There's a new book about a prominent Jewishfamily in old Warrenton called the Mordecai's. I heard the author on C-SPAN.Heard of the book? Moses and Esther Mordecai The son of Moses and Esther Mordecai, observant Jews who in 1760emigrated from Germany to Philadelphia, Jacob was born in 1762. He attendedprivate schools and received a classical education. At age 13, Jacob servedas a rifleman when the Continental Congress was resident in Philadelphiaand later helped supply the Continental Army as a clerk to David Franks,the Jewish quartermaster to General George Washington. After the war, JacobMordecai moved to New York and married Judith Myers. In 1792, Judith andJacob moved to Warrenton, a small town well situated on the roads linkingRichmond, Charleston and Savannah. In Warrenton, Jacob first made his markas a tobacco merchant. Jacob and Judith had six children, four boys and two girls. Judith diedsoon after the birth of the youngest and her sister Rebecca came toWarrenton to care for the children. Jacob and Rebecca married two yearslater and she gave birth to additional seven children. The couple providedall thirteen children, regardless of gender, with educations that includedphilosophy, history, literature and Jewish religion. According to historian Sheldon Hanft, Jacob Mordecai "broke newground when he provided his daughters as well as his sons with the kind ofpublic school education that was ordinarily reserved for the males ofsocially prominent families." Most Southerners, Hanft asserts, did notconsider it "prudent to provide [females] with an education that wouldequip them for public life,& quot; opting instead to teach them skills suchas sewing. Despite living as the only Jewish family in a small town, the Mordecaiskept the Sabbath and observed the kashruth laws. According to Hanft, thefamily never experienced negative reactions from their Christian neighbors.The family’s piety was respected and, in 1797, Jacob was elected Master ofthe Warrenton Masonic Lodge. Trouble came to the Mordecais, however, in the form of businessreverses. Jacob experienced heavy losses in tobacco investments in 1806 andwas forced to sell his business and the family home to clear his debts.Fortunately, a male boarding academy had opened in Warrenton and thelearned Jacob was hired to work at the school. His employment includedresidence at the school and the Mordecais moved into their cramped buthomey quarters on the grounds. In 1808, local parents asked Jacob to leavehis employment at the male academy establish a separate school for girls.They agreed to his condition that the school’s curriculum would be asvigorous as that at the male academy. Jacob bought back his house and converted it into a girls’ academy. Theschool was truly a family project. Initially, Jacob and Rebecca taught allthe classes, but were soon joined in the classroom by their daughterRachael and in later years by two of their sons. The younger Mordecaichildren helped with the cooking and care of the dormitories. Only themusic teacher was not a member of the family. The school’s curriculum focused on academics but also stressed propermanners and demeanor. Jacob insisted on personal discipline and a highlystructured day in which the students were kept constantly busy. Studentswere required to wash their own utensils, scrub their hands and faces andbrush their hair and teeth daily, even on the coldest mornings. Theschool’s reputation blossomed so quickly that Mordecai, who initially had30 students in 1809, concluded by 1814 that he would have to cap enrollmentat no more than 110 students. Jacob Mordecai stressed that piety in any religious tradition was animportant part of character development. The Mordecais included observanceof Jewish holidays in the school’s educational program. All of the Mordecaichildren – male and female – attended and worked in the school, as didseveral cousins, so there was always a critical mass of Jewish students toobserve holidays. Jacob equally encouraged the Christian students at theAcademy to observe their own religious holidays and attend church services.It mattered little what religious practices his students observed so longas they were respectful of the religious preferences of others. TheAcademy’s curriculum included philosophical texts that raised moral andethical issues his students could discuss together regardless of theirreligious differences. In 1819, at age 56, ten years after opening his Female Academy, JacobMordecai chose to sell the highly successful enterprise and move his familyto Richmond, Virginia. He purchased a farm and lived as an active member ofRichmond’s Jewish community, serving as president of its Congregation K. K.Beth Shalome. Jacob died in 1838. Driven into the education profession by the failure of the familytobacco business, Jacob and Rebecca Mordecai and their children becamepioneers of equal education for women. As Jews in an overwhelminglyChristian setting, they earned acceptance of their religious views, just asthey taught religious toleration to their students. Ahead of their time inthe early 1800s, their educational and religious views have become theAmerican norm. E-mail questions, comments, or feedback about this siteto <A HREF="mailto:ajhs@ajhs.org">ajhs@ajhs.org</A> This section was last updated on December 2, 2003