12

Bicentenary of First Jew in Michigan

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, September 8, 1961 —

tiac's Conspiracy, and shared against the Crown by the thir-
By IRVING I. KATZ
It is doubtful, whether any the common e x perience of an teen American colonies.
Solomon's business activities
professing Jews lived as per- Indian captivity.
manent settlers in New France 'Among the traders who wit- were quite extensive: In 17
(Canada) during its occupancy nessed the horrible massacre by he was among 14 English
ses
by the French. The Jewish set- the Indians of the English ers who were granted 1'
what
tlement in Canada, of which soldiers and traders was Ezekiel to exploit the fur trade
sconsin.
present day Michigan was a Solomon. This appears from his is now the state of
ackinac
part, began following the con- affidavit taken in Montreal for In 1777 he went up
the mili-
quest of Quebec (September, use before the Military Court of with a passport fr
at Quebec,
1759) and Montreal (September, Inquiry held later by Major tary authoriti
which, said the 1 er of trans-
Henry Gladwin at Detroit.
1760) by the English.
ted him in
Solomon was taken prisoner mittal, "was g
During the 18th century, the
is creditors."
area that constitutes modern by the Indians and was one of consideration o
t at Mackinac,
The comman
Michigan was physically and the few Englishinen, military
ly, 1779, en-
politically part of a sprawling or civilian, to remain alive. in June and
of about 30
Canadian wilderness. The fur According to Alexander couraged a gro
nies, operat-
traders who early exploited the Henry, traveler and trader, he traders and co
form a loose
vast territory had access to the was later taken to Montreal ing in that area,
om
East only by way of the river by the Ottawas and ransomed. trading partnersh
Solomon and his partners, like the usual shipp ven-
and lake routes. As a conse-
quence, Michigan and Canadian like the other Montreal and ture" in which several persons
history are for practical pur- Quebec merchants, were hard were "concerned." Under the
poses of a single fabric until pressed, and in 1768 they con- t e r m s of the twenty - article
1796. Only then did an inter- fessed they were unable to meet agreement, which was to run
national boundary effectively their financial obligations. They for about a year, the traders
sever the unity of Michigan and offered to make a settlement, created a single store, forebore
surrendering all their property, to trade privately, and agreed'
Canada.
As early as 1'760, Major and most of the creditors were to split the profits in proportion
Robert Rogers and an English willing even though the assets to the stock thrown into the
garrison captured control "of would not have yielded more common pot.
Ezekiel Solomon was a
Detroit, the French trading than seven shillings in the
post and village established pound. However, when other member of this Mackinac
59 years before by Antoine creditors would entertain no Company, believed to be the
thought of such an arrange- first example of a department
de la Mothe Cadillac.
British inroads into Canada ment, the debtors, on the advice store operation in the U.S.
In 1784, Solomon joined other
brought in their wake the first of Attorney General Francis
Jewish immigrants. Jewish 'mi- Maseres, presented a joint pe- traders in creating a committee
grants followed close on the tition to Governor Guy Carleton of- eight to regulate the trade
heels of the British seizure of asking for some sort of financial of Mackinac and "dependen-
Quebec, Montreal, and Detroit. arrangement, or the appoint- cies," the first "Board of Trade"
After 1760, Montreal was to be- ment of a commission of bank- in Michigan formally organized
come the commercial headquar- ruptcy which would be author- of which there is any record.
In 1786, Solomon's name ap-
ters of JeWish traders. Detroit, ized to diVide the remaining 'as-
established as Fort Pontchar- sets equally among the credit-
train du Detroit, was pre- ors.
•
Evidently their petition was
dominantly Fr e n c h Catholic
not
without
effect;
there
is
no
when the British wrested it
from French control. Fort Pont- record thtat they were confined
chartrain du Detroit simply be- for debt. On the contrary, we
meet them again as active, if
came Fort Detroit.
Among the first Jewish mer- not successful, merchants.
On July 23, 1769, Ezekiel
chants who came- to Montreal
at the time of the English Solomon was married in Mon-
occupation were Ezekiel treal to L o u i se Dubois, a
Solomon, Chapman Abraham, French - Canadian girl. Despite
Levi Solorbons, B e n j a m i n his marriage to a Christian girl,
Lyon and Gershon Levi. =They Solomon was an' active member
were business partners, en- of the Sephardic (a congrega-
gaged as commissaries of the tion using. the Spanish - Portu-
English armies during the guese ritual of worship) Con-
French and Indian War, the gregation Shearith Israel, Can-
final contest between England ada's first Jewish congregation
and France for supremacy on founded in Montreal in 1768. In
the American continent, and the minutes of this congregation
the subsequent Indian War of of the 25th of Elul, 5538 (Sep-
1'763 led by Chief Pontiac. tember, 1778) it is recorded
They piobably came together that Ezekiel Solomon and Levy
directly from England. Quar- Michaels- were selected for the
termaster work was a common high religious honors of Hatan
Jewish occupation on the Torah (bridegroom of the Law)
European continent in the and Hatan Breihit (bridegroom
18th century. The partners of the Beginning) respectively,
had their own limited re- during the forthcoming Festival
sources, some financial sup- of Simchas Torah (Last day of
port back in England, and the Feast of Tabernacles)'. The
possibly the help of °Hayman following year, Solomon was
Levy, the well-known colonial elected a member of the
Mahamad (board of directors
trader of New York.
Ezekiel Solomon and a few in Sephardic congregations.)
Despite the Indian disturb-
hardy traderS came to Mackinac
in the summer of 1761 in ad- ances of 1761 and 1763, Solomon
vance of the English troops, in decided to resume his trading
order to pre-empt some of the enterprises in the Northwest.
Mackinac became his center of
rich northern fur trade. -
But no sooner had they be- operations. It is of some interest
come friendly with the Chip- to note what Solomon brought
pewas than a band of nearby with him from Montreal and
Ottawas presented demands and Quebec to Mackinac. From an
threatened destruction of the invoice of one of his expedi-
group. Fortunately Captain tions, in 1770, we are in a posi-
Henry Balfour, Lieutenant Wil- tion to know in detail the nature
liam Leslye and a garrison of of his cargo. On this particular
English soldiers arrived in time trip he came up with two
to rescue the traders, including "canoes." There were 16 French
Ezekiel Solomon, from , the im- Canadians in his crew; he was
the only literate man among
pending peril.
Solomon continued his trad- them.
Before the men who took
ing business in Mackinac and
this load west to Mackinac set
so became the first known
forth, all 17 were called in
Jewish settler in Michigan.
A native of Berlin, Germany, by an officer of the ,Crown
he was the brother of Esther " and asked to take an oath of
Solomon, who married Meses loyalty to King George and
Hart, a brother of Aaron Hart, to - promise most solemnly that
the foremost Jewish settler in they would engage in no po-
Canada at the time of the Eng- litical intrigue with the In-
lish occupation in 1760 and the dians.
In 1773 and 1774, Solomon's
founder of the prominent Jew-
ish Canadian family of that name appears on a petition of
name. He was also the cousin the residents of Montreal and
of Levi Solomon's, his business Quebec to the King of England
for a house of assembly for
partner.
Ezekiel Solomon and three of Canada. This action reflects the
his partners went through the desire for greater "home rule
horrors of the general Indian in Canada" which was to flare •
uprising of 1763, known as Pon- up shortly in rebellion directed

