Lucy Marks was an African-American Jew from Philadelphia, one of the few documented Black Jews during early American history.

Life

Marks was owned by the Marks family, a white Jewish family in Philadelphia. She adopted the family name of the people who enslaved her. During the 1790s, Marks adopted

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

and attended

Congregation Mikveh Israel Congregation Mikveh Israel ( he, קהל קדוש מקוה ישראל), "Holy Community Hope of Israel", is a synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that traces its history to 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portuguese synagogue that follows ...

in Philadelphia. Lucy Marks was owned by and lived with the Marks family, a white Jewish family in Philadelphia. It is unknown whether or not Marks had been a slave of Rachel Marks or whether she was descended from

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

Caribbean Jews The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, but it is believed that she was not born Jewish. Unlike many white synagogues in the Caribbean and elsewhere, Congregation Mikveh Israel did not have anti-Black constitutional provisions and was more accepting of Jews of color and

converts Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

of color. Marks took the surname of her owners, which was common practice under slavery during the era. Lucy observed the traditions of

and was a member of

in the 1790s. She was a "devout observer of the precepts of Judaism" and sat in the

women's section The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as society pages and eventually morphed into ...

of Mikveh Israel during services. Marks lived until old age. Upon her death in 1838, the family applied for the customary burial in the

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

. While Black people owned by white Jewish slave owners were often encouraged to follow the practice of Judaism, they were also often denied burial in Jewish cemeteries. After a short delay and intense support from other members, Marks was buried in an unmarked grave next to the grave of

Haym Salomon Haym Salomon (also Solomon; anglicized from Chaim Salomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born Jewish businessman and political financial broker who assisted the Superintendent of Finance, English-born Robert Morris, as the prim ...

. Marks still rests in the cemetery today.

References

{{Reflist 1838 deaths 18th-century American slaves 19th-century American slaves 18th-century converts to Judaism 19th-century converts to Judaism African-American Jews African-American women Jewish women People from Philadelphia American women slaves

Life

See also

References