SETTLEMENT OF THE JEWS IN TEXAS.
B
Y
REV. HENRY COHEN
,
Galveston, Texas.
The first Jewish settler in Texas of whom any record is
preserved was
Samuel Isaaes, who came from the United
States in 1821, with
Austin's first colony of three hundred.
As a colonist he
received “a Spanish grant of one league,
and one labor of
land,” situated in Fort Bend county. A
bounty warrant for 320
acres, located in Polk county, was
issued to him in 1853 for services in
the army of Texas in
1836—37. Nothing further is known of him,
the land having
been patented to strangers.
*Velasco, on the Gulf of Mexico, south of Galveston, claims
the first
permanent settlement of Jews in Texas. Abraham
C. Labatt, whose biography
immediately follows, visited
Texas in 1831. His business took him to
Velasco, and he
there found two Israelites, Jacob Henry and Jacob
Lyons—the
former from England and the latter from
Charleston—engaged
in mercantile pursuits. They had been there
for
some years. When Jacob Henry died—without issue, be
it
said—he left his fortune to the city of Velasco, for the
purpose
of building a hospital at that port.
Abraham Cohen Labatt was born in Charleston, South
Carolina, in 1802. He
was one of the forty-seven Israelites
who, in 1825, organized the first
reformed Jewish congregation
in the United States. The movement aroused
such
intense opposition in the orthodox congregations of the
world
that, for the time being, it was abandoned. In later
years reform met with
better success. In 1831 Mr. Labatt
removed to New Orleans and followed a
merchant's calling.
* General Land Office, Austin.
He was one of the founders
of the first Jewish congregation
in Louisiana, as well as of the first
firemen's charitable
association in that state. In the same
year he visited Texas,
as stated above. In 1837, as supereargo of the
steamship
“Columbia”—the first
merchantman that traded between
the United States and the Republic of
Texas—he brought to
Galveston Mrs. General Bee and her son, now
General
Hamilton P. Bee of San Antonio. The vessel was subsequently
bought from the owners, for the Texas trade, by a
company of merchants.
In 1849 Mr. Labatt went to California and was a noted
figure among the
pioneers of that day. He was one of the
founders of the San Francisco
synagogue, the first Jewish
congregation on the Pacific Coast; and when in
1856 a
handsome brick edifice was erected, Mr. Labatt, by
invitation,
laid the foundation stone, and upon completion,
participated
in the dedication of the building. In 1849 he obtained a
dispensation
for the institution of a Masonic lodge—known
as
the David Crockett Lodge—the first regularly instituted
in
the state of California. Mr. Labatt, now in his 93d year,
is in
full possession of his mental faculties. He resides in
Galveston and is
the patriarch of five generations.
By this time Jews had located in Nacogdoches, in the
eastern portion of
Texas, and threw in their lot, for better or
worse, with the country of
their adoption.
Among them was Adolphus Sterne. The following
biography is taken from
“Sketches of the leading citizens of
Eastern Texas,”
and its correctness is vouched by the son of
Adolphus Sterne, still
living.
“Hon. Adolphus Sterne, deceased.—This memorial sketch
is written of a distinguished old Texan, a native of Germany,
born in the
city of Cologne, April 5th, 1801. He left his
native place at the age of
sixteen, running away to escape
military service. He came to the United
States, stopping
first at New Orleans, where he remained in the city
and
locality until 1824, when he came to Texas. He was then
an adventurous, rollicking
young fellow, full of fun, and
delighting in the dangerous life which then
prevailed in this
state. He had been very well educated, and possessing
a
bright mind, he picked up a large fund of information,
becoming
especially proficient in the languages. He spoke
French, German, Spanish,
and English fluently, and after
coming to Texas he learned various Indian
dialects. These
accomplishments rendered him a useful man to have
around
in those days, when the population of the country was divided
between French, Spanish, English and Indians, with a pretty
good
scattering of Germans.
With the impulsiveness characteristic of his nature,
Sterne joined the
English settlers in their early struggles in
this state against the
Mexicans, and took part in the Fredonian
war. He shared to some extent the
fate of the other
insurgents. The particular act for which he was called
to
account was the supplying of flint and powder, the implements
of
war in those days, to the insurgents. He was sentenced
to be shot by
Mexican authority, and pending the time
between the date of sentence and
execution (two weeks) he
was chained in an old building in Nacogdoches.
