From Spain to America, the family of Isaac Harby

Much has been written in this blog about the migration of Jews from Spain and Portugal, to Europe and eventually the Caribbean and then to the southern United States. Another wonderful example of this is the biography of Isaac Harby, which is contained in the collection. The biography, which was contained in the family bible was written in Isaac Harby's own handwriting. In his writings he first discusses his families beginnings, where he writes,

"My ancestors fled to Spain and then Portugal, where they remained until the pestilence of the inquisition drove them to Africa"

He further adds;

"I find my grandfather, Isaac Harbie, about the middle of the 18th century, employed in the business of a lapidary at Fez in Morocco and in his barbarian majesty's good confidence."

He then talks about the birth of his own father, Solomon, when he writes;

"Of this issue six children were born, the youngest of whom was Solomon, my father, born in London, 1762."

Then writing of their arrival in the United States he states;

"Solomon Harby emigrated to America and remained three years at Jamaica from 1778 to 1781. He married Rebecca Moses at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1787. She was the daughter of Myer Moses, a rich and patriotic Israelite who assisted his country during the Revolutionary struggle."

Like so many others, the Harby family travelled from Spain to Portugal, then to Africa and London before their journey to America by way of Jamaica. Further proof how important it is for all those researching early American Jewish families to carefully study the records of the Caribbean. The records of Isaac Harby and his family have now been added to the Knowles Collection- Jews of North North America database and will be available after the next update.

Jews of Cape Verde

The history of the Jews of Cape Verde is a most interesting story. Located off the western coast of Africa, the Republic of Cape Verde is a group of ten islands which gained their Independence from Portugal in 1975. As a result of the almost 500 years of Portuguese rule, today there are virtually no Jews, the country is mostly all Catholic, but that was not always the case.
From the time of the Spanish Inquisition up until the late 1800's Cape Verde became a safe haven for Jews who were fleeing either religious persecution or simply wanted the opportunity to have stability in their personal and economic life.
The first Jews to arrive in Cape Verde, those from Gibraltar, landed on the island of Sao Tiago. Those Jews were then forced to live in the Ghetto in the capital city of Praia. Even though they were forced into the ghettos, they did maintain some rights, and in fact became very influential traders and businessmen. They were allowed to trade as long as they didn't compete with any of the established Portuguese trading companies. By the middle of the 1500's the Portuguese government had begun using the island of Santo Antao has a place to send convicts, most of these being Jews. In 1672, the inquisition made its way to Cape Verde, which caused the Jewish traders to have their merchandise seized. This caused many of the Jews to hide their true identities.In the late 1700's the Inquisition had subsided to the point that many families were able to reclaim their Jewish heritage openly. Later in the late 1800's Jews began arriving in Cape Verde from places such as Morocco. These Moroccan Jews, like those of hundreds of years earlier were fleeing persecution and trying to establish their businesses. The majority of the Jews from Morocco traded in hides and pelts and some in the coal industry. They established their homes on the islands of Santiago, San Vincent and Santo Antao.
Today, one would find it difficult to find any resemblance of a Jewish community on Cape Verde, most immigrated to Israel or other locations long ago. There are however Jewish Cemeteries on some of the islands. One group of descendants of the Jews who once lived in Cape Verde have formed a nonprofit organization with the hope of keeping the memory of the Sephardic families of Cape Verde alive.



That organization, The Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project. Inc (http://capeverdejewishheritage.org/about-2/), hopes to restore the cemeteries, and document with research the lives of those who immigrated to Cape Verde from Morocco and Gibraltar.

Please visit their website, the work to preserve the histories of those who have gone before must continue.

The Jews of Morocco

The Jewish community of Morocco was at one time a thriving prosperous group. Today, the population has dropped from over a quarter of a million people as recently as the 1950's, to a group closer to 5000 in size. Today, the largest community is in Casablanca.
The Jewish community dates back over 2000 years, which Jewish colonies in Morocco even before it became a Roman Empire. Under the Romans, the Jews of Morocco enjoyed being treated as equals. Other important times in the history of the Jews of Morocco:

• In the 7th century, many Jews fleeing Spain, settled in Morocco and brought with them a modern life.
• Jews lived in peace until 1033, when thousands of Jews were murdered in Fez, and the women were taken into slavery.
• In 1066 the Almohades came to power and conditions improved for the Jews community.
• In 1391 Jewish refugees arrived from Spain and brought strength to the community. This continued between 1492 and 1497 when people arrived from Spain and Portugal.
• Beginning in 1438, the Jews were forced to live in special quarters, called mellahs.
• The condition of the Jews only started to improve with the election of a French Protectorate in 1912. At this time they were given equality and religious autonomy.
• In 1948 there were about 270,000 Jews in Morocco. However as times became more uncertain, many emigrated to places such as Israel, United States and France. Today the ancient community may not have the same numbers but hopefully the heritage is still alive.