Off The Capes Of Delaware - Stories Of American Jewish Heroes

OFF THE CAPES OF DELAWARE Stories of American Jewish Heroes ILLUSTRATIONS BY BERNARD SEGAL UNION OF AMERICAN HEBREW CONGREGATIONS Cincinnati MCMXL INTRODUCTION Blandfofd. is a non-Jew. And many years ago the thought Came to nim that it is both wise and neces sary to look at American history in terms of the commonly shared activities in which Jew and gen tile engaged in pioneer days, when they worked side by side to help build our great country. Absolute historic accuracy in every detail is not claimed by the author for these stories. However, his fiction is woven on the loom of fact, and he engaged in much careful and painstaking research of the sources to give his stories authentic historical background. His book, we believe, shows the indomitable pio neering spirit of some of the sons and the daughters of Israel as they participated in the founding and in furthering the growth of America. These coura geous men and women actually lived, labored, loved, fought their battle of life, wrestled with and solved their problems, and passed on, leaving to posterity their good names and memories. So truly democratic were these Jewish pioneers in America that only the bare outlines of their heroic lives are recorded. Mr. Blandford engages in a labor of love when he waves the magic wand of fiction and causes them to live again for the glory of Israel and for the encour agement of Jewry of today. EMANUEL GAMORAN VI PREFACE Upon the shelves of our great libraries, half forgot ten and already yellowing with age and gathering dust, lie the laborious efforts of our great and con scientious research workers. Volumes which tell the history of the struggles of pioneer Americans both Jew and gentile and oftheir lives and loves, their failures and their successes. Seldom are these books taken down and studied. In this rush-a-day world few have the time or inclination to do so. But, sig nificant in these days when temporary dictatorial up starts aiise and tell us that only one class or one group of certain beliefs, or blood, or what-not, are the only true-blue patriots, is the fact that in America all classes, of all religious, social, and racial stocks co-operated to give us our America. Jew and gentile struggled and intertwined to gether, one with the other, and in their revolutions and evolutions created that strongly interlaced rope called Democracy that binds us all Jew and gen tile, Catholic and Protestant one to another, and will prevent our nation from falling into that whirl pool of hate, intolerance, and cruelty into which other nations are today plunging. VI 1 PREFACE The author, through these stories, has sought to bring to life from the quiet shelves in dark corners of our libraries, the men and women of all classes in the historic past and show what they thought and said, and what they did and died for, but particu larly to impress on the readers mind that Jew co operated with gentile, and gentile with Jew to the glory of a triumphant democracy. B. w. B. Vlll ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THANKS In connection with the collating of material for these historic sketches of Jewish life in North America, the author acknowledges a debt of gratitude to Mr. Al bert M. Friedenberg, Dr. George Alexander Kohut, Mr. Max J. Kohler, Mr. Leon Huhner, and other in defatigable research workers and members of the American Jewish Historical Society and to the edi tors of The American Hebrew Magazine inwhose pages these stories originally appeared. To Dr. David Philipson, Rabbi George Zepin, and to Dr. Emanuel Gamoran, of the Union of American Hebrew Con gregations, for their kind assistance and co-operation, the author feels deeply grateful and appreciative. And to my genial friend, Mr. Walter Hart Blumen thal who first suggested these stories as an opening door to a better understanding between Jew and gen tile, I hereby dedicate this book in loving respect...