The staple
to which he was chained remained in the old stone house
for
many years afterwards, and there are men now living who
remember
having seen it.” Meanwhile an amnesty had been
declared, and
certain concessions had been made to the revolutionists,
which led to a
compromise.
*“After taking the oath of allegiance to the Mexican government
he became a trusted employee, and was awarded the
contract of furnishing
clothing to the Mexican soldiers.
Later he engaged in the mercantile
business at Nacogdoches,
where he continued for a long time, and there he
was living
when the fight known as the `Nacogdoches Battle'
took
place, in August, 1832. The oath of allegiance he had taken
prevented him from taking part against Mexico in that war,
but his
sympathies were all with the settlers, and he offered
no objection to the use
they chose to make of his premises or
property.
Mr. Sterne became one of the public characters of eastern
Texas, and his
name was known even through the scattered
settlements. He studied law, so
that he could give legal
counsel to those around him, and was Alcalde for
a considerable
time at Nacogdoches. He served as interpreter for the
government and for the citizens, for years. After Texas won
her
independence he was called upon to serve in both upper
and lower houses of
Congress. He was an eminent Mason, a
member of the first Grand Lodge of
the Republic of Texas.
Mr. Sterne was married to Miss Rosine Ruff, a native of
Eslinger,
Würtemberg, Germany, who was born July 23d,
1810, and brought
to this country when she was a child.
She was reared in the family of a
distinguished French
gentleman, a Louisiana planter. The wedding took
place
June 2d, 1828, at Natchitoches, Louisiana. Mr. Sterne at
once
brought his wife to Nacogdoches, and this attractive lady
is still living,
hale and hearty, at the age of 82 years. She
is a woman of superior
intelligence, and an exceedingly
beautiful old lady, retaining many of
those graces of person
which must have been of extreme attractiveness in
youth.
Her mind is as clear as ever and her memory wonderful,
making
her companionship delightful.
Adolphus Sterne was a genial companion and a universal
favorite. He was
full of life, had a fine sense of humor, and
was a fluent talker. One of
his ways of amusing his friends
was that of imitating an auctioneer and of
bidding off the
articles at a public sale in English, German, French,
Spanish,
Mexican and Choctaw. Once while he was serving in the
Legislature of the Republic, when the house had been bored
with
long-winded harangue over some inconsequential matters,
he arose and
delivered a very solemn address, of a few
minutes length, in Choctaw. The
effect, as may be imagined,
awoke the sleepers and relieved the monotony,
bringing the
members back to business. He was the life of the lobbies,
the wayside taverns and
stage-coach parties, and knew all
the old-timers, many of whom were
frequently his guests at
his home. General Sam Houston made his home with
the
subject of this sketch, both before and after his marriage.
Mrs.
Sterne has a beautiful diamond ring presented to her
by General Houston.
Mr. Stern's death occurred March 27th, 1852, while on a
visit to
New Orleans. His remains were brought to Nacogdoches,
where they were
interred with Masonic honors. As
stated, he was an eminent Mason, having
become a member
of the fraternity at the age of 21, in New Orleans. He
had
taken all of the degrees, even the thirty-second, of the
Scottish rite. He left surviving him a widow and six
children.”
Dr. Joseph Hertz and his brother, Hyman Hertz, were
born in Germany, and
came to the United States in their
early manhood, in the year 1832.
Shortly after their arrival
they moved to Nacogdoches, Dr. Hertz
practicing his profession
and his brother becoming a merchant. They
both
stood high in the community as men of integrity, and were
considered the two most thoroughly educated men in the
country. Hyman
Hertz, while on a trip to New Orleans in
1833, by way of the Red river,
lost his life by the burning of
the steamer
“Pioneer” on which he was traveling.
Dr. Hertz continued to practice medicine in and around
Nacogdoches till
1835, often having to travel fifty and sixty
miles to attend those who
were at distant points trading with
the Indians for pelts and hides. This
caused his health to
give way, and in 1835 he removed to Natchez, Miss.
He
lived some time in that town and then returned to Europe,
where
he subsequently died.
*Simon M. Schloss was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in
1812, and came to
Texas in 1836, settling at Nacogdoches. He
was engaged in the real estate
business, which he conducted
for several years, afterwards moving to New
Orleans. He
* Probate Gourt, Nacogdoches, Estate of Hyman Hertz.
was a bright, energetic
man, and was favorably regarded in
Texas.
