David Levy Yulee
| David Levy Yulee | |
|---|---|
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| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Florida Territory | |
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In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1845 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Downing |
| Succeeded by | statehood achieved |
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United States Senator from Florida |
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In office July 1, 1845 – March 3, 1851 |
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| Preceded by | Office instituted |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Mallory |
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In office March 4, 1855 – January 21, 1861 |
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| Preceded by | Jackson Morton |
| Succeeded by | Thomas W. Osborn |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
David Levy June 12, 1810 Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, Danish West Indies |
| Died | October 10, 1886 (aged 76) New York City, New York, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Nancy Christian Wickliffe |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
| Religion | Judaism, conversion to Christianity |
David Levy Yulee (born David Levy; June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney of Moroccan-Jewish origins from Florida, a territorial delegate to Congress, and the first Jewish member of the United States Senate. He founded the Florida Railroad Company and served as president of several other companies, earning the nickname of "Father of Florida Railroads." In 2000 he was recognized as that year's "Great Floridian" by the state.
Levy added Yulee to his name, the name of one of his Moroccan ancestors, soon after his 1846 marriage to the daughter of ex-Governor Charles A. Wickliffe of Kentucky. Though Yulee became Christian and raised his children as Christians, he was subject to antisemitism throughout his career. Yulee supported slavery and secession. He was imprisoned for nine months after the war as a prisoner of state at Fort Pulaski before being pardoned. He then returned to railroad building.
Born David Levy in Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas, his father Moses Elias Levy was a Moroccan Sephardi Jew who made a fortune in lumber. His mother was also Sephardi; her ancestors had gone from Spain to the Netherlands and England. Some had later gone to the Caribbean as English colonists during the British occupation of the Danish West Indies, now the United States Virgin Islands. His father Moses Levy was a first cousin and business partner of Phillip Benjamin, the father of future Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin.
After the family immigrated to the United States, Moses Levy bought 50,000 acres (200 km2) of land near present-day Jacksonville, Florida Territory. He wanted to establish a "New Jerusalem" for Jewish settlers. The parents sent their son to a boy's academy and college in Norfolk, Virginia. David Levy studied law in St. Augustine, was admitted to the bar in 1832 and practiced in St. Augustine.
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