Jonas Phillips Levy (1807–1883) was an American merchant and sea captain. Levy was granted the "freedom of the country" by the government of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

for signal services rendered in the Peruvian Navy.

Early life and education

Jonas Phillips Levy was born in 1807 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Michael Levy and Rachel Phillips, a Jewish-American couple. His older brother

Uriah Phillips Levy Uriah Phillips Levy (April 22, 1792 – March 22, 1862) was a naval officer, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy.At the time, Commodore was the hig ...

became the first

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

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. His maternal grandfather Jonas Phillips immigrated from Germany in the mid-1700s. His great-great-grandfather had come from London and was one of a group of the earliest settlers in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. He was a descendant of

Sephardic Jews 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 ...

who had fled to Europe and England after 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 ...

of the early 16th century.

Marriage and family

Jonas Phillips Levy married Frances (Fanny) Mitchell on November 22, 1848. They had five children together: Jefferson Monroe, Louis Napoleon, Mitchell Abraham Cass, Isabella, and Amelia. Their son Jefferson Monroe became a lawyer and financier in New York, and an admirer of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, as his father and uncle Uriah were. In 1879, at the age of 27, Jefferson Monroe financially took control of Thomas Jefferson's home

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

, which his uncle Uriah Levy had purchased and restored in 1834. Like Uriah, Jefferson Monroe invested his personal funds (in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars) to restore and preserve the mansion and of grounds. He also purchased that originally belonged to the plantation. In 1923, Monticello was purchased by the

Thomas Jefferson Foundation The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, originally known as the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation founded in 1923 to purchase and maintain Monticello, the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third ...

to be preserved and operated as a house museum.

Career

Jonas Levy became a merchant and sea captain. He commanded the '' U.S.S. America'' during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

(1846–1848), and was assigned to the transportation of troops to

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. When the port surrendered, Levy was appointed its captain by Gen.

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

. In addition, he aided the Peruvian Navy, in which he served for some time. The government honored him with "freedom of the country" for his contributions. In 1852, he became the second and, to date the last, person to be indicted under the

Logan Act The Logan Act (, ,) is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that criminalizes the negotiation of a dispute between the United States and a foreign government by an unauthorized American citizen. It is intended to prevent unautho ...

. Levy, who was living in Mexico at the time, had acquired a grant to build a railway across the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the T ...

, the narrowest point across Mexico. Secretary of State

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

had been pressuring Mexico to accept a treaty that would allow a different group of American businessmen to build the railway. Levy wrote a letter to

Mexican President The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

Mariano Arista José Mariano Martín Buenaventura Ignacio Nepomuceno García de Arista Nuez (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician who also became president of Mexico. He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening batt ...

urging him to reject Webster's proposed treaty, prompting Webster to seek an indictment against Levy for violating the Logan Act. Federal prosecutors were forced to dismiss the case after Arista refused to hand over the original copy of the letter, depriving them of the evidence they needed to convict Levy. Levy was among the founders of the Washington Hebrew Congregation (WHC) in Washington DC and served as its fifth president from 1857 to 1858. Levy and other members of Washington Hebrew Congregation were so well politically connected that they secured from the U.S. Congress an "Act for the Benefit of the Hebrew Congregation in the City of Washington". The act guaranteed for WHC the same rights and immunities accorded to other religious bodies in the District of Columbia. President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

signed the act into law on June 2, 1856, and it is the only Act of Congress that serves as a charter for a Jewish Congregation in the United States.

References

* Marc Leepson, ''Saving Monticello: The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House that Jefferson Built'' (University of Virginia Press, paperback, 2003

*Melvin I. Urofsky, ''The Levy Family and Monticello, 1834-1923: Saving Thomas Jefferson's House'', Monticello: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 2001 * * * Duda, Jeremy (2017-06-13).
A Foreign Affair
. ''History Today''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Jonas P. 1807 births 1883 deaths Military personnel from Philadelphia American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Sephardic-Jewish descent 19th-century American Jews Levy family

Early life and education

Marriage and family

Career

See also

References