*Davis S. Kauffman was born in Cumberland, Pennsylvania,
and for some years
resided at Natchez, Miss., where
he studied law with General John A.
Quitman, the governor
of that state. About 1839 he removed to
Nacogdoches,
where he soon took first rank as a lawyer and orator. On
the
admission of Texas into the Union he became, at the first
election, one of her Congressmen, which position he held till
his death in
1851. He was wounded in the face at the battle
of Neches, while serving as
aide under General Douglas.
Kauffman County, in Texas, is named in honor
of him. He
was the framer of what is known as
“Kauffman's Good-Faith
Law,” a law by
which compensation was secured to a
settler for bona-fide improvements on
land.
†Albert Emanuel was born in Arolsen, Prime Waldeck, in
Germany, in the year
1808; his father's name was Joseph
Emanuel, and his
mother's, Adelaide Hart. In early life he
assisted his father,
who was Chief Ranger for the Prince of
the country, but before he had
reached his majority he left
Europe for America, landing at New Orleans,
from which
point he made several trips to Mexico and Texas. In 1834
he moved permanently to Texas, settling at Nacogdoches
and entering upon
mercantile pursuits.
In his disposition he was enterprising and adventurous,
and became the firm
friend of Sam Houston, General Rusk,
and other choice spirits of the time,
imbibing their love of
freedom and retaining their friendship till his
death.
He acquired large estates of land in Texas, but when the
tocsin of war
sounded, was one of the first to volunteer in
the Texas army, though
defeat of the cause meant the loss of
all he had accumulated. In the
battle of San Jacinto he
served in Captain Kimbo's company of
cavalry in the
second regiment of Texas volunteers. At the close of the
* Nacogdoches Records and Notarial Records of New Orleans.
† Encyclopædia of the New West.
war he returned to
Nacogdoches, and shortly afterwards,
June, 1836, married Miss Louisa C.
Hart, of New Orleans.
He continued as a merchant till 1840, when he
removed to
New Orleans permanently. He there became a lawyer,
practising his profession till his death in 1851.
*Another Israelite—Kohn—a member of the Texas Spy
Company—also fought at San Jacinto.
†Sam Maas, a native of Germany, settled in Nacogdoches,
coming from New
Orleans in January, 1836. After living
there three years he moved to
Galveston, where he still
resides. For some years he was a merchant, after
which he
entered the real estate business. During one of his visits
to
Europe he married Isabella Offenbach, sister of the Offenbachs
of
musical fame.
Simon Weiss was born in Germany. He came to Texas
about 1836, and engaged
in business as a merchant, first at
Nacogdoches, then in Southeastern
Texas, at Weiss Bluff, on
the Neches river, where he married. He died many
years
ago, leaving a family.
‡After the independence of Texas, Jews began settling in all
portions of the
republic. Simon and Jacob Mussina moved
to Texas in 1836, their mother and
sister coming to them the
next year. Jacob engaged in mercantile pursuits
in Galveston,
remaining there some years; thence he removed to New
Orleans, but returned to Texas and made his home at Austin,
where he died
in January, 1892, leaving one daughter and
one son, Dr. D. Mussina.
Simon Mussina engaged in various callings, editing a
paper, conducting a
real estate business, and finally becoming
interested in some heavy
litigation, turned his attention to
the law, becoming a member of the bar
after his sixtieth
year. He thenceforth conducted his litigation with unflagging
* Nacogdoches Records. Baker's History of Texas.
Court Records
of New Orleans.
† Baker's History of Texas.
energy and zeal, till his
death ended his cause forever.
He made and lost several fortunes, but,
rich or poor, he never
complained; he was always bright and cheerful in
his social
relationship; nothing could dampen his spirits or lessen
his
ardor in anything he undertook. When once asked if he
did not
regret having given away a piece of property that
afterwards became worth
a small fortune, he laughingly said
that it had done the owners more good
that it would probably
have done him, and he did not know but that they
would
have done the same for him if he had needed it. He died in
Galveston in 1889, beloved by all who knew him. Miss
Mussina, his sister,
married the Rev. Mr. Henderson, the
first Presbyterian minister at
Galveston.
*Edward J. Johnson was born in 1816, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He was a son of
Mr. David Israel Johnson. The breaking
out of the Texas revolution
attracted great attention and
elicited much sympathy for the
revolutionists, in Cincinnati.
