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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, October 2, 1959
The 'Smith Alias Pollock Case,' an Historical Whodunnit
A historical mystery, as
strange as any whodunnit, has
turned up in the files of the
American Jewish Archives on
the Cincinnati campus of the
Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion.
The research center discov-
ered a puzzling name change
in which a Jewish Revolution-
ary War hero slid in and out
of a pseudonym for no appar-
ent reason.
Passing himself off as "Jos-
eph • Smith," the Jew Elias Pol-
lock rendered distinguished
military service in the Revolu-
tionary War, then, returning to
civilian life, he quietly re-
sumed his original identity.
It is beyond a doubt that
both Smith and Pollock were
actually one man, according to
Dr. Jacob R. Marcus, director
of the archives.
Documents from the Na-
tional Archives and Records
Service in Washington, D. C.,
tell the story of a "Joseph
Smith" who enlisted as a
private in the third Mary-
land regiment, at Baltimore.
For two years, from 1778 to
1'780, he served in Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey and New
York. Then, in August, 1780,
he was wounded in South
Carolina while serving under
Best Wishes on the New Year
WAYNE BATHS
WO 2-6744
1377 WEST VERNOR
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New Year Greetings
WARREN-WELLS CO.
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New Year -Greetings to Our Friends and Patrons
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Happy New Year Greetings
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TOPS & TILE CO.
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A Happy New Year
American Commander Gates
in the Battle of Camden.
Taken prisoner, he was car-
ried to British-occupied
Charleston, and then to St.
Augustine, Fla., where he was
detained until peace was de-
clared.
An army buddy said, years
later in 1818, that he and
"Smith" had been together un-
til 1780. They had met again
in Baltimore, six years later.
The soldier he had known as
"Joseph Smith" was now known
by the name of "Elias Pollock."
When he applied for the
government pension due needy
veterans of the Revolutionary
—for Pollock was indeed
needy after losing his house,
furniture and property serving
as a bondsman for another—he
signed himself as Elias Pollock
—in Hebrew characters. Being
a Jew, he pronounced the cus-
tomary oath on the Five Books
of Moses.
The pension file indicates
that he was born about the
year 1755. By manufacturing
"black balls" (shoe blacking)
on an extensive scale, together
with other trade, Pollock was,
in- later years, able to support
his wife and two daughters.
Following the unfortunate
seizure and sale of his prop-
erty in 1821, he testified that
all his remaining belongings
came to a value of no more
than $20. He described his
wife as "now nearly help-
less" at the age of 53. In
addition, one of his daugh-
ters was deserted by her
husband, and Pollock suf-
fered a rupture brought on
by the hardships he had ex-
perienced in the army.
The casual governmental re
port of Pollock's assumption of
an alias is unexplained in the
records. Nor is it understood
why he subsequently returned
to his true name.
Dr. Marcus rules out anti-
Jewish prejudice in the army
as an answer to the puzzle.
"On the whole, the early Amer-
ican Jew was accepted by his
neighbors," he said. Nor were
foreign-born patriots resented
here, witness Kosciusko, the
Marquis de Lafayette and Gen-
eral von Steuben.
If Pollock were trying to
escape debts contracted in
civilian life, why did he re-
sume his true identity after
the war? Or, • if this is what
motivated him, had his credi-
tors meanwhile died without
heirs?
But this is only one of the
numerous curiosities of the
American Jewish past, a se-
cret hidden in the files of the
American Jewish Archives.
The wise in heart shall be
called prudent: . . . Under-
standing is a well-spring of life
unto him that hath it.—Prov.
16:21, 22.
i L
New Year's Greetings
To Our Friends and
Customers
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Max Saltzman — We Deliver
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UN. 3-3159
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New Year Greetings
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Richard R. Williams — Nelson R. Williams
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Sincerest Best Wishes to the Jewish
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To All Our Friends and Patrons
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13100 KERCHEVAL
VA 2-5266 1
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Redford
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The LINEN CLOSET
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Paper and Metals
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New Year Greetings • • •
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flitEROLASS WATS
14560 Stansbury
VE 8-0442
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Happy New Year to Our Friends
BILL WHITE SHEET METAL
Estimates Given
19203-BEECH
DETROIT 40
larion
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Fuel Oil and Gas Tanks Installed
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KE. 3-2660