ELZAS 
 
 JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ^ C'JJFGIINIA 
 
 THE JEWS OF 
 SOUTH CAROLINA.... 
 
 *i^ J^ J^ J^ 
 
 A Survey of the Reconls 
 at Present Existing in Charleston. 
 
 . . . B Y. . . 
 Dr. BARNETT A. ELZAS, 
 
 Rabbi of K. K. Beth Eloliim. 
 
 ^ J^ J^ Jt 
 
 I 
 
 U95 1750. 
 j j > ^ 
 
 [Reprinted from the Charleston News and Courier, Dec. 1902.
 
 F 
 
 The Jews of </ 
 
 South Carolina .... 
 
 ^fi^ %p^ t^^ t^^ 
 
 A Survey of the Records at Present 
 Existing in Charleston. 
 
 To write an adequate and comprehensive 
 history of the Jews of South Carolina to- 
 day is a task of enormous difficulty. Not 
 that there is any dearth of material to 
 him who has the patience and the industry 
 to go after it, but because many valuable 
 documents are no longer in existence; and, 
 furthermore, because a vast amount of 
 material bearing upon the history of 
 South Carolina during the Revolutionary 
 period, and indirectly, therefore, upon that 
 of the Jews, is at present hidden away in 
 Columbia, where it will be some years be- 
 fore it will be available to the historian. 
 
 The oldest records of the Congregation 
 Beth Elohim, too, have disappeared. Those 
 which I recently recovered, valuable 
 though they be, only date from 1800. The 
 oldest records, with the exception ot one 
 volume, were no longer in existence in 
 1844, which fact was elicited in the exam- 
 ination of Solomon Valentine, the then 
 Secretary of the Congregation In the trial 
 of The State vs Ancker, of which I have 
 written elsewhere. ("The Organ in the 
 Synagogue," reprinted from The News 
 and Courier, November, 1902.) 
 
 Even that one precious volume Is gone. 
 But in spite of this I think that we can 
 obtain from the rich historical material 
 still remaining In Charleston, a tolerably 
 good glimpse in outline of the history of 
 the Charleston Jewish community enough 
 
 211711.5
 
 at least to enable some future and more 
 capable worker in this field, to fill In the 
 details and reconstruct it in its entirety. 
 Personally, I can only hope to gather up 
 a few scattered threads; and I shall, as 
 far as possible, let the records speak for 
 themselves. 
 
 The story of South Carolina is indeed a 
 thrilling one. From 1670, when it was first 
 settled, down to this day, it has been one 
 long tale of glorious achievement. In not 
 a few things has this State set the pace 
 to her sister States, but in nothing may 
 she feel a more Justifiable pride than in 
 the broad and liberal principles on which 
 she was founded. 
 
 "In the year 1669," we read in the rec- 
 ords, "the Lords 'did encourage severall 
 people to come in their Vessells to inhab- 
 Itt this part of their province and with the 
 said people did aJsoe send F^indamll 
 Lawes, Constitucons under the hands & 
 Scales of six of their Lordshipps bearing 
 date 21st July, '69, as the unalterable 
 forme & rule of Governmt for ever.' " 
 
 (Langdon Cheves, EJsq, in "Shaftesbury 
 Papers" Note to p 117.) 
 
 This Constitution of John Locke (1669,) 
 was a veritable Magna Charta of liberty 
 and tolerance. South Carolina started 
 right. My chief concern being the Jews 
 of South Carolina, I would especially call 
 attention to Article 87 of that Constitu- 
 tion. It is to be found In the Shaftesbury 
 Papers in the 5th volume of the Collec- 
 tions of the South Carolina Historical So- 
 ciety: 
 
 *87. Bnt atnce ye natlvea of yt 
 place -who vrlll be concernd in or. 
 plantation* are utterly Mtranarera to 
 CTltrlatianlty, wbose IdoUatry, Igno- 
 rance, or mistake grlves a noe ri^ht 
 to expell or uae ym. Ill, A those vrho 
 remo-re from other parts to plant 
 tin^re, frill nnavoydably be of diff-
 
