• 02. [From the Original Jewish Buckeye: Original Documents!] Cohen, Thomas; Wm. Nichols; James McDougal

TWO 1817 MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENTS FROM THE FIRST JEW TO SETTLE IN OHIO, THOMAS COHEN: A RENTAL AGREEMENT DATED AUG 7, 1817; & AN ACCOUNTS SETTLEMENT DATED AUG 25, 1817 [CHILLICOTHE, OHIO]

Chillicothe, OH: 1817. Item #43332

Original double-sided sheets, total 4 sides (2 leaves), one folded as a legal document with document title (“Thomas Cohen Account with J M[c]Dougal $33.50”) on the verso.
The Rental agreements reads:

“Chillicothe August 7th 1817
The Article made & interred [sic: entered] in this Day & Date above Ritten [sic: Written], witness that I Wm Nichols Have Rented of Thos Cohen of Chillicothe one House & Lot at twenty four feet at [?] front, on water Street formiley [sic] the John Walker, a man of [illeg, town name?] & being the west quarter of in[dicated?] Lot No 214 & adjoining the Lot, that Sawyer Chrigttow [?] Now lives on, for whitch [sic] I am to pay said Cohen five Dollars pur [sic] month for three months & as mutch [sic] [illeg] as may be a greed on between my self [and?] His agent

Test[ified,]
James Inglish___________________Wm Nichols X His mark”

Thomas Cohen’s account ledger with James McDougal lists 14 purchases, dated between Sept 1815 and March 1817, for what appears to be tack (horse equipment) including bridles, a “bridle coat pad and straps,” a “whip and lash,” saddles, etc.
The account, totaling $33.50, was closed out Aug 25, 1817, “Received of Thomas Cohen the above in full” and signed, “James McDougal.”

Toby Brief, the executive director and curator for the Columbus Jewish Historical Society, notes in a 2019 article in the Columbus [Ohio] Jewish News, that “Thomas Cohen…. was born in Virginia to a Jacob Cohen and became a silversmith. He was in Chillicothe (Ohio) by 1815. He was advertising in the local paper. He then left and became the mayor of St. Louis [?]. There is a lot of discussion about whether he was Jewish. It’s pretty clear that his paternal line was Jewish.”
Brief notes that until recently, “the first Jew to settle in Ohio is commonly believed to be Joseph Jonas, an English-born Jew who arrived in Cincinnati in 1817,” but, with the evidence of Thomas Cohen, the silversmith, in Chillicothe, “We’re not so sure about that” (Columbus Jewish News: July 31, 2019: https://share.google/2UdsU0WyyHXMt7v3h. See also https://www.columbusjewishhistory.org/histories/jews-first-capital-history- chillicothes-jewish-families )

Not surprisingly, Cohen’s rental agent for his property in the document, the “testifyer” (witness) on the rental agreement, “James Inglish, born at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania Aug. 9, 1768, was an early settler of Chillicothe, and one of its pioneer lumber dealers” (ohiogenealogyexpress.com/ross/rossco_bios_1917/rossco_bios_1917_a.html).
James Inglish shows up in other documents related to Chillicothe and nearby Pickaway County from this period. See for example:
Richard Clough Anderson Papers, 1782-1905, 1912-1914 (https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/ihlcsfa/andersonrc.pdf); "Chancery and Common Pleas Court Records: Fayette County, Ohio: 1828-1878" (https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/H008985.pdf); Genealogy of John Burgett and Catherine Henderson (https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~hutch/genealogy/PURGETT/BurgettTwo.htm)
Interestingly, the tenant, Wm. Nichols, signs with “His mark,” an “X,” an indication that Nichols was illiterate.
An example of Thomas Cohen’s silverwork can be seen at https://live.jeffreysevans.com/online-auctions/jeffrey-evans/thomas-cohen-p robably-virginia-coin-silver-tablespoon-6802298

Chillicothe played an important role in the westward expansion of the early United States. “In 1796, Nathaniel Massie laid out the town [of Chillicothe] on the Scioto River. Massie, a Virginian, originally laid 456 lots on his own land to establish Chillicothe, promising free plots to the first 100 settlers. Chillicothe became the center of political life in the Northwest Territory, attracting prominent politicians and later Governors of Ohio; Thomas Worthington and Edward Tiffin. In 1800, Chillicothe became the capital of the Northwest Territory and in 1802, hosted the Ohio Constitutional Convention, later becoming the first capital of Ohio at statehood in 1803.
Chillicothe remained Ohio's capital until 1810, when it was briefly moved to Zanesville, only to return to Chillicothe two years later. In 1816, however, the capital of Ohio was moved permanently to Columbus in order to be closer to the geographic center of the state” (chillicotheoh.gov).
Folds and light toning as expected. Heavy rag paper and ink remain bright and strong. Very Good Condition. Displayable and important. (BK5) (AMR-72-8).

Price: $2,000.00