OBJECTS. The object of this Society is to collect and publish material bearing upon the history of our country. It is known that Jews in Spain and Portugal participated in some degree in the voyages which led to the discovery of America, and that there were Jews from Holland, Great Britain, Jamaica and other countries among the earliest settlers of several of the colonies. There were also a number of Jews in the Continental army, and others contributed liberally to defray the expenses of the Revolutionary war. Since the foundation of our government a number of Jews have held important public positions. The genealogy of these men and the record of their achievements will, when gathered together, be of value and interest to the historian and perchance contribute materially to the history of our country. The objects for which this Society was organized are not sectarian but American. The co-operation of students of history and of all persons who have an interest in the work of this Society is cordially invited. FIRST SCIENTIFIC MEETING. The first scientific meeting of the American Jewish Historical Society was held Thursday, December 15, 1892, in the parlors of the Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia. Two sessions were held, beginning respectively at three p. m. and eight p. m., seventy persons being present. Sixteen papers were read, a number of which are printed in the following pages. The following papers were read, the manuscript of which was not furnished for publication: Note on the Jews in the U. S. Navy, by Mr. Barnet Phillips of New York. John Moss, by Mr. Lucien Moss of Philadelphia. Note on David Hays, by Dr. S. Solis Cohen of Philadelphia. CONTENTS. Some Unpublished Material relating to Dr. Jacob Lumbrozo, of Maryland. J. H. Hollander........... Beginnings of New York Jewish History. Max J. Kohler, M. A. Jewish Beginnings in Kentucky. Lewis N. Dembitz.. Americana at the Anglo-Jewish Exhibition. Dr. Cyrus Adler. 109 A Political Document of the Year 1800. Dr. Cyrus Adler.... 111 ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, HON. OSCAR S. STRAUS, New York. Members and Friends of the American Jewish Historical I extend to you a cordial welcome to this our first scientific meeting, which has been appropriately called in this city wherein was first proclaimed our continent's message to enfranchise mankind, that all men have the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The objects of our Society, as stated in its prospectus of organization, are not sectarian, but American-to throw an additional ray of light upon the discovery, colonization, and history of our country. The quadri-centennial of America's discovery has a deeper meaning than its glorification pageantries; it serves to direct the mind back to those beginnings from which such magnificent results have sprung, whereby a new world full of new opportunities has been dedicated to liberty and man. History is the record of right and wrong traversing the ages; it is prospective as well as retrospective; it is the search-light of the past turned upon the future. We need to look back, so as to make sure of our bearings for our march onward. The nations of the old world have a past replete with instructive experience; we have a future that stands in need of all the wisdom those experiences can teach. Our beginning is not so far removed as to have become obliterated in the shaded past, it can be rescued from Napoleon's definition of history, "a fiction agreed upon." The function of the historian is to bring back for inspection the events that have flown to the past with such bewildering rapidity. For this he must search |