. However, on November 27, 1755, Joseph Salvador bought 100,000 acres (405 km²) of land near Fort Ninety-six for £2,000. Twenty years later, Salvador sold 60,000 acres (243 km²) of land for £3,000 to thirteen London Sephardic Jews. This land was known as the "Jews' Lands." Another Salvador, Francis Salvador (Joseph's nephew), bought large areas of land in the same area in 1773–74. Moses Lindo, also a London Jew, arrived in 1756. He became very involved in indigo manufacturing, spending large sums to develop it. This made indigo one of the state's main industries.

During the Revolutionary War, Jews in South Carolina were on both sides. The most famous revolutionary was Francis Salvador. He was elected a member of the First and Second Provincial Congresses in 1775–76. This was the most important political job held by any Jew during the Revolution. Two-thirds of a militia company led by Richard Lushington were Charleston Jews.

After Charleston fell in 1780, most Jews left the city. But most of them returned after the war ended. The Sephardic Jews formed a congregation in 1750. Jews of German descent formed another shortly after. In 1791, when the Sephardic congregation was officially recognized, the total number of Jews in Charleston was estimated to be 400.

Based on names alone, it seems a few Jews came to Virginia as early as 1624. A small number also seem to have been there before the end of the 1600s. But for nearly 100 years, no signs of Jewish settlement are found. At least one Jewish soldier, possibly two, served in Virginia regiments under Washington in his expedition across the Allegheny Mountains in 1754. It is likely that Jews moved into the colony from Baltimore and other places in Maryland early on. By 1785, Richmond had a Jewish community of about a dozen families of Spanish-Portuguese descent. They formed a Sephardic congregation in 1791. This congregation existed until 1898.

A few Jews were among the traders who settled in Tennessee, near the Holston River, in 1778. But they were just passing through and did not make a permanent settlement.

Of the remaining southern states east of the Mississippi River, the main Jewish settlements were in Alabama and Mississippi. A few Jews made their way into the area that is now Alabama during the early 1700s. One person named Pallachio became important in 1776.

It is likely that there were a few Jews in the Natchez district of Mississippi before the end of the 1700s. But no congregation was formed until the one in Natchez was established in 1843.

Jews and the American Revolution

Before and during the American Revolutionary War, Jews were on both sides of the conflict. However, most supported the colonial side. On the Non-Importation Agreement of 1769, the names of at least five Jews are found. This was also true for other similar agreements.

The start of the Revolutionary War caused the congregation in New York to break up. As the British were about to occupy the town, most of the congregation, led by Gershom Mendes Seixas, took all the synagogue's belongings and moved to Philadelphia. There, they established the first regular congregation, Mickvé Israel, in 1782. The small number of Jews who stayed in New York sometimes held services in the synagogue. Most of those who left for Philadelphia returned to New York after the war.

Haym Solomon (1740–1785) was possibly the main financier for the American side during the American War of Independence against Great Britain. He was born in Prussia and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Although Jews played an important part in the events leading up to the Revolution, it seems that even during intense political discussions, they were able to start another congregation in 1774. However, not all Jews were on the colonial side during the war. Mordecai Sheftall, Levi Sheftall, Philip Jacob Cohen, Philip Minis, and Sheftall Sheftall were disqualified by the authorities from holding any position of trust in the province during the early days of the Revolution. This was because of their strong revolutionary ideas. The community was scattered during the Revolution, but many Jews returned immediately after the war ended.