Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.) Records
Item
Country
US
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220
Contact information: phone number
001 513 487 3000
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
Reference number
MS-552
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.) Records
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Date(s)
1781/1936
Language(s)
eng
heb
Extent
8 boxes
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
This collection comprises copies of documentation produced by the Congregation Mikveh Israel of Philadelphia from its foundation, in 1782, to the 20th century. The Congregation’s archives currently keep the original documents. The collection contains correspondence, minute books, Hebra Kaddisha minute books, financial records, resolutions and vital records. Due to the influential role played by some Sephardic families in the foundation of the Congregation Mikveh Israel at the time of the American Revolution, this collection includes some precious information regarding the Sephardic group settled in Philadelphia. The earlier records are particularly intriguing, for instance:
Box 3, folder 5: Extracts of minute book and correspondence, 1782-1890. Other copies of extracts of minute books in box 6: 1782 (folder 1), 1783 (folder 3), 1784 (folder 5), 1785-86 (folder 6), 1788-89 (folder 4), 1790 (folder 7), 1792-93 (folder 9), 1795 (folder 10), and 1796-97 (folder 8).
Box 4, folder 1: Offerings book, 1786-1787. These lists of offerings to the synagogue show the names of several Sephardic Jews: Isaac da Costa, Ephraim Lyon, Solomon Lyon, Abraham de Lion, Solomon Marache, Benjamin Nones, Aaron Pimentel and Joseph Viera.
Box 4, folder 2: Subscription for the synagogue building, 1782. This record includes the name and contributions of the Congregation’s members and other people to fund the construction of the Mikveh Israel synagogue. Among them are several Sephardic Jews: Isaac da Costa, Moses Gomez, Samuel de Lucena, Solomon Marache, Benjamin Nones, Benjamin Seixas, Gershom Seixas, Abraham Sasportas, and the Lopez and Rivera families.
Box 4, folder 3: Receipt book, 1792-1796: includes the period when Benjamin Nones was Parnas.
Box 4, folder 4: Offerings book, 1795-1796: includes offerings from the following Sephardic Jews: Benjamin Nones, “Mr Pesoah” from Jamaica, “Mr Campos”, Joseph Cohen de Lara, Moise Gradis, Abraham d’Aguilar, Castillos brothers, “Mr Crastro”, Moses Mendes Seixas from Newport, Abraham Rodrigues Junior and Benjamin M. Gomes.
Box 4, folder 5: Offerings book, 1792: includes offerings from the following Sephardic Jews: Abraham Chacon, Joseph R. da Costa from Kingston, Abraham Lopes Chavez, Jacob Rodrigues Pereira, Solomon de Crasto, Benjamin de Castro and Benjamin Nones.
Box 4, folder 6: Offerings book, 1791: includes offerings from the following Sephardic Jews: Abraham Montes, Benjamin Castro, Benjamin Seixas, Abraham Rodrigues Riveyra (Abraham Rodriguez Rivera?) and Benjamin Nones.
Box 4, folder 7: Cash account. Names of subscribers, 1790-1792: includes the following Sephardic Jews: Benjamin Nones, Abraham Rodrigues Riveyra (Abraham Rodriguez Rivera?), Benjamin Seixas from New York, Benjamin de Castro from Cap François, Abraham Montes from Cap François, and David de Isaac Nassy aCohen from Suriname.
Box 4, folder 8. Cash accounts, 1782-1786, 1791-1792: includes mentions regarding the following Sephardic Jews: Abraham Barrios (1782), Isaac da Costa (1782-83), Dr Nunes (1782), Samuel da Costa (1782-83), Samuel de Lucena (1782-83, 1786), Moses Gomez (1782-83), Isaac and Benjamin Gomez (1782-83), Daniel Gomez (1782-83), Solomon Marache (1782-84), Abraham Henriques (1782-83), Isaac da Costa Junior (1783), Joseph Abandanon (1782-83), Gershom Seixas (1782-84, 1786), Benjamin Seixas (1782-83, 1786), Benjamin Nones (1782-84, 1786, 1791-92), Abraham Sasportas (1782), Abraham Seixas (1782, 1786), Isaac Cardozo (1783-84), Benjamin Castro (1792), Abraham Montes (1792), Jacob Musquitt (Mesquita?) (1792), Abraham Rodrigues Riveyra (Abraham Rodriguez Rivera?) (1792), Abraham Idagna (1792), Solomon de Lyon (1787), Abraham de Lyon (1787).