ra e
peared among a
untry, trading
to the Uppe
" which
to the
ed at the northwest
wa
ake Superior, about 30
west of the Kaministiquia
aver.
In 1789, Solomon
as a resi
where h
ine
ant
. In
han
the oc-
ac by the
on was still

listed as a resident there.
n the hearings on land
ms in Michigan Territory,
ucted in Detroit on April
1808, there is presented a
im to the widow and heirs
the late Ezekiel Solomon to
lot of ground at Michilimac-
mac which had been entered
with the former commissioner
of the land office at Detroit.
From this entry it would ap-
pear that Solomon died between
1805 and 1808, after a residence
in Mackinac for at least 45
years. .„

The advent of the New Year 5722 pro-
vides occasion for gratitude to friends for
friendships, to fellow-townsmen for good neigh-
borliness, to those with whom we share a
business relationship hearty thanks for their
cooperation.
May the New Year bring joy and content-

ment to all of us. •

BENJAMIN LEVINSON

President

Franklin Mortgage Corporation

•

s thee, and keep thee:

make his face shine upon thee,

and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,

and give thee peace.

NUMBERS VI: 24, 25, 26

,77 e " g; Motor Company'
Happy New Year v(-1

The American Road, Dearborn, Michigas•

,

Central European Shofar—Ram's Hone;
Circa XVIII Century. S. Strauss Conecii4

Jewish Mmoeurn, New York City

