Jewish Colonists Marker

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Savannah in Chatham County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Jewish Colonists

By Mike Stroud, January 17, 2010

1. Jewish Colonists Marker

A Sephardi Jew is a Jew who follows the customs and traditions followed by Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) before their expulsion in the late fifteenth century. This includes both the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain under the Alhambra decree of 1492, or from Portugal by order of King Manuel I in 1497, and the descendants of crypto-Jews who left the Peninsula in later centuries to North Africa, Asia Minor, the Philippines and elsewhere around the world, and the descendants of crypto-Jews who remained in Iberia. (Wikipedia)

Inscription. Near this site on July 11, 1733, five months after Oglethorpe founded Georgia, 42 Jewish colonists, having sailed from London, disembarked from the William and Sarah. It was the largest group of Jews ever to sail on one vessel from North America in Colonial Times.

All of the families, with the exception of three, were Sephardic Jews, originally from Portugal or Spain; the other three families were Germanic.

Congregation Mickve Israel July 11, 1983.

Location. 32° 4.9′ N, 81° 5.443′ W. Marker is in Savannah, Georgia, in Chatham County. Marker can be reached from East River Street. Click for map. Riverside, West of the Drayton Street Ramp. Marker is in this post office area: Savannah GA 31401, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Savannah in the American Revolution (a few steps from this marker); Savannah Waterfront (within shouting distance of this marker); African American Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Savannah and the Slave Trade (within shouting distance of this marker); The Chatham Artillery (within shouting distance of this marker); Savannah City Hall (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); a different marker also named Chatham Artillery (about 300 feet away); Chatham Artillery (about 300 feet away). Click for a list of all markers in Savannah.

By Mike Stroud, January 17, 2010

2. Jewish Colonists Marker

Regarding Jewish Colonists. Samuel Nunes (or Nunez), a physician, was one of the first Jewish immigrants to the Georgia colony in 1733. He provided vital medical aid, which helped the settlement survive its first year of existence. At first James Edward Oglethorpe, a member of the Trustees who directed Georgia's early settlement, did not know what to do about the Jewish immigrants. They, along with Catholics, were excluded from the religious liberty guaranteed other groups under the Georgia charter. After consulting a Charleston, South Carolina, lawyer, who ruled that the charter guaranteed religious freedom for all non-Catholics, Oglethorpe admitted the William and Sarah passengers and so informed the Trustees. He conveyed particular gratitude to Nunes, who had prescribed cold baths and cool drinks to relieve the illness suffered by the colonists; those who followed his instructions survived. Oglethorpe recommended that Nunes be employed as physician of the colony. The Trustees agreed to pay Nunes but tried to deny permanent residency to the Jewish immigrants. They feared that Georgia would gain a reputation as a haven for European Jews. Oglethorpe ignored their instructions and in December 1733 permitted fourteen Jews, including Nunes, to acquire land. The immigrants soon established Congregation Mickve Israel, which has survived as

By Mike Stroud, January 17, 2010

3. Jewish Colonists Marker

the oldest Jewish congregation in the South. [The New Georgia Encyclopedia; Samuel Nunes]

Jewish Colonists Marker, along River Street, Riverside in Savannah Photo, Click for full size

By Mike Stroud, January 17, 2010

4. Jewish Colonists Marker, along River Street, Riverside in Savannah

Credits. This page originally submitted on January 21, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 757 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 21, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.