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David Levy Yulee
David Levy Yulee (born David Levy; June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney who served as the senator from Florida immediately before the American Civil War. He also founded the Florida Railroad Company and served as president of several other rail companies, earning him the nickname of "Father of Florida Railroads."
Yulee was born on the island of St. Thomas, then under British control, to a Sephardic Jewish family; his father was a trader from Morocco and his mother, also of Sephardi descent, was born in Sint Eustatius and raised in St. Thomas. The family moved to Florida when he was a child. He later served as Florida's territorial delegate to Congress.
Yulee was the first person of Jewish ancestry elected to the United States House of Representatives as well as the first elected to the United States Senate. He added Yulee, the name of a Moroccan ancestor, to his name soon after his 1846 marriage to Nancy Christian Wickliffe, daughter of ex-Governor Charles A. Wickliffe of Kentucky. Though Yulee converted to Christianity, became an Episcopalian, and raised his children as Christian, he encountered antisemitism throughout his career.
Yulee was in favor of slavery and the secession of Florida. His fortune came from a sugarcane plantation on the Homosassa River, and his antebellum railroads were largely built by slave labor. After the Civil War, he was imprisoned at Fort Pulaski for nine months for aiding the escape of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. After being pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, he returned to his Florida railroad interests and other business ventures. In 2000, he was recognized as a "Great Floridian" by the state.
He was born David Levy in Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas. His father was Moses Elias Levy, a Sephardi Jewish businessman from Morocco who made a fortune in lumber in the British colony. His mother, Hannah Abendanone, was also Sephardi; her ancestors were expelled from Spain to the Netherlands and England. His grandfather Eliyahu ha-Levy ibn-Yuli served as an undersecretary to Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah while his paternal grandmother Rachel was from Tangiers and was said to have spoken fluent Spanish. Some later migrated to the Caribbean as English colonists during the British occupation of the Danish West Indies (now the United States Virgin Islands). Moses Levy was a first cousin and business partner of Phillip Benjamin, who was the father of Judah P. Benjamin, the future Secretary of State of the Confederate States of America.
After the family immigrated to the United States in the early 1820s, Moses Levy bought 50,000 acres (200 km2) of land near present-day Jacksonville, Florida Territory. Despite his wealth as a trader, his father feared it would lead to sin.[citation needed] He wanted to establish a "New Jerusalem" for Jewish settlers. The parents sent their son to a boy's academy and college in Norfolk, Virginia. Levy studied law with Robert R. Reid in St. Augustine, was admitted to the bar in 1832, and started a law practice in St. Augustine.
During his twenties, Levy served in the territorial militia, including during the Second Seminole War. In 1834, he was present at a conference with Seminole chiefs, including Osceola.
In 1836, Levy was elected to the Florida Territory's Legislative Council, serving from 1837 to 1839. He was a delegate to the territory's constitutional convention in 1838 and served as the legislature's clerk in 1841.
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David Levy Yulee
David Levy Yulee (born David Levy; June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney who served as the senator from Florida immediately before the American Civil War. He also founded the Florida Railroad Company and served as president of several other rail companies, earning him the nickname of "Father of Florida Railroads."
Yulee was born on the island of St. Thomas, then under British control, to a Sephardic Jewish family; his father was a trader from Morocco and his mother, also of Sephardi descent, was born in Sint Eustatius and raised in St. Thomas. The family moved to Florida when he was a child. He later served as Florida's territorial delegate to Congress.
Yulee was the first person of Jewish ancestry elected to the United States House of Representatives as well as the first elected to the United States Senate. He added Yulee, the name of a Moroccan ancestor, to his name soon after his 1846 marriage to Nancy Christian Wickliffe, daughter of ex-Governor Charles A. Wickliffe of Kentucky. Though Yulee converted to Christianity, became an Episcopalian, and raised his children as Christian, he encountered antisemitism throughout his career.
Yulee was in favor of slavery and the secession of Florida. His fortune came from a sugarcane plantation on the Homosassa River, and his antebellum railroads were largely built by slave labor. After the Civil War, he was imprisoned at Fort Pulaski for nine months for aiding the escape of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. After being pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, he returned to his Florida railroad interests and other business ventures. In 2000, he was recognized as a "Great Floridian" by the state.
He was born David Levy in Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas. His father was Moses Elias Levy, a Sephardi Jewish businessman from Morocco who made a fortune in lumber in the British colony. His mother, Hannah Abendanone, was also Sephardi; her ancestors were expelled from Spain to the Netherlands and England. His grandfather Eliyahu ha-Levy ibn-Yuli served as an undersecretary to Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah while his paternal grandmother Rachel was from Tangiers and was said to have spoken fluent Spanish. Some later migrated to the Caribbean as English colonists during the British occupation of the Danish West Indies (now the United States Virgin Islands). Moses Levy was a first cousin and business partner of Phillip Benjamin, who was the father of Judah P. Benjamin, the future Secretary of State of the Confederate States of America.
After the family immigrated to the United States in the early 1820s, Moses Levy bought 50,000 acres (200 km2) of land near present-day Jacksonville, Florida Territory. Despite his wealth as a trader, his father feared it would lead to sin.[citation needed] He wanted to establish a "New Jerusalem" for Jewish settlers. The parents sent their son to a boy's academy and college in Norfolk, Virginia. Levy studied law with Robert R. Reid in St. Augustine, was admitted to the bar in 1832, and started a law practice in St. Augustine.
During his twenties, Levy served in the territorial militia, including during the Second Seminole War. In 1834, he was present at a conference with Seminole chiefs, including Osceola.
In 1836, Levy was elected to the Florida Territory's Legislative Council, serving from 1837 to 1839. He was a delegate to the territory's constitutional convention in 1838 and served as the legislature's clerk in 1841.
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