Jacques Judah Lyons papers

Item

Identifier

P-15

Country

US

Name of institution (official language of the state)

American Jewish Historical Society (Center for Jewish History)

Language of name of institution

eng

Contact information: postal address

15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

Contact information: phone number

001 212 294 8301

Contact information: web address

https://www.cjh.org/

Contact information: email

RCMiller@cjh.org (archive and library services)
Inquiries@cjh.org (research inquiries)

Reference number

P-15

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (official language of the state)

Jacques Judah Lyons papers

Language of title

eng

Creator / accumulator

Jacques Judah Lyons

Date(s)

1705/1950

Language(s)

dut
eng
heb
por
spa

Extent

14 boxes and 3 oversize boxes

Type of material

Textual Material

Physical condition

Poor

Scope and content

This collection comprises manuscripts, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, notebooks and photographs related to the Jewish communities in early America and the West Indies. It includes unique documentation related to the first North American Jewish congregations, Sephardic families and individuals and the West Indies Jewish communities. The collection is divided into six series according to the typology of the documents: 1) Manuscripts; 2) Notebooks; 3) Scrapbooks; 4) Minute Books; 5) Correspondence; and 6) Books.
The documents in series I and IV of this collection are particularly interesting for the history of the Sephardic communities in early North America. Some of the highlights of the Sephardic-related material in the Manuscripts series are the following:
Box 1, folder 6: Descendants of Benjamin Seixas, 1709-1850.
Box 1, folder 9: Seixas family registers, 1721-1855.
Box 1, folder 14: An account of Isaac and Abraham de Peyster versus Isaac Seixas and other papers, 1738-1745.
Box 1, folder 16: A letter from Manuel Josephson to Moses Seixas regarding reading the Torah from a printed book, dated February 4, 1790.
Box 1, folder 26: A letter from Isaac Mendez Seixas, introducing his son Gershom to Joseph Simon, on June 20, 1769.
Box 1, folder 51: A letter of Kahal Kados Beth Elohim Charleston, regarding the address to George Washington, 1790.
Box 1, folder 57: A copy of Daniel VII: 25 with a commentary on the time for the coming of the Messiah, found among papers of Gershom Mendes Seixas, 1783.
Box 1, folder 61: Sermons, discourses, and epistolary opinions on religious matters by Gershom Seixas. Other Seixas's sermons are in box 4, folder 281.
Box 1, folder 73: Subscription for building the first Mill Street Synagogue, Heshvan 15, 5489 (1728).
Box 1, folder 86: A letter to the congregation in Jamaica asking assistance to build a synagogue, 5489 (1729).
Box 1, folder 91: A list of debts to Kahal Kados Shearith Israel, 5547 (1787).
Box 2, folder 106: A letter from the Parnassim of Curaçao to Kahal Kados Shearith Israel, in Sivan 5513 (1753).
Box 2, folder 108: A letter to Abraham Pinto regarding an insult to the Parnas in 1796.
Box 2, folder 109: A copy of a letter sent to Benjamin Pereira in Jamaica, engaging him as a teacher in Kahal Kados Shearith Israel, dating December 16, 1760.
Box 2, folder 110: A receipt for a Sefer Torah lent to the Philadelphia congregation by Congregation Shearith Israel, 1761.
Box 2, folder 137: A report of Gershom Seixas regarding religious school, dating from November 1, 1794.
Box 3, folder 172: A copy of a letter of Kahal Kados Shearith Israel to London regarding the selection of a hazan on March 13, 1758.
Box 3, folder 173: A letter from Moses Seixas, Newport, regarding a joint letter to President George Washington on July 2, 1790.
Box 3, folder 184: A certificate of kosher beef sent from Newport to Suriname, dating from September 6, 1787.
Box 3, folder 200: A letter of Rev. Joseph Jesurun Pinto to Kahal Kados Shearith Israel, announcing his intention to return to Europe on December 22, 1765.
Box 3, folders 218a-218d: Accounts of Shearith Israel Congregation (1770-1807): receipts and bills, membership, debts, bonds and interest, building maintenance and repair, tzedakah fund and salaries.
Box 4, folder 235: A letter from Isaac Seixas to Hayman Levy on the proposed marriage of Benjamin Seixas to Zipporah Levy, November 13, 1778.
Box 4, folder 243: Copy of a deed for the land of Newport synagogue, 1760.
Box 4, folder 264: Sale of ship "Farmer" to Isaac M. Gomez by João José da Silva, on October 21, 1794.
Box 5, folder 330: Copy of a bill of costs for Luís (Lewis) Gomez's denisations, 1705.
These are only some examples of Sephardic-related material in this series. The collection's online finding aids should be consulted for information on other related materials; most materials of series I were digitised and are available on the archive website.
Other items related to the Sephardic community of New York may be found in Series IV and VI. Series IV contains a minute book of the Congregation Shearith Israel (1760-1786), and series VI includes a record of subscriptions to the same congregation from 1783-1804.

