We have added numbers of Early American New York Jewish Wills to Synagogue Scribes Will Extracts. These wills date from the early 1700s-1799 and were originally published in 1915 with further research in 1966-67.

The wills were transcribed from the original. Leo Herschkowitz added a range of genealogical information on the individuals referred to in the wills. These individuals included not only family members but others such as witnesses and executors. As such the data provides an important addition to assist researchers.

There are three main sources for the wills:
1 Wills of Early Jewish Settlers in New York. Lee M Friedman. The John Hopkins University Press. American Jewish Historical Society No.23 (1915)
2 Wills of Early New York Jews Leo Hershkowitz (in 3 parts) The John Hopkins University Press. American Jewish Historical Quarterly 1966-67
3 Original inventories of Early New York Jews (1682-1763).Leo Hershkowitz. American Jewish History.Vol 90.No 3 (September 2002).The John Hopkins University Press.

These will transcripts can be seen on JSTOR (registration required) and the original can be seen on sites including Ancestry’s.

Another important resource which further supports the will data are The First American Jewish Families genealogies. These genealogies can be seen online and vary in terms of range and depth but none the less is a useful adjunct to the three main sources. Family lines including ancestors and descendants can be seen on these trees.

No wills were recorded during the American War of Independence 1775-1783.Some of the wills for example Aaron Hart  NA 164  (Synagogue Scribes)have specific reference to the UK. The key word search facility on Synagogue Scribes Will Extracts enables researchers to seek relationships between the individuals named in each will.

In the Notes section of each will additional information has been added where relevant and possible. However, it not the intention to add detailed data because it is important for researchers to locate their own information and confirm their own data.

The following will extracts have been included:

1 Esther Brown 1708

2 Joseph Brown 1704

3 Joseph De Mesquita Bueno 1708

4 Abraham De Lucena 1725

5 Jacob Fonseca 1729

6 Lewis Gomez 1740

7 Uriah Hyam 1740

8 Moses Levy 1728

9 Samuel Levy 1719

10 Rachel Luis 1737

11 Isaac Rodriguez Marquez 1707

12 Michael Michaels 1737

13 Moses Michal 1740

14 Joseph Nunez 1704

15 Isaac Pinheiro1710

16 Isaac Adolphus 1774

17 Samuel Myers Cohen 1743

18 Simja De Torres 1746

19 Benjamin Gomez 1772

20 David Gomez 1769

21 Isaac Gomez 1770

22 Mordecai Gomez 1750

23 Aaron Hart 1763

24 Judah Hayes aka Hays 1764

25 Joshua Isaacs 1744

26 Phillip Isaacs 1756

27 Solomon Isaacs 1757

28 Isaac Levy 1745

29 Abraham Mendes Seixas 1756

30 Sampson Simson 1774

31 Esther Benzaken 1790

32 Mattathias Gomez 1784

33 Moses Gomez 1790

34 Michael Hays 1799

35 Hayman Levy 1789

36 Isaac Levy 1785

37 Joseph Israel Levy 1786*

38 Joseph Israel Levy 1789*

(The two wills * are for the same person and the different dates reflect when and where the wills were proved. The information contained in the wills differs when compared to each other)

39 Moses Levy 1792

40 Manuel Myers 1799

41 Joseph Simson 1792

42 Joseph Jacobs 1774 .In his will Joseph Jacobs asked that he is buried  …”in decent Christian Burial at the discretion of my Executors…” His wife was a Christian.

43 Judah Samuel 1702

The addition of this further set of will extracts and the facility to cross check individual names against other data included in the Synagogue Scribes will extracts search base should provide researchers with another important opportunity to extend their research.