THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, January 27, , 1961 — 30
The First Jew in Windsor
By IRVING I. KATZ
Executive Secretary, Temple Beth El,
Detroit
Historiographer of the Jews in
Michigan.
The city of Windsor, Essex
County, Ontario, situated on
the southeast shore of the De-
troit River, opposite the city
of Detroit, was known as the
South Side in 1745, and sub-
sequently as the Ferry, Rich-
mond, and South Detroit. It
was incorporated as the City
of Windsor in 1892. In 1935,
the cities of East Windsor,
Sandwich, Walkerville and Ford
City were united into the
present City of Windsor.
The County of Essex, the
extreme southwestern corner of
the Province of Ontario, has a
history that goes back more
than two centuries and that
makes it the oldest settlement
in the Province.
The British Conquest of Can-
ada (1759-60) brought little
change to the Detroit River
population. It was not until the
close of the American Revolu-
tion (1783) that the first large-
scale movement of British peo-
ple and supporters to Essex
County began.
In 1796, the Americans for-
mally occupied Detroit, which
was one of the posts sur-
rendered by the British accord-
ing to treaty. This resulted in
an important movement to the
Essex side of persons, British
and French, who refused to give
up their British allegiance.
The first Jewish settler in
what is now Windsor, was
.Moses David. He was a mem-
ber of the well-known David
family of Montreal, pioneers
of the Jewish settlement in .
Canada. He was the son of
Lazarus David who was born
in SWansea, Wales, in 1734,
and probably came to Can-
ada with the victorious
British forces (1759-60), mak-
ing Montreal his residence
in 1763. He was one of the
founders of 'the Spanish and
P ortu g u e s
.e "in
Shearith Israel
in 1768, and
- one of the most active or-
ganizers of the earliest Can-
adian-Jewish community. He
took a prominent part in the
political affairs of his day,
his name appearing in 1774
on a Petition to the King of
England for an elected House
of Assembly for tanada. He
was among the first Jewish
landowners in Montreal as
early as 1767.
He was married in Rhode
Island, in 1761, to Phoebe Sam-
.
uel, who was born in England
in 1736 and died in Montreal
in 1786. He had three sons,
David, Samuel and Moses, who
were all prominent in Canadian
community affairs, and two
daughters, Abigail (also known
as Brandele and Branney) and
Fanny, (also known as Frances).
He died in Montreal, Oct. 22,
1776, and was the first Jew to
be buried in Canada, interment
taking place in the cemetery
on St. Janvier Street, in the
vicinity of the present Dominion
Square, which the congregation
acquired the previous year. His
remains and tombstone were
subsequently transferred to the
present Spanish and Portuguese
cemetery. The original head-
stone has been preserved to the
present day and is the oldest
Jewish gravestone in Canada.
Lazarus' eldest son, David,
was born in Montreal, Oct. 14,
1764, and died there Nov. 30,
1824. He was a prominent busi-
nessman and was counted
among the most respected citi-
zens of Montreal. His name was
intimately associated with every
economic enterprise, with every
philanthropic and social event
of importance. He was one of
the founders of the Bank of
Montreal in 1818, and a charter
member of the Montreal Board
of Trade, founded in 1822. He
was among the first Life Gov-
ernors of the Montreal General
Hospital and was one of the
group. of merchants who suc-
cessfully petitioned the govern-
ment in London to make Mon-
treal a Port of Entry. He de-
voted much of his considerable
wealth to philanthropic objects,
and took a keen interest in the
affairs of the Spanish and
Portuguese Congregation of
Montreal, giving it the use of
a plot of land for the erection
of its first synagogue in 1777,
the earliest Jewish place of
worship in Canada. During the
War of 1812, - he served as a
quartermaster in the British
Army.
Samuel David, second son of
Lazarus David, was born in
Montreal Oct. 22, 1766. He
married, in 1810, Sarah, daugh-
ter of the famous Commissary
Aaron Hart of Three Rivers. A
prominent Jewish communal
worker, he took an active inter-
est in the affairs of the Shearith
Israel- Congregation of Mon-
treal. Although engaged in ex-
tensive business pursuits, he
joined the British Forces at
the outbreak of the war with
the United States in 1812, and
had a distinguished military
career, attaining the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel.
Samuel David started a
"Diary," covering the latter
part of the eighteenth century
and the opening years of 19th
century. An important his-
torical document, this manu-
script is a register of dates
and events relating to mem-
bers of the family, to other
Jews, and to contemporary
Canadians. Upon his death
in Montreal, Jan. 3, 1824,
other members of the family
continued , his "Diary." He
had -four sons and three
daughters. Two of his sons,
Col. Eleazar David and Lt.