 rent opinions eoncernlngr matters of 
 rellgrlon, ye liberty vrliereol they 
 ^rlll expect to have allowert yni., & 
 it will not be reasonable for us on 
 this account to keep ym. out yt civil 
 peace may be malntalnd amidst ye 
 diversity of opinions, & our ag,ree- 
 ment & compact tvith all men may 
 be duly & faithfully observed, ye 
 violation whereof upon what p'tence 
 soever, cannot be without g;reat 
 offence to Alnii^hty God, & grreat 
 scandal to the true religrion yt we \ 
 p'fesse, & also yt heathens, Jues, <. 
 and other dissenters from the purity i 
 of Christian religrion may not be j 
 scared and kept at a distance from ^ 
 it, but by having an oppertunity of / 
 acquaintlngr themselves Trith ye,' 
 truth & reasonablenes of its doc- 
 trines, & ye peacablenes & inoffen- 
 dvenes of its professors, may by 
 grood usagre and perswasion, & all 
 those convincing methods of g^entle- 
 nes <fe nieeknes sntable to ye rules 
 & deslgrne of the Ghospel, be fvone 
 over to imbrace and unfeynedly re- 
 ceive ye truth. Therefore any sea- 
 ven or more persons agrreeing^ in any 
 rellgrion shall constitute a church 
 or profession to Trch. they shall give 
 some name to distingrnish it from 
 others." 
 
 Little wonder, then, that the persecuted 
 Jew, like the persecuted Huguenot and 
 German Palatine, soon came here to find 
 a haven of rest. To be undisturbed in the 
 possession of "life, liberty and the pursuit 
 of happiness," and to enjoy the privilege 
 of worshipping God as his conscience dic- 
 tatedthese have ever been the ideals of 
 the Jew, even as they were the ideals upon 
 which this great Republic was established. 
 For by far the greater part of his his- 
 tory, in every country, some or all of these 
 "Inalienable rights of man " have been 
 denied him. Here he could have them all, 
 and in fullest measure. South Carolina
 
 welcomed him, welcomed him as a man, 
 welcomed him as a brother; welcomed him 
 as a citizen, and the Jew showed himself 
 worthy of the confidence that was reposed 
 In him. It is no Idle boast to claim that 
 there are none who have shed more lustre 
 upon the annals of this State, or have 
 done more towards Its upbuilding, than 
 have its Jewish citizens. 
 
 When did the Jews first come here and 
 where did they come from? Thereby 
 hangs an interesting tale. 
 
 In the Charleston Library there is a re- 
 print of a unique volume entitled "A New 
 Description of that Fertile and Pleasant 
 Province of Carolina, by John Archdale, 
 L.ate Governor of the Same." (London, 
 1707.) It was reprinted In Charleston in 
 1822. On page 22 there occurs the following 
 Interesting narrative: 
 
 Now that the Reader may plainly 
 dlacern, that the Almishty and Om- 
 niscient Ctodf takes cogrnlzance of 
 Human Affairs, and directs them by 
 a -wise and prudent Chain of Causes, 
 I shall relate some remarkable Pas- 
 sages that happened quickly after 
 that 1 entered upon the Go-vernment. 
 which was the 17th of Augrust, 1095. 
 There is a Nation of Indians call'd 
 the 'I ammassees, vrho formerly lived 
 under the Spanish Government, but 
 no-w live under the EuKlish, about 
 80 Miles from Charles-Tofvn. Some 
 f these Indians sroing; a Huntlngr* 
 about 200 Miles to the Southward, 
 met ivith some Spanisii Indians that 
 lived about Sancta Maria, not far 
 from AuKustine, the Seat of the 
 Spanish Government; and taking 
 them Prisoners, bronght them 
 Home, desisrnlng: to sell them for 
 Slaves t* Barbadoes or Jamaica as 
 yvBM usual; but I underatandinar 
 thereof, sent for their King:, and or- 
 dered him to bring: these Indians 
 with him to Charles-Town, which
 
 accordlngrly he did: There ^vere 
 three Men and one 'Woman; they 
 conid speak Spanish, and I had a 
 JeTV for an Interpreter, so npon ex- 
 amination, I fonnd they profess'd 
 the Christian Rellgrlon as the Pa- 
 pists do; npou ^rhlch I thongrht In a 
 most pecnllar manner, they ought 
 to be freed from Slavery; and there- 
 upon ordered the King to carry 
 them to Ansrnstlne to the Spanish 
 Governonr with a Letter, deslrlngr 
 an ^Lns^ver relating: to the recelt of 
 them; who having: recelv'd them; 
 sent me the following^ Letter: So 
 far as relates to this Affair, I copy 
 It forth:" 
 
 (Here follows the letter, which is of no 
 interest to our investigation.) 
 