Among others who sought service on the
patriotic side was
young Johnson. He volunteered in Capt.
King's company,
and was among those slain, March 27, 1836, at
Goliad with
Fannin, after the surrender to the Mexicans.
His parents are long since dead, but he has still surviving
him a sister,
Mrs. Selina Abrams, of Cincinnati, and two
brothers, David I. Johnson, and
Hon. Edgar M. Johnson, of
New York, now a member of the firm of Hoadley,
Lauterbach
and Johnson.
†Three other Israelites fought under Fannin in the famous
and tragic
encounter at Goliad: Benjamin H. Mordecai,
whose life was spareed by the
Mexicans, but who was subsequently
killed by the Indians in 1840, M. K.
Moses and Herman Ehrenberg, who escaped.
‡Capt. Levi Charles Harby was born in 1793, at Georgetown,
S. C. He passed
examination in June, 1812, as midshipman
* Reports of the United States Supreme Court. Supreme Court
of
Texas. Encyclopædia of the New West.
† Baker's Scrap Book of Texas.
‡ Baker's Scrap Book of Texas.
Brown's History of Texas.
in the U. S. navy. While
the war of 1812 was
being fought he was eighteen months a prisoner in
Dartmoor,
England. During his incarceration a Jewish baker daily
sold bread to the prisoners. One day a loaf was offered to
Capt. Harby,
which he refused to take; the baker, however,
insisted. On breaking the
bread, a newspaper was found
telling of the battle of New Orleans. He
eventually escaped
from Dartmoor. In 1836 Harby resigned from the U.
S.
navy in order to bear arms with the Texans. He subsequently
took
part in the Mexican War, and also in the Seminole
War of Florida. At the
battle of Galveston (in the
Civil War) he was commander of the
“Neptune,” and did
good service for his cause, now a
matter of general history.
He died in Galveston, December 3, 1870, his
last words
being, “There is no God but Israel's
God.” Mrs. Lee C.
Harby, of New York, is the daughter-in-law of
the deceased
captain.
Isidore Dyer was born in Dessau, Germany, in 1813. He
came to America while
young and resided in Baltimore,
whence in 1840 he moved to Galveston. He
engaged in
mereantile pusuits till 1861, and after a successful
business
career he retired. He was, however, too valuable a citizen
to be allowed to enjoy his well-earned repose. In 1866
to be allowed to
enjoy his well-earned repose. In 1866
he was elected to the presideney of
the Union Marine and
Fire Insurance Company of Galveston, which position
he
filled until the company retired from business in 1880,
leaving
behind a record of which any company might feel
proud. He held high place
in the Odd Fellows lodge,
and his name was early among the past
grand-masters.
The first Jewish religious services in Galveston were
held
at Mr. Dyer's house in 1856, in a special room
dedicated
to that purpose. He was closely connected with every
vital
interest of the people, and when he died he was universally
mourned. He
left a widow and two sons. His
death took place at Waukesha, Wisconsin, in
the summer of
1888.
* Extracts from his will
relating to charitable bequests
are to be found in the appendix to this
paper. He
was a brother of Leon Dyer and of Mrs. Rosanna Osterman,
whose brief biographies immediately follow.
Colonel Leon Dyer, brother of the subject of the preceding
sketch, was born
in Dessau, Germany, October 9, 1807, and
while yound was brought by his
parents to the United States,
where they settled in Baltimore. He was
self-educated,
having to attend to his father's business when
he should have
been at college. Leon Dyer was very popular with the
masses, and it was through his intervention that the Baltimore
bread-riots
were quelled. He was acting-mayor of that
city during the time of the
riots, and remained so until order
was restored. He entered the U.S. army
shortly afterwards.
When Major McDade was massacred in Florida by
Osceola,
the Seminole chief, Leon Dyer was on General Scott's
staff,
ranking as major, and when General Scott was sent against
Osceola, Major Dyer naturally accompanied him. En
passant,
it may be of interest to mention that in one of the
regiments
of this expedition, General Geo. B. McClellan served
as
lieutenant. During the Mexican War, Leon Dyuer acted as
quartermaster-general for General Scott. When, in 1836,
Texas began to
struggle for her freedom, Leon Dyer,
although in business in New Orleans,
was holding the
position of Quartermaster-general of the State of
Louisiana.
