Sarah Abigail Seixas was born in Stratford, Connecticut, where her parents, Elkaleh Myers-Cohen and Gershom Mendes Seixas, had fled when New York had fallen to the British. Her father was hazan of congregation Shearith Israel and famed spiritual leader of the colonial Jewish community. Sarah, or Sally as her father always called her, was the couple’s first child to survive infancy and, by most accounts, her father’s favorite. Her mother died when she was seven years old, leaving Gerhsom to care for Sarah and her two siblings. He soon remarried, to Hannah Manuel, and Sarah would eventually gain twelve step siblings, including David G. Seixas.
In 1804, Sarah married German born Israel Baer Kursheedt, a merchant and Talmudist who had studied in Frankfurt with celebrated kabbalist Rabbi Nathan Ben Simeon Adler. Israel had arrived eight years prior, and had developed a deep friendship with Gerhsom, in no small part based on their mutual love of Jewish learning. “My son Kursheedt,” Gershom would say, “I know him to be far my superior in the knowledge of the laws, both sacred and profane.” Gershom officiated at their wedding on January 18,1804.
In 1812, after the birth of their fourth child, the couple relocated to Richmond, Virginia, where Israel had been offered to serve as hazan of Congregation Beth Shalome. They spent twelve years in Virginia, where Israel developed a friendship with Thomas Jefferson. During these years, Gershom wrote frequently, sending news from New York and from the congregation, talking about family, health, food, and holidays. He described the difficulties and shortages in New York as a result of the British blockade during the War of 1812. His love and admiration for his daughter is always evident in these letters, referring to her “power of intellect” and “exalted mind.” Sarah was also a favorite correspondent of her aunt Grace Seixas Nathan, who kept her abreast of marriages, pregnancies, births, and the health of various family members, especially her husband, Simon Nathan.
It was with nine children that Sarah and Israel returned to New York in 1824, among them Gershom and Asher. There they remained for the rest of their lives. Israel would help found a new congregation, one founded on the practices and liturgy of the growing numbers of German Jews, B’nai Jeshurun.