Box 7, folder 1: Records of marriages, births, circumcisions, and deaths, 1776-1842.
Box 7, folder 2: Vital records, 1776-1884. Transcription.
Box 7, folder 4: Correspondence and meeting minutes, 1782-1886, 1817. Typescript copies.
Box 7, folder 11: Minute book, 1782-1936 and correspondence. Typescript copies.
Box 8, folder 2: Correspondence, 1782-1805: includes letters from Gershom Mendes Seixas to the Parnas and Mahamad of the Mikveh Israel about his salary as hazzan (November 10, 1783) and his return to New York (February 15, 1784); and several letters from Benjamin Nones, including one written to the Bet Din of London, asking for an opinion (August 7, 1793). It also includes correspondence exchanged with the congregations of New York and Charleston.
Box 3, folder 5: Extracts of minute book and correspondence, 1782-1890. Other copies of extracts of minute books in box 6: 1782 (folder 1), 1783 (folder 3), 1784 (folder 5), 1785-86 (folder 6), 1788-89 (folder 4), 1790 (folder 7), 1792-93 (folder 9), 1795 (folder 10), and 1796-97 (folder 8).
Box 4, folder 1: Offerings book, 1786-1787. These lists of offerings to the synagogue show the names of several Sephardic Jews: Isaac da Costa, Ephraim Lyon, Solomon Lyon, Abraham de Lion, Solomon Marache, Benjamin Nones, Aaron Pimentel and Joseph Viera.
Box 4, folder 2: Subscription for the synagogue building, 1782. This record includes the name and contributions of the Congregation’s members and other people to fund the construction of the Mikveh Israel synagogue. Among them are several Sephardic Jews: Isaac da Costa, Moses Gomez, Samuel de Lucena, Solomon Marache, Benjamin Nones, Benjamin Seixas, Gershom Seixas, Abraham Sasportas, and the Lopez and Rivera families.
Box 4, folder 3: Receipt book, 1792-1796: includes the period when Benjamin Nones was Parnas.
Box 4, folder 4: Offerings book, 1795-1796: includes offerings from the following Sephardic Jews: Benjamin Nones, “Mr Pesoah” from Jamaica, “Mr Campos”, Joseph Cohen de Lara, Moise Gradis, Abraham d’Aguilar, Castillos brothers, “Mr Crastro”, Moses Mendes Seixas from Newport, Abraham Rodrigues Junior and Benjamin M. Gomes.
Box 4, folder 5: Offerings book, 1792: includes offerings from the following Sephardic Jews: Abraham Chacon, Joseph R. da Costa from Kingston, Abraham Lopes Chavez, Jacob Rodrigues Pereira, Solomon de Crasto, Benjamin de Castro and Benjamin Nones.
Box 4, folder 6: Offerings book, 1791: includes offerings from the following Sephardic Jews: Abraham Montes, Benjamin Castro, Benjamin Seixas, Abraham Rodrigues Riveyra (Abraham Rodriguez Rivera?) and Benjamin Nones.
Box 4, folder 7: Cash account. Names of subscribers, 1790-1792: includes the following Sephardic Jews: Benjamin Nones, Abraham Rodrigues Riveyra (Abraham Rodriguez Rivera?), Benjamin Seixas from New York, Benjamin de Castro from Cap François, Abraham Montes from Cap François, and David de Isaac Nassy aCohen from Suriname.
