Francis Salvador (1747 – 1 August 1776) was an English-born American plantation owner in the colony of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

from the

Sephardic Jewish 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 ...

community of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; in 1774, he was the first professing Jew to be elected to public office in the colonies when chosen for the Provincial Congress. He had joined the independence cause and in 1776 was the first Jew killed in 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 ...

, fighting with the militia on the South Carolina

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

against Loyalists and their

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

allies.Nell Porter Brown, "A 'portion of the People'
, ''

Harvard Magazine ''Harvard Magazine'' is an independently edited magazine and separately incorporated affiliate of Harvard University. It is the only publication covering the entire university and regularly distributed to all graduates, faculty, and staff. The ...

'', January–February 2003

Early life

Francis Salvador was born to Jacob Salvador and his wife in

,Drayton, John. (1821/2009) ''Memoirs of the American Revolution''
Charleston: A.E. Miller, 1821, pp. 347–348, online at Open Library Internet Archive. Retrieved 20 February 2014 where a Spanish and Portuguese Jewish (

Sephardic 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 ...

) community had developed since the 17th century. His uncle, Joseph Salvador, was a prominent businessman, investing in the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. His grandfather Francis Salvador was the boy's namesake. Francis' father died when he was two, and his younger brother Moses was born soon after. The boys were tutored privately and raised in wealth. When the sons came of age, they each inherited £60,000. Salvador became active with his uncle Joseph and the wealthy DaCosta family of London in plans to settle poor Jews and their family members in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. Francis Salvador married Sarah Salvador, his first cousin and Joseph's second daughter. Her father gave her a £13,000 dowry. They had a son, John Lovel Salvador, and three daughters before the senior Salvador emigrated in late 1773 to

Emigration to North America

In 1733, the London Sephardic community sent 42 Jews to

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

with the first English settlers in present-day

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. In the 1730s, Sephardic Jews from London began emigrating to Charleston as a preferred destination. They were later joined by Jews from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

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and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. When Spain attacked

in 1740, most of the Jewish families fled north to Charleston, fearing the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

might be imposed in Georgia. The Salvador and DaCosta families in London bought in the new district of Ninety-Six (known as "Jews Land") in the western frontier of the Carolina colony. They began to settle it. The Salvador family was financially ruined by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, as they still held properties there, and subsequent failure of the

, in which they had interests. They retained their land in South Carolina and little other wealth.Gerber, ''The Jews of Spain''.

Representative to the Provincial Congress

Francis Salvador acquired in Ninety Six District, Carolina Colony, and emigrated intending to send for his wife, Sarah, and their four children as soon as he was able. Arriving in Charleston in December 1773, Salvador quickly joined the American cause. He became close friends with the rising leaders of the Revolution in the South, including Charles Cotesworth Pinckney,

John Rutledge John Rutledge Jr. (September 17, 1739 – June 21, 1800) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, politician, and jurist who served as one of the original Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ...

William Henry Drayton William Henry Drayton (September 1742 – September 3, 1779) was an American Founding Father, planter, and lawyer from Charleston, South Carolina. He served as a delegate for South Carolina to the Continental Congress in 1778-79 and signed ...

Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laur ...

, and Samuel Hammond. Buying African slaves to work his land, Salvador settled at Coroneka (commonly called Cornacre) in 1774, joined for a while by his friend Richard A. Rapley, as neither wanted to live alone. They were both elected as delegates to South Carolina's Provincial Congress; Salvador was the first Jew elected to public office in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

in North America. He was re-elected to the second Provincial Congress in 1775, holding the post until his death. At the time, Jews legally could neither hold office nor vote, but no colonists objected when Salvador and his friend Richard A. Rapley were elected as two among the several frontier representatives from Ninety-Six District to the Provincial Congress. They were joined by Andrew Williamson, then a major in the militia. When the Provincial Congress first met in Charleston in January 1775, Salvador was chosen for important committee assignments: drawing up the declaration of the purpose of the congress to the people; obtaining ammunition; assessing the safety of the frontier, and working on the new state constitution. The group also framed a

bill of rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...

and composed an address to South Carolina's royal governor, setting forth the colonists' complaints against

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. Salvador was appointed to a commission that tried to convince the Tories in the northern and western parts of the colony to join the American cause. The second Provincial Congress assembled in November 1775. Salvador was one of the champions for independence; he urged his fellow delegates to instruct the colony's delegation to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

to cast their vote for independence. Salvador chaired the Ways and Means Committee of this second Provincial Congress, at the same time serving on a select committee authorised to issue bills of credit as payment to members of the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. He was also selected for a commission to preserve the peace in the interior parts of

Fighting in the American Revolution

Early in 1776, the British had induced native allies to attack the South Carolina frontier to create a diversion in favour of British operations on the sea-coast. On 1 July 1776, the natives began attacking frontier families in Ninety Six District. Salvador rode from his lands to the White Hall plantation of Major Andrew Williamson, away, to raise the alarm. Salvador took part in the engagements that followed. On 31 July, Major Williamson captured two white Loyalists. They led his 330-men militia into an ambush by their fellow Tories and

allies at the

Keowee River The Keowee River is created by the confluence of the Toxaway River and the Whitewater River in northern Oconee County, South Carolina. The confluence is today submerged beneath the waters of Lake Jocassee, a reservoir created by Lake Jocasse ...

