Poyas-Mordecai House 1796-1810 on Meeting Street is a photograph by Dale Powell which was uploaded on October 18th, 2016.
Title
Poyas-Mordecai House 1796-1810 on Meeting Street
Artist
Dale Powell
Medium
Photograph
Description
c. 1788
Dr. Jean Ernest Poyas built this classic Charleston single house in elegant Adamesque style of architecture. It was purchased in 1837 by Moses Cohen Mordecai, an important historic figure, who added the piazzas and connected the main house to the kitchen house.
Mr. Mordecai, originally opposed to secession, became a blockade runner in support of the Confederacy and lost his entire fortune. Forced to flee to Baltimore after the war, he was again very successful in business. In 1870 Mr. Mordecai, at his own expense, brought home the bodies of South Carolina soldiers who fell at Gettysburg.
Poyas-Mordecai House (HMI8Z)
Location: Charleston, SC 29401 Charleston County
Country: United States of America
N 32� 46.53', W 79� 55.86'
This one of my favorite houses in the entire city. It has the mottled look of the old paint wearing off, but you can tell the house is in pristine condition. Built in 1796-1800 on a very traditional single house plan, the home has a rather large amount of north facing windows. These windows were believed to have been added when the home lost its northern nieghbor in the earthquake of 1886. The door of the home is solid cherry and reputedly wieghs over 200 pounds. The present owners have also done a magnificent job of creating a wonderful garden on the south side visible from Meeting St. The home was built built by John Poyas who was a physician, but later on fell into the hands of Moses Mordecai who became one Charleston's most famous blockade runners during the Civil War after an initial reluctance to take the side of the South. Mordecai lost his entire fortune in the war and was able to regain it post war. He also brought home many SC soldiers of the Civil War and created the Confederate Memorial at Magnolia Cemetery. An absolutely charming house directly in St. Michael's shadow and worth a minute to stop and take a look at!
Moses Cohen Mordecai (1804-1888) was an American Jewish businessman, politician, and parnass (synagogue administrator).
Biography
Early life
Moses Cohen Mordecai was born on February 19, 1804 in Charleston, South Carolina.[1] His father was David Cohen Mordecai (1781-1818) and his mother, Reinah (Abrahams) Mordecai (1784-1853).[1] He was the grandson of Mordecai Moses Mordecai and Zipporah deLyon.[1]
Career
He owned the Mordecai Steamship Line, which he used to import fruit, sugar, tobacco, and coffee.[1][2][3] Additionally, he was a co-owner of the Southern Standard, a newspaper published in South Carolina from 1851 to 1858.[2] At the same time, he served as a member of the South Carolina Senate.[2][3] His votes reflected his opposition to secession in the 1850s, prior to the American Civil War of 1861-1865.[2] He used his newspaper to echo this position.[2] Moreover, he was widely seen as a politician representing the merchant class and free trade.[4]
According to author Robert N. Rosen, he became "the most prominent Jewish Charlestonian of the 1850s and 1860s."[2] He served as the parnass, or chief administrative officer, of the Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, a synagogue in Charleston.[5] Overall, he did not suffer from much open antisemitism; however, historians have noted that Senator James Henry Hammond (1807�1864) privately called him a "miserable Jew" in his diary.[4]
During the Civil War, he decided to change his mind about secession and supported the Confederate States of America.[6] Some of his ships were used by the Confederate States Army.[3][7] For example, the Isabel, named in honor of his wife, was used to remove Major Robert Anderson (1805�1871) from Fort Sumter at the Battle of Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861.[3][7] In the aftermath of the Civil War, and after his shipping enterprise had been shattered and he became blind, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland.[8]
Personal life
He married Isabel Rebecca (Lyons) Mordecai (1804-1896), the daughter of David Cohen Mordecai (1781-1818) and Reinah Abrahams Mordecai (1784-1853).[1][2] They had four children:
Hortensia Mordecai (1830-1899).[1][9]
Rosa Hays Mordecai Tobias (1832-1897).[1] She married Joseph Lopez Tobias (1825-1893).[10]
Minnie Mordecai Lazarus (1839-1913).[1] She married Edgar Marx Lazarus, Sr. (1838-1884).[11]
Isabel Mordecai (1842-1927).[1][12]
In 1837, he purchased a mansion in Charleston built for Dr Jean Ernest Poyas (1756-1824) in the Adam style; it became his family home.[6] The house is located at 39 Meeting Street near St. Michael's Episcopal Church, south of Broad Street, in Charleston, South Carolina.[2][3][5] Despite the Civil War, the house still stands today.[13]
Death
He died on December 30, 1888 in Baltimore.[1]
Uploaded
October 18th, 2016
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