Georgia Colony Jews

Date: 1733 [unknown]
Location: Savannah, Georgia
Surnames/tags: Southern Colonies Province of Georgia

For more on the Province of Georgia, see the Province of Georgia Team Page.

Province of Georgia is part of the Project:US_Southern_Colonies

---

To View Passenger Profiles, for the First Jewish Immigrants in Georgia, in WikiTree, visit Category:William and Sarah, Arrived July 11, 1733

Contents 1 Immigrant Categories 2 Jewish Diaspora Categories 3 Early Settlers 4 Stickers 5 History 6 Sources

Immigrant Categories

Additional Categories (pick only one):

• [[Category:Province of Georgia, Immigrants from Spain]] or
• [[Category:Province of Georgia, Immigrants from Portugal]] or
• [[Category:Province of Georgia, Immigrants from Prussia]]

Jewish Diaspora Categories

• Jewish Diaspora (pick only one): [[Category: Sephardi Jews]] (from Spain or Portugal) or [[Category:Ashkenazi Jews]]

Early Settlers

To use the List of Early Settlers source on Profiles, use this text: *''[[Space:A List of the Early Settlers of Georgia|A List of the Early Settlers of Georgia]]'' (Coulter and Saye, Georgia, 1949). Part X, Person # , Page XX (Online Page #XX)

Stickers

Profile Sticker Code	Produces
{{Jewish Roots Sticker}}	... ... ... has Jewish Roots.
{{Nonmigrating Ancestor |addinfo=Jewish Immigrant to ''Province of Georgia'' abroad the William and Sarah, 1733|flag=Jewish_Symbols.jpg |tooltip= }}	Jewish Immigrant to Province of Georgia abroad the William and Sarah, 1733
{{Migrating Ancestor | origin = Prussia | destination = Georgia | origin-flag = Flags-12.jpg | destination-flag = US_Southern_Colonies_British_Georgia-4.jpg }}	... ... ... migrated from Prussia to Georgia.
{{Migrating Ancestor | origin = Portugal | destination = Georgia | origin-flag = Flags-17.png | destination-flag = US_Southern_Colonies_British_Georgia-4.jpg }}	... ... ... migrated from Portugal to Georgia.
{{US Southern Colonist Sticker|Georgia}}	... ... ... was a Georgia colonist.

History

These settlers left England, in January 1733, bound for Savannah in the Province of Georgia.

The first Jews to arrive in Georgia were a group of forty-two men and women who came on the schooner William and Sarah. They landed in Savannah on July 11, 1733, soon after founder James Edward Oglethorpe arrived with Georgia's first settlers. Oglethorpe was surprised by the arrival of the new settlers, but at that point he had not received instructions from the Trustees with regard to non-Christian colonists.

At the time, Oglthorpe noted that the charter for the colony banned the presence of Roman Catholics and of slaves, but that there was no legal basis for excluding Jews. Oglethorpe treated these new Jewish settlers exactly as he had the Christian colonists who had arrived with him, including deeding land to fourteen of the Jewish males.

Thirty-four of the Jewish arrivals in 1733 were Sephardim, most of them having fled from Portugal to England before departing for the New World. The Ashkenazic Jews (from Spain) felt mistreated by the more numerous Sephardic Jews. The remainder were German, or Ashkenazi, Jews, from two different families.

Many of these Original Jewish Settlers became prominent members of the Community. Benjamin Sheftall (1692-1765), a leader amongst his community, dedicated himself to creating and updating the "Sheftall Diaries" which provided rich details on the events in Savannah, Georgia during his lifetime. His son, Levi Sheftall (1739-1809), continued the Sheftall Diaries after his father's death.

Also Visit WikiTree's Jewish Roots Project.

Sources

• Visit the Space Page for full passenger list: Space:William and Sarah, Arrived July 11, 1733
• A List of the Early Settlers of Georgia (Coulter and Saye, Georgia, 1949).
• Georgia Encyclopedia, Judaism and Jews
• Mickve Israel The third oldest Jewish congregation in America and being the first synagogue built in Georgia.
• Jewish Virtual Library - Savannah, Georgia
• Original Settlers, Passenger List

---