’ )e Settlement of 3fe\os 
 tn ti)e Hotoer <Wo mile# 
 
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“ One To-day; is worth two To-morrows. 
 
HISTOR V 
 
 of the 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF JEWS IN 
 PADUCAH 
 
 and the 
 
 LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 by 
 
 I 
 
 ISAAC W. BERN HEIM 
 
 Published for Temple Israel by Reason of 
 the Generosity of Mr. Joseph L. Friedman 
 
 Paducah, Ky., July 1, 1912 
 
NOTE. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Benedict: 
 
 The History of the Settlement of Jews in 
 Paducah and in the Lower Ohio Valley has re¬ 
 ceived its finishing touches and is being for¬ 
 warded by mail to your address. Kindly present 
 it, with my best wishes, to the Jewish Congre¬ 
 gation, whose president I had the honor to be 
 many, many years ago. The old town and its 
 kindly people have ever occupied a soft spot in 
 my memory, and if the little sketch — unvar¬ 
 nished and truthful — pleases them and fills a 
 useful place in the local history, I shall feel not 
 only gratified, but amply compensated for the 
 many hours of my leisure time in compiling it. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 I. W. BERNHEIM. 
 
 238115 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The history of the Jews of this country is 
 very largely the history of the various congre¬ 
 gations. For it was around them that the activ¬ 
 ities of the Jews centered, and it was in the 
 congregational life that they expressed them¬ 
 selves best and most distinctively. An account 
 of the beginnings and growth of any congrega¬ 
 tion, no matter how small and seemingly insig¬ 
 nificant it may be, constitutes therefore a contri¬ 
 bution, even though an humble one, to the 
 internal history of the Jews of the land. More¬ 
 over, such a record of the efforts and strivings 
 of the early Jewish settlers who were the found¬ 
 ers of most of our congregations, the story of 
 their loyalty to, and their enthusiasm for, their 
 ancestral faith under the most trying and diffi¬ 
 cult circumstances cannot but be an inspiration 
 unto us and future generations. None can read 
 such a narrative without being stirred thereby 
 and without being strengthened and confirmed 
 in his zeal and devotion to that faith for which 
 our fathers were ever ready to make sacrifice. 
 
 For this account of the Paducah Congrega¬ 
 tion and of the Jewish communities along the 
 Lower Ohio Valley we are indebted to Mr. I. W. 
 Bernheim, for many years a resident of Paducah, 
 but now of Louisville, Ky. The career of I. W. 
 Bernheim is typical of that of many Jews who, 
 a generation or more ago, sought these shores 
 
in the hope of enjoying more liberty and of find¬ 
 ing greater opportunities. Born in Schmieheim, 
 Baden, Germany, November 4, 1848, he came to 
 this country April 8, 1867, with the scantiest of 
 capital. After peddling for about a year in the 
 state of Pennsylvania he came to Paducah, May 
 7, 1868. Here he engaged in business and grad¬ 
 ually grew in wealth and influence. In 1874 he 
 married Miss Amanda Uri. In 1888 he removed 
 to Louisville, where he is to-day one of its most 
 influential citizens, and because of his great 
 interest in things Jewish and his readiness to 
 contribute of his time and means to the cause 
 of Jews and Judaism he has won for himself a 
 prominent place in American Jewry. 
 
 It is our hope that this history of the strug¬ 
 gles and achievements of a small and humble 
 section of Jews in this land will be of interest to 
 many and that it will tend to quicken and keep 
 alive a love and devotion for Israel’s faith in the 
 hearts of their descendants. 
 
 RABBI MEYER LOVITCH. 
 
 Paducah, Ky., 
 
 May 28, 1912. 
 
THE EARLY DAYS. 
 
THE EARLY DAYS . 
 
 The settlement of Jews in the Lower 
 Ohio Valley is practically the story of 
 the South German Immigration move¬ 
 ment that had its beginning in the years 
 previous to 1840. It gradually increased 
 for over three decades — its greatest 
 development ending with the victorious 
 prosecution on the part of Germany, of 
 the French War in 1870. Thereafter the 
 Fatherland afforded better chances of 
 profitable employment. How much this 
 and other causes, such as a larger mea¬ 
 sure of religious and political freedom, 
 are responsible for the gradual decrease 
 and almost total extinction of the Ger¬ 
 man Immigration movement, is not 
 within the domain of the author, whose 
 task it is to trace briefly the settlement 
 of men of the Jewish Faith on the banks 
 
 of the Lower Ohio. Suffice it to say that 
 
 (13) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 co-religionists, principally from Bavaria, 
 Baden, Hechingen - Hohenzollern and 
 other South German States, were found 
 scattered along the Lower Ohio and its 
 tributaries many years before 1850. 
 
 These men, mostly young and un¬ 
 married, found their way to the small 
 trading posts via New York or Philadel¬ 
 phia, where, on their arrival in this 
 country, they found temporary shelter 
 under the hospitable roof of some more 
 fortunate relative or countryman where 
 opportunity was offered to learn the first 
 rudiments of the English Language. 
 Ambitious to improve their material 
 condition — not unlike many other hu¬ 
 man beings, who look for the best 
 farthest from home — they immigrated 
 westward, crossing the Allegheny Moun¬ 
 tains by stage coaches and going thence 
 from Pittsburg by steamboat to Cincin¬ 
 nati and Louisville. 
 
 In these two cities respectable be¬ 
 ginnings had successfully been made in 
 
 (14) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 the formation of Jewish Congregations 
 and it is here that new connections were 
 formed for commercial as well as social 
 intercourse. Credit was cheerfully ex¬ 
 tended by their co-religionists who 
 already, in that early period, conducted 
 prosperous wholesale establishments. 
 In those days it required neither refer¬ 
 ences nor reports from Dun and Brad- 
 street to establish a modest line of 
 credit. A good character, combined 
 with health, industry and capacity were 
 all the requisites necessary. Thus we 
 find these hardy pioneers either as ped¬ 
 dlers, or as store-keepers, scattered along 
 the shores of the Lower Ohio, Green, 
 Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. 
 Evansville, Ind., had a small but grow¬ 
 ing colony of Jews, and scattered settle¬ 
 ments can be traced all the way to 
 Cairo, 111., and Hickman, Ky. 
 
 As early as 1840, Owensboro, Ky., 
 had two respected citizens of our faith, 
 in Marcus Suntheimer and Samuel Moise. 
 
 (15) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 Max Kohn, Phillip Rothschild, Henry 
 Mendel, Ernest Weil, Abraham Hirsch, 
 Simon Greenbaum, settled there between 
 1850 and 1860. 
 
 Henderson, Ky., had among its early 
 settlers H. Schlesinger, Koltinsky Broth¬ 
 ers, Israel Heyman, Solomon Oberdorfer, 
 Abraham Mann, B. Baum, Elias Ober¬ 
 dorfer, M. Heilbronner. 
 
 Hartford, Ohio County, Ky., near 
 Owensboro, a little village then as now, 
 counted among its pioneer merchants 
 before the Civil War, Mr. Gabriel Netter, 
 a gallant and ill-fated soldier, of whom 
 you shall read more later on. 
 
 Madisonviile, Hopkins County, Ky., 
 had, about 1842 and for many years 
 thereafter, as its largest mercantile es¬ 
 tablishment that of the Lichten Broth¬ 
 ers. The firm consisted of Charles, 
 Adolph and Morris Lichten. Shortly 
 before the outbreak of the war, they 
 moved to Louisville, Ky., where they 
 
 ( 16 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 successfully conducted a wholesale cloth¬ 
 ing business for many years. 
 
