The life of Philip Benjamin (1779-1852) remains a mystery. But a review of his legal woes in the 1820s when he was trying to raise a family paints a clear portrait of him as a swindler. The first-generation Jewish American was in and out of court, losing case after case, with the same ineffectual attorney, […]
Charting My Jewish Roots Along a Misleading Path
I got woefully lost tracing my family’s Jewish roots and fell into a familiar trap. Like many family history researchers on the Internet, I wanted to believe that I was related to the great Moses Levy, a New York merchant who commissioned portraits for most family members. My fifth grandmother was a Levy, Eva Levy. […]
Little to Nothing Remains of Philip Benjamin’s Time in Charleston
Nothing is worse than the crushing blow of dashed expectations, especially when it comes to genealogy research. I had high hopes that a recent visit to Charleston, S.C., would turn up something — a gravestone, a house, a place of business, anything — related to my fourth great-grandfather, Philip Benjamin (1779-1852). My spirits rose when […]