USA > South Carolina > The Jews of South Carolina, from the earliest times to the present day > Part 3
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37 Probate Records, Book MM, 1763-1767, p. 222.
Ibid., Book Miscellaneous, 1767-1771, p. 479.
39 The South-Carolina and American General Gazette, March 26, 1778.
" The Royal Gazette, May 22, 1782.
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ORGANIZATION
" I commend my soul to the Almighty God of Israel, Creator of Heaven and Earth, imploring His most gracious pardon for all my past sins and transgressions of which I most sincerely repent and hoping His infinite mereies will be extended to me. Also I most vehemently and sincerely invoke His holy name, saying, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is One."
After making various bequests, among which are " £10 lawfull money of South Carolina to each Jew who should have a hand in washing or burying my body," and £10 to the Portuguese Synagogue at London, with a request for prayers to be said for him, he concludes :
"I also recommend to my said son" [David Lopez de Olivera] " to walk in the fear of God and in the path of virtue, which is the last and best legacy I can leave him. I conclude with imploring the Divine Mercy of my Creator to receive my soul with pity on my frail nature, saying, Into Thy hands I will deposit my spirit; Thou hast rescued me, O Lord God of Truth." 4
Such were the Jews who settled in South Carolina in Provincial days. There is an inventory of his estate in the records of the Probate Court.42
Of David Olivera, who was one of the original Jewish settlers in Savannah, the records make no mention.
Abraham Nunez Cardozo, or Abraham Cardozo, as he was more commonly called, advertises only once in the Gazettes.43 The only other reference to him is the notice of his death :
" November 17th, 1762.
" This day died, Abraham Cardozo, first cousin to Madam Sarah Da Costa, of a hurt received the 10th instant, in Rebellion-Road, to the great grief of his wife. HANNAH CARDOZO." "
# Probate Records, Book Wills, 1747-1752, pp. 522-524.
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" Ibid., Book Inventories, 1751-3, pp. 409-410.
" The South-Carolina Gazette, Jan. 8, 1756.
" Ibid., Nov. 20, 1762.
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THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Joseph Tobias has already been referred to at length.
Masoad Tobias (pronounced Meshod) was the son of Joseph Tobias. He died on February 27, 1798, aged fifty- seven. He must therefore have been born in Charles Town.
Joseph Tobias had a son Jacob, who died in 1773. He had another son Joseph whose son, Jacob Tobias, was a member of Captain Drayton's militia company in 1775.45. He died on November 16, 1775, aged twenty-six. He could there- fore hardly have seen service in the Revolution.
Moses Pimenta, we are told, was "a man learned in the law and a teacher of the Jewish youth."' 46 In the inven- tory of the estate of Solomon Isaacs there is a note of his.+7 Moses Pimenta apparently learnt by experience that teach- ing Jewish youth is by no means an easy road to affluence.
Mordecai Sheftall and Levi Sheftall were the sons of Benjamin Sheftall, one of the original Jews who settled in Savannah.48 . They are more closely connected with the history of that community, though they did business and for a while lived in Charles Town, In the Mesne Convey- ance Records there is a marriage settlement, dated 1761, from "Mordecai Sheftall, of the Province of Georgia, to Frances Hart, the daughter of Moses Hart, at present in the Hague in Europe. "#8 Levi Sheftall was more closely identified with Charles Town.50
Of Michael Lazarus we know very little. He was in busi- ness in King Street in 1762.51 He was probably the father of Marks Lazarus, the Revolutionary patriot, but this is not certain.
45 The South Carolina Hist. and Gen. Mag., Vol. 1, pp. 135 and 187.
46 The Occident, Vol. 1, p. 337.
47 Probate Records, Book Inventories, 1756-8, p. 64.
48 The Occident, Vol. 1. p. 382.
" Mesne Conveyance Records, Book O 3, p. 501.
50 Ibid., Book M 5, p. 308 (also Book Z, p. 472).
$1 The South-Carolina Gazette, April 24, 1762.