When Texas called for aid, Dyer, with several hundred
citizens of Louisiana, responded, attaching temselves to the
forces
commanded by General Thomas Jefferson Green, Leon
Dyer being gazetted
major. Green's army reached San
Jacinto too late to participate
in that memorable battle,
but it performed honorable service in ridding
Texas of the
Plundering Mexican troops that infested the republic.
The
commission attesting Leon Dyer major, signed by the first
president of the Republic of Texas—Burnett—is in the
hands of Dr. J. O. Dyer, of Galveston.
* Records of the city of Galveston. Encyclopædia of
the New
West.
Leon Dyer, by reason of his natural talents and patriotic
tendencies,
enjoyed the acquaintance of many great men in
ante-bellum days. President
Van Buren appointed him
special envoy to Germany. He acted as guard of
honor
when Santa Anna was taken from Galveston to Washington.
An
autograph letter from Santa Anna to Leon Dyer, thanking
him for
courtesies, is in the possession of Col. Dyer's sister.
He died
in Louisville in 1883, aged 76, and his remains lie
in Galveston. A widow
and four children survive him.
It would be interesting to edit the life and history of the late
Col. Leon
Dyer, and incidentally to reproduce the autograph
letters addressed to him
by prominent men—a pleasurable
task reserved for some future
paper of the Jewish Historical
Society. To whet the appetite of the lover
of history, it may
be mentioned that Leon Dyer's grandfather
was commissary
in Napoleon's army, and until the great fire in
Frankfort,
when all the family belongings were burnt, a genealogical
tree
existed tracing the family through the ages as far back as the
Asmoneans, of whom the Maccabees were the representatives
par excellence. But here history and legend are
intermingled.
The lamented Mrs. Rosanna Osterman, widow of Joseph
Osterman, who came to
Texas during the Republic, and
sister of the Dyer brothers, was a unique
character in the
records of womanhood. The unbounded charity and
benevolence
of this estimable woman has been the theme of many a
Southern hearth. During the Civil War she nursed the
soldiers through
sickness and trial, and tended the wounded
like a guardian angel. As a
tribute to her goodness, Col.
Hobby, stationed in Galveston at the time,
wrote a poem
telling of her virtues. The Osterman Building in
Galveston
is a monument of her bounty, for she bequeathed it to the
poor; but a far greater monument in built in the hearts of
those with whom
she came in contact, and the many who
have been her beneficiaries. Upon
her death, in 1866, the
bulk of her foptune went to charity, as will be
seen in the
appendix.
Michael Seeligson was a figure of some note in early Texas
history.
Together with his two sons, he worked for the
annexation of the Republic
of Texas to the United States.
He came to Texas from Michigan in 1838, and
was followed
by his family in 1839. He was elected alderman of the
city
of Galveston in 1840 and 1848, and mayor of the city in
1853.
He resigned his position a few months after his election.
He was
especially noted for his sagacity and kindness.
He died in 1868, and left
four sons, one of whom is the
subject of the following sketch.
*Henry Seeligson was the son of Michael Seeligson and
Adelaide Gottschalk,
aunt of the great composer, and was
born in Philadelphia in 1828. He came
to Texas in 1839.
He was elected first lieutenant of the Galveston
Cadets
when the Mexican invasion of Galveston was attempted,
and
although the corps was composed of young men from
15 to 18 years of age,
it rendered efficient service. In
the Mexican war of 1846 he enlisted in
Capt. McLean's
company, and subsequently volunteered as a
member of
Capt. Bell's regiment, which was soon ordered to join
the
command of General Taylor
en route for
Monterey. He bore
so conspicuous a part in the battle that he was sent for
by
General Zachary Taylor and highly complimented, being
offered the
second lieutenancy in the second dragoons, which
he declined. After this
conflict he embarked in business.
He was subsequently an active
participator in a Mexican
revolution under General José Maria
Carabajal, who was
defeated. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted
in
the Southern army, joining a cavalry company commanded
by Captain
Woodward. He was in several engagements.
It was his boast in his latter
days that he had fought in
three wars. He died in 1886.
†Eugene Joseph Chiméne settled in Houston in 1835, coming
from
New York. He fought at San Jacinto, and was
* Records of the City of Galveston.
† Encyclopædia of the New West.
one of Sam
Houston's escort when the latter went to plan
Austin City.
*Henry Wiener, another Houstonian, served in the Mexican
war of 1846, and
fought in the battle of Buena Vista.
