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His kind interpositions in our
behalf, have been no less vis
ible in the establishment of
our present government. In
war He directed the sword,
and in peace He has ruled in
our councils. My agency in
both has been guided by the
best intentions and a sense of
duty I owe to my country.
And as my exertions have
hitherto been amply reward
ed by the approbation of my
fellow citizens, I shall endeav
or to deserve a continuance of
it by my future conduct.
May the same temporal and
eternal blessings which you
implore for me, rest upon your
congregation.
G. Washington.
South Carolina Jews, as have
Jews the world over from the
beginning of civilization, con
tributed in large share to the
cultural, professional and fra
ternal life of their respective
communities. The Jewish race
is like a strange, drab plant
that can live interminably in
rocky, barren ground, resist
ing all of nature’s destructive
forces, but given friendly con
ditions, a tolerant atmosphere
and a slight degree of rooted
security, it will put forth dazz
ling blossoms and magnificent
fruits. Such was the case of
these early South Carolina
Jews, transplanted from all
corners of a hostile world to
the compassionate soil of
America. Achievement, too
long suppressed in their blood,
shot out ambitious feelers that
soon spread over the entire
state.
Isaac da Costa, in 1783,
founded the Supreme Lodge of
Perfection of Masons. He was
a member of King Solomon
Lodge Number one, the oldest
lodge in South Carolina. Abra
ham Alexander, an early read
er of the congregation, Eman
uel de la Motta, Moses C. Levy,
and Israel de Lieven were
founders of the Supreme Coun
cil of the Ancient and Accept
ed Scottish Rite of Freemason
ry. Due to them, Charleston
is today the “See City” and
“Mother Council of the World”
of this order.
Dr. Jacob de la Motta was
not only the outstanding phy
sician in South Carolina dur
ing the nineteenth century,
but one of the most eminent
Jews of all time. He was the
proprietor of Apothecary Hall,
said to be the second oldest
drug store in the country. The
interior woodwork of ApgtJje^
cary Hall has been set up in
the Charleston Museum of
which, incidentally, Jacob de
la Motta was the first curator.
He was secretary of the Medi
cal Society and the Literary
and Philosophical Society. In
1836, he was made a member
of the Royal Academy of
The Southern Israelite
Medicine at Paris.
Miss Penina Moise, the blind
poetess, who lived and died in
the Charleston of the late
eighteenth and early nine
teenth centuries, is acknowl
edged as one of the most in
spired hymn writers that Eng
lish speaking Jews have ever
produced. Many of the com
positions are included in the
hymnals used today.
Isaac Harby, the essayist
and dramatist, and Jacob N.
Cardozo, editor of the South
ern Patriot of Charleston, are
prominent figures in the glori
ous cavalcade of Jewish life
in early South Carolina.
The Columbia Female Aca
demy was established by Dr.
Elias Mark, a great Jewish
educator, who later conducted
the famous Barhamville School
from which Miss Martha Bul
loch, mother of Theodore
Roosevelt, was graduated.
Charleston was the cradle of
Reform Judaism in the United
States. Headed by Isaac Har
by, a group of Charleston Jews
organized themselves on No
vember 21, 1824, into the
“Reformed Society of Is
raelites.” The Society lasted
eight years, sowing the seeds
which later grew into the Re
form movement in Judaism.
For many years, the omin
ous threat of war had hung
over the country. Suddenly,
it came, a blinding flash that
tore the country in two. The
Jews of South Carolina, least
of all people, could ill-afford
war. Through the years, they
had worked to achieve strength
for themselves and South
Carolina. War meant ruin—the
destruction of all that they
and their fathers had built.
Still, they were among the
first to answer the call of war
for the Confederacy. As in the
Revolution, they were distin
guished by brave, indomitable
leaders. Judah P. Benjamin,
reputed to be the brains of the
Confederacy, was a South
Carolina-born Jew. Dr. David
C. de Leon, the first Surgeon-
General, and A. C. Meyers, the
first Quartermaster General,
were from Charleston. In Ma
jor Raphael J. Moses, the Jews
of South Carolina contributed
an eloquent orator who sought,
as did Hehry W. Grady, to
heal the breach between the
North and the South.
At the outbreak of the War
between the States, General
Moise organized a company of
120 men, mounting 50 of them
atjhis own expense. The com
pany afterwards became Com
pany A, 7th Confederate Cav
airy, and fought with unpar
alleled bravery under General
Lee in Virginia.
The war in behalf of the
“lost cause” came to an end,
having reaped its grim toll of
human life. A stillness hung
over the desolated lands. De
vastation met the eye where
Peoples Insurance and Finance
Company, Inc.
403 Carteret St. BEAUFORT, S. C.
Phone JA. 4-3148
Insurance of All Kinds
AUTOMOBILE FINANCING
C. A. LENGNICK, President
MARION D. JONES, M*r., Ins. Dept.
Luther's Pharmacy
ESTABLISHED 1904
PHONE JA. 4-4154-55
Beaufort, South Carolina
The REXALL Store
THE PEOPLES BANK
Beaufort, S. C.
Member Federal Reserve System
United States Government Depository
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Howard E. Danner John S. Hryharrow
Wallace & Danner
For 83 Years
Beaufort’s Fashion Center
It’s Thrifty To Buy Quality
BEAUFORT, S. C.
Roy Smith Pontiac Cadillac Inc.
Our sincere thanks for your continued patronage
and friendship.
BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA
Western Auto Associate Store
P. O. Box 438 Telephone JA. 4-2626
JAMES H. DEER, Owner
SCOTT a FORT REPUBLIC STS.
/
BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA
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