Archival history

As minister of the New York Congregation Shearith Israel for 38 years, Jacques Judah Lyons gathered extensive materials on early Jewish history in the United States, Canada and the West Indies. The Lyons collection was donated to the American Jewish Historical Society in 1908 by Jacques Judah Lyons' children, Julius J. Lyons, Sarah Lyons, and Alfred Lyons.
(source: Guide to the Papers of Jacques Judah Lyons (1813-1877), undated, 1705-1885, 1908, 1911-1914, 1917-1919, 1933, 1950 P-15. 2009)

Administrative / Biographical history

Jacques Judah Lyons, hazzan, rabbi and community leader, was born in Suriname, Dutch Guiana, in 1813. His parents, Judah Eleazar and Mary Asser Lyons emigrated from Philadelphia in the early 1800s to Suriname. Lyons began his career as a hazan in the Congregation Neveh Shalom, a synagogue founded by Spanish-Portuguese Jews in Paramaribo. In 1836, he moved to Philadelphia and was hired by the Congregation Beth Shalome of Richmond, Virginia, within a few months. He served Beth Shalome for two years, winning the high esteem of the congregation. In 1839, following the death of Rev. Isaac B. Mendez Seixas, he was elected Seixas' successor as minister of the Congregation Shearith Israel of New York City. He married Grace Nathan, daughter of Seixas Nathan and Sarah Mendes Seixas, in 1842. Jacques and Grace had three children: Julius J., Sarah, and Alfred.
During his 38 years of ministry, he became highly active in Jewish welfare and advocacy for Orthodox Judaism. He served as superintendent of the Shearith Israel's school, Polonies Talmud Torah; president of its benevolent society, Hebra Hased va-Emet; director of the Sampson Simson Jewish Seminary and Scientific Institute; and one of the founders of Jews Hospital, later renamed The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Jacques possessed a deep interest in Jewish history. In 1854, Jacques and Rabbi Abraham de Sola of Montreal collaborated in writing A Jewish Calendar for Fifty Years. This book contained a comprehensive Jewish calendar, an essay on the Jewish calendar system, and historical information concerning Jewish communities in the United States, Canada, and the West Indies. Prior to 1861, and continuing to the end of his life, Jacques painstakingly gathered sources and information on United States Jewish history in the hopes of publishing his findings. He made copies of some of the documents he found and also obtained papers from old families, such as Naphtali Phillips, Isaac Phillips, Joshua Phillips, Horatio Gomez, Joseph Nones, and the Pesoa and Judah Families. His family later destroyed a portion of his papers.
Jacques died at 63 on August 15, 1877, shortly before Rosh Hashanah. He is buried in the congregation's cemetery in Long Island.
(source: Guide to the Papers of Jacques Judah Lyons (1813-1877), undated, 1705-1885, 1908, 1911-1914, 1917-1919, 1933, 1950 P-15. 2009)

Access points: locations

Charleston, South Carolina (USA)
Curaçao
Jamaica
London (UK)
New York, New York (USA)
Newport, Rhode Island (USA)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA)
Savannah, Georgia (USA)
Suriname

Access points: persons, families

Gomez
Gomez, Isaac
Gomez, Moses
Lopez, Moses
Mendes Seixas
Mendes Seixas, Benjamin
Mendes Seixas, Gershom
Mendes Seixas, Isaac
Mendes Seixas, Moses
Pereira, Benjamin
Pinto, Abraham
Pinto, Joseph Jesurun
Touro
Touro, Abraham

Access points: corporate bodies

Congregation Beth Elohim (Charleston, S.C.)
Congregation Jeshuat Israel, Touro Synagogue (Newport, R.I.)
Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Congregation Shearith Israel (New York, N.Y.)

Access points: subject terms

Sephardim in North America
Sephardim in the Caribbean
Economic matters
Eulogy
Financial matters
Jewish daily life and religious practices
Jewish ministers
Kashrut
Ketubot
Legal matters
Liturgy and ritual
Passports
Rabbis
Synagogues
War
18th century
19th century

Access points: document types

Correspondence
Family papers
Jewish community records
Jewish liturgy
Scrapbooks and notebooks
Sermons

System of arrangement

The collection is arranged into six series. Oversized material is stored apart.

