Jonas Phillips - Jewish Patriot
Jonas Phillips (1736-1803) was a German-born Revolutionary War veteran. He immigrated to America at age 20. For three years, he worked as an indentured servant in South Carolina to pay off his passage.
Patriot and Merchant
Phillips eventually moved to Philadelphia, where he became a prosperous merchant. During the Revolutionary War, he helped establish Congregation Mikveh Israel—now the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States—and served in the Philadelphia militia.
In 1787, Phillips petitioned the Constitutional Convention to support religious freedom and omit a religious test for federal officeholders. At the time, most states, including Pennsylvania, required a sworn Christian or Protestant oath to hold public office.
Family Legacy
Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
Phillips and his wife had 21 children. His descendants include his great-grandson Franklin J. Moses Jr., who was elected governor of South Carolina in 1872; his grandson Franklin J. Moses Sr., who, in 1868, served as the chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court; and his grandson Uriah Phillips Levy, the first Jewish Commodore (Admiral) in the United States Navy.
In 1834, Uriah Levy bought Thomas Jefferson’s then dilapidated home, Monticello, and used his own funds to preserve the house and estate. Levy commissioned a statue of Jefferson in France, which he donated to the United States. It is the only privately funded statue in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Jonas Phillips - Jewish Patriot
Jonas Phillips (1736-1803) was a German-born Revolutionary War veteran. He immigrated to America at age 20. For three years, he worked as an indentured servant in South Carolina to pay off his passage.
Patriot and Merchant
Phillips eventually moved to Philadelphia, where he became a prosperous merchant. During the Revolutionary War, he helped establish Congregation Mikveh Israel—now the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States—and served in the Philadelphia militia.
In 1787, Phillips petitioned the Constitutional Convention to support religious freedom and omit a religious test for federal officeholders. At the time, most states, including Pennsylvania, required a sworn Christian or Protestant oath to hold public office.
Family Legacy
Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
Phillips and his wife had 21 children. His descendants include his great-grandson Franklin J. Moses Jr., who was elected governor of South Carolina in 1872; his grandson Franklin J. Moses Sr., who, in 1868, served as the chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court; and his grandson Uriah Phillips Levy, the first Jewish Commodore (Admiral) in the United States Navy.
In 1834, Uriah Levy bought Thomas Jefferson’s then dilapidated home, Monticello, and used his own funds to preserve the house and estate. Levy commissioned a statue of Jefferson in France, which he donated to the United States. It is the only privately funded statue in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.