An immigrant from the Rhineland of modest origins, twenty-year-oldJonas Phillips arrived in Charleston in 1756. He came, most likely,as an indentured servant to Moses Lindo, a Sephardic dealer inindigo.

After working off his contract, Phillips made his way up to the NewYork frontier, to Albany, main theater of the Seven Years War thenbeing fought between the British and the French. He set himself up inbusiness and achieved the status of freeman in Albany. During thisperiod, he also began his engagement with Masonry, one of the firstAmerican Jews to do so.

In 1761 Phillips left Albany for New York City where, the followingyear, he was married to Rebecca Machado,daughter of the late David Mendez Machado, who had been hazzan ofShearith Israel. The marriage proved a propitious one; it would notonly result in an amazing twenty-one births, but, more immediately,through friends of her father’s, provided the now bankrupt Phillipswith employment as a shochet.

Hewould not long remain satisfied with the thirty-five pound a yearsalary and soon established himself as an auctioneer. In 1770Phillips was one of ten Jewish signers of the New YorkNon-Importation Agreement, and by 1774 he had moved his family toPhiladelphia. Phillips prospered as a merchant during the Revolutionand served in Bradford’s Battalion of the Philadelphia Militia.

In 1783 Phillips, along with Gershom MendesSeixas, Barnard Gratz and HyamSalomon, petitioned the PennsylvaniaCouncil of Censors to remove a clause from the state constitutionrequiring a Christian oath to hold public office. Although the clausewould remain until 1790, Phillips again in 1787 protested theprovision, this time to Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia.“All men,” Phillips boldly told the convention, “have a naturalright to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their ownconscience and understanding.” This he proclaimed unaware that theconvention had already passed the provisions in Article Six of theConstitution barring the requirement of a religious test in order tohold office.

Phillips was also a leader of Philadelphia’s Jewish community anddirected the construction of the first building for congregationMikveh Israel, where he was later elected parnas. Phillipsseems to have had a falling out with the synagogue later in life andspitefully stipulated in his will that he be buried in New York.

Among Phillips’ numerous children we find Dr.Manuel Phillips, Rachel Machado PhillipsLevy, Naphtali Phillips, AaronPhillips and Zalegman Phillips,while grandchildren include Uriah P. Levy,Jonas Altamont Phillips and Henry MayerPhillips.