The history of the Jews in Colonial America begins upon their arrival as early as the 1650s. The first Jews that came to the New World were Sephardi Jews who arrived in New Amsterdam. Later major settlements of Jews would occur in New York, New England, and Pennsylvania.
Jews in Philadelphia can trace their history back to Colonial America. Jews have lived in Philadelphia since the arrival of William Penn in 1682.
The history of Jews in Charleston, South Carolina, was related to the 1669 charter of the Carolina Colony, drawn up by the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and his secretary John Locke, which granted liberty of conscience to all settlers, and expressly noted "Jews, heathens, and dissenters". Sephardi Jews from London were among the early settlers in the city and colony, and comprised most of its Jewish community into the early 1800s.
Congregation Mikveh Israel, is a Sephardic Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 44 North Fourth Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The congregation traces its history from 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portuguese congregation that follows the rite of the Amsterdam esnoga. It is the oldest synagogue in Philadelphia, and the longest running in the United States.
The Congregation Shearith Israel, often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 2 West 70th Street, at Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States.
Temple Ohabei Shalom is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 1187 Beacon Street, in Brookline, suburban Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Organized in 1842 with membership mainly of German Jews, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Massachusetts and the third oldest in New England, following congregations in Newport and New Haven.
Samuel Nunes (1668–1744) was a Portuguese physician and among the earliest Jews to settle in North America.
Congregation Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 1 Rabbi Alvan D. Rubin Drive, in Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri, in the United States. Constructing three different synagogue buildings during its history, the second synagogue, built in 1907, is a contributing property to the National Register of Historic Places-listing for the Holy Corners Historic District in the center of St. Louis.
Mordecai Sheftall was a Georgia merchant who served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and was the highest ranking Jewish officer of the Colonial forces. He was born in Savannah, Province of Georgia, to Benjamin and Perla Sheftall, who had arrived in 1733 to the Georgia colony on the William and Sarah from London, England, with a few dozen members of other Jewish immigrant families. The Sheftalls were founding among the members of Congregation Mickve Israel.
Simeon Magruder Levy, also known as Simon Levy, was an officer in the United States Army. He was the second overall graduate and first Jewish graduate of the United States Military Academy.
The Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. It is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in America. Located at the end of Coyle Street in the Kayton/Frazier area of West Savannah, it is sometimes referred to as the Old Jewish Burial Ground, the Jewish Cemetery Memorial, the Jewish Community Cemetery or the Sheftall Cemetery.
The Levi Sheftall Family Cemetery, also known as the de Lyon-De La Motta Cemetery or Cohen Street Cemetery, is a historic cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in the Kayton/Frazier area of West Savannah, it is the burial ground for members of the Sheftall, de Lyon, and De La Motta families. The cemetery was established by Levi Sheftall in 1765.
Moses Ferst was a German-American businessman based in Savannah, Georgia, where he was a merchant and a noted citizen. A stained-glass window in Savannah's Congregation Mickve Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States, was made and installed in his honour.
Abraham Minis was a European immigrant to the newly settled colony of Savannah, Province of Georgia, in 1733. Despite their not knowing if they would be received, General James Oglethorpe, founder of the Savannah colony, allowed Minis and his family entry and granted them land. Their descendants have lived in Savannah ever since.
Abigail Minis was a businesswoman and landowner, prominent in Savannah, Province of Georgia, during the American Revolutionary War. She was a European immigrant, along with her husband, Abraham Minis, to the newly settled colony of Savannah, in 1733. Despite their not knowing if they would be received, General James Oglethorpe, founder of the colony, allowed Minis and her family entry and granted them land.
Philip Minis was an American merchant, and the first white male born in the colony of Savannah, Province of Georgia. He went on to become paymaster to the Continental Army in Georgia during the American Revolutionary War, in addition to being an advisor to French and continental forces. His name appears in the Journals of the Continental Congress.
for the other United States congregations with the same name, see Shearith Israel (disambiguation); for the historic synagogue in New York, see Shearith Israel.
Black Jews in New York City comprise one of the largest communities of Black Jews in the United States. Black Jews have lived in New York City since colonial times, with organized Black-Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities emerging during the early 20th century. Black Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities have historically been centered in Harlem, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens. The Commandment Keepers movement originated in Harlem, while the Black Orthodox Jewish community is centered in Brooklyn. New York City is home to four historically Black synagogues with roots in the Black Hebrew Israelite community. A small Beta Israel (Ethiopian-Jewish) community also exists in New York City, many of whom emigrated from Israel. Black Hebrew Israelites are not considered Jewish by the New York Board of Rabbis, an organization representing mainstream Rabbinic Judaism.
Dorothea Abrahams was a West Indian philanthropist who left funds in her will to open the Abrahams Home for Indigent Widows of Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, United States.