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ORGANIZATION
Philip Hart was a native of Hamburg and one of the officials of the Congregation Beth Elohim.52 He was also a merchant.53 He was a partner in the business of Samuel Isaacs, at Georgetown.5* His name is registered in the Columbia Records as part owner of a vessel.5 He fought in Lushington's militia company in the Revolution 36 and furnished supplies to the State Commissary.57 He was a prominent member of the Jewish community and a gen- erous contributor towards the erection of the Synagogue in 1794.58 He was also a benefactor of the Charleston Orphan House and his name appears on one of the memorial tablets that adorn the walls of that institution. He died on Feb- ruary 1, 1796. Among the bequests in his will are £200 to the Synagogue in Charleston, £50 to the poor in the Poor House, and £50 to the orphans in the Orphan House.59
Another Jew of this period, whom we have met before, was Solomon Isaacs. He advertises in the Gazettes in 1752 and 1755.60 He died in 1757. His will, proved January 14, 1757, mentions his nephew, Sampson Simson, of New York, as one of his executors.61
In The South-Carolina Gazette of August 19, 1756, there occurs the first notice of Moses Lindo, the most conspicuous Jew in South Carolina in Provincial days. To this remark- able man a special chapter will be devoted.
52 The Occident, Vol. 1, p. 337.
53 The South-Carolina Gazette, May 30, 1761.
5-4 Ibid., Jan. 17, 1761.
55 Columbia Records, Registered Vessels, etc.
53 Orderly Book, Charles Town Regiment of Militia, New York Public Library ( Uncalendared MSS.).
" Columbia Records, Indent Stubs, Book A, No. 224.
58 The Occident, Vol. 1, p. 387. See also Constitution of 1820, Rule xx.
39 Will Book C, 1793-1800, p. 270.
0) The South-Carolina Gazette, August 17, 1752, April 24, 1755, and Oct. 9, 1755.
"1 Probate Records, Will Book 1757-1760, pp. 8-9.
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THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Joseph Levy is the first Jew whom we meet with in con- nection with military affairs. He was a lieutenant of Cap- tain Gaillard's company of the South Carolina Regiment of Foot, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Probart Howarth. There is a copy of his commission, dated Sep- tember 3, 1757, in the Probate Office in Charleston.62 He also held a commission as lieutenant in Colonel Middleton's South Carolina Regiment in the Cherokee War of 1760-1, and was on recruiting service in North Carolina in 1761.63 After the war, he went back to business. He advertises in the Gazette of November 13, 1762. His last advertisement appears on August 6, 1772.
Though the advertiser does not belong to South Carolina, it would be well to notice here an interesting advertisement which appears in The South-Carolina Gazette of October 20, 1759. Isaac Levy makes claim to the islands of Ossaba and Sappelo on the sea-coast of Georgia, which have been announced for sale, and gives notice to intending purchasers that they will buy lands without a clear title. He is going to petition his Majesty. On November 24 he publishes papers in proof of his own title. This Isaac Levy was a native of New York who lived for some years in England. The full story of this case and its sequel is told in a paper read by Dr. Herbert Friedenwald before the American Jew- ish Historical Society.6+
In the Probate Records, Volume 1758-1763, page 238, there is a document of Israel Levy, merchant, of Charles Town, dated November 29, 1759.
In The South-Carolina Gazette of December 16, 1760, Isaac Pinto advertises as a wholesale wine merchant. He
82 Probate Records, Book Wills, 1754-8, p. 705.
631 The South-Carolina Gazette. April 11, 1761. See also Probate Rec- ords, Book 1758-1763, p. 306. This commission is dated Sept. 23, 1760.
" Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, Vol. 9, pp. 57-62.
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ORGANIZATION
advertises also on February 21, 1761, and on January 23, 1762.
