Intermountain Jewish news., 1926-07-29
To New Haven Sst.lss,ent

| hne 'oNu VI New ttuVen, tue nuclpui
OF the Connecticut Colony. was foundes
by James Davenport and Theophilu,
Eaton. diligent scholars OF Hebrew an,
the Hebrew Scripture both of then,
They greatly encouraged the study u
the Hebrew language In the colony. no,
on purely philoligicAl grounds. hut rath
er as means for enabling the peopl,
to study the Holy Writ In the orisina
Hehrew, which they Armly believed wa,
the language ef God the Language
spoken by the Almighty In His revela
ton to Moses, and hence a sacred ton
que.
1t Is a matter Of record that wher
these Founding Fathers established the
FIRST Public School In their new settle
ment, shortly after their arrival, the
stWiy Of Hebrew was made obligatory
on the pupils. By oil accounts, this
surely was the very first instance Of
compulsory public instruction in He
brew IN the American Colonies.
The study of Hebrew was, as already
said. but means to an end n thorough
acquaintance with the Old Testament
and Its prescriptions. so that one may
learn to know them well and intimately
and to practice them scrupulo,,sly In
his daily life. even as the Common
wealth collectively .practiced them and
make them Its guide in all dealings
OF the Laws ON the Code of the New
Haven settlement In the Eighteenth
century. ASo were entirely upon the
Old Testament. 09o upon the Old and
New, while only 3St were based ON the
New Testament prescriptions exclusive
ly. the rest beiiR temporary rules and
regulations enacted to take care of GER
tain contemporary cxigepcies and hap
penings.
1t could readily he seen that with
the prevalence Of this spirit ip the new.
ly-founded colony, md he~pcrmea tion
u the Old Hebraic laws aud Outlooks
among the officials and clergy as well
as the laity Of the settlement, the plac-
ing Of the ancient Mosaic laws upoR
the statute books Of the township, it
would prove haven indeed to many
Of the oppressed lows Of other settle
ments as well as Of foreign countries.
New Haven thus became the magnet
that attracted them towards its free
limits even as the magnet attracts and
draws along the needle towards 1t.
The First Jewish Member Of the Col.
oaial Assembly
AS far back as 172S, or As years be-
fore the Declaration of Independence
was written and adopted by the Con-
tinental Congress as the basic law of
the newly formed Nation, Jew named
Marks was elected as a member of the
Connecticut General Assembly. Little
more is known Of this man, who thus
enjoys the honor of being the first mem
ber of his race to become duly quail
fed member of the Assembly in any one
of the Colonies. But the mere fact Of
his election to that August body is proof
conclusive of his own high standing in
the community, as well as to that Of his
fellow members In the faith, few as
they may have beon in numbers.
From the records that came down to
Us, we do not know with any degree of
certainty, whether this. first elected
representative of the Jewish persuasion.
succeeded in retaining his seat. though
we do know that some Of his fellow
members in the Assembly did raise the
question of the legality Of his election
owing to his denial Of the Divinity Of
Christ. We do know however that .
Col. Frederick Phillips of westchester
County. n. Y. elected as member of
the Assembly of that Colony, was def
initely debarred from taking his seat
solely on account of his Jewish affilia.
tions, despite the fact that he held a
high rank in the Colonial Militia and
occupied u high social position as well.
His rejection was due to religious
.bisotry solely, of which the colony Of
\. Y. could not as yet got itself rid of
Georgia '..
The Georgia Colony was founded hy
Gou ,Dglc,hrope ns u refuge for those
unfortunatcs who were doomed to the
horrors of a Dobtor's Prison or linden
lure as forced laborcrs, ON the various
Plantations Of North America. The
elements composing the original set.
tiers of the Colony wore Morayians
(pcrsccpted by the 'Purltans for their
faith). Scotch Highlandcrs and Jews.
1t is recorded that while Gen. Oglc-
thorpe and his associates were busily
occupied in surveying and allottinc the
land. n shin, bearing forty Jewish fam.
lies. sailed up the Charleston River
and deposited them ON its shores. While
there was considerable grumbling and
opposition among some Of the new set