Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/547

499 THE JEWISH EN'CYCLOPEDIA

499

Virginia R'gimonts under Wasliinj^ton in his exacross the Allejfliany mounluins in 1754. It is likely lliat ((uitc a nunilx-r dt' .lews reinnved friirii IJaltiniore and other pciiiits in .Maryland to The Conicre.^Mtion 15eth Kielininudat an early date. yhaloni was formed in the latter plate about the ill

IKMlitiiin

year 1791.

The Kichniond conumiuily

lias

.since

grown

to considerable projjortions, as has also that Congregations now exist in about 20 of Norfolk. towns ill the state, and iu at least 4 towns iu West Viririiiia.

Louisiana: Judali Touro came to New Orleans as early as 1801. The first iiitermeiit in tlic Jewish cemetery of that city took place on June 28, 1828. The coinmuuity there grew rapidly from 1848 on; and tuinibers of congregations and important chariSimilar jirogtable organizations were established. ress is noticeable throughout the entire state, 1!) town-; now having Jen isli communities. Kentucky: The lirst person of undoubted Jewish lilood to settle iu Kentucky was a Mr. Salamou, of Philadelphia, who established hiiii.self at Ilarrodsburg about 1808. In 1810 he was api)ointed cashier of the bank of the United States at Lexington. service was established in 1838; and by 184;i there was a synagogue which, under the name of '"Adas Israel," obtained a charter from the legislature. Louisville now (1901) has six congregations as well as a considerable iiumlier of i)liil;uilliro|iic and educational institutions. The major Louisville, portion of the Jews of Kentucky reside in Louisville; but there are communities in at least a half-do/.eu other towns iu the

A

slate.

The remaining Southern states, with a single exception, can be but barely mentioned here. Jews settled in the territory which is now Alabama as early as 1724; and the lirst congregation was formed Birmingham, Jlobile, ilontin Mobile in 1841. goineiy, and many smaller towns have tiourishiug communities.

Texas

Jews jilayed a very considerable jiart in and development of Te.as. The first Jewish settler was Samuel Israel, who came from the United States in 1821, when Texas was still a

the >ettlenient

of Jlexico. He received a grant of land in county, and later a boiinty-w arrant in I'olk county for services in the army of Texas in 1831) and 1837. He was followed by Abraham ('. Labat, of Charleston, S. C, who arrived in 18;U. One of the lirst to take advantage of the new channel of tra<le opened to the United Slates by the results of the battle of San Jacinto in 18;!(t, which made Texas* an independent republic, was Jacob de Cordova, of Spanish Town, Jamaica. In 18;!7 he settled in (Jalveston and became a citizen of the rejuiblic; and he had a large share in settling persons on tracts of land in Texas. The most important of the cnrly settlers, hn-wevor. was Henry Castro, jiioneer of that portion of Texas to the west tif thecilvof San Antonio. Early He served in the I'reneh army, and emigrateil to the United State* after Settlers. the fall of Napoleon in May. 1827. and, Imviiig become an Amiria. and it is estimated that between ls^:iand 184(i he introduced more than ."LOOOeinigrants into the state. On the admission of Texas into the Union, a Jew, David S. KaulTman, was ideeled luie of her congressmen; and he served until his doiith iu 18.51. jiortioii

Fort

lieiid

America

Texas, in iirojiortiou to her .Tewish jiopulation, has had an unusually large number of Jewish citizens prominent in pulilic life and in the learned professions. nilies;

Thirty-two towns

now have Jewish

coniniu-

the largest being those of Dallas, Galveston, Houston., San Antonio, and ^uco. Western States. Indiana As regards He-

—



brews in the Western states, the first definite information is of the arrival in Iiuiianapolis in 1794 of Jews from England; but no congregation ajipears to have been organized there until Ls-lC. This congregation was, however, precetled by those of Fort

Wayne

(1848),

Lafayette (1849), a'nd

Evausvillc

Twenty-three towns in the state now have Jewish communities. Itlichigan : A congregation was organized in Detroit, ilieh., iu 18.51. That city now has a considerable Jewish community. In no other place in the state have Jews settled in large numbers. They are, however, distributed iu small numbers throughout the whole of Jlichigaii, there being no less than 2 towns with Jewish communities, among which should be especially mentioned Alpena, Bay City, (iraiid Bapids, and Kalamazoo. Ohio: The earliest Jewish community of importance in the West, and that which still plays a leading part in Jewish affairs in the United States, is the (18.")3).

community of

the state of Ohio,

more especially that

of Cincinnati.

The Jewish pioneer of the Ohio valley was Joseph Jonas, who was born in Exeter, England, and arrived in Cincinnati on March 8, 1817. In 1819 he was joined by three others. Jtany more, all of English birth, followed, until the year 18:^0, when a wave of German emigration Howed into Cincinnati. As early as 1819, services were held on New-year's Day and on the Day of Atonement. In 182.5 a congregation was formed, under the name "Kalial Kadosh B'ne Yisrael." Two others were established in 1.841, and a fourth in 1848. Largely through the iiiHuence of Isaac JI. AVise, but powerfully aided by capable and public-spirited members of the cornCincinnati, munity, Cincinnati has indelibly impressed itself upon Judaism in AmerIt is the seat of the Union of American-Hebrew ica. Congregations, of the Board of Delegates, and of the Hebrew Union College, which now supplies the pulpits of a large maiority of the Bcformed congregations of the United States, Second in importance is the community of Cleveland, in which town Jews settled as early as 1839.

A

congregation was founded

in 18.50.

Jews

are

now

iu 1840, settled in 20

aud a second towns in the

stale.

Illinois The state of New York contains more than one-third of the Jewish iiopulation of the United States; and the states of Pennsylvania and Illinois together comprise one fifth, these two latter being about ec|Ual. This is all the more surprising in view of the comparatively recent opening-up of the western territory; thongli it isijuite certain that

there were Jewish settlers in the Illinois territory during Kreiich rule about 1700. Chicago reeeivi'd its charier not earlier than the year 1837. The lirst authentic information of the settlement of Jew s there dates back to 1841 and in 1843 a large number arrived. The fimt Jew to buy land in Cook county was Henry Jli'yer, who came hi 18-1.5 the Ilrst to Illinois in the spring ol 1.><47. Jewish organization was established under the name of "The Jewish Hurial(!round Society." The Keliillat . she Ma'arab was organized in 1847, being the oldest c'ongregation in the Northwest; u second, B'nai Sholom, was established in 1852. Iu 1858 the