In the Gazette of December 11, 1762, we meet with Simon Hart, and on September 25, 1762, Imanuel Cortissoz adver- tises "Fine fresh Butter, in Keggs, just brought to town," "at his store in Market-square, facing Broad-Street."
In the Gazette of April 24, 1762, we first meet with Joshua Hart "on the Bay." He advertises steadily till April 28, 1777. On November 18, 1777, there is this notice -the first Jewish marriage-notice in the Gazettes:
" The same day [Wednesday] Mr. Abraham Mendez Sexias, of the State of Georgia, was married to Miss Riteey Hart, a young lady of the most amiable qualifications, daughter of Mr. Joshua Hart, of this town."
This notice is interesting as an early example of inter- marriage between Portuguese and German Jews. Such intermarriages were by no means uncommon in South Caro- lina in the early days. In later days they are less fre- quent.
In the Gazette of September 10, 1763, we meet with Jacob Jacobs. He leaves for Savannah, but is back again on April 7, 1779.
On December 31, 1764, Dr. Andrew Judah, a physician from London, advertises. His next advertisement states that he is from Holland. One cannot say with certainty whether he is a Jew.
In the Gazette of August 18, 1766, we read :
" On Friday, in the ship Queen Charlotte, Capt. Reeves, also from London, arrived (among others) Mr. Mordecai Sheftall (for Georgia) and the Rev. Mr. Alexander."
This Rev. Mr. Alexander is most likely the Abraham Alexander who succeeded Isaac Da Costa as Reader of Beth Elohim, though Mr. Levin in The Occident gives the date of his appointment as 1764. We cannot always accept the
44
THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
statements of this writer, however, who is extremely reck- less in the matter of dates.65
Abraham Alexander was the son of Joseph Raphael Alex- ander, and came from London. He appears to have come to Charles Town a widower, leaving behind him a young son who came to South Carolina after the Revolution. He afterwards married again. Like his predecessors, he ap- pears to have served as Reader in the Synagogue without remuneration till he resigned in 1784.66 He earned his living as a scrivener. A manuscript prayer-book according to the ritual of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in his own hand- writing is still in existence, in the possession of one of his descendants. A document on record in Columbia shows that he made his wife, Ann Sarah Alexander, a sole trader in 1791. He was a clerk in the Charleston Custom House in 1802 and afterwards auditor. He was one of the founders of Scottish Rite Masonry in Charleston.67 He died in 1816, beloved and respected in the community.
In the Probate Records, Volume MM. 1763-7, page 432, there is a deed of Solomon Levi. He mentions in it Bernard De Young and Isaac De Lyon, saddler.
On page 579 of this volume there is a promissory note of Henry Isaacks, dated June 18, 1765. and on page 429 there is a deed of Isaac De Lyon, of Charles Town, dated June 11, 1766. In this deed occurs the name of Emanuel Abrahams, who was a prominent member of Lushington's company
65 Compare, e.g., the dates given in The Occident with those in the repro- duction of the same article in the Year Book for 1833. A more extraor- dinary compilation of dates than those given in the Year Book, pp. 315-6, would be hard to imagine. How Mr. Levin could have compiled such a table with his own article before him passes all comprehension.
66 " The seventh escaba shall be made for Mr. Abraham Alexander, sen., deceased, who volunteered his services to perform divine service." (Con- stitution of 1820, Rule xx.)
"7 Richardson : Centennial Address, p. 8.
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ORGANIZATION
during the Revolution. This Emanuel Abrahams is men- tioned in an earlier document, a deed of settlement made in April, 1763, by Joseph David, who married Dinah Cohen, widow of Moses Cohen, deceased.88
In the Gazette of October 27, 1766, among the list of pas- sengers arrived are Mr. Franks and daughter.
In the postscript to the Gazette of May 11, 1767, we meet with Philip Abraham and Samuel Nunez Cardozo.
In the Gazette of June 1, 1767, we read that "On the 26th inst. Mr. Lopez and many other passengers embarked for Rhode Island." The Lopez family, however, did not settle in Charleston till after the Revolution.
