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This item is reproduced by permission of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
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Letter to Henrietta Raphael Seixas, between 6 and 13 February 1836

Source Note

JS, , , and , Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to Henrietta Raphael Seixas, , Summit Co., OH, [between 6 and 13 Feb. 1836]. Featured version copied [ca. 13 Feb. 1836] in Oliver Cowdery, Letterbook, pp. [77]–[78]; handwriting of ; Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to J. G. Fosdick, 3 February 1834.

Historical Introduction

On 4 January 1836, JS and several other met in the attic of the to formally organize a , one of various educational institutions established in , Ohio, during fall and winter 1835–1836. Toward the end of January, noted Hebrew scholar began teaching the school. By February, the number of students in the Hebrew School had grown substantially, leading the “school committee”—composed of JS, , , and —to seek out additional study materials. Sometime between 6 and 13 February, apparently at the request of Professor Seixas, the committee wrote a letter to his wife, Henrietta Raphael Seixas, requesting to acquire her “valuable lexicon,” which her husband had brought to Kirtland.
Though not the first person recruited for the position, taught Hebrew classes at the school from 26 January to 29 March 1836. He was born in in 1802 into a family of Sephardic Jews who immigrated to the from Portugal in the 1730s. The son of Gershom Mendes Seixas, communal and religious leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City, Seixas became an accomplished Hebraist. During the late 1820s and early 1830s, he taught Hebrew at institutions from New York City to ; in 1833, he published his own textbook, Manual Hebrew Grammar. In the preface to the grammar book’s second edition, released in 1834, Seixas promoted his teaching methodology. “With proper attention to the following rules, and with the aids of oral instruction as given to my classes,” he asserted, “any one desirous to become acquainted with this language may be enabled in a short time and with little trouble, to read with much pleasure and satisfaction.”
In the fall of 1835, moved his family of nine to , where he taught Hebrew at several newly established institutions of higher learning, including the Oberlin Collegiate Institute and the . John Bus, a pupil who left a detailed journal account of his studies under Seixas at Western Reserve College, said of the professor in December 1835, “I never saw any man talk and have so much to say as Mr. Seixas in recitation in my life before.” When the class adjourned in January, Bus commented, “I am very well satisfied that he is a man of great learning.” While Seixas was teaching at Western Reserve College—which JS referred to as Hudson Seminary—he was recruited by , a member of the , to teach a seven-week course in .
began his instruction in on 26 January 1836. JS’s journal entry for the day commented, “His introduction pleased me much. I think he will be a help to the class in learning the Hebrew.” Though the school committee initially organized a class of approximately forty students (which they may have divided into two sections), another class of thirty was instituted just six days later; according to , the second class commenced on 2 February. The committee apparently selected another class of fifteen students on 4 February, combined it with the class organized two days earlier, and divided the students into two classes, one of twenty-two and one of twenty-three. With as many as four classes running concurrently, study materials—including grammar books and Hebrew Bibles—became scarce. JS’s 4 February journal entry reports, “We have a great want of books but are determined to do the best we can.” On the following day, the journal notes, JS “assisted the committe to make arangements for supplying the third & Fourth classes with books— concluded to divide a bible into several parts for the benefit of said classes.” Perhaps to compensate for a lack of grammar books, a supplement to Seixas’s Manual Hebrew Grammar was printed in 1836 expressly for the Kirtland school.
On 6 February, , acting on behalf of the school committee, wrote a letter to Henrietta Seixas asking if she would be willing to lend or sell her Hebrew dictionary. Henrietta Raphael, formerly of Richmond, Virginia, married sometime before 1822. By 1835, the couple had seven children; their eighth child, James, was likely born during their time in . According to JS’s journal, Henrietta and the children were living in , Ohio, when Seixas began teaching in .
The text featured below is a copy of ’s letter that was inscribed into his letterbook by his nephew . Though the letterbook version is dated 13 February, entries in Oliver Cowdery’s journal indicate that the original was drafted earlier. Cowdery’s 6 February journal entry states, “In the afternoon wrote a letter in the name of the committee containing a request to wife, for a valuable Lexicon.” Cowdery’s entry for the following day confirms that he “copied the committee’s letter to Mrs. Seixas, as her husband was urging for it.” The letter was probably delivered to Henrietta Seixas by her husband, who apparently left around midday on 13 February to visit his family in for the weekend. Extant records do not include a response, nor is it clear whether the school committee was ultimately able to obtain the lexicon.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 4 Jan. 1836. Though the school was officially organized on that day, JS’s journal indicates that he began studying Hebrew informally as early as late November 1835—sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of others—and more “regularly, & systematically” after 26 December 1835. In addition to studying Hebrew, Kirtland residents were taking classes in subjects such as theology, English grammar, geography, writing, and history by January 1836. (JS, Journal, 21 Nov. and 26 Dec. 1835; JS History, 1834–1836, 163; Satterfield, “History of Adult Education in Kirtland,” 97–130.)

    Satterfield, Bruce Kelly. “The History of Adult Education in Kirtland, Ohio, 1833–37.” PhD diss., University of Idaho, 2002.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 26 Jan. 1836.

  3. [3]

    Cowdery, Diary, 1, 6, and 7 Feb. 1836; JS, Journal, 4 Feb. 1836.

    Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 26 Jan. and 29 Mar. 1836. In October 1835, Oliver Cowdery exchanged letters with Lucius Parker of Southborough, Massachusetts, about teaching the class, but the school committee rejected his candidacy after learning that he could teach only the “rudiments of Hebrew.” In early November, the committee arranged for Daniel Peixotto, a Jew and professor of medicine and obstetrics at the nearby Willoughby Medical College, to teach the class. Peixotto ultimately failed to fulfill his agreement. (Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to Lucius Parker, Southborough, MA, 28 Oct. 1835, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 57; Historical Introduction to Revelation, 2 Nov. 1835; Daniel Peixotto, Willoughby, OH, to Warren Parrish, Kirtland, OH, 5 Jan. 1836; Warren Parrish, Kirtland, OH, to Daniel Peixotto, Willoughby, OH, 11 Jan. 1836, in JS, Journal, 18 Jan. 1836.)

    Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.

  5. [5]

    Phillips, “Levy and Seixas Families of Newport and New York,” 208; Stern, First American Jewish Families, 264; “Seixas,” in Encyclopedia Judaica, 255–256.

    Phillips, N. Taylor. “The Levy and Seixas Families of Newport and New York.” In Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, 4: 189–214. Baltimore: American Jewish Historical Society, 1896.

    Stern, Malcolm H., comp. First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654–1977. Cincinnati: American Jewish Archives; Waltham, MA: American Jewish Historical Society, 1978.

    Encyclopedia Judaica. 16 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1971–1972.

  6. [6]

    “Testimonials,” verso of Joshua Seixas, Utica, NY, to John Shipherd, Oberlin, OH, 29 May 1835, Office of the Treasurer, Record Group 7, Series 7/1/5, Letters Received by Oberlin College, 1822–1907, Subseries 1, Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH; Longworth, Longworth’s American Almanac [1829], 502; Moses Stuart, Andover, MA, to Joshua Seixas, Charlestown, MA, 6 Sept. 1832, Nathan-Kraus Family Collection, 1738–1939, Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati; Joshua Seixas, Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners (Andover, MA: Gould and Newman, 1834).

    Office of the Treasurer Records. Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH.

    Longworth’s American Almanac, New-York Register and City Directory for 1829. New York: By the author, 1829.

    Stuart, Moses. Letter, Andover, MA, to Joshua Seixas, Charlestown, MA, 6 Sept. 1832. Nathan-Kraus Family Collection, 1738–