Box 4, folder 8. Cash accounts, 1782-1786, 1791-1792: includes mentions regarding the following Sephardic Jews: Abraham Barrios (1782), Isaac da Costa (1782-83), Dr Nunes (1782), Samuel da Costa (1782-83), Samuel de Lucena (1782-83, 1786), Moses Gomez (1782-83), Isaac and Benjamin Gomez (1782-83), Daniel Gomez (1782-83), Solomon Marache (1782-84), Abraham Henriques (1782-83), Isaac da Costa Junior (1783), Joseph Abandanon (1782-83), Gershom Seixas (1782-84, 1786), Benjamin Seixas (1782-83, 1786), Benjamin Nones (1782-84, 1786, 1791-92), Abraham Sasportas (1782), Abraham Seixas (1782, 1786), Isaac Cardozo (1783-84), Benjamin Castro (1792), Abraham Montes (1792), Jacob Musquitt (Mesquita?) (1792), Abraham Rodrigues Riveyra (Abraham Rodriguez Rivera?) (1792), Abraham Idagna (1792), Solomon de Lyon (1787), Abraham de Lyon (1787).
Box 7, folder 1: Records of marriages, births, circumcisions, and deaths, 1776-1842.
Box 7, folder 2: Vital records, 1776-1884. Transcription.
Box 7, folder 4: Correspondence and meeting minutes, 1782-1886, 1817. Typescript copies.
Box 7, folder 11: Minute book, 1782-1936 and correspondence. Typescript copies.
Box 8, folder 2: Correspondence, 1782-1805: includes letters from Gershom Mendes Seixas to the Parnas and Mahamad of the Mikveh Israel about his salary as hazzan (November 10, 1783) and his return to New York (February 15, 1784); and several letters from Benjamin Nones, including one written to the Bet Din of London, asking for an opinion (August 7, 1793). It also includes correspondence exchanged with the congregations of New York and Charleston.
Archival history
This collection was received from Congregation Mikveh Israel.
Administrative / Biographical history
Congregation Mikveh Israel, also known as the "Synagogue of the American Revolution," is the oldest formal congregation in Philadelphia.
Scattered records indicate that there were Jewish traders in the Delaware Valley before William Penn took possession of his colony in 1682. In 1784, a German traveller listed the presence of Jewish families among the religious sects of early Philadelphia. Nathan Levy established himself in the import/export trade with his cousin David Franks in the Philadelphia port by 1735. In 1740, Levy applied to Thomas Penn, Royal Proprietor of Pennsylvania, for a plot to bury his child in accordance with Jewish ritual. It became a Jewish communal cemetery, the first evidence of Jewish communal life in Philadelphia. The beginning of Mikveh Israel dates back to the establishment of the cemetery.
Religious services were first held in private homes, including that of Nathan Levy. Later, rented quarters were obtained, first on Sterling Alley (presently Orianna Street), then around the corner on Cherry Street.
During the War of Independence, Jews from New York, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, Lancaster and Easton fled to Philadelphia, seeking refuge from the British. In 1780, Rev. Gershom Mendes Seixas, Hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, came to Philadelphia and became its religious leader. During his tenure, he was instrumental in establishing the form of prayer and organisational structure under the Spanish-Portuguese tradition, which remains today.
An increase in membership and financial help from those who sought refuge in Philadelphia allowed the congregation to establish a permanent religious home. A lot was purchased on Cherry Alley. A carpenter and bricklayer were hired to build a two-story brick building, hardly distinguishable by style from those around it. Space on the lot was approved for a home for the Hazzan, a school and a mikvah, and an oven for Matza baking for Passover.
The first Jewish charitable organisation in the city, the Ezrath Orechim (Society for the Relief of Destitute Strangers), was established in 1783, with Jacob I. Cohen as president, Isaiah Bush as secretary, and Haym Salomon as treasurer.
Congregation members, including Rev. Seixas, returned to New York, Charleston and other locations when British occupation ceased. In 1788, a subscription list was addressed to "worthy fellow Citizens of every religious Denomination", following debt incurred by synagogue construction loans. Among the contributors were Benjamin Franklin; Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Chief Justice and later Governor of Pennsylvania; William Bradford, Attorney-General of Pennsylvania; and Thomas Fitzsimmons, a drafter of the U.S. Constitution, first president of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the city's leading Catholic layman.