In the Gazette of July 6, 1767, we read of the arrival of Mr. Joseph Jacobs from Philadelphia, and in that of August 3 Francis Cohen is mentioned.
In the Gazette of August 1, 1771, Mordecai Myers advertises, and. again, from . Georgetown, on August 25, 1772.
On September 19, 1771, we meet with Myer Moses for the first time in the Gazettes, though he had been living in Charles Town for some years.
On November 1, 1773, there is mention made of Jacob Ramos, and on December 6, 1773, we read of the arrival of Francis Salvador, the hero and patriot, whose life and death are invested with quite a romantic interest. To this distinguished man a special chapter will be devoted.
From now on we meet with many new names. There is nothing to be gained any more by detailed references. It is worth noting. however, that there are not many men who lived in Charles Town before the Revolution whom we do not meet in some or other connection in the records. A complete directory will serve a useful purpose, inasmuch as
@ Probate Records, Book 1758-1763, p. 599.
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THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
it will enable us to discuss intelligently the part played in the Revolution by the Jews of South Carolina. 69
80 See Appendix B.
The critic may find fault with the author's method of writing this early history, but no other method was possible consistent with his design of preserving these early memorials of the Jews of South Carolina. Apart from the notices here given, nothing is known of many of the individuals mentioned. The records of this State are in imminent danger of going out of existence at any moment. The old records are going to pieces. A few years from now many of the documents referred to will no longer be legible. Many of them are already crumbling. The ink on the pages of many of the Gazettes is fading. It should be remembered, too, that by far the greater part of this material is unindexed. Even with accu- rate references the investigator may have to spend hours in looking up a single reference, for not a few of the papers have been misplaced by the careless binder. Every reference in this volume has been carefully verified. The author finds consolation in the thought that the real student of history will prefer the dulness of detail of recorded facts to the fascinating narratives invented by family vanity or by professional gene- alogists to meet the requirements of patriotic societies, 50 called, whose influence upon historical writing has not been one of entirely unmixed good.
CHAPTER III-MOSES LINDO
HE subject of this sketch is a most in- teresting figure in the early days of South Carolina's history. Who Moses Lindo was we do not know positively. What we know of him is mainly con- tained in that wonderfully rich collec- tion of Gasettes that is to be found in the Charleston Library alone. There can be no doubt, how- ever, as to the fact of his being a member of the Lindo family of London, England, which has been prominently connected with the Spanish and Portuguese community of that city for several generations. The present generation of the Lindo family know nothing of him, even tradition- ally, but it is worthy of note that Moses D. Lindo, the grand- father of one of the distinguished Elders of the Bevis Marks Synagogue, of London, who died about 1867, was an indigo broker in Bury Court not far from Wormwood Street, where our Moses Lindo had his office. In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1753 there is mention made of a Moses Lindo, merchant, of St. Mary Axe.1 He is probably the Moses Lindo who came shortly afterwards to South Carolina. Picciotto, in his charming Sketches of Anglo-Jewish His- tory,2 makes mention of a Moses Lindo, Jr., as a prominent
1 Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 23, p. 53.
" Sketches of Anglo-Jewish History, p. 124.
47
-
48
THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
member of the "Deputies of British Jews," a body ap- pointed "To watch all Acts of Parliament, Acts of Govern- ment, laws, libels, addresses, or whatever else may affect the body of Jews," and which is to-day the most influential organization of Jews in the world. He may be a son of our Moses Lindo. The latter was himself an important per- sonage in London prior to his coming to South Carolina. He himself tells us :
" I have been allowed to be one of the best judges of Cochineal and Indico on the ROYAL EXCHANGE, for upwards of 25 years past; and have not been thought unworthy (when Sir Stephen Theodore Jansen represented the city of London in Parliament) to be called with Mr. Samuel Torin, and Mr. Daniel Valentine, to give my sentiments of Caro- lina Indico to the hon. House of Commons of Great Britain." 3
Suffice it to say, then, that Moses Lindo was an expert indigo sorter in London, who, noticing that a particularly fine grade of indigo was received from South Carolina, changed his headquarters in 1756 from London to Charles Town. The rest of his story cannot be told better than by the Gazettes themselves.
