To the Editor:
Thank you for the wonderful special section on Revolutionary Rye in the June 26th edition. I learned so much about this city where I work and serve. I write to add one element to that history: the role of Jews in colonial and revolutionary Rye.
An early Jewish settler was Moses Levy. Born in 1665 in Germany, Moses was the first known Jewish resident of Westchester County. In 1716, he purchased 75 acres on what is now Manursing Island.
Another prominent early Jewish family was the Hays family. In the 1720s they purchased land in Rye for mining purposes. Although the mining operation didn’t pan out, Jacob Hays became Westchester’s first naturalized Jew in 1723. Jacob and Hetty Hays had several children, and their son Michael became a significant landholder during the American Revolution, when Westchester land prices were depressed. His largest purchase was 170 acres in the Philipse Manor in Yonkers, bought on Dec. 22, 1785. After the Philipses fled to England, Michael was able to acquire this land under the Acts of Attainder — laws passed by New York State to seize the estates, land, and wealth of loyalists who fled behind British lines or actively fought against the Patriot cause. The Philipses may also have had Jewish tenant farmers during their tenure, as the first recorded b’rit milah, or circumcision, in the area was performed in 1758 at Philipse’s Manor. The baby boy was Benjamin Myer, who would later marry into the Hays family.
The Hays — especially Michael and his younger brother Benjamin — were ardent patriots during the Revolution. The British stole Michael’s cattle, and Benjamin’s inn and tavern, a hotbed of patriot activity located where the Bedford Village Historic District stands today, was burned by Lt. Col. Tarleton during his July 1779 invasion of Bedford.
As we celebrate 250 years since the birth of our nation, this is one more reminder of the many people who helped weave the wonderful patchwork quilt we call Rye and Westchester County, and of the ways they contributed to the founding of this country we call home.
Happy 250th, America!
Source: Shargel, Baila R. and Harold L. Drimmer, The Jews of Westchester County: A Social History. Purple Mountain Press (1994).
–Rabbi Daniel Gropper, Community Synagogue of Rye
Letter: The Jews of Colonial Rye
To the Editor:
Thank you for the wonderful special section on Revolutionary Rye in the June 26th edition. I learned so much about this city where I work and serve. I write to add one element to that history: the role of Jews in colonial and revolutionary Rye.
An early Jewish settler was Moses Levy. Born in 1665 in Germany, Moses was the first known Jewish resident of Westchester County. In 1716, he purchased 75 acres on what is now Manursing Island.
Another prominent early Jewish family was the Hays family. In the 1720s they purchased land in Rye for mining purposes. Although the mining operation didn’t pan out, Jacob Hays became Westchester’s first naturalized Jew in 1723. Jacob and Hetty Hays had several children, and their son Michael became a significant landholder during the American Revolution, when Westchester land prices were depressed. His largest purchase was 170 acres in the Philipse Manor in Yonkers, bought on Dec. 22, 1785. After the Philipses fled to England, Michael was able to acquire this land under the Acts of Attainder — laws passed by New York State to seize the estates, land, and wealth of loyalists who fled behind British lines or actively fought against the Patriot cause. The Philipses may also have had Jewish tenant farmers during their tenure, as the first recorded b’rit milah, or circumcision, in the area was performed in 1758 at Philipse’s Manor. The baby boy was Benjamin Myer, who would later marry into the Hays family.
The Hays — especially Michael and his younger brother Benjamin — were ardent patriots during the Revolution. The British stole Michael’s cattle, and Benjamin’s inn and tavern, a hotbed of patriot activity located where the Bedford Village Historic District stands today, was burned by Lt. Col. Tarleton during his July 1779 invasion of Bedford.
As we celebrate 250 years since the birth of our nation, this is one more reminder of the many people who helped weave the wonderful patchwork quilt we call Rye and Westchester County, and of the ways they contributed to the founding of this country we call home.
Happy 250th, America!
Source: Shargel, Baila R. and Harold L. Drimmer, The Jews of Westchester County: A Social History. Purple Mountain Press (1994).
–Rabbi Daniel Gropper, Community Synagogue of Rye
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