 Mt. Vernon, Ind., counted Moses 
 and Daniel Rosenbaum, Levi Hartung, 
 David and Louis Mendel, Sampson Ober- 
 dorfer, Emanuel Wolf among its mer¬ 
 chants as early as 1854. 
 
 The Jewish roster in other nearby 
 communities was: 
 
 Golconda, Ill. — Morris Kahn. 
 
 Marion, Crittenden County, Ky.— 
 Isaac and Alexander Levy, Selligman 
 Ullman. 
 
 Metropolis, Ill.— Bernard Baer and 
 Lehman Tannhauser, 
 
 Cairo, Ill.—Isaac Farnbaker and 
 Isaac Walter. 
 
 Hickman, Ky.—Joseph and Moses 
 Amberg, Abraham Goodheart. 
 
 Dycusburg, Ky., on the Cumberland 
 River — Moses Bloom. 
 
 Eddyville, Ky., on the Cumberland 
 River— Leopold and Simon Block. 
 
 Clarksville, Tenn., on the Cumber- 
 
 (17) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 land River — B. Prosser, I. Lyons and 
 G. A. Roth. 
 
 Florence, Ala., on the Tennessee 
 River — Alexander W. Falk. 
 
 Undoubtedly other co-religionists 
 were located in the different little settle¬ 
 ments on the banks of the rivers or in 
 towns adjacent thereto. They received 
 constant accessions from their old homes. 
 Among others, I recall Gustav Ellenbo- 
 gen, who came to Smithland about the 
 time of the outbreak of the Civil War. 
 Before he had had time to learn the 
 English language he joined the Confed¬ 
 erate Army and fought through the war, 
 returning to Paducah a ragged veteran 
 in 1865. 
 
 ( 18 ) 
 
PADUCAH A SANCTUARY 
 OF ISRAEL. 
 
PADUCAH A SANCTUARY 
 OF ISRAEL 
 
 Paducah, that friendly town on the 
 banks of the Ohio River, was for many 
 years previous to the war overshadowed 
 in importance as a shipping and com¬ 
 mercial town by Smithland, its neighbor. 
 If the war had not intervened and river 
 navigation had not been superceded by 
 the railroads, it might have been, indeed, 
 to-day my duty to write the his¬ 
 tory of the beginnings of the Jew¬ 
 ish congregation in Smithland, rather 
 than that of the one in Paducah. 
 The former is located at the junction of 
 the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers; it is 
 beautifully elevated, has a fine harbor, 
 and is surrounded by an excellent agri¬ 
 cultural country. It counted, in the 
 early fifties, among its prominent mer¬ 
 chants, Benjamin Weille, Samuel Drey- 
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 fuss, M. Livingston, Leopold Levy, Sam¬ 
 son Rosenfield, Isaac and Jacob Eckstein 
 and Samuel Rexinger. The last, soon 
 after the commencement of the Civil 
 War, joined the Federal Army as a pri¬ 
 vate and by bravery on the field of battle 
 rose to the rank of captain. When hos¬ 
 tilities ceased, he settled in Clarksville, 
 Tenn., and filled the office of postmaster 
 for many years. 
 
 Paducah labored under many serious 
 disadvantages, for the country back of 
 it was poor and unproductive. Its loca¬ 
 tion was fiat and not susceptible to proper 
 drainage, hence it was subject to malaria 
 and kindred diseases. Besides, its few 
 inhabitants could not compare at all 
 favorably in wealth with those of the 
 neighboring town, which sheltered men 
 of capacity and owners of many slaves. 
 
 Paducah’s earliest settlers of the 
 Jewish faith consisted of Morris and 
 Abraham Uri, D. Loewenstein and Leo¬ 
 pold Klaw. They conducted small 
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 country stores on what was called Front 
 street, in a row of frame buildings of 
 inferior character, which were destroyed 
 by fire in 1851, when nearly every store 
 house in the town was burned down. 
 Undaunted by this calamity, its citizens 
 commenced to rebuild on a more sub¬ 
 stantial scale. A year or two after the 
 fire, when a charter w T as procured for a 
 company to build a railroad from Padu¬ 
 cah to tap the Mobile and Ohio Railroad 
 at, or near, Union City, Tenn., sixty odd 
 miles distant, it quickly grasped the op¬ 
 portunity and advantages that the rail¬ 
 road bid fair to bestow. New business 
 houses went up, real estate advanced 
 and the business of Paducah increased 
 largely thereafter. We find a year or 
 two before the Civil War — about 1859 — 
 a considerable number of our co-relig- 
 ionists occupying places of increasing 
 prominence in the growing towns. 
 
 Williams’ Paducah City Directory 
 
 for 1859 records the following inhabi- 
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 tants and firms of the Jewish faith: 
 
 “ Isaac Bodenheimer. 
 
 “ Greenbaum & Kaskel, composed 
 of Solomon Greenbaum and Ceasar Kas¬ 
 kel. 
 
 “ Louis Harris. 
 
 “ Nathan Kahn. 
 
 ‘‘ Klaw & Bloomgard, composed of 
 Leopold Klaw and Jos. Bloomgard. 
 
 “H. Levy. 
 
 “ Meyer Lieber. 
 
 “ Loeb & Wile, composed of Reuben 
 Loeb and Jos. Wile. 
 
 “ D. Lowenstein. 
 
 “ D. Wolff & Bro., composed of Dan¬ 
 iel, Marcus and Alexander Wolff. 
 
 “ C. Frank & Co., composed of Chas. 
 Frank, Simon Goldsmith and Abraham 
 Goldsmith.” 
 
 Mr. Ceasar Kaskel left Paducah 
 during the war, and founded the well- 
 known Kaskel haberdashery store on 
 Fifth Avenue, New York, which still 
 
 continues under that name. 
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 Mr. Leo. Klaw was the father of 
 two sons and one daughter, all born in 
 Paducah. Mr. Marc Klaw, the oldest 
 son, perhaps the first male child of the 
 Jewish faith born in Paducah, is now at 
 the head of the theatrical syndicate of 
 Klaw & Erlanger, of New York, and is 
 a factor in the American Drama. 
 
 Reuben Loeb later formed a part¬ 
 nership with Moses Bloom, under the 
 firm name of Loeb & Bloom. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Wile returned to Ger¬ 
 many at the outbreak of the war. 
 
 D. Wolff & Bro. became the suc¬ 
 cessors of Morris Uri, who located in 
 Louisville in 1863 and who re-entered 
 business in Paducah in 1870, where he 
 died in 1872. The “ Wolff boys,” as they 
 were called by many Paducah people, 
 returned to Germany soon after the 
 close of the war. 
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
THE BEGINNING OF COM¬ 
 MUNAL LIFE. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF COM¬ 
 MUNAL LIFE. 
 