†Moses Albert Levy served as surgeon-general in Sam
Houston's
army throughout the Texas-Mexican war. He
was present at the storming of
the Alamo by the Texans in
December, 1835, serving at that time in the
regiment commanded
by Col. Frank W. Johnson. Col, Johnson's
report of
the capture of San Antonio, Dec. 5, 1835, states,
“Doctors
Levy and Pollard deserve my warmest praise for
their
unremitted attention and assiduity.”
‡Upon the monument erected in Austin to the memory of
the martyrs of the
Alamo is engraved the name of A. Wolf.
§Dr. Isaac Lyons, of Charleston, served as surgeon-general
under General Tom
Green in the war of 1836, and upon his
return to his native place, died at
the residence of A. C.
Labatt, whose biography is given above.
D. I. Kokernot, a native of Holland, came to Texas in
1830 and lived in
Gonzales. He fought at Anahuae in the
opening campaign of the Texas
revolution, he was in the Grass
fights of 1835, and also in active service
in the war of 1836.
|There were other Jewish pioneers in Texas, but their
records are meager.
Michael De Young, a French Jew, settled in San Augustine
1840-1850 and
aided Texas during the Mexican war
by furnishing volunteers with necessary
equipment for the
protection of the Republic. He came from the same
family
as the present De Youngs of San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Edward S. Solomons, of the firm of Solomons and Letchford,
of San
Augustine, came to Texas in 1837.
¶* Family records, name not on roster.
† Family records, name not on roster.
‡ Baker's Scrap Book of Texas.
§ Baker's Scrap Book of Texas.
| Baker's Scrap Book of Texas. Brown's
History of Texas.
¶ Records of San Augustine.
There are to-day many acres of land in Texas that were
originally donated
to David Moses and Michael De Young,
for services rendered to the
Republic. The heirs of the late
Judah P. Benjamin and Albert Emnauel are
also the possessors
of real estate in Texas.
*After the Civil War, hundreds of co-religionists gradually
settled in the
cities and towns of the state, and to-day
Texas has a large Jewish
population. With a few congregational
statistics, our paper is finished.
The first Jewish cemetery in Texas was established in
Houston in 1844, and
the Israelites of the same city built the
first synagogue in Texas,
exactly ten years later. Galveston
followed with the establishment of the
cemetery in 1852, and
the organization of the congregation in 1868.
Religious
serives, however, had been held since 1856. Other cities
in the following order: San Antonio, cemetery 1854, congregation
1872.
Religious services under the auspices of the
Hebrew Benevolent Society had
been held since 1856.
Austin, cemetery 1866, congregation 1876; Waco,
cemetery
1869, congregation 1881; Dallas, cemetery 1872,
congregation
1876.
There are also cemeteries and organized benevolent institutions
in
twenty-six smaller towns, Tyler, Marshall, and
Gainsville each possessing
a synagogue.
APPENDIX.
EXTRACTS FROM WILL OF ISADORE DYER, PERTAINING TO
CHARITABLE BEQUESTS.
Item 11. $2000.00 in trust, interest and revenue to be
applied to embellishing the two Hebrew cemeteries.
Item 12. In trust “Congregation B'nai
Israel,” Galveston,
one-half of the residuum of my estate
to be expended and
applied to the enlargement and improvement of the
present
synagogue, and to afford increased pews and seating capacity
* Land Office Records, Austin.
for the poor Israelite
families who are unable to purchase
or rent same.
Item 13. Remaining one-half to “The Protestant Orphans
Home
of Galveston.”
WILL OF ROSANNA OSTERMAN.—EXTRACTS PERTAINING TO
CHARITABLE BEQUESTS, ETC.
(Items 8, 13 and 19 refer to property bequeathed to family
or friends,
but upon their death, to the charitable institutions
specified; hence
the word “eventually” is used.)
Item 1. After my death, I desire that my executors cause
my mortal
remains to be interred in the Portuguese cemetery
in the city of New
Orleans, La., as soon as practicable after
my decease, provided the
remains of my late beloved husband
have already been there deposited.
If not, it is my
earnest desire (if not in violation of our holy
religion) that
both of our remains be buried beside my dear
departed
brother, Abraham Dyer, in our family lot in the
Portuguese
cemetery in the city of New Orleans.
