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At the dedication of the Michigan historic marker, a crowd listens to speakers talk about Chapman Abraham. In front row, from
left, are speakers David Page and Judge Avern Cohn.
Michigan's Pioneers
Historic marker recounts early Jewish contributions.
Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
W
hen David Page was growing up, he was under the
impression that his great-grandfather was the first
Jewish resident of Detroit.
"I learned he wasn't:' Page jokingly told a crowd of more than
200 gathered April 29 at TriCentennial State Park and Harbor
for the dedication of a Michigan historical marker to early
Jewish citizens.
As he told of Detroit's first Jew, Montreal fur trader Chapman
Abraham, arriving at Fort Detroit by voyageur canoe in 1762, he
was interrupted by shouts from the nearby Detroit River.
Paddling swiftly toward shore in four modern canoes were
young people — some wearing scarves and berets as a nod to
the French voyageurs — from Tamarack Camps and the Fresh
Air Society who re-enacted the historic landing of Abraham
and his party. The rippling water sparkled in the warm after-
noon sun as the crowd turned to watch them arrive. One
costumed young man portraying Abraham lifted a shofar and
sounded a few blasts.
Page, vice chairman of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy,
was an integral player on the marker committee that made this
event a reality.
The historical marker is the legacy project of the Michigan
Coalition for the 350th anniversary of Jews in America: 1654-
2004. Judge Avern Cohn and Judy Levin Cantor lead that coali-
tion as co-chairs, with the American Jewish Committee as the
sponsoring organization.
One side of the marker talks of Abraham; the other side com-
memorates the 181 men and boys from 151 Michigan Jewish
families who served in the Union Army and also Jews who
helped fugitive slaves escape to Canada via the Underground
Railroad.
"Tikun Olam [repairing the world] started way back
then during the Civil War with the willingness to sacrifice
their children for democracy:' said Hannan Lis, co-chair of
the dedication committee with Karen Alpiner.
"The marker fills a hole in the early history of Detroit:'
said Samuel Logan Jr., a member of the Michigan
Historical Commission and publisher of the Michigan
Chronicle. "Most people don't think of Jews coming here
early or of serving in the Civil War. This marker reminds
us of this history."
Placing the marker involved an arduous 11/2-year
process, including providing documentation and exact
wording for the marker text to the Michigan Department
of History, Arts and Libraries. Cantor, a local author and
Jewish historian, led this effort, with help from the Jewish
Historical Society of Michigan, the American Jewish Archives at
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati
and the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives at Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township.
Before coming to TriCentennial Park, Sen. Carl Levin, D-
Mich., attended the dedication of a new downtown home for
his synagogue, the Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit
Michigan's Pioneers on page 14
Chapman
Abraham,
Detroit's First
Jewish Settler
Judith Levin Cantor
Special to the Jewish News
he year is 1762 – 15 years
before the American
Revolution. Chapman
Abraham, a Jewish fur trader in
command of a flotilla of birch bark
canoes, lands at Fort Detroit after
a dangerous 75-day trip across
the Great Lakes. A year earlier, the
British had defeated the French
in the French and Indian War, and
claimed much of North America,
including what we now know as
Michigan.
Paddling all the way from British
Montreal, Abraham and other
English traders came to this wilder-
ness area of Detroit to trade for
beaver with the Native Americans
here. Abraham was part of a group
of five Jewish fur traders who
already had stationed themselves at
Fort Michilimackinac at the north-
ern tip of lower Michigan. Each had
been granted licenses by the British
crown in the name of King George III
to trade in specific areas. Abraham
and these intrepid adventurers are
credited with "pushing back the wil-
derness and extending the American
frontier."
High fashion back in Paris and
Europe created the demand for
these furs. Everyone of style wanted
a beaver cape, coat or at least a
Laden with furs, the Montreal fur
traders head back home by voyageur
canoes.
beaver hat. So, until his death 20
years later, Abraham paddled in
each year with trinkets and goods
to trade with the Native Americans
as well as supplies for the British
troops. Then, in late summer or
Chapman Abraham on page 14
May 3 2007
13