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Authors Emily Ford and Barry Stiefel delve into the Jewish communities settled in New Orleans and along the Mississippi Delta.
The early days of Louisiana settlement brought with them a clandestine group of Jewish pioneers. Isaac Monsanto and other traders spited the rarely enforced Code Noir banning their occupancy, but it wasn't until the Louisiana Purchase that larger numbers colonized the area. Immigrants like the Sartorius brothers and Samuel Zemurray made their way from Central and Eastern Europe to settle the bayou country along the Mississippi. They made their homes in and around New Orleans and the Mississippi River delta, establishing congregations like that of Tememe Derech and B'Nai Israel, with the mighty river serving as a mode of transportation and communication, connecting the communities on both sides of the riverbank.
About the author
Emily Ford is a Master degree candidate in the joint College of Charleston/Clemson University Graduate Historic Preservation Program. She received her BA in History from the University of Florida in 2006. Ford has been involved in preservation efforts in and around New Orleans for a number of years. Barry Stiefel is presently an Assistant Professor in the joint College of Charleston/ Clemson University Graduate Historic Preservation Program. In 2008, Stiefel completed his Ph.D. in Historic Preservation from Tulane University in New Orleans. His research interests relate to the preservation of Jewish heritage.
