Isaac de Lyon

Isaac DeLyon’s father, Abraham, was among a boatload of passengersthat formed the first Jewish presence in Savannah. Fleeing Portugalwhere he had owned vineyards, he tried to introduce grape growing toGeorgia. Isaac was born in Savannah, though in 1741 the DeLyonfamily, along with the rest of Savannah’s Jews, moved north fromfear of the Spanish. They made their home in Charleston, though Isaacwould return to the city of his birth in 1762 with his new wife RinahTobias De Lyon. They had four children, including daughter Judith.In Savannah De Lyon worked as a shopkeeper, selling deerskin,chocolate, gingerbread, linseed oil, mackerel and more.

Isaac de Lyon

c. 1790