1825 - 1893 (68 years)
-
Name |
Abraham Pereira Mendes [5, 6, 7] |
Prefix |
Rabbi |
Alt Birth |
9 Feb 1825 |
Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies [6] |
Born |
19 Feb 1825 |
Kingston, Surrey, Jamaica [5, 6, 8, 9] |
Gender |
Male |
Occupation |
Bef 1883 |
London, Middlesex, England [9] |
head of large communal organization |
Occupation |
Bef 1883 |
Birmingham, England [9] |
minister of the Birmingham Hebrew Congregation |
Occupation |
Bef 1883 [9] |
Principal of Northwick College |
Residence |
Bef 1883 |
Montego Bay, WI [9] |
Immigration |
1883 |
from England |
Died |
4 Apr 1893 |
New York, New York (Manhattan), NY [5, 6, 10] |
Residence |
5 Apr 1893 |
New York, New York (Manhattan), NY [9] |
137 W. 49th Street |
Buried |
6 Apr 1893 |
Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY |
Alt. Death |
18 Apr 1893 |
New York, New York (Manhattan), NY [9] |
Occupation |
Jamaica, West Indies [5] |
Hazan |
Occupation |
London, Middlesex, England [5] |
Hazan |
Occupation |
Newport, Newport, RI [5] |
Hazan |
Occupation |
Rabbi [9] |
- "He was educated for the Jewish ministry in London chiefly by the Rev. D.A. de Sola and Rabbi David Meldola. . . . one of the first to preach among his people in English.
|
Reference Number |
3684 |
Person ID |
I3684 |
aojd |
Last Modified |
14 Nov 2011 |
-
Notes |
- a. He fathered 12 children. b. He was a Rabbi and educationalist.
Abraham Pereira Mendes
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Abraham Pereira Mendes (February 9 , 1825 , Kingston, Jamaica - April 18 , 1893 , New York ) was an English rabbi and educator.
He was the first master of the Beth Limud School of Kingston, but resigned in order to prepare in London, England, for the vocation of preacher and rabbi. He studied under Dr. Meldola , the dayyan , and the Rev. D. A. de Sola, "the learned Hazzan" of the Sephardic community , and received his diplomas. He returned to Jamaica and became for a short time assistant to the Rev. Isaac Lopez, minister of the Kingston Sephardic congregation, but was soon called from that position to be the minister of the Montego Bay community. There he stayed until his wife's failing health compelled him, in 1851, to return to her milder native climate. Mendes was then elected minister and preacher in the Birmingham (Eng.) congregation, and remained there until 1858, when he removed to London, became head of the Neveh Zedek for six years, and established Northwick College , a school for Jewish youth. He continued meanwhile his ministerial duties and literary labors, and on the death of Haham Artom acted as preacher and dayyan for the Sephardic community of London. He was called to the ministry in the Newport (Rhode Island) congregation by the guardian Congregation Shearith Israel of New York in 1883, and continued its minister until his death ten years later.
He was the first among the Sephardim to publish a volume of sermons in English (1855). He translated the Daily Prayer-Book of the German Jews (Valentine's edition), and finished the translation of the Festival and Holy Day Books left incomplete by the death of Rev. D. A. de Sola. He published, besides, The Law of Moses, Post-Biblical History of the Jews (to fall of Jerusalem), Interlineary Translation of the Prayer-Book (German), and the Haggadah . He married Eliza, a daughter of Rev. D. A. de Sola of London.
Two of Mendes's sons, Frederick de Sola Mendes and Henry Pereira Mendes became prominent American rabbis in the late nineteenth century.
References
This article incorporates text from the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article "Mendes" , H. Pereira Mendes, Joseph Jacobs and Frank H. Vizetelly, a publication now in the public domain.
Retrieved from "<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Pereira_Mendes>"
Anne Joseph:
According to The Jewish Encyclopedia, Abraham Pereira Mendes was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 9 February 1825 and died in New York on 18 April 1893. However his obituary in The New York Times, published 13 days before this on 5 April 1893, states that he was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 19 February 1825 and died at 137 West Forty-ninth Street, New York, on 4 April 1893. Logic seems to indicate that The New York Times date of death is probably the correct one. However, all sources except The NY Times seem to agree on 9 February 1825 as being his date of birth. I have therefore chosen to go with.................... ….................. born 9 February 1825 in Kingston, Jamaica, and died 4 April 1893 in New York.