 Jewish communal life took form in 
 1859, when “ Chevra Yeshurum Burial 
 Society ” was organized and a small 
 parcel of land for a cemetery was ac¬ 
 quired on what was then called the Clin¬ 
 ton Road, about four miles from the 
 town limit. The deed to this property 
 was only recorded in 1864. The delay 
 was no doubt caused by the Civil War. 
 This small area has since been enlarged 
 by subsequent purchases until now it 
 has, with the aid of the landscape gar¬ 
 dener, been converted into an attractive 
 and well-kept City of the Dead. The 
 society was later chartered by the State 
 Legislature under an act approved Feb¬ 
 ruary 20th, 1864. A. Goldsmith, M. Uri, 
 C. Frank and D. Wolff are named in the 
 
 instrument as the incorporators. 
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 Paducah steadily maintained its 
 growth. The manufacturing interests 
 multiplied. Two banks, one of which had 
 a capital of over $1,000,000, were ably 
 and conservatively managed. Gas 
 works were constructed. Wholesale 
 houses flourished and did a large volume 
 of trade. The New Orleans and Ohio 
 Railroad was in course of construction. 
 In short, Paducah basked in the sun¬ 
 shine of prosperity and rightly looked 
 forward to still better and larger things 
 in the future, when the dread tocsin of 
 Civil War was heard from afar. 
 
 As its echoes resounded from moun¬ 
 tain to hill top and reverberated from 
 valley to plain, it reached the bustling, 
 yet peaceful city of Paducah. It is 
 within the province of the author to 
 describe the baneful result of that sad 
 period only in so far as it affected the 
 fortune and well-being of this little 
 community of co-religionists. Paducah 
 
 did not escape the blighting and de- 
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 structive influence of the great war. 
 
 On its outbreak, the tools of the 
 mechanic were laid aside, the hissing 
 steam of the factories was silenced; 
 contracts for building houses were can¬ 
 celled, and everyone lounged listlessly 
 about the street wondering “what things 
 will come to.” About this time, the 
 United States Government, through Sec¬ 
 retary of the Treasury Chase, established 
 an embargo on trade and commerce be¬ 
 tween the loyal and disaffected States. 
 Paducah was the first city in Kentucky 
 to which it applied, though in justice to 
 its citizens it must be recorded that at 
 the outbreak of hostilities it did not 
 count a half-dozen outspoken secession¬ 
 ists. 
 
 In September, 1861, General Grant 
 came up from Cairo, Ill., and took pos¬ 
 session of Paducah. Years after the 
 war it was related by those who cour¬ 
 ageously remained in order to protect 
 their property, how men and women 
 
 ( 31 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 fled in the wildest consternation to the 
 country, fearing great harm from the 
 Federal soldiers. General Grant at once 
 issued an order proclaiming that he 
 came not to harm them, but to guard 
 and protect them, yet the fact remained 
 that Paducah was promptly converted 
 into a military post and remained a mili¬ 
 tary post from that time to the end of 
 the war. Under the then existing mili¬ 
 tary regulations, the commander of the 
 post exercised complete supervision of 
 the business of the town. Not a pound 
 of freight was allowed to be shipped 
 into the place without his written per¬ 
 mission, nor was it lawful to ship a dol¬ 
 lar’s worth of goods out of the town 
 without a military permit. Trade and 
 commerce flourishes most where least 
 interfered with. It became impossible 
 to carry on business under such unfor¬ 
 tunate conditions. The belief prevailed 
 that the trouble would soon blow over, 
 
 but when months of stress and storm 
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 lengthened into years, and when finally 
 the Confederate General Forest made 
 his raid into Tennessee and incidentally 
 paid a hurried visit to Paducah in March, 
 1863, bringing in his train death and de¬ 
 struction, all attempts at orderly, safe 
 and sane municipal government were 
 for the time abandoned. A period of 
 unrest and insecurity took hold of the 
 citizens and chaos prevailed everywhere. 
 Families moved their belongings to 
 places of safety. Stores were closed. 
 Little stocks of merchandise were hur¬ 
 riedly packed and re-shipped to points of 
 greater safety. Dread and apprehension 
 lay like a pall upon the town. 
 
 Those in truth were the dark days. 
 What little of communal, social and com¬ 
 mercial activity still existed was almost 
 completely suspended, and it was only 
 the surrender at Appomattox in 1865 
 that brought new hope and courage to 
 its people and again revived the firm con¬ 
 viction in the minds of Paducah's citi- 
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 zens that its destiny to become a large 
 and prosperous center of population had 
 only been delayed by war, and not de¬ 
 stroyed. 
 
 ( 84 ) 
 
A JEWISH WAR-TIME HERO. 
 
A JEWISH WAR-TIME HERO. 
 
 Yet, out of the travail and despair 
 of those war-time days there was born 
 to Kentucky Judaism an imperishable 
 tradition of valor. The region of the 
 Lower Ohio gave to the Union cause a 
 real hero in the lamented Colonel Gabriel 
 Netter, and I regard it a privilege to be 
 able to record on the pages of this little 
 volume some tribute to his worth as a 
 man and his courage as a soldier. 
 
 Colonel Netter was a Frenchman by 
 birth, but a true American by adoption. 
 At the outbreak of the war he was do¬ 
 ing a profitable business in Ohio County. 
 All desire for personal or material ad¬ 
 vancement melted under the swift rush 
 of his patriotism. He enlisted as a pri¬ 
 vate and rose to be colonel. 
 
 He had spent some time at Evans¬ 
 ville, Indiana, and his friends and fellow 
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 citizens held him in such admiration that 
 they presented him with a sword and 
 sash. Fortunately, I have the corres¬ 
 pondence which relates to this testimo¬ 
 nial, and I reproduce it. 
 
 The letter which preceded the gift 
 is as follows: 
 
 Evansville, Ind., Aug., ’62. 
 Col. Gabriel Netter, 
 
 Hartford, Ky. 
 
 Sir:— 
 
 Some of your old friends and citizens of 
 Evansville, appreciating your services and ap¬ 
 proving your courage and zeal in the cause of 
 our country, desire to present you a sword and 
 sash accompanying this letter. Although but a 
 slight testimonial, they feel assured you will 
 prize it and will continue to persevere in the 
 prosecution of the glorious undertaking until the 
 last of our country’s enemies shall be put down. 
 
 You will, then, accept this token of their 
 approbation for past services and assurance of 
 kind regards. 
 
 With best wishes for future success, 1 have 
 the honor to be, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 W. E. HOLLINGSWORTH, 
 
 Col. 2d Indiana Legion. 
 
 Nothing could have been more char- 
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 acteristic of this man than his response, 
 which reads: 
 
 Headquarters Netter Battallion, 
 Hartford, Ky., Aug. 10th, 1862. 
 Col. W. E. Hollingsworth, 
 
 Com’d’ing 2d Ind. Legion, 
 
 Evansville, Ind. 
 
 Colonel:— 
 
 The handsome sash, beautiful sword, and so 
 very kind letter, presented to me by yourself 
 and others of your true, loyal and generous 
 townsmen, came all duly to hand to-day. 
 
 With my heart only, not with words, can or 
 will I thank you. Such an encouragement from 
 my countrymen is a compliment to be remem¬ 
 bered to the last. 
 
 May God grant me to show and prove myself 
 worthy of your generosity and kindness—worthy 
 of taking my humble share in the war for the 
 redemption of our country. 
 
 May He grant me, if I fall, to fall with my 
 face to the foe, my last breath expending itself 
 in a kiss to the fine blade you presented me with, 
 my last prayer to be listened to by the Almighty, 
 for the speedy success of our noble and holy 
 cause. 
 
 Believe me, sir, forever, 
 
 Your true friend, 
 
 GABRIEL NETTER, 
 
 Lt. Col. Comm'g. 
 
 P. S.—To my friends, please be patient. I 
 have got a great deal to contend with. I was 
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 sent to this place without a man or a gun and 
 have been much neglected since ; but I will get 
 ready, by the by, nevertheless. 
 