 Who was this Jew who lived in Charles- 
 Town in the year 1695? Can we find him 
 elsewhere? Were there others here at 
 that early date? The records will help 
 us. 
 
 In the Probate Records, 1694-1704, p. 133, 
 Abraham Avilah, of Charles Towne, in ye 
 County of Berkley and Province of Caro- 
 lina, "for divers good causes and consid- 
 erations me at this time especially move- 
 Ing and more especially out of trust and 
 confidence which I repose In Mr Simon 
 Valentine M-cht, make him my true and 
 lawfull attorney." This Power of Attorney 
 Is dated March 25, 1698. 
 
 We meet with this Simon Valentine sev- 
 eral times in the old records. He writes his 
 name Simon Valentyn. On page 339 of the 
 same volume, Jacob Mears, of ye Parish 
 of Port Royall, in ye Island aforesaid 
 (Jamaica,) appoints "his trusty friend 
 William Smith, of Carolina, merchant, his 
 true and lawfull Attorney, to demand of 
 Simon Valentine, of Carolina, shopkeeper, 
 all and every such Debt and Debts, Sum 
 and Sums &c, as may be owing to him." 
 This deed Is dated July 3, 1701. His name
 
 also appears on p. 410, on a document dat- 
 ed January 24, 1704. In the volume, 1692-3. 
 we find him several times as a surety on 
 administration bonds. His name occurs 
 on pp 248, 256, 280 and 357. The earliest of 
 these documents bears the date of 1696. 
 
 The last reference to this Simon Valen- 
 tine Is interesting, as it is the earliest rec- 
 ord here of a Jew holding land. In the 
 volume of Miscellaneous Records, 1714- 
 1717, (p. 233,) there Is a record of a mort- 
 gage of a farm of 350 acres from Mordical 
 Nathan to Henry Peronneau which land, 
 the deed tells us, "was formerly purchased 
 by the said Mordical Nathan and Symond 
 Valentine, Deceased, being Joyn purchers, 
 whom the said Mordical has sur- 
 vived." It may be explained here, that 
 according to the old law, when two people 
 bought a piece of land in common, should 
 one of them die, the land belonged to the 
 survivor. This law has since been re- 
 pealed by Statute. 
 
 The next document of interest is an old 
 will, that is to be found in the volume, 
 "Wills, 1671-1727." 
 
 Abraham Isack, of Cyty of New Yorlte, 
 "being bound to sea, and therefore being 
 present in good health, but not knowing 
 when it may please the Almighty God to 
 take me out of ye world," makes his will. 
 It is dated May 26, 1709, and was recorded 
 in Charleston February 20, 1710. 
 
 It is now some years before the records 
 make further mention of Jews. In 1739 we 
 find two documents concerning Joseph To- 
 bias, Shopkeeper one a lease and the 
 other a transfer of property. They are to 
 be found in the Mesne Conveyance Rec- 
 ords. (W. 471 and PP 696.) We find this 
 same Joseph Tobias in one of the invento- 
 ries of an estate. (Mesne Conveyance, 1749- 
 EO, p. 75.) 
 
 The last of the records that I have been
 
 able to find occurs in the Probate Records 
 lor 1736-40. On p. 3 there is a letter from 
 New York, dated November 25, 1743, and 
 addressed to Messrs Daniel and Thomas 
 La Roche, of Charleston. Mr Jacob Frank 
 refers to his nephew, Mr Moses Solomons, 
 and some difficulty which the said Moses 
 Solomons had had with some London ship- 
 ping house. On the next page David 
 Franks, of Charles Town, Gent, declares 
 that the letter signed Jacob Frank is the 
 handwriting of his father. It would seem 
 from another letter here recorded that 
 Franks had connections in Lisbon. On 
 page 300 there is a bond of Samuel Levy 
 and Moses Salamons, of Charlestown, mer- 
 chants, to Daniel La Roche & Thomas La 
 Roche, of Winyau, for 2,605.6.8. 
 
 Leaving the records let us now look at 
 the Jews of early South Carolina, in their 
 private life. As we have seen, the Jew 
 here has never labored under any civil or 
 religious disability whatsoever. As early 
 as 1703 it is on record that Jews voted at 
 the popular election for members of the 
 Commons House of Assembly. This tolera- 
 tion on the part of the Established Church 
 party in South Carolina brought forth a 
 protest from the bigoted Dissenters of 
 that day, who complained that "At this 
 last election, Jews strangers, sailors ser- 
 vants, negroes and almost every French- 
 man in Craven and Berkeley counties 
 came down to elect, and their votes were 
 taken; the persons by them voted for 
 were returned by the Sheriff." 
 
