Jewish Pioneers in Michigan
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS-37
Friday, December 17, 1954
of these men and their business ,
partners,
Levi Solomons, Benjo- ! 1763, led by Chief Pontiac. Eze-
als who came to Montreal at the
mM
Lyon,
and Gershon Levi, kiel Solomon, Chapman Abra-
time of the English occupation
were
commissaries
of the Eng- ham, and two of their partners
were two of the earliest pioneers
were captured by the Indians
in what is now the State of lish Armies during the French
Michigan. Their names are Eze- and Indian War (1755-1763), the near the forts of Detroit and
kiel Solomon, the first known final contest between England Michilimackinac (today's Macki-
Jewish settler in Michigan, and and France for supremacy on nac) during the Pontiac con-
Chapman Abraham, who was the American continent, an :l spiracy, but all managed to ga:n
the first Jew in Detroit. Both the subsequent Indian War of
! their freedom.
Ezekiel Solomon came to Mac--
Happy Wishes on Hanukah
kinac as early as the summer of
1761 for the purpose of obtain-
ing fur from the Indians in
Chronic, Cancer, Cardiac, Diabetic, Stroke, Levine Tube,
Mild Senile and Medical Cases
that territory and miraculous.y
escaped captivity by the Indians
24 Hour Nursing Service
a few months later. But un-
State Licensed
daunted he continued his trad
Physician Available at All- Times
ing operations in the Mackinac
Member of Michigan Ass'n of
territory for more than four
APPROVED NURSING HOMES
decades afterwards. A native of
LU. 1-H 59
Berlin, Germany, he was the
Dearborn
7429 Maple
brother of Esther Solomon, who
married Moses kart, a brother of
Aaron Hart, the foremost Jewish
settler in Canada at the time of
Greetings on the Holiday
the English ocupation in 1760.
Ezekiel was an active mem-
Happy Hanukah to Our Friends & Patrons
Continued .from Page 36
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Alterations — Modernization
Cabinets — Shelving
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16834 Muirland
•
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Kitchen and bathroom remodeling, wall and floor tile, all types of
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AMMENIIIMINIMMI ■11■ ."--
Holiday Good Wishes
ber of Congregation Shearith
Israel, Canada': firs) Jewish
Congregation founded in Mon-
treal in 1768, and he also serv-
ed as a member of its board
of directors.
I-looked up the invoice of one
of his expeditions from Mon-
! treal to Mackinac in the year
1770. On this particular trip he
came up with two "canoes."
There were 16 French-Canadians
• in his crew; he was the only lit-
! erate man in the crowd. Twen-
ty-eight bales of dry goods were
paddled up this time; blanketa
cotton goods. linens, and the
•like; 2 sacks, of flour; 4 bales
and 1 "role" of tobacco; 4 boxes
of ironware, containing brass
and copper kettles, an assort-
ment of knives, needles, axes,
etc.; 24 Indian guns, 600 pounds
of gunpowder, and 1,000 pounds
or shot and ball. So much for
the solids. In addition, there
were 256 gallons of brandy and
rum, and 64 gallons of wine.
The whole cargo, an 18 months'
supply of so-called "sundry
goods" was valued at 750 pounds.
! Mackinac was a French-Cath-
olic town, and in 1778, the peo
pie there wanted a missionary
priest. But a missionary priest,
required money to live. Accord-
ingly, a subscription -list was
I sent around and Ezekiel Solo
I mon, a Jew and an honored
'member of the Montreal syna-•
gogue, obligated himself for
the, of 50 Livres, a hand-
some amount for those days, as.1
a gesture of good will.
! In 1779 Ezekiel was one of the
founders of a general store in
Mackinac, which is believed to
be the first example of a de-
partment store operation in the
United States. In 1784 he was
one of a committee of eight
which organized in Mackinac
the first Board of Trade in
Michigan. In 1789, Ezekiel was a
resident of Detroit, according to
Clarence M. Burton, the noted
historian of Detroit.
Ezekiel died about 1808 and
was probably buried in the cem-
etery of Congregation Shearith
Israel of Montreal.
Abraham's first appearance in
Detroit is mentioned in 1762
when he was doing business with
James Sterling, a well-known
early merchant of Detroit. Like
Ezekiel Solomon, he was cap-
tured by the Indians during
the Pontiac uprising of 1763.
After a harrowing experience of
, two months, he was finally ex-
changed by the Indians for a
Pottowatomi Chief and gained
his freedom,
He died in 1803 and his Last
Will and Testament, a most in-
d o c u m e n t, recently
i teresting
came into my possession.
The history of the develop-
ment of the ,American West has
always had to take cognizance
of the activities of the fur trad-
ers as a group of pioneers who
played a large part in the open-
!ing up of vast new lands • to
settlements. • T h e Jewish fur
!traders and merchants of the
!colonial ! period of our history,
'such as Ezekiel Solomon and
Chapman Abraham of Michi-1
gan, deserve an important place
!among these pioneers of trade.
and civflization.
FINANCE SYSTEM INC.
803 Donovan Building
WO. 1-2822
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I
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.ENGINEERING, INC.
Auto Transport Trailer
14301 SCHADEN
LUzon 2-2700
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Dearborn, Michigan
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HEATING CONTRACTOR
Complete Heating and Installations
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3735 Crone •
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