Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-21
HISTORY OF RICHMOND JEWS
REVIEWED BY BALTIMORE SUN
"e"spnper Praises Work Of Locn,
authors and Finds Much of
Interest In Their Hook

Hc"spnper Praises Work OF Linen,
Authors and Finds Much of
| interest In Their Hook
In reviewing The History OF IN.
Jews OF Richmond From 1863 to la,Ts
| written by Herbert r. Ezo,f,.,
CASTOR I.ichtenstein. OF mi. c,,r a no
baltimore Evening Sun says tho fol.
| lowing: '''' ''i
The name Richmond ia closely "a.
scented with the caStled region ~
iorkshirc, ENGLAND. and IL was VOL,
snire and Leicestershire that afrordod
or MR,er scott the background Of hi,
medleval romance concerning IN,
Knight Ivanhoe. who was beloved NV
the beautiful Jewcss Rcbccca and uhc
nefriended her father, the venerahl.
Isaac OF York
hence IT seems natural to assocIat,
me CITY OF Richmond, Va. with ,hcs,
/ OF her Jewish citizens who have cnn.
trihutSd to the development of Tho mn.
hicipa!ity. The History OF the law,
OF richmond From l7Ge 10 lol7" n,
| Herbert +. Ezekiel and Castor LIch,cn.
stem hierbert I. Ezekiel. printer and
Puo!'sher. Richmond. Nal. Is a valuable
record OF citizenship In that commute,
and reveals how long and honorah,I
Jews have been identified with thai
place.
William Byrd laid .he foundation o,
richmond Va. in li33 and In l7si
~ oi'S possessed at least one Jewish
! citizen, Isaiah Isaacs who has IN,
distinction OF being RIchrrond's IRIS,
/ lsraeiite citizen settled there before tn,
american revolution (but at "A date
/ mat cannot be dctcrmiI-,D, who pos.
stssed sufficient means to purcl,as,
land The book contains chiefly bric,
biographies OF such Jews Of Richmond
| as achieved honorable positions in thu
community and ar. definitely associ.
a'cu with the ciiy's history. Only those
are regarded as Jews who r:iCht cloi,r
90 or more per cent Of Jewish blood.
There is an Interesting sketch .,
! israel L. Cohen, who settled in virgins,
prior to 1885. and OF his descendants
among whom was Jacob l. Cohen. Jr.
VINO became resident of Baltimore
ana. win ms brothers. established thu
once widely known banking house Of L
]. cohen. Jr.. & Bros. He was a mem.
Der OF the Baltimore City Council and
Tor several years its president Al
( chairman OF tho general committee OF
the city OF Baltimore SIR Cohen ro
ccived the last letter extant from
Charles Carroll of Carroilton. in which
the latter expressed regret at bein, un.
anio 10 take part in the cen,cnnih
celebration OF Washingtons birth
| assisted in establishing the Balti,nor,
school system and took active part In
preliininarieS leading to the BUILDING: oil
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Ell.
| t'tioEc kaiiroad. now part OF the Penn
syivania system. and served for a lons
! time as president OF the company. Fl,
was also director OF the Baltimor,
and Ohio Railroad. and in 1919 prcsI
dent OF tho Baltimore Fire Insurance
Company.
Philip /. Cohen, second son OF Israel
Cohen. was member OF Captair
Nichoison's company OF Fenciblcs dur.
ing the War of 1872 and aided in the
defense of Fort McIienry during 1t.
bombardincnt. Later he became post,
master OF Norfolk, Va. The ,n;ro son
The late Mcndcs |. Cohen, also Il banKe,
OF baltimore, served at the defense o,
Fort MceHnry. In subsequent years o.
travel he assembled the Cohen Collec.
ton OF Egyptian Antiquities" pre-.
scented in 1854, by his ncpnews, e
Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Mcnde,
]. Cohen served In the Maryland Lcgis.
lature and as Il director Of the BaltL
more and Ohio Railroad.
In 1870. according to this record
Jews formed one-sixth of the popuia.
ton Of Richmond. y large number O.
them served during the Rcvoluiionar,
war. Several Jews were members o!
the Richmond Grays. Company G., OF
the First Virginia Infantry, later Com.
pany a, of the Twclfth-among then
Philip Whitlock. who is credited in thu
book with two interesting statements
His command was ordered to Harperi
Ferry when John Brown melted tn,
negroes to Instruction and was latei
sent to Charleston when the agitatoI
was hanged. In numerous homes arr
pictures Of John Brown taking Il ncgr,
baby from the arms of its mother AM
Kissing II as he ascends the scaffold
ana many accounts have been pub
lished of the supposed incident Not
withstanding this, Philip Whtiock saT
he was within fifty feet OF Brown wheI
he was hanged and states positivel1
that not only did the sage of Ossawa
tonne fail to indulge in the luxury On
kissing a negro baby. but that as
matter of fact there was not coloret
person in sight. Whitlock says Their,
stood near him n young man who short
ly before had joined the company ant
had been made Il noncommissonedo of,
Gcer. AS the drop fell he turned verJ
white. When asked the reason for hill
Daleness he expressed desire FOR
good stiff drink of whisky This youn,
iran was John Wilkes Booth. who nj
the murderer of President Lincoln oc
cupied the limelight less than six yeart
later
THE late distinguished sculptor, Sn
Moses j. Ezekiel. who was forty ycarst
resident of Rome, and who transformed
portion Of the ruins of the Baths q
Diocletian into one of the most beautb
full studios In Europe, was also n natiyt
Of Richmond. Many names familiar II
Baltimore, HutZlcr, Bachrachs, Levy
Rosenberg, Mayer and others, find hon
orable place in this most comprchcn
sive and valuable chronicle Of theu
race. Many jewish women also arr
accorded high praise In the volume
both because of their intellectual ab
tanments and their devoutness M
Hebrews. Genealogists will find tn,
book interesting because of it's ohcia
records and tho complete list OF tomb
stone inscriptions reproduced from
graves in Jewish and military ccme
teries. Altogether good deal Of Rich
mond history is woven into It's pagei
and the book will be read with pleasure