Benjamin Abraham Nones was an American patriot, soldier, merchant, slave owner, and abolitionist. He was a respected merchant in Philadelphia and a prominent member of the city's Jewish community. He served as a major in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

Life

Nones, a

Sephardic Jew Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1757. He was the son of Rachel and Abraham Nones. Nones was a respected merchant in Philadelphia. Influential in the city's

Jewish community Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, he was a member of

Congregation Mikveh Israel Congregation Mikveh Israel (), is a Sephardic Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 44 North Fourth Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The congregation traces its history from 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portu ...

. Nones served as the parnas of Mikveh Israel for 13 years and was an officer for the Society of Ezrath Orchim, Philadelphia's first Jewish charity. Nones was appointed a

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He served on the staffs of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and of the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

. He also fought against the British in the Second Battle of Savannah under

Louis-Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier, prince de Neuchâtel et Valangin, prince de Wagram (; 20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815) was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister of Wa ...

. He was captured by the British at the

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

in 1780, and remained a prisoner of war until the surrender of British General

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

in October 1781. In the summer of 1800, an

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

attack against Nones was printed in the ''

Gazette of the United States The ''Gazette of the United States'' was an early American newspaper, first issued semiweekly in New York City on April 15, 1789, but moving the next year to Philadelphia when the nation's capital moved there the next year. It was friendly to t ...

''. Nones responded in writing that "I am a Jew, and if for no other reason, for that reason I am a republican...In republics we have ''rights'', in monarchies we live but to experience ''wrongs''." Nones is buried at

Mikveh Israel Cemetery Mikveh Israel Cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, giving evidence of a settled community as early as 1740. A number of outstanding patriots, pioneers, and other notables of the Jewish faith who m ...

in Philadelphia. The actress

Jill Clayburgh Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actr ...

is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Nones and the actress

Lily Rabe Lily Rabe (born June 29, 1982) is an American actress. She is best known for her multiple roles on the FX anthology horror series ''American Horror Story'' (2011–2021). For her performance as Portia in the Broadway production of ''The Merchant ...

is his great-great-great-great-granddaughter.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Nones, Benjamin, 1757-1826

Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City, namely the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva Univ ...

1757 births 1826 deaths Abolitionists from Pennsylvania American notaries American people of French-Jewish descent 18th-century American Sephardic Jews American slave owners Burials at Mikveh Israel Cemetery French emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Gabbaim French Sephardi Jews Jewish abolitionists Pennsylvania Republicans People from Bordeaux Military personnel from Philadelphia 19th-century American Sephardic Jews

Life

See also

References

External links