Access, restrictions

Due to the fragile condition of the materials, the collection is available on microfilm only. Digital copies of some items are available online:
Center for Jewish History Digital Archive

Links to finding aids

Guide to the Papers of Jacques Judah Lyons (1813-1877), undated, 1705-1885, 1908, 1911-1914, 1917-1919, 1933, 1950 P-15. 2009

Author of the description

Carla Vieira, 2022

Bibliography

Kessner, Thomas. 1969. “Gershom Mendes Seixas: His Religious ‘Calling,’ Outlook and Competence.” American Jewish Historical Quarterly 58 (4): 445–71. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23876025.
Marcus, Jacob Rader. 1969. “The Handsome Young Priest in the Black Gown: The Personal World of Gershom Seixas.” Hebrew Union College Annual 40/41: 409–67. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23503268.
Schorsch, Jonathan. 2004. Jews and Blacks in the Early Modern World. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Snyder, Holly. 2010. “‘Under the Shado of Your Wings’: Religiosity in the Mental World of an Eighteenth-Century Jewish Merchant.” Early American Studies 8 (3): 581–622. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23546660.

Published primary sources

“Address of Mordecai M. Noah.” 1913. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 21: 230–52. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43057910.
“From the 2nd Volume of Minute Books of the Congn: Shearith Israel in New York.” 1913. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 21: 83–171. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43057906.
“Gomez Ledger.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 244–50. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058011.
“Items Relating to Congregation Shearith Israel, New York.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 251–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058012.
“Items Relating to Correspondence of Jews with George Washington.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 217–22. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058007.
“Items Relating to Gershom M. Seixas: Prayer for Peace During the American Revolution, with a Note of Rev. Gershom Seixas to Mr. Isaac Moses.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 126–43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058002.
“Items Relating to the Gomez Family, New York.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 279–317. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058012.
“Items Relating to Jews in Philadelphia.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 460–65. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058026.
“Items Relating to Jews of South America and the West Indies.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 443–59. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058028.
“Items Relating to Masonry in Newport.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 416–416. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058022.
“Items Relating to the Newport Cemetery.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 413–15. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058021.
“Items Relating to the Newport Synagogue.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 404–12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058020.
“Items Relating to Rev. J. J. Lyons.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 144–49. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058003.
“Items Relating to the Seixas Family, New York.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 346–70. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058016.
“Items Relating to the Seixas Family: Seixas Family Registers.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 161–74. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058005.
“Items Relating to the Touro Family, Newport: Rev. Isaac Touro, Minister of the Congregation Jeshuat Israel in Newport, R. I.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 417–22. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058023.
Joel, Israel, Abraham Isaacs, and Jonas N. Phillips. 1920. “Items Relating to Congregation Shearith Israel, New York.” Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 1–125. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058001.
Josephson, Manuel. 1920. “Items Relating to the Jews of Newport.” Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 175–216. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058006.
“Log Book of the Ship Sanson.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 239–239. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058009.
“Miscellaneous Items Relating to Jews in New York.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 150–60. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058004.
“Miscellaneous Items Relating to Jews in New York.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 379–403. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058019.
“Miscellaneous Items Relating to Jews in North America.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 485–93. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058029.
“Miscellaneous Items Relating to Jews of Newport.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 443–59. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058025.
“Miscellaneous Items Relating to Jews of North America.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 223–38. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058008.
“Receipt Book of the Congregation Shearith Israel.” 1920. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 27: 240–43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058010.
“The Earliest Minute Books of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation Shearith Israel in New York 1728-1786.” 1913. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 21: 1–82. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43057905.
Abraham, Lewis. 1895. “Correspondence between Washington and Jewish Citizens.” Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 3: 87–96. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43058531.
Marcus, Jacob Rader. 1959. American Jewry: Documents: Eighteenth Century. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press.
Marcus, Jacob Rader, ed. 1981. The American Jewish Woman: A Documentary History. New York; Cincinnati: Ktav Pub. House; American Jewish Archives.

Item sets

WSD Roadmap
WSD Roadmap finais
WSD Roadmap USA

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Is Version Of
Title Alternate label Class
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, S.C.) Records Existence and location of originals
Gershom Mendes Seixas Papers Existence and location of originals
is part (item) of
Title Alternate label Class
American Jewish Historical Society (Center for Jewish History) Collections (official language of the state)