We first meet with Moses Lindo in the Gazettes, some three months before he arrives in Charles Town. The fol- lowing is the first notice of him and appears in the supple- ment to The South-Carolina Gazette of Thursday, August 19, 1756 :
" A Correspondent in London, has sent us the following Advertisement, and with it proper Directions for making Lime Water to subside Indico. " To the Printer of the Public Advertiser:
" SIR :
"I HAVE examined the major Part of the Carolina Indico entered this year, and have the Pleasure to find a considerable Quantity equal to the BEST French; and tho' there is some inferior to the Sight by
& The South-Carolina Gazette, Jan. 19, 1767. Peter Timothy was the publisher of this Gazette.
49
MOSES LINDO
3s. 6d, per Pound, yet on using it as under, I am convinced the In- feriority is not more than 1s. 6d. a Pound. Therefore, Sir, your pub- lishing this, will be a singular Service to the consumer, and consequently oblige.
" Your constant Reader,
"MOSES LINDO, Wormwood-street."
The next notice of Moses Lindo is the announcement of his arrival in Charles Town.
"MOSES LINDO gives this public Notice, that he is arrived from London, with an Intent to purchase Indico of the Growth and Manu- facture of this Province, and to remit the same to his Constituents in London, classed, sorted and packed in a Manner proper for the foreign market .- If any are desirous to know upon what Credit, and to what Extent he purposes to carry on his Branch of Business, he begs leave to refer them for Particulars to Mr. John Rattray, who is possessed of his Papers, and to whom he is recommended." *
The following is the notice of his first shipment :
"FOR LONDON
The snow Dodgson, Burthen 130 Tons, with S Guns, Men answerable, William Dunn Master, will sail about the 10th of January ( Wind and Weather permitting), Mr. Lindo having engaged to ship 20,000 1b of INDICO with all his COFFEE purchased from the French prizes. No other goods to be admitted but Coffee and Indico. Any person inclinable to ship, may apply to Mr. Lindo or the aforesaid Master." "
The magnitude of Lindo's business transactions may be gathered from the following :
" Whereas I have employ'd the Sum of One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Pounds Currency in the Produce of this Country, besides 30,000 Pounds in Prize-Goods and other Articles, all which are paid for, as appears by my Receipt-Book, except about 3,800 Pounds Currency, 2,000 of which does not become due 'till the 22d Instant. The Remaining 1,800 Pounds I have my objections for not paying.
* The South-Carolina Gazette, Nov. 11, 1756.
6 Ibid., Dec. 23, 1756.
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THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
"NOW THIS IS TO GIVE NOTICE, to every Gentleman, Planter and Trader in this Province, who has any Demands on me, that they come and receive their Money from the 15th to the 25th Instant. If any One should take the Liberty of contradicting the above Advertise- ment, or give out any other malicious Insinuation, in order to prejudice me in the Good Opinion of those I have dealt with, I shall esteem it one of the greatest Favours done to me, to let me know the same by a Line, and their Names shall be concealed. And if such Information comes from a person of midling Circumstances, on due Proof thereof, I do hereby promise to reward him with the Sum of Five Hundred Pounds Currency.
"I return my Thanks to those Gentlemen who assisted me in taking my Bills for 12,000 Pounds Sterling; and to the Planters of Winyah and those of the Southward, for giving me the Preference of their Indico. And do hereby assure them, that (if it please God I live 'till the next Season) I will not let their Fine Indico Fall under 20 Shillings per Pound, having all the Reason to believe I shall have 200,000 Pounds Currency to lay out the ensuing Year in that Article; wherefore I hope they will not be discouraged,
"MOSES LINDO.
