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The Seixas family has contributed many prominent Americans - Gershom'sbrother, Abraham Mendes (1751-1799), was an officer in the ContinentalArmy. Another brother, Benjamin Mendes (1748-1817), was one of thefounders of the New York Stock Exchange. A third brother, Moses Mendes(1744-1809), was one of the organizers of the Bank of Rhode Island andthe president of the historic Touro Synagogue. Gershom's son, David,established the Deaf and Dumb Institute in Philadelphia, and was amongthe first to discover efficient ways of burning anthracite coal.Today, members of the Seixas family are still leaders of the AmericanSephardic community. Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745-1816) was the first native-born Jewishminister in the United States. He was the minister of CongregationShearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York from1768 to 1776 and again from 1784 to 1816. Although not an ordainedRabbi, he served as Hazzan and Minister to the Congregation and wasamong the first Jewish communal leaders who was born and educated inthe United States. He was also the first American Jewish clergyman togive a sermon in English. Seixas was an ardent patriot during the American Revolution. He movedthe congregation to Philadelphia's Congregation Mikveh Israel and wasthe Hazzan there for the duration of the war. In 1783, he successfully sought revisions in a constitutional clausenewly adopted by the Pennsylvania legislature requiring a religiousexamination for office seekers. Seixas was one of the fourteen recognized ministers in New York in1789, participating in George Washington's first inauguration, andcontinued to be one of the most vigorous defenders of themuch-maligned James Madison administration during the War of 1812. Although Seixas was an opponent of the War of 1812, he advocated tohis congregation that it was the responsibility of all Americans tosupport their country in a time of war, regardless of their faith.Known as the "Patriot Preacher", he stated "They, the ruling powers,have declared war, and it is our bounded duty to act as true andfaithful citizens, to support and preserve the honor, dignity, and theindependnece of the United States of America, that they may bear equalrank among the nations of the earth". Seixas was one of the incorporators of Columbia University and servedas a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the State ofNew York. Gershom Mendes Seixas http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=9d662b38-2359-4c21-868b-69eed156dd1c&tid=9506534&pid=612
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