Abraham was the first master of the Beth Limmud School in Kingston when it was founded in 1843, but he did not stay there for long. He resigned, probably within a few months, so that he could move to London and prepare himself for a career in the Jewish ministry. His studies were chiefly guided by the Rev. David Aaron deSola, the learned hazan of the Sephardic community, and Dr. David Meldola, the dayan, from whom he received his diploma. Abraham then returned to Jamaica, but before leaving London had completed his plans to marry Eliza, daughter of David Aaron and Rica (Meldola) deSola. Back in Jamaica, Abraham served briefly as assistant to the Rev. Isaac Lopez, minister of the Kingston synagogue, but soon moved to the north of the island to become minister of the Montego Bay community.
Early in 1848 Eliza deSola sailed from England to Jamaica to marry Abraham Mendes. Her departure was delayed when her chaperone became ill, but eventually arrangements were made for her to sail under the personal protection of the ship's captain. Eliza was delayed yet again on arrival in Jamaica, when the ship was prevented from docking because the town was in quarantine for yellow fever. Finally she got ashore, and the wedding was scheduled for 19 March 1848. It was one of the first weddings to take place in the new Montego Bay Synagogue on the corner of King and Market Streets. Then on the day itself, the weather was so hot that Eliza was unable to wear her heavy brocaded wedding dress, thus necessitating yet another change in plans as she hastily selected a light summer dress as more appropriate attire in the sweltering heat.
Abraham and Eliza's first child, a boy named David, was born in 1849 and died in infancy. Then on 8 July 1850 their second child, a boy named Frederick, was born. By 1851, it became obvious that Eliza had not adjusted to life in Jamaica. She felt the heat terribly, and after three years her health suffered to the point where it became clear that the young couple and their son would be better off back in Eliza'a homeland.
Back in England, Abraham became minister to the Ashkenazi Community of Birmingham until 1858, at which time he moved to London where he became Headmaster of the Ashkenazi Jews' Hospital and Orphanage for the next six years. He also established Northwick College, a school for Jewish youth which was attended by many of the sons of the more affluent Jewish families. Abraham's years in London were filled with ministerial duties and many literary endeavours, and on the death of Haham Artom he also acted as preacher and dayan for the Sephardic community of London. During their time in England, Abraham and Eliza had 10 more children between 1852 and 1871.
In January 1883, Abraham and Eliza followed two of their sons Henry Pereira Mendes and Frederick deSola (previously Pereira) Mendes to New York, where both had obtained ministerial appointments, Frederick from 1874 and Henry from 1877. Abraham himself had received a call in December 1882 to assume the ministry of the Touro synagogue and to become religious instructor of the Jewish community at Newport, Rhode Island. He continued in this capacity until his death 10 years later.
Abraham Pereira Mendes was a well known translator and author of scholarly Jewish studies. It was Abraham who undertook to finish the translation of the Festival and Holy Day Books left incomplete by the death of the Rev. D. A. deSola.
According to the New York Times obituary dated 5 April 1893, Abraham died at 137 West Forty-ninth Street on 4 April after an illness of a few weeks. In his book The Sephardim of England, Albert M. Hyamson states that he was killed in a street accident in New York City on 4 April 1893, but I have found no other reference to this event. Funeral services were held on Thursday 6 April, with burial in the Cypress Hills cemetery of Congregation Shearith Israel.
Sources: The Sephardim of England by Albert M. Hyamson The Jewish Encyclopaedia An Old Faith in the New World by David and Tamar deSola Pool The New York Times Geoffrey Pinto in the 2005 edition of The Moon. [6, 11]
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Sources |
- [S393] .
- [S81] .
- [S149] .
- [S285] .
- [S4] PG. 191 MENDES (Reliability: 3).
- [S77] .
- [S4] PG. 60 DE SOLA (2) (Reliability: 3).
- [S80] YEAR: 1920;CENSUS PLACE: MANHATTAN ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 7, NEW YORK, NEW YORK; ROLL: T625_1198; PAGE: 2A; ENUMERATION DISTRICT: 568; IMAGE: 213. (Reliability: 3).
- [S49] OBITUARY, 5 APRIL 1893, P. 5 (Reliability: 3).
- [S132] DEATH - MANHATTAN - 4 APRIL 1893, CERT# 12704 (Reliability: 3).
age 68
- [S44] HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/ABRAHAM_PEREIRA_MENDES (Reliability: 3).
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