Myer Benjamin was a Hungarian Jew who settled in Newport, Rhode Island during the Colonial Period. In the 1760's there was a decline in the economy and Myer, a merchant, was forced to declare bankruptcy. The Jewish community came to his aid, and he found work as a shammos (sexton), and a shochet (a ritual slaughterer), for the Touro Synagogue. Myer Benjamin was married to Rachel, an Austrian, and together they had eight children. Myer Benjamin was a Loyalist and after his death in 1776, his wife and children emigrated to Canada where they were granted land by the Crown. Most members of the family returned to the U.S. The youngest was Maj. Mordecai Myers, a hero in the War of 1812 and the first Jewish mayor of Schenectady.
Myer Benjamin was a Hungarian Jew who settled in Newport, Rhode Island during the Colonial Period. In the 1760's there was a decline in the economy and Myer, a merchant, was forced to declare bankruptcy. The Jewish community came to his aid, and he found work as a shammos (sexton), and a shochet (a ritual slaughterer), for the Touro Synagogue. Myer Benjamin was married to Rachel, an Austrian, and together they had eight children. Myer Benjamin was a Loyalist and after his death in 1776, his wife and children emigrated to Canada where they were granted land by the Crown. Most members of the family returned to the U.S. The youngest was Maj. Mordecai Myers, a hero in the War of 1812 and the first Jewish mayor of Schenectady.
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