. Alexander Cameron, deputy to Captain John Stuart, led the Tory forces.John L. Nichols. "Alexander Cameron, British Agent among the Cherokee, 1764–1781", ''The South Carolina Historical Magazine'', Vol. 97, No. 2 (Apr. 1996), pp. 94–114, Published by: South Carolina Historical Society Salvador was shot and fell into the bushes, but was discovered and

scalped Scalping is the act of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, from the head, and generally occurred in warfare with the scalp being a trophy. Scalp-taking is considered part of the broader cultural practice of the taki ...

by the Cherokee that night. He died from his wounds at age 29. Concerning his death, Colonel William Thomson wrote to

, in a letter dated "Camp, two miles below

Keowee Keowee () was a Cherokee town in the far northwest corner of present-day South Carolina. It was the principal town of what were called the seven Lower Towns, located along the Keowee River (Colonists referred to the lower reaches of the river as ...

Cherokee town 4 August 1776, as follows:

Here, Mr. Salvador received three wounds; and, fell by my side. . . . I desired ieutenant Farar to take care of Mr. Salvador; but, before he could find him in the dark, the enemy unfortunately got his scalp: which, was the only one taken. . . . He died, about half after two o'clock in the morning: forty-five minutes after he received the wounds, sensible to the last. When I came up to him, after dislodging the enemy, and speaking to him, he asked, whether I had beat the enemy? I told him yes. He said he was glad of it, and shook me by the hand – and bade me farewell – and said, he would die in a few minutes.

A patriot journal, ''The Rememerance'', wrote of Salvador: "he was universally loved and esteemed." Salvador became caught up in the Revolution before he could bring his family to the colony. His wife and children stayed in London, aided by his estate and their families.

Legacy and honours

*His son John Lovel Salvador converted to the Anglican Church and became a minister. *In 1950, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charleston's Jewish congregation, the City of Charleston erected a memorial to Francis Salvador, the first Jew to die for the American Revolution.

Born an aristocrat, he became a democrat; An Englishman, he cast his lot with the Americans; True to his ancient faith, he gave his life; For new hopes of human liberty and understanding.Pencak, ''Jews and Gentiles in Early America 1654–1800'', pp. 123–125.

Ninety Six National Historic Site Ninety Six National Historic Site, also known as Old Ninety Six and Star Fort, is a United States National Historic Sites (United States), National Historic Site located about 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of Greenville, South Carolina. The hi ...

has been designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

to commemorate actions there and the history of the settlement; in addition to earlier Patriot engagements, Loyalists resisted an American siege in 1781.

References

Sources

Drayton, John. (1821/2009) ''Memoirs of the American Revolution''
Charleston: A.E. Miller, 1821, online at Open Library Internet Archive * Gerber, Jane S. (1992). ''The Jews of Spain : A History of the Sephardic Experience''. New York: Free Press. . * Gibbes, Robert Wilson (1853–1857). ''Documentary History of the American Revolution''. New York: D. Appleton & Co. * Huhner, Leon. (1901) "Francis Salvador, A Prominent Patriot of the Revolutionary War," ''Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society (1893–1961),'' ISSN 0146-5511, 1901, Volume 9, p. 107 * Levitan, Tina (1952). ''The Firsts of American Jewish History 1492–1951''. Brooklyn: The Charuth Press. *Lyons, Renee Critcher (2014). "Foreign-Born American Patriots-Sixteen Volunteer Leaders In The Revolutionary War." North Carolina-McFarland Publishing. * Pencak, William (2005). ''Jews and Gentiles in Early America 1654–1800''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. . * Rosengarten, Dale and Ted. (2003) ''A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life'' Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, catalogue for exhibit noted below.

External links

Francis Salvador at Find a Grave

THe South Carolina Historical Magazine Volume 3 1906 .pp. 59–64

+1776&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7jLeqq8PKAhUlu4MKHXRnBiEQ6AEIJjAC#v=onepage&q=Francis%20Salvador%20killed%201776&f=false Journal of the Assembly of South Carolina September 17, 1776 1909 .p.159

''A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life'' (February 6 through July 20, 2003)
Center for Jewish History, New York City {{DEFAULTSORT:Salvador, Francis 1747 births 1776 deaths Jewish-American military history Jewish American people in South Carolina politics People of South Carolina in the American Revolution English Sephardi Jews American people of Portuguese-Jewish descent Businesspeople from London People from Ninety Six, South Carolina British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies American slave owners United States military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War American people of Portuguese descent English people of Portuguese descent 18th-century American Sephardic Jews 18th-century American planters 18th-century British Sephardi Jews