" Whoever is desirous of being informed what I paid for what I bought, may know of William Branford, John Hutchinson, John Butler, William Gibbs, Jonas Butterfield, Andrew Govan. &c., &c.
"N. B .- If any Person is willing to part with a plantation of 500 Acres, with 60 or 70 Negroes, I am ready to purchase it for ready money. Please to leave a Line directed to me at Mrs. Shepard's in Tradd-street, and Secrecy shall be observed if not agreed on." "
Moses Lindo was not only an expert indigo sorter, but was also a scientific experimenter with dyes. He sought to encourage investigation, likewise, on the part of others by offering prizes for discoveries if they proved to be of value. Witness the following :
" Mr Timothy :
"I HAVE made Trial of Two CRIMSON DYES lately discovered in this Province; and in Justice to Mr. John Story of Port Royal, Car-
" Supplement to The South-Carolina Gazette, March 3, 1757.
51
MOSES LINDO
penter, I am obliged to declare, that I find his Crimson called JOHN'S- BLOOD, answers all the Purposes of Cochineal; for it dyes a fine Crim- son on Cotton, so as to stand washing with Soap-Lees; and it is my firm Opinion will likewise dye Scarlet. I have sent Samples of it Home, via Bristol, that, when approved of in London, by Messrs George Farmer and George Honour, two eminent Dyers there, the said Mr Story may be entitled to Part of the Reward offered by the Society for encouraging Arts, to such as can fix a Scarlet or Turky-Red on Cotton.
" And as there are many Roots and Weeds to be found in this Prov- ince and Georgia, that will dye REDS, I shall be obliged to all who will meet with such in their Way, to send me a Pound dried in the Shade; that I may make Trials of them. And if the Discoverers be persons in middling Circumstances, and what they produce to me be proven a DYE, I will reward them with Fifty Pounds Currency, and use my best En- deavours to obtain for them further Gratuities from the Dyers Company in London.
" I am sensible, Mr. Timothy, you are a Well-Wisher to the Interest of this Province and the Mother-Country; therefore, hope you will not omit publishing in your Gazettes any Hints tending to the Advantage of both whenever such are offered you; and thereby, amongst others, oblige
" Your Constant Reader,
" MOSES LINDO. " Charles Town, July 16, 1759.""
Moses Lindo's contract with the London house which he represented having expired. and their agent having failed to pay for the indigo consigned to them, as also his annual allowance, he next announces that during his stay here he would mark Carolina indigo, first, second, and third sort, as he had done for them, on a reasonable commission. He does not expect to be paid unless the indigo so sorted "adds credit to this province and profit to those who chuse to ship that article," so as to prevent impositions by the purchasers of Carolina indigo in England.8
In the next notice he announces that in consequence of
" The South-Carolina Gazette, July 28, 1759.
$ Ibid., Nov. 14, 1761.
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THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
his advertisement of the 12th of November last, several gentlemen have left their indigo to his care. He assures the public that out of the twenty thousand weight on board of the vessels under convoy there are 18,000 as good as the French. Should it appear at home to the purchasers of it that he has not demonstrated it as such, he says that it will be doing the gentlemen here a piece of service if they will signify his fault in Lloyd's Evening Post, under the attestation of Messrs. Mark Hudson, Peter Fearon, Aaron Lara, and William Richardson, eminent brokers in this and other dyes, "To whose judgment only I submit, as well as to their equity in doing me justice, whether they ever saw so large a parcel of Carolina indico so even sorted as not to differ in value two pence sterling per pound from the first lot to the last."
Lindo had met with such marked success in his business that he roused the jealousy of his competitors, who seem to have spread false reports concerning him. He retaliates in this same advertisement :
" As some purchasers of indico may imagine that by this advertise- ment I want to get more indico to sort, I do Hereby declare that I will only do it for those that I am engaged with, they being well known to be capital people, and capable of purchasing as much indico of the planters as I can well attend to."
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