When the 1782 building became inadequate, the Board of Adjuntos (Managers) voted to build a larger synagogue on the same site. The new building opened in 1825, designed by architect William Strickland. The growth of the Jewish population in Philadelphia before the Civil War (1861-1865) led to the construction of a new synagogue on 7th Street, designed by John McArthur, Jr. (later, architect of City Hall of Philadelphia). In the early 20th century, many Jews moved to the area between Broad and 16th Streets, north of Girard Avenue, and a new building was constructed in 1909 at Broad and York Streets, flanked by Gratz and Dropsie Colleges. In 1976, the congregation moved to Independence Mall, close to its original site, together with the National Museum of American Jewish History. The building opened on July 4, 1976, the Nation's Bicentennial. In August 2010, the National Museum of American Jewish History moved from the synagogue's building to a new building at 5th and Market Streets.
Scattered records indicate that there were Jewish traders in the Delaware Valley before William Penn took possession of his colony in 1682. In 1784, a German traveller listed the presence of Jewish families among the religious sects of early Philadelphia. Nathan Levy established himself in the import/export trade with his cousin David Franks in the Philadelphia port by 1735. In 1740, Levy applied to Thomas Penn, Royal Proprietor of Pennsylvania, for a plot to bury his child in accordance with Jewish ritual. It became a Jewish communal cemetery, the first evidence of Jewish communal life in Philadelphia. The beginning of Mikveh Israel dates back to the establishment of the cemetery.
Religious services were first held in private homes, including that of Nathan Levy. Later, rented quarters were obtained, first on Sterling Alley (presently Orianna Street), then around the corner on Cherry Street.
During the War of Independence, Jews from New York, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, Lancaster and Easton fled to Philadelphia, seeking refuge from the British. In 1780, Rev. Gershom Mendes Seixas, Hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, came to Philadelphia and became its religious leader. During his tenure, he was instrumental in establishing the form of prayer and organisational structure under the Spanish-Portuguese tradition, which remains today.
An increase in membership and financial help from those who sought refuge in Philadelphia allowed the congregation to establish a permanent religious home. A lot was purchased on Cherry Alley. A carpenter and bricklayer were hired to build a two-story brick building, hardly distinguishable by style from those around it. Space on the lot was approved for a home for the Hazzan, a school and a mikvah, and an oven for Matza baking for Passover.
The first Jewish charitable organisation in the city, the Ezrath Orechim (Society for the Relief of Destitute Strangers), was established in 1783, with Jacob I. Cohen as president, Isaiah Bush as secretary, and Haym Salomon as treasurer.
Congregation members, including Rev. Seixas, returned to New York, Charleston and other locations when British occupation ceased. In 1788, a subscription list was addressed to "worthy fellow Citizens of every religious Denomination", following debt incurred by synagogue construction loans. Among the contributors were Benjamin Franklin; Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Chief Justice and later Governor of Pennsylvania; William Bradford, Attorney-General of Pennsylvania; and Thomas Fitzsimmons, a drafter of the U.S. Constitution, first president of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the city's leading Catholic layman.
When the 1782 building became inadequate, the Board of Adjuntos (Managers) voted to build a larger synagogue on the same site. The new building opened in 1825, designed by architect William Strickland. The growth of the Jewish population in Philadelphia before the Civil War (1861-1865) led to the construction of a new synagogue on 7th Street, designed by John McArthur, Jr. (later, architect of City Hall of Philadelphia). In the early 20th century, many Jews moved to the area between Broad and 16th Streets, north of Girard Avenue, and a new building was constructed in 1909 at Broad and York Streets, flanked by Gratz and Dropsie Colleges. In 1976, the congregation moved to Independence Mall, close to its original site, together with the National Museum of American Jewish History. The building opened on July 4, 1976, the Nation's Bicentennial. In August 2010, the National Museum of American Jewish History moved from the synagogue's building to a new building at 5th and Market Streets.
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Existence and location of originals
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2022
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives | Collections (official language of the state) | |
| The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives | Collections (official language of the state) |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Congregation Mikveh Israel records | Existence and location of copies | |
| Minutes and correspondence of the congregation, 1782-1790 | Existence and location of copies |