History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas

Jews have inhabited the city of Galveston, Texas, for almost two centuries. The first known Jewish immigrant to the Galveston area was Jao de la Porta, who, along with his brother Morin, financed the first settlement by Europeans on Galveston Island in 1816. de la Porta was born in Portugal of Jewish parentage and later became a Jewish Texan trader. In 1818, Jean Laffite appointed de la Porta supercargo for the Karankawa Indian trade. When Laffite left Galveston Island in 1820, de la Porta became a full-time trader.

In 1852, residents of Galveston established the first Jewish cemetery in Texas, with the first organized Jewish services being held in 1856. During the American Civil War, although most residents had fled the city of Galveston, Rosanna Osterman remained. In 1862 she opened her home as a hospital, treating first Union soldiers and then extending her care to Confederate soldiers.

Congregation B'nai Israel opened in 1868. The congregation was the first Jewish Reform congregation chartered in Texas, and only the second Jewish congregation founded in the state. On June 20, 1875, the congregation voted to become one of the charter members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. One of the pioneers of Reform Judaism in the United States, Abraham Cohen Labatt, moved to Galveston in 1878 and joined the congregation. He was an active member until his death in 1899.

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