 (Rivers, "South Carolina," quoted by 
 McCrady in "South Carolina Under the 
 Proprietary Government," p. 391.) 
 
 It is a pity that we cannot get a glance 
 at the answer to this protest. It would be 
 interesting, indeed, but it is unfortunately 
 not available. 
 
 The next point of interest in our inves-
 
 tigation Is the question of how the Jews 
 made a living In those early days. Here 
 the Gazettes will help us. 
 
 There were exceedingly few professional 
 men in the Province in those days doc- 
 tors, lawyers and clergymen. With the 
 exception of a few handicraftsmen and 
 planters, the entire population subsisted 
 by trade. Competition must have been 
 very keen, for everybody seems to have 
 had almost the same things for sale and 
 to have advertised them in the very same 
 way. Let us look at the advertisements 
 in the South Carolina Gazettes, between 
 the years 1731 and 1750. 
 
 The earliest Jewish names that I have 
 found in the Gazettes occur in an ad- 
 vertisement of August 17, 1734, when 
 Messrs Carvallo & Gutteres announce that 
 they "have to dispose of "Good Old Bar- 
 bados Rum. Good Madera Wine. Musco- 
 vado Sugar & Limejuice; Likewise some 
 dry goods, &c, living in Church street, 
 where formerly the printing office was." 
 I am not quite certain that these were 
 Jews. 
 
 In the Gazette of November 22, 1735, Mr 
 Carvallo advertises for sale "a very good 
 Rhode Island Pacing-Horse." 
 
 On September 14, 1738, Isaac De Pas In 
 
 Union street offers to sell "Good White 
 
 J Sugar, very good Barbados Rum & very 
 
 I fine Citron Water," etc, etc. On February 
 
 20, 1744, he advertises his wares at his 
 
 shop on Broad street, and on March 19, 
 
 1744, he announces to his patrons that "All 
 
 gentlemen that have rice to dispose of 
 
 may have two Parts in ready Cash and 
 
 the Balance in Cordials of all sorts or 
 
 ' any other goods that I have to sell." 
 
 On August 25, 1739, we read the follow- 
 ing: "To Be Sold in Union St, by Moses 
 de Mattos, White, Milk, Ship, Middling & 
 Brown Bread & t.oaf Sugar. The same 
 
 8
 
 may be had of Mr Tobias on the Bay. Also 
 good Esopius Flour." He is still in Union 
 street, on November 1, 1742. 
 
 In the Gazette of April 3, 1742, there is 
 an announcement of the "Half -Yearly 
 Festival of the right worthy & amicable 
 Order of UBIQUARIANS. Moses Solomon, 
 Esq, is one of the Aedils. 
 
 On December 16, 1745, Solomon Isaacs ad- 
 vertises as the administrator of an estate, 
 and on the same date Joseph Tobias an- 
 nounces that as he intends to leave the 
 Province in March, he would like those In- 
 debted to him to come and settle. In the 
 meantime, "I have most kinds of Cordial 
 Drams to sell by Wholesale or Retail, 
 Checks, Oznabrugs, hard Ware, Linnens 
 & sundry other Goods. 
 
 The last advertisement is that of Solo- \ 
 mon Isaacs & Co, on October 10, 1748. They 
 offer for sale Negro Cloth, woollen and 
 linen goods, etc, "at the House on the / 
 Bay, In which Capt Colcock lives." / 
 
 So far the Records and the Gazettes. ^ 
 Summing up, then, our inquiry thus far "i 
 We have found a Jew in Charleston in 
 1695. I believe that he came from Jamaica, 
 where Jews have lived from a very early 
 date. We also found other Jews here be- ; 
 fore 1700. I believe that they came from ? 
 London. We have followed the Jew In his - 
 dally life and as a citizen. We have seen 
 how, socially and religiously, he was at 
 peace with his neighbors. He lived the 
 same life and followed the same occupa- 
 tions that they did, taking his full part 
 in the burdens as well as In the privileges 
 of citizenship. 
 
 There were other Jews in Charleston In 
 the year 1750. Of these I shall tell in my 
 next article. Till now, it is the Records 
 In Charleston that have been speaking.
 
 THE DAGGBTT FEINTING CO., 
 Charleston, S. C.
 
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