New York: Shearith Israel cemetery

The KnickerbockerVillage blog covers many aspects of New York history. I found this posting on the early history of a New York Jewish family, which was originally posted here, at the Center of Jewish History website.

Read about Ruth Hendricks Schulson, a 10th-generation Jewish American.. In the family archives is the oldes Jewish bible brought to New York by Louis Moses Gomez - Schulson's direct ancestor - in the 1700s. Both her parents are direct Gomez descendants.

It mentions the American Sephardi Federation’s current exhibition “Pernambuco, Brazil: Gateway to New York” which includes prized family heirlooms.

Schulson descends from Gomez's son Mordecai and his wife Rebecca De Lucena who traces her American ancestry to 1655. This is the year after 23 settlers arrived from Brazil.

From a genealogical standpoint, she has four separate bloodlines going back three centures which means she is connected to practically every 18th century Jew in America.

Her father was a WWI naval officer and attorney who served as president of Shearith Israel, Jewish Family Serive and the Jewish Welfare Board, among other important community positions. Her mother's family descends from a Revolutionary War veteran and to one of Manhattan's first Jewish borough presidents.

There are connections to copper industry pioneer Harmon Hendricks (1771-1838), who was also a philanthropist and Shearith Israel president, who was the great-grandson of Gomez.

The story details the family's connections through the generations.

Ruth Hendricks Schulson’s family saga covers the arc of the American Jewish experience. It is the story of how a group of Jews stretching back to colonial days did well and good in America while preserving the Jewish way of life.

Do read the complete CJH article for fascinating detail on early Jewish life.