Moses S. David, served in
the Cavalry on the side of the
government in putting down
the rebellion of 1837-38. His
second son, Dr. Aaron Hart
David, was one of the first
Jewish physicians in Canada
and became one of the out-
standing medical men in the
country. Among other things,
Dr. David was one of the
founders of the faculty of
medicine of the University of
Bishop's College (later ab-
sorbed by McGill University)
and served as President of
the Shearith Israel Congrega-
tion.
Abigail David, the oldest
child of Lazarus David, was
born May 25, 1762, and died
in 1840. She married, in 1778,
Andrew Hays, scion of a noted
Dutch-Jewish family who came
to Canada with the first party
of hardy Jewish pioneers.
Fanny David, the youngest
child of Lazarus David, was
born in 1770. She married Ayer
Michaels who served as a Lieu-
tenant in the same Division
as David David during the .
War of 1812.
Moses David, the youngest
son of Lazarus David, was born
in Montreal in 1768: He was
active in the political life of
his times and was a communal
worker of note. He engaged in
extensive trading operations
which extended to Upper Can-
ada. He is mentioned as being
in Detroit in 1790, although he
may have been in this area even
earlier. He apparently resided
in Detroit until its occupation
by the Americans in 1796,
when, as a British Loyalist, he
moved to the Canadian side of
the River.
Of Moses David's sojourn in
Detroit and Sandwich (now
part of Windsor) we find
many evidences. The first
mention of him in this area
appears in a letter from
Thomas Duggan, an early De-
troit trader, to Col. Alexander
McKee, the British Indian
Agent, dated Detroit, Oct. 3,
1793. According to this letter,
Moses started out his trading
career here with the idea that
"nobody undersells Moses
David." Duggan wrote: "Mr.
Moses David, another cheap
shop adventurer, the same
that was here three years ago,
has arrived with a cargo. It
appears that he and his com-
petitor, Mr. Pattinson, are
fully resolved to undersell
all the other traders in this
place."
In 1794, Moses David signed
a receipt in Detroit for goods
sold to him by Antoine Labadie.
In 1800, he was a witness at
Sandwich at the sale of prop-
erty.
In 1801, John Askin, promi-
nent Detroit merchant, wrote
to Moses David of Sandirich
to call in the loan he had made
on David's improved property.
In 1802, Moses filed a com-
plaint in the Wayne County
Court' of Common Pleas against
Forsyth, Smith and Company
for non-payment of merchandise
they had purchased from him.
In 1805, James May, promi-
nent English-born resident of
Detroit, wrote from the Detroit
side of the river to his friend
Moses David on the Sandwich
side to inquire about business
dealings and added a query
about David's health: "I hope
your illness did not proceed
from your frolick at Mr. Henry's
when you was so imprudent
to cross the river at midnight."
In 1807, as captain of the
Northeast R e g i m en t, Essex
County Militia, Moses David
signed a return of a Militia
Company at Sandwich.
Business and pleasure were
combined in the relations be-
tween Moses David of Sandwich
and. James Henry of Detroit
as evidenced by a letter of
March 16, 1808. Between 1796
and 1812, Henry was prominent
in military and public affairs,
was a successful businessman
and bank president, a person of
some education and culture,
noted for the social gatherings
held at his home.
On June 25, 1812, Moses
David wrote a letter to James
Henry, enclosing his account
with him and requesting pay-
ment by a draft on Philadelphia.
The account book page shows
the varied wares in which
David dealt: shee-p and calf
skins, tea kettles, tablecloths,
tools and nails.
Moses David served as a Lieu-
tenant in the War of 1812.
In 1813, during the War,
Moses and 46 other residents
within the Western District of
the Province of Upper Canada
addressed a Memorial to Sir
George Prevost, Captain Gen-
eral and Governor-in-Chief of
Canada, asking that a regular
force be stationed at Amherst-
burg and Detroit in order to
secure these posts against the
Americans.
Moses David is also men-
tioned in the "Diary of Samuel
David" of Montreal as being a
resident of Sandwich in 1813.
In July, 1814, Moses cor-
responded with Ch a r le s
Lamed, prominent Detroit
merchant, and Solomon Sib-
ley, early Detroit lawyer,
regarding a dispute involving
a business matter.
