History of the Jews in Illinois facts for kids
The story of Jewish people in Illinois began a long time ago, in 1793. That's when John Hays, the first postmaster in the region, moved to Cahokia from New York.
Another important early Jewish settler was Abraham Jonas (politician). He moved to Quincy in 1838. In 1842, he was elected to the Illinois Legislature, which is like the state's law-making group. There, he met Abraham Lincoln and they became lifelong friends. Cap. Samuel Noah was also an early Jewish settler. He was the first Jewish person to graduate from West Point, a famous military school. He taught school in Mount Pulaski, Illinois in the late 1840s.
As of 2013, Illinois has about 297,935 Jewish people. Most of them, about three-fourths, live in Chicago. Peoria and Quincy have the next largest Jewish communities.
Jewish Life in the 1800s
Chicago's Early Jewish Community
You can find more details about Jewish history in Chicago here.
Jewish people first settled in Chicago in the 1830s. One of the first to arrive was Henry Meyer. He was an agent for a group that helped Jewish families move to new places. Henry Meyer settled as a farmer in Cook County. He suggested that other Jewish families should move to Chicago too.
Soon, the first Jewish groups in Illinois were started in Chicago. These included the Jewish Burial-Ground Society in 1846. Religious groups called congregations also formed, like Anshe Ma'arab in 1847, B'nai Sholom in 1852, and Sinai in 1861. Since then, many more congregations have been organized. Most of them, about 68, are in Chicago.
Jewish Communities Across Illinois
Outside of Chicago, there are eight congregations in seven different cities. Many other Jewish people live scattered across southern Illinois. They are part of the Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois.
Some of the cities with Jewish communities include:
In the 1990s, about 2,000 Jewish people lived in southern Illinois. They were connected through the Southern Illinois Jewish Federation. Some of the larger cities they lived in included Alton, Aurora, Belleville, and Carbondale. Today, some of these cities have regular meeting places for their congregations.