Item 8. The revenue from two brick buildings situated in
the city of
Galveston, to be eventually applied for the founding
and defraying
expenses of a “Widow's and Orphan's
Home”
in the city of Galveston, the
“Home” to be undenominational,
“for
are not all men brothers before God.”
Item 13. The dividend declared upon fifty shares of Galveston
City
Wharf stock, to be eventually appropriated for
the support of indigent
Israelites, if any there be; if not, of
any other denomination,
residing in Galveston.
Item 19. The whole of the dividends on one thousand
shares of Canal
Company stock, to be eventually paid over
to the officers of the
Jewish Foster Home of Philadelphia,
Penn.
Item 20. Five thousand ($5000.00) dollars to be applied
towards the building of a synagogue in the city of Galveston,
State of
Texas, on the following conditions, viz.: First, the
building to be
used for a synagogue must be built of brick;
secondly, that one
third of the building must be up, and my
executors satisfied that
everything has been complied with,
and duly organized like other
religious congregations; upon
satisfactory proof to my executors, they
will pay principal
and interest to the proper representatives of said
congregation.
Item 21. Twenty-five hundred ($2500.00) dollars, the
same to
be invested, the principal and interest to be applied
toward the
building of a synagogue in the city of Houston,
State of Texas; the
same evidence being given to my executors
as those for the erection of
a synagogue in Galveston,
before any portion of the money I have set
aside for the erection
of the two synagogues be paid.
Item 22. Three thousand ($3000.00) dollars for the benefit
of the “Jewish Hospital” in the city of New York.
Item 23. Three thousand ($3000.00) dollars for the benefit
of the “Jewish Hospital” in the city of New Orleans,
La.
Item 24. Three thousand ($3000.00) dollars for the benefit
of the “Jewish Hospital” in the city of Cincinnati,
Ohio.
Item 25. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the “First Jewish Benevolent Society” that is or may
be
organized and incorporated in the city of Galveston, State of
Texas.
Item 26. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars to the
“Galveston
Sailors Home,” whenever one is
organized and is
incorporated, as is customary in the seaport cities
of the
United Staes of America.
Item 27. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the “Galveston Howard Association.”
Item 28. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the “Jewish Ladies Benevolent Society” of New
Orleans,
Louisiana.
Item 29. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars of the
“Hebrew
Foreign Mission Society” of New Orleans,
La.
Item 30. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the first “Jewish Benevolent Society” that is or may be
organized and
incorporated in the city of Houston, State of
Texas.
Item 31. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the “Hebrew Talmud Yelodim School” in the city
of
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Item 32. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the “Hebrew Educational Society” in the city of
Philadelphia,
Penn.
Item 33. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the “Talmud Torah School” attached to the Hebrew
congregation
“Shearith Israel” in the city of
New York.
Item 34. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars to the
“North
American Relief Society” for the indigent
Jews of Jerusalem,
Palestine, of the city and state of New York, Sir
Moses Montifiore
of London, their agent.
Item 35. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the benefit
of
the “Hebrew Benevolent Association” of New
Orleans,
Louisiana.
Item 36. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars to the
“Ladies
Benevolent Society” of Philadelphia,
Penn., Miss R. Gratz,
secretary.
Item 37. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the purchase,
embellishment, and keeping in repairs, of ground
adjoining our present
burial ground in the city of Galveston.
The lot now used for the
interment of Israelites being too small,
and our dear friend the Rev.
M. N. Nathan having consecrated
said lot, I greatly prefer enlarging
same to purchasing
another.
Item 38. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars, the interest
thereof to be expended yearly for keeping in repair and embellishing
our family lot in the Jewish Portuguese burial
grounds belonging to
the Hebrew congregation of the “Dispersed
of
Judah” of New Orleans, La.
Item 47. One thousand ($1000.00) dollars for the founding
of
a “School Fund” for the education of poor Jewish
children of Galveston and Houston, State of Texas.
All of these bequests were faithfully carried out by Isadore
Dyer, her
executor and residuary legatee, although he knew
that some were void
for uncertainty. One one occasion he
was advised by a lawyer that the
last bequest had lapsed
and was his in law. His reply was,
“I know that, but in
this matter it is not to the law, but
to my sister, that I am
answerable, and the fund is intact for the
purpose named by
her.” In 1887 he paid the balance of the
fund and its
accumulations to a properly organized corporation
formed
for the education of poor Jewish children in Galveston.
He
had previously paid a moiety to a Houston association of
like
nature.
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