Moses married Charlotte Hart,
daughter of Commissary Aaron
Hart of Three Rivers. She was
born in 1777. They had a son,
Moses Eleazar David, born in
1813, who laid the cornerstone
of the second synagogue of the
Spanish and Portuguese Con-
gregation of Montreal, in
Chenneville Street, in 1835.
Moses Eleazar David was mar-
ried first, in 1846, to Rosina
Florance who was born in New
Orleans in 1827 and died in
England, December 8, 1850.
She was the daughter of Jacob
Levy (name changed to Flor-
ance) and Hannah Levy. Moses
Eleazar was married again, in
1872, to Adas Abrahams of Bris-
tol, Connecticut. Moses Eleazar
David's children were Nina
(born 1847; died 1853), Arthur
Meredith (born 1814) and Flor-
ance.
Moses David died in Sand-
wich, September 26, 1814, and
Dr. Joachim Prinz Calls for New
Mass Movement in United States
NEW YORK (JTA)—Empha-
sizing that he spoke as an indi-
vidual and not as head of his
organization, Dr. Joachim Prinz,
president of the American Jew-
ish Congress, suggested at a
press conference that a round-
table conference of Jewish lead-
ers be held to plan a new mass
movement that would express
what he termed "the American
Jewish credo." This "credo," he
said was based on the following
beliefs:
1. Jewish survival is insepar-
ably linked with the growth of
democracy, equality and human
welfare.
2. A vital link with Israel is
needed not only becuase it is a
haven for refugees and a bas-
tion of democracy in the Middle
East but because it constitutes
the "keystone in the arch of
Jewish survival."
3. Jews are a people, sharing
common values, common hopes
and common problems; the cul-
tural and spiritual heritage of
this People must be preserved
and fostered to enrich both Jew-
ish life and American and world
culture.
The American Jewish Con-
gress president called for the
merger of "all groups that
subscribe to this American
Jewish credo into a single and
comprehensive mass move-
ment." Such a movement could
be launched, he said, by a con-
was buried in a 25-foot square
lot which he set aside during
his lifetime on his land at Sand-
wich and built a wall surround-
ing. it. A marker was later
erected in his memory. One
wonders why this member of a
prominent Jewish - Canadian
family chose to be buried at
Sandwich rather than in the
hallowed ground of the Span-
ish and Portuguese cemetery of
Montreal.
We have two documents re-
lating to his estate — one a debt
owed "The Estate of the Late
MoSes David" by Dr. William
McCloskey of Sandwich; the
other, a letter of Inquiry to
Solomon Sibley of Detroit from
Charlotte David in Montreal,
dated August 23, 1819.
solidation of the memberships
and facilitiles of the bodies
that share these views, includ-
ing Zionist organizations.
Previously, Dr. Prinz had
called for dissolution of the
Zionist movement and its
merger into a world body dedi-
cated to the unity of the Jew-
ish people. He said that crea-
tion of the State of Israel had
fulfilled the purpose of Zion-
ism.
What is needed now, he as-
serted, is "a new and dynamic
movement to preserve Jewish
peoplehood and create an in-
dependent and positive link
between American Jewry and
Israel."
The University of Michigan has
the nation's largest enrollment of
graduate . students in nuclear
science and nuclear engineering.
Hebrew Corner
From Israel's
Declaration of
Independence
In Eretz Israel the Jewish people
arose. There they lived a life of
freedom and created great things. The
Jewish people gave the world the
Book of Books: the Bible.
Even in Exile, the Jewish people
remained loyal to their homeland, to
Eretz Israel, and never ceased to pray
and hope that they would return to
it and rebuild therein the State of
Israel.
In every generation the Jews have
striven to return to the land of their
birth. In recent generations, many
Jews have returned to Eretz Israel.
The pioneers turned the desolate. land
into a flourishing country. They made
Hebrew into a living language, built
villages and cities and guarded—the
land from enemies.
When the great catastrophe over-
took the Jewish people and millions
of -Jews were slaughtered in Europe,
we once again saw the great need of
a Jewish state where every Jew could
come and live, and it would be a
member of the family of nations.
The Jews who were rescued from
Europe as well as the Jews of other
countries never ceased to emigrate to
Eretz Israel and never ceased to de-
mand their right to live in it.
On 29th November 1947 the United
Nations proclaimed the establishment
of a Jewish State in Eretz Israel.
We stretch out a hand of peace to
all the neighbouring countries and the
peoples inhabiting them.
We call on the Jewish people all
over the world to help us in building
the State.
Signed this day, Sabbath-eve, fifth
of Iyar 5708, May 14, 1948. _
Translation of Hebrew column
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