 G. N. 
 
 For some measure of Colonel Netter 
 as an old comrade saw him, and which 
 is perhaps better than any that I could 
 pay, I am indebted to the following very 
 interesting letter from Mr. C. B. Mit¬ 
 chell, of Owensboro, one of the few sur¬ 
 viving members of the Netter Battalion : 
 
 Owensboro, Ky., Sept. 11th, 1911. 
 
 I. W. Bernheim, 
 
 Louisville, Ky. 
 
 Dear Sir: — 
 
 Replying further and more at length to your 
 favor of the 2nd inst. making inquiries in regard 
 to the character and life of Colonel Gabriel 
 Netter, and especially his short but brilliant 
 military career, I will say that I served under 
 him but a brief time, but during that time, as 
 short as it was, I had an exceptionally good 
 opportunity to learn a good deal about the man, 
 and the more 1 saw of him and the better 1 
 knew him, the more I admired him, and it affords 
 me a great deal of pleasure to be permitted to 
 offer my humble tribute to his memory. 
 
 I have heard him spoken of as “A little 
 Dutchman,” by way of derision, but if 1 am 
 correctly informed, he was a French Jew. In 
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 this I may be mistaken, but I do not think that 
 I am. But whether French or German, he was 
 an honor to his race and to the country that gave 
 him birth. 
 
 He was rather under the medium size, prob¬ 
 ably about five feet six inches in height, and 
 weighed about one hundred and forty to one 
 hundred and fifty pounds, but well formed and 
 well proportioned; light complexion and of fine 
 personal appearance, and of very pleasing ad¬ 
 dress, courteous and affable in his manner and 
 as polite as the proverbial French dancing mas¬ 
 ter. Gentle as a lamb, he was as brave as a 
 lion. 
 
 I was told that prior to the war he was 
 selling goods at Cromwell, Ohio county, Ky., 
 but the first I knew of him was when he re¬ 
 cruited a company and went into the army as a 
 captain in the Twenty-sixth Kentucky Infantry, 
 which was raised and mustered into the service 
 at Owensboro, Ky., some time in the fall of 
 1861. 
 
 While serving with that regiment, he dis¬ 
 tinguished himself to such an extent! that some 
 time early in the summer of 1862 he was com¬ 
 missioned as lieutenant-colonel of the Fifteenth 
 Kentucky Cavalry, and was authorized by the 
 Governor to recruit a regiment to be called the 
 Thirty-fourth Kentucky Mounted Infantry. He 
 first established his camp at Hartford, but soon 
 afterwards removed his headquarters to Owens¬ 
 boro, where I enlisted with him on the 15th day 
 of August, 1862. 
 
 (41) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 I had formed an opinion, from what I had 
 heard of him, that he was a reckless dare-devil, 
 and hesitated somewhat to enroll myself under 
 his standard, but a recruiting officer who wished 
 me to join his company insisted that I had mis¬ 
 judged the colonel, and at his suggestion I vis¬ 
 ited the camp and was introduced to Colonel 
 Netter and conversed with him and heard him 
 talking to others and soon became convinced 
 that, although he was a man of undoubted cour¬ 
 age, he was also a man of discretion and sound 
 judgment, and would not needlessly expose his 
 men or make a move unless he saw that there 
 was something to be gained by it. 
 
 On that eventful morning of September 
 19th, 1862, a very heavy fog covered the earth, 
 and no object was visible except at a very short 
 distance. We were camped at the fair grounds, 
 about three-fourths of a mile west of the town, 
 and probably about one-fourth of a mile from 
 the Ohio river. At a very early hour in the 
 morning, say about 6:30, a Union man who lived 
 near the western limits of the town, favored by 
 the fog, came breathlessly into camp and in¬ 
 formed us that the town was full of rebels, that 
 there was a whole regiment of them had pos¬ 
 session of the town. They had traveled all 
 night and had certainly taken us by surprise. 
 
 Of course, we expected a fight, and while 
 we were making the necessary preparations, a 
 young negro about eighteen years of age, who 
 had formerly been in my employ, made his way 
 into camp and hunted me up and told me he had 
 
 (42) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 overheard a conversation between some of the 
 rebel soldiers, from which he learned that they 
 had divided their forces and that about one-half 
 of them occupied a strip of woods west of our 
 camp, expecting that our colonel would immedi¬ 
 ately advance to engage the enemy in town, 
 and then they would come in, take possession of 
 the camp and appropriate or destroy all of the 
 government property there, which was sufficient 
 to equip a whole regiment. I took the negro to 
 my captain and he took him to the colonel, who, 
 after questioning him closely, came to the con¬ 
 clusion that the negro was probably telling the 
 truth, and that at any rate he would investigate 
 the matter and find out for himself, and pro¬ 
 ceeded to make his plans accordingly. 
 
 He had probably about four hundred and 
 fifty men enlisted at this time, but they were 
 scattered all over the surrounding country re¬ 
 cruiting, and there was not to exceed two hun¬ 
 dred and fifty men in camp. He had one piece 
 of artillery (a six-pound brass gun), which he 
 left with our company of about twenty-five men, 
 besides the gun squad, to watch the town, and 
 he started down the Dublin lane toward the 
 river, with about two hundred men. He only 
 went a short distance when he halted his men 
 and returned to give some final instructions to 
 the captain commanding our company. By this 
 time the fog had disappeared, and while he was 
 still engaged in giving his orders to our captain, 
 a rebel officer was seen approaching from the 
 direction of the town bearing a flag of truce. 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 He was halted by the pickets who were stationed 
 a short distance up the road toward town. When 
 the attention of the colonel was called to him, 
 he motioned for the pickets to pass him in and ad¬ 
 vanced a short distance to meet him. After a 
 few words had passed between them unheard by 
 us, he came back to us accompanied by the rebel 
 officer and addressing us in a tone of voice as 
 gentle as though he was speaking to a company 
 of ladies, said: 
 
 “ Boys, this officer comes with a flag of truce 
 from Lieutenat-colonel Martin, who, with eight 
 hundred guerillas , has possession of the town 
 and demands of me a surrender of all of my 
 command and of all of the government property 
 in my possession. I want you to hear my an¬ 
 swer.” 
 
 He then turned facing the rebel officer, and, 
 with a graceful wave oi hand, pointed towards 
 the ground, and said : 
 
 “ NEVER, till the last man of us is laid low 
 in the dust.” 
 
 He then turned to us, and in the same mild 
 and gentle tone of voice inquired : “ Boys, does 
 
 my answer suit you ? ” 
 
 Such was the confidence that we had in our 
 brave young commander, that there was nothing 
 else for us to do but to do just what we did, and 
 that was to swing our caps in the air and respond 
 with three nearty and lusty cheers. The rebel 
 officer seemed to be deeply impressed by the 
 scene, for there was no acting in this. It was 
 all very serious, sober reality. We were in the 
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 presence of possible and probable death, and it 
 proved to be nearer than even any of us antici¬ 
 pated. 
 
 The rebel officer remarked, as he prepared 
 to retire : “ Colonel, I carry back with me the 
 
 most profound respect for you and your brave 
 men." With a parting salute, he returned to 
 deliver his message to his chief, and the colonel 
 joined his command that had been waiting for 
 him in the lane. He moved on to the river, then 
 down the river road a short distance, over the 
 fence into a corn field, where he met the enemy, 
 and a lively skirmish ensued. In less than an 
 hour from the time that he refused to surrender, 
 he was brought back to camp a lifeless corpse. 
 
 Thus died at the early age of twenty-six one 
 of the most promising young men that the war 
 thus far had developed. :rv:® 
 
 Had he lived through the war, I doubt not 
 but that his splendid talents and military genius 
 would have received proper recognition, and a 
 brigadier’s, if not a major general’s commission, 
 would have been his reward before the peace 
 was finally secured. His name and fame would 
 have been placed along side of such men as 
 Sheridan, Kilpatrick and Custer. 
 
 He was of that race of people that produced 
 a Joshua, a Gideon and a David ; and that na¬ 
 tionality |that claimed a LaFayette among its 
 honored citizens, and gave to the world, in the 
 person of Napoleon, the greatest military genius 
 of all history. And neither Jew nor Frenchman 
 need ever blush at the sound of the name of 
 Gabriel Netter. 
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 He had a married sister living in Evansville, 
 Indiana, who was at once notified of his death. 
 Her husband came up on the first boat and took 
 charge of the remains, but only after we had 
 been permitted to pass by the bier, with arms 
 reversed, and take one last and farewell look at 
 the features of our beloved commander. He 
 was laid to rest in the cemetery at Evansville. 
 
 Just twenty years after that time, the Fed¬ 
 eral soldiers of this place received an invitation 
 to visit Evansville and participate in the services 
 incident to Memorial or Decoration Day on May 
 30th, 1882. Comrade John A. Brown, who had 
 served in the same company with myself, and 
 who, like myself, was a devoted admirer of 
 Colonel Netter, got into communication with the 
 family of the colonel’s sister, then a widow, and 
 informed them that a few of the colonel’s old 
 soldiers would be down at that time and were 
 desirous of finding his grave, in order that we 
 might honor his memory in a special manner. 
 
 When we arrived at Evansville, and were 
 escorted to Evans Hall, where headquarters had 
 been established, we found two of his nieces 
 there waiting to greet us, and who exhibited to 
 us his sword and sash that he had worn while 
 with us in person. They also had with them a 
 photograph picture of him, which afforded us a 
 sad pleasure. 
 
 After the general memorial services were 
 concluded, the survivors of the old Netter Bat¬ 
 talion were conducted to his grave on a private 
 lot in the cemetery, and after a short address 
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 by Colonel John H. McHenry, formerly colonel 
 of the Seventeenth Kentucky Infantry, who 
 knew him well and appreciated his worth, we 
 proceeded to place our floral offerings on the 
 mound that marked the place where slept our 
 honored dead. With sad hearts, awakened by 
 the memory of the loss of one whom we loved 
 so well, we silently and reverently took our 
 departure from the hallowed spot and left him 
 alone in his glory. 
 
 After his death, his recruits were transfer¬ 
 red to and mustered in as part of the Twelfth 
 Kentucky Cavalry, but we still held to the name 
 and were proud to designate ourselves as the 
 “ Netter Battalion.’’ 
 
 With kindest regards, I remain, 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 C. B. MITCHELL, 
 
 One of the “ Netter Battalion.” 
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
PEACE AND PROSPERITY. 
 
PEACE AND PROSPERITY. 
 
 With the dawn of peace came law, 
 order and security. These fundamental 
 requirements of well-ordered society and 
 successful commercial endeavor, stimu¬ 
 lated all citizens to renewed efforts to 
 efface the ravages of the previous years. 
 Stores were re-opened and factories 
 were re-established. Many of the old 
 settlers returned, and even the New Or¬ 
 leans and Ohio Railroad, which during 
 the war had had a checkered career, 
 verging on the point of bankruptcy, re¬ 
 sumed operations and established a reg¬ 
 ular tri-weekly train service between 
 Paducah and Union City, Tenn. 
 
 Twyman’s Paducah City Directory, 
 published in 1866, enumerates the fol¬ 
 lowing names of citizens of the Jewish 
 
 Faith: 
 
 A. Aaron 
 Moses Adler 
 
 Julius Kahn 
 
 Nathan Kahn 
 ( 51 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 Moses Bloom J. W. Kaskell 
 
 Isaac Bodenheimer Meyer Lieber 
 Louis Bodenheimer M. Livingston 
 Henry Dryfuss R. Loeb 
 N. Dryfuss A. Solomon 
 
 S. Fels Joseph Ullman 
 
 David Friedman Meyer Weil 
 Herman Friedman Jacob Weil 
 Julius Friedman Henry Weil 
 Abraham Goldsmith Berthold Weil 
 Simon Goldsmith Benjamin Weille 
 
 A. Goodheart 
 Louis Harris 
 Chas. H. Kahn 
 Moses Kahn 
 
 Bernard Weil 
 F. Wile 
 Joseph Wile 
 Abraham Wolf 
 
 Chas. H. Kahn conducted a dry 
 goods store with his brothers, Moses and 
 Julius, and sold out his interest to the 
 latter about 1870, when he emigrated to 
 Texas. He served as chief of the Dallas 
 fire department for several years. 
 
 Joseph Ullman, son of Selligman 
 Ullman, came from Marion, Ky., At the 
 
 outbreak of the war he and his brother 
 
 (52) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 Jacob joined the Confederate forces. 
 Joseph fought throughout the entire 
 war. 
 
 Meyer Weil, a distinguished looking 
 man and fearless to the point of reck¬ 
 lessness, conducted, before the war, a 
 flourishing business, first in Wadesboro, 
 Ky., then in partnership with his broth¬ 
 ers, Jacob and Henry, in Mayfield, Ky. 
 Shortly before the close of the war they 
 m#ved to Paducah, where they engaged 
 in the dry goods business. He dissolved 
 partnership with his brothers and became 
 an extensive handler of leaf tobacco. 
 Myer Weil was one of the founders of 
 the First National Bank, and served for 
 many years as one of its directors. Dur¬ 
 ing the war he was a staunch Union 
 man, but at the close allied himself with 
 the Democratic Party. He served Pa¬ 
 ducah with credit and ability as Mayor 
 for eight years. He was elected in 1871 
 and re-elected in 1877. Later he acted 
 
 as City Tax Collector, and in 1888 he 
 
 (53) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 represented McCracken County in the 
 Kentucky Legislature for two terms. He 
 was an intelligent and forceful man, a 
 native of Haigerloch, Germany. He 
 died April 13th, 1891, at the age of sixty- 
 one. 
 
 Among the above names I find repre¬ 
 sentatives of all branches of trade, from 
 shoe-maker, tailor and baker to whole¬ 
 sale dealers in dry goods, groceries, whis¬ 
 kies and tobacco. The community en¬ 
 joyed a very prosperous period immedi¬ 
 ately after the close of the Civil War, 
 because of its proximity to the States of 
 Tennessee and Alabama, which were 
 practically bare of the necessaries, as 
 well as the comforts of life, and conse¬ 
 quently, when unrestricted communica¬ 
 tions were restored, they docked to Pa¬ 
 ducah and laid in supplies. Whole fam¬ 
 ilies came down the Tennessee and 
 Cumberland Rivers with gold which had 
 not seen the light of day since the be¬ 
 ginning of the war. This commercial 
 
 (54) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 activity brought back refugees who had 
 left during the war, and attracted set¬ 
 tlers from other sections of the country, 
 as well as from Europe. 
 
 Among those of our co-religionists 
 who settled in the period from 1867 to 
 1870, I recall from a memory, perhaps 
 somewhat faulty, the following: 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Morris Uri and family. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Levy and family. 
 
 Mr. Isaac Levy and family. 
 
 Henry Burgauer. 
 
 Julius Weil. 
 
 Isaac W. Bernheim. 
 
 Samuel K. Cohn. 
 
 Simon Dryfuss. 
 
 Nathan Klein and family. 
 
 Solomon Marks. 
 
 Jacob Marks. 
 
 Louis Gross. 
 
 Herman and Jacob Wallerstein. 
 
 Solomon Kuhn. 
 
 Lee Schwab. 
 
 Samuel Fels. 
 
 Leopold Dryfuss. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Moses Adler. 
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 The old Chevra Yeshurum, like local 
 religious associations of other sects, suf¬ 
 fered a lethargic existence during the 
 war. After its close, the reconstruction 
 period kept Jew and Gentile in a high 
 state of excitement. Spiritual endeavor 
 had to await the settlement of questions 
 seriously affecting the civic and economic, 
 as well as the social welfare of the in¬ 
 habitants. 
 
 Not until the fall of 1868 was an ef¬ 
 fort made to organize for Jewish wor¬ 
 ship. The first services of New Year 
 and the Day of Atonement were held on 
 th@ third floor over M. Livingston & Com¬ 
 pany’s dry goods store, at the corner of 
 Market and Broadway (now Second and 
 Broadway). Mr. Livingston was at that 
 time the President of the Chevra, and it 
 was he that auctioned off the seats. The 
 proceeds were used for the purpose of 
 defraying the necessary expenses. One 
 of the main items of expense consisted 
 in the employment of a reader to con- 
 
 ( 56 ) 
 
IN THE LOV/ER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 duct the services. The traveling reader, 
 I may add, was a peculiar institution, 
 while Judaism was in its formative 
 period in the smaller cities of our land. 
 The applicant for a position almost 
 always styled himself a Rabbi. Upon 
 investigation, he was either found to be 
 an unsuccessful German teacher or an 
 individual who claimed to have attended 
 some Yeshiba in Poland. In some cases 
 the applicant was a foreign clerk, with¬ 
 out a job, who had a smattering of He¬ 
 brew knowledge. They were a peculiar 
 and none too conscientious lot. In some 
 instances they carried with them a 
 Shofer and a Sefer Thora — their tools in 
 the trade. About the holidays the woods 
 were full of them and many were th e 
 stories related about them. After the 
 holidays they disappeared, eked out a 
 very precarious living, only to reappear 
 again on the scene of action the follow¬ 
 ing year. 
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
A HOUSE OF WORSHIP 
 
 AT LAST. 
 
A HOUSE OF WORSHIP AT LAST 
 
 During the following years (1869 
 and 1870), the holiday services were con¬ 
 ducted in the same place. The Orthodox 
 lines were strictly maintained. Family 
 pews were not tolerated, and the Hebrew 
 language was used exclusively. 
 
 The year 1870 saw the organization 
 of the B’nai Brith Lodge. The installa¬ 
 tion of its first officers was a most inter¬ 
 esting function and the banquet prepared 
 by the Jewish ladies in celebration of the 
 event gave the first impetus to the form¬ 
 ation of a congregation. A committee 
 of women was shortly thereafter selec¬ 
 ted. It co-operated most enthusiastically 
 with the committee of men, of which 
 Mr. M. Livingston was chairman, to col¬ 
 lect money for the purchase of a lot and 
 for the construction of a modest Sya- 
 gogue. 
 
 ( 61 ) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 In March, 1871, the articles of the 
 Chevra Yeshurum Burial Society were 
 amended as follows: 
 
 “An Act to Amend the Charter of the Paducah 
 
 Yeshurum Burial Society. 
 
 “ Be it Enacted by the General Assembly of 
 the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 
 
 “ 1. That section one of an act entitled ‘An 
 Act to Charter the Chevra Yeshurum Burial So¬ 
 ciety,’ approved February twentieth, eighteen 
 hundred and sixty-four, be and the same is here¬ 
 by amended by striking out ‘two thousand dol¬ 
 lars’ where it occurs and inserting in lieu thereof 
 ‘thirty thousand dollars.’ 
 
 “ 2. That said Society may act as a congre 
 tion for religious worship, and may hold, use, 
 acquire by gift, devise, grant or purchase such 
 
 real estate and personal property as may be nec¬ 
 essary for their full enjoyment as a burial society 
 and congregation not exceeding in value said 
 thirty thousand dollars, and if any of the present 
 members shall not be willing to remain in the 
 Society under the amended charter they shall 
 have and retain all their rights and privileges to 
 the burying ground as heretofore on paying their 
 pro rata dues of the expense to uphold the bury¬ 
 ing ground. 
 
 “JOHN T. BUNCH, 
 
 “ Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 
 “G. A. C. HOLT, 
 “Speaker of the Senate. 
 
 “Approved 15tn March, 1871. 
 
 “ By the Governor: 
 
 “P. H. LESLIE. 
 
 “ SAML. B. CHURCHILL, 
 
 “ Sec’y of State.’’ 
 
 ( 62 ) 
 
AN AUSPICIOUS DEDICATION. 
 

AN A USPICIOUS DEDICA TION. 
 
 The Congregation was formed with 
 Meyer Lieber as its first President and 
 Henry Burgauer as Secretary. Mr. Mor¬ 
 ris Uri, an ardent, progressive and intel¬ 
 ligent man, became the Chairman of the 
 Building Committee. Funds were suc¬ 
 cessfully raised. A piece of ground on 
 Chestnut street, between Clark and 
 Adams (now South Fifth street,) was 
 acquired, and a two-story frame building 
 was erected thereon. The Synagogue was 
 finished and dedicated in September, 
 1871. 
 
 The exercises connected with the 
 dedication of the building were impres¬ 
 sive indeed. A procession was formed 
 at the residence of Mr. Lieber, on Court 
 street. At its head marched the vener¬ 
 able Mr. Abraham Goodheart, who car¬ 
 ried the Scroll of the Law, followed by 
 
 (65) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 the children of the members, the officers 
 of the Congregation, the Building Com¬ 
 mittee, the Mayor, the City Council, and 
 many of its citizens. It was a gala day 
 for the little town. A Synagogue was a 
 novelty and attracted a large number of 
 people who up to that time had never 
 seen such a house of worship and had 
 but a faint idea of Judaism, its princi¬ 
 ples and ideals. 
 
 Mr. Uri, as Chairman of the Build¬ 
 ing Committee, handed the keys of the 
 newly-erected Synagogue to the Presi¬ 
 dent with a few well-chosen remarks, 
 and the first regular Friday evening 
 services before the beginning of the 
 holidays in 1871 commenced, with a good 
 choir, under the leadership of Reverend 
 Mr. Leon Leopold, who was elected its 
 first Rabbi. It was an auspicious start. 
 Mr. Leopold officiated as Rabbi and 
 teacher of the Sunday-school with zeal 
 and ability, He had served a3 reader of 
 
 a Congregation for some years in Mem- 
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 phis, Tenn., was a man of pleasing ap- 
 perance, possessed a well-trained tenor 
 voice and applied himself diligently to 
 the work at hand. 
 
 The first choir was directed by Miss 
 Purington, as organist, and consisted of 
 Mrs. Henry Weil, Miss Fannie Rabb, 
 Miss Amanda Uri, Messrs. B. Bernheim, 
 Henry Dryfuss and Simon Wolff. Shortly 
 thereafter Miss Maggie McClellan and 
 Miss Fannie Uri became members. Un¬ 
 der the leadership of Miss Purington, it 
 soon became recognized as the best mu¬ 
 sical organization in town, and many 
 were its triumphs during the first years 
 of its existence. The services were con¬ 
 ducted along modern reformed lines, 
 although in the formation of the Con¬ 
 gregation it required many heated meet¬ 
 ings before a majority of its members 
 abandoned Orthodoxy. 
 
 The question of family pews almost 
 disrupted the little struggling organiza¬ 
 tion, and when the question of removing 
 
 (67) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 hats during Divine Worship was raised, 
 it created a perfect storm of opposition. 
 Only the tactful management of Mr. 
 Uri led to an honorable compromise. It 
 was decided that members who consci¬ 
 entiously believed that if was a sin to 
 bare one’s head during worship were to 
 have the privilege of keeping their heads 
 covered. To the surprise of the mem¬ 
 bers (it appeared during the first serv¬ 
 ice,) Mr. Abraham Goodheart was the 
 only member who adhered to the Ortho¬ 
 dox rule, which he persistently did up to 
 the time of his death. 
 
 During the “Feast of Shevuoth ” 
 in 1872, the Confirmation exercises and 
 the services connected therewith were 
 very solemn. The choir was at its best 
 and the Rabbi faced an audience that 
 packed the little house of worship. Mr. 
 Leopold was not, and never claimed to 
 be, an educated theologian, but he pos¬ 
 sessed, along with other qualities, a most 
 
 retentive memory, and on that occasion 
 
 ( 68 ) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 delivered a very interesting address. 
 
 The class confirmed consisted of Miss 
 Bertha Levy, daugher of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Alexander Levy; Emil Kahn, son of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Nathan Kahn; Willie Levy, 
 son of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Levy; Benja¬ 
 min Weille, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benja¬ 
 min Weille; Bennie Lieber, son of Mr. 
 and Mrs. M. Lieber,and Sylvan Leopold, 
 son of Rabbi and Mrs. Leopold. 
 
 The Confirmation exercises made a 
 deep and lasting impression on the minds 
 of the members of the Congregation. 
 The battle for Reform Judaism had been 
 won and the question of Orthodox Cere¬ 
 monials, which heretofore had created 
 discussion and trouble, was forever put 
 to rest. The Congregation Kehillah 
 Kodesh Bene Yeshurum, as successor of 
 the Chevra Yeshurum, became an insti¬ 
 tution firmly established. It had its 
 struggles, financially and otherwise, par¬ 
 ticularly during the dark days of the 
 
 panic year, 1872, and the lean years fol- 
 
 (69) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 lowing thereafter; but, to the credit of 
 the Jews of Paducah be it recorded that 
 the doors of their house of worship have 
 never been closed since its inception, nor 
 has there ever been a period since then 
 that every child of Jewish parents did 
 not have the opportunity to receive in¬ 
 structions in the principles and tenets of 
 their faith. The modest frame building 
 on Fifth street served its purpose well 
 for many years. Its spiritual affairs 
 were creditably administered from 1871 
 to 1877 by Rev. Leon Leopold; by Rabbi 
 G. Taubenhaus from 1879 to 1880; Rev. 
 G. S. Ensel from 1880 to 1885; Dr. Mor¬ 
 ris Fluegel from 1885 to 1889; Rev. L. 
 Schrieber 1890 to 1891; Rev, M. Unger- 
 leider 1892 to 1894. 
 
 Dr. Morris Fluegel was a native of 
 Roumania; studied in Leipzig, and re¬ 
 ceived his degree as Rabbi in Paris. He 
 was a man of decided ability and high 
 character. He left Paducah in 1889; re¬ 
 moved to Baltimore, Md., and devoted 
 
 (70) 
 
IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY 
 
 himself thenceforward to literature. He 
 is the author of a number of works 
 dealing with religious subjects, which 
 received well-deserved recognition in 
 this country and in Europe. He died in 
 Baltimore in 1911, in his 73d year. 
 
 The increasing population of Padu¬ 
 cah brought about a corresponding in¬ 
 crease in the population of the Jewish 
 faith. They had proven their faith in 
 the^ ultimate destiny of the struggling 
 village and in all modesty it may be 
 claimed that the now beautiful City of 
 Paducah is indebted for its growth and 
 enterprise and importance to no small 
 extent to the enterprise of the merchants 
 and capitalists of our belief. 
 
 It is a pleasure, no less than an agree¬ 
 able duty on the part of the author of 
 this sketch, to testify from personal ex¬ 
 perience to the harmonious relations 
 which have always existed between 
 Gentile and Jew. Paducah, to this day, 
 
 has remained a town of the broadest 
 
 (71) 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JEWS 
 
 democratic principles. All sects mingle 
 on a basis of equality and good will, so¬ 
 cially as well as commercially. I hope 
 these good relations may ever remain 
 undisturbed and the friendly city on the 
 beautiful Ohio may prosper and expand 
 until it has attained its still greater 
 growth, of which its humble inhabitants 
 dreamed in the long ago. 
 
 02 ) 
 
TEMPLE ISRAEL . 
 
 Temple Israel was incorporated May 24th, 
 1893, succeeding Kelo Kodesh Bene Yeshurum, 
 which in turn succeeded Paducah Chevra Yeshu¬ 
 rum Burial Society, chartered February 20th, 
 1864. The new Temple was dedicated in 1893. 
 Since then the Jewish community has had a slow 
 but steady growth, and at the present time is 
 more prosperous than ever in its history. Tem¬ 
 ple Israel has a membership of ninety (90) and 
 Paducah a population of three hundred (300) 
 Jewish souls. Temple Israel is affiliated with 
 the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. 
 The community maintains a relief society, man¬ 
 aged by Mr. Mose Simon. The Jews of Paducah 
 are fortunate in that they do not need to expend 
 any money for the local relief of their brethren. 
 They give liberally of their means to local non- 
 Jewish institutions and to National Jewish insti¬ 
 tutions. Most of our male adults are members 
 of Harmony Lodge I. O. B. B. 
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 , ; 
 
 jrg|g 
 
YESHURUM, PADUCAH, KY. 
 
 YEAR 
 1879* Rev. 
 
 1880 Rev. 
 
 1881 Rev. 
 
 1882 Rev. 
 
 1883 Rev. 
 
 1884 Rev. 
 
 1885 Rev. 
 
 1886 Rev. 
 
 1887 Rev. 
 
 1888 Rev. 
 
 1889 Rev. 
 
 1890 Rev. 
 
 1891 Rev, 
 
 1892 Rev. 
 
 1893 Rev. 
 
 1894 Rev. 
 1895J Rev. 
 
 1896 Rev. 
 
 1897 Rev. 
 
 1898 Rev. 
 
 1899 Rev. 
 
 1900 Bev. 
 
 1901 Rev. 
 
 1902 Rev. 
 
 1903 Rev. 
 
 1904 Rev. 
 
 1905 Rev. 
 
 1906 Rev. 
 
 1907 Rev. 
 1903 Rev. 
 
 1909 Rev. 
 
 1910 Rev. 
 
 1911 Rev. 
 
 1912 Rev. 
 
 RABBI PRESIDENT 
 G. Taubenhaus M. Bloom 
 G. Taubenhaus M. Bloom 
 G. S. Ensel 
 
 G. S. Ensel 
 G. S. Ensel 
 G. S. Ensel 
 G. S. Ensel 
 G. S. Ensel 
 G. S. Ensel 
 M. Fluegel 
 M. Fluegel 
 L. Schreiber 
 L. Schreiber 
 
 SECRETARY 
 Jos. Blum 
 H. Burgauer 
 M. Livingston H. Burgauer 
 Moses Kahn Morris Epstein 
 I. W. Bernheim Samuel K. Cohn 
 M. Kahn S. I. Levy 
 
 Leo. Friedmanf M. Livingston 
 Leo. Friedman M. Livingston 
 Leo. Friedman M. Livingston 
 I. W. Bernheim Samuel K. Cohn 
 
 M. Bloom 
 M. Bloom 
 M. Bloom 
 
 M. Ungerleider M. Bloom 
 M. Ungerleider M. Bloom 
 M. Ungerleider M. Bloom 
 M. Ungerleider M. Bloom 
 M. Ungerleider M. Bloom 
 M. Ungerleider M Blcem 
 H. G. Enelow M. Bloom 
 H, G. Enelow M. Bloom 
 G. H. Enelow M. Bloom 
 David Alexander M. Bloom 
 David Alexander M. Bloom 
 David Alexander M. Bloom 
 David Alexander M. Bloom 
 Meyer Lovitch M. Bloom 
 Meyer Lovitch Sol. Dreyfuss 
 Meyer Lovitch Sol. Dreyfuss 
 
 Samuel K. Cohn 
 Semuel K. Cohn 
 Samuel K. Cohn 
 Samuel K. Cohn 
 Julius Friedman 
 Julius Friedman 
 Julius Friedman 
 Julius Friedman 
 Julius Friedman 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 I. Nauheim 
 
 Meyer Lovitch John W. Keiler I. Nauheim 
 Meyer Lovitch John W. Keiler I. Nauheim 
 Meyer Lovitch John W. Keiler Jacob Benedict 
 Meyer Lovitch John W. Keiler Jacob Benedict 
 Meyer Lovitch H. Wallerstein Jacob Benedict 
 
 ^Records prior to 1879 destroyed by fire. Rabbis prior to 1879 
 Reverends Leopold and Ichenbrun: 
 fFather of Joseph L. Friedman. 
 
 {Congregation's name reported as Temple Israel. 
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
MEMBERSHIP OF TEMPLE ISRAEL 
 
 JULY i 
 
 Ackerman, H. 
 Anspacher, Abe 
 Baer, Mrs. M. 
 Benedict, J. 
 
 Bright, Mrs. P. 
 Biederman, Henry 
 Biederman, Jake 
 Biederman, Mrs. A. 
 Bodenheimer, Mrs. M. 
 Brown, Reuben 
 Burgauer, Mrs. R. 
 Cohn, Ike 
 Cohn, Samuel 
 Cohn, S. K. 
 
 Dreyfuss, Sam. 
 Dreyfuss, Sol. 
 Desberger, D. 
 Desberger, Joseph 
 Elb, Moses L. 
 
 Pels, Mrs. Jeanette 
 Feis, Samuel 
 Frank, A. L. 
 
 Friedman, Herman 
 Friedman, Joseph L. 
 Friedman, Julius 
 Friedman, Mrs. Louise 
 Greenbaum, James 
 Harris, Mrs. M. 
 Herman, Alfred 
 Hummel, L. 
 
 Kahn, Oscar, 
 
 st, 1912. 
 
 Keiler, John W. 
 Keiler, Leo F. 
 
 Klein, Isadore 
 Klein, Jos. 
 
 Klein, Mrs. Annie 
 Laevison, Jos. 
 
 Levin, Frank 
 Levy, Alfred 
 Levy, Alex. 
 
 Levy, David 
 Levy, Mrs. Rose W. 
 Levy, Mrs. Hannah 
 Levy, Mrs. Peppie 
 Levy, Sam. I. 
 Livingston, Abe 
 Livingston, Harry 
 Livingston, Mrs. A. 
 Loeb, Mrs. R. 
 
 Loeb, Rudolph 
 Loeb, Sidney 
 Lookofsky, Mike 
 Mark of sky, Abe 
 Marks, Moses 
 Marks, Mrs. Yetta 
 May, Mrs. Clara 
 Michael, Chas. 
 Michael, Mike 
 Michael, Mohr 
 Muth, Jacob 
 Nauheim, Mrs. Sophia 
 Newman, C. B. 
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
Pearson, Ike 
 Rosenthal, Mrs. Bessie 
 Rubel, Louis 
 Rosenfield, S. 
 
 Schwab, Moses 
 Simon, Moses 
 Sloan, L. B. 
 
 Stark, Sam 
 Steinfeld, Dr. M 
 Solomon, Marcus 
 Tick, Julius 
 Tick, S. I. 
 
 Wallerstein, Herbert 
 Wallsrstein, Herman 
 
 Wallerstein, Jacob 
 Wallerstein, Melvin 
 Wallerstein, Milton 
 Weil, Adolph 
 Weil, Jacob 
 Weil, Julius 
 Weil, Mrs. Belle M. 
 Weil, Mrs. Jeanette 
 Weille, Ben. 
 
 Weille, Chas. 
 
 Vv'eille, James 
 Weille, Mrs. Jeanette 
 Wolf, Mrs. Bertha 
 Ullman, Albert 
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
Officers and Board of Directors of Temple 
 Israel 1912-1913. 
 
 Herman Wallerstem 
 S. I. Levy - 
 Jacob Wallerstein - 
 J. Benedict 
 Buford Ullman 
 Biederman, Jacob 
 Friedman, Jos. L. 
 Keiler, John W. 
 Livingston, Harry 
 Loeb, Mrs. Sidney. 
 
 Weil, 
 
 President 
 - Vice-President 
 Treasurer 
 - Secretary 
 Warden 
 
 Michael, Mohr 
 Nauheim, Mrs. Sophia 
 Rubel, Louis 
 Simon, Mose 
 Weil, Mis. Belle M. 
 rs. Julius 
 
 Sabbath-School Teachers. 
 
 Miss Aimee Dreyfuss Miss Florence Loeb 
 Miss Henrietta Kahn Mrs. Hannah Levy 
 Miss Lucille Weil 
 
 Choir. 
 
 Mrs. James Gruenebaum, - - Choir Leader 
 
 Mrs. F. N. Burns,.Organist 
 
 Mrs. Edgar Lyle Mr. Emmet S. Bagby 
 
 Mr. Slavie Mail 
 
 Rabbi 
 
 MEYER LOVITCH 
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
Special Notes. 
 
 The first burial in the Cemetery was on Sep¬ 
 tember 26th, 1864. 
 
 Additional names of Jews here in 1863 were 
 Mr. Shane and family, Mr. Ph. Friedlander and 
 family and Mr. Alexander and family. 
 
 Mr. Emmanuel Fels, for many years a resi¬ 
 dent of, and who died in Paducah, enlisted in the 
 Confederate Army in Arkansas, and served with 
 honor during the entire war. He was wounded 
 at Murfreesboro, Tenn., was taken prisoner, 
 but escaped. 
 
 Additional members of the original choir in¬ 
 augurated by Rev. Leopold were: Mesdames 
 Moses Adler, Henry Burgauer and Moses Kahn, 
 and Miss Hannah Burbaum. 
 
 ( 78 ) 
 
k 
 


 UNIVER9ITY OF ILLIN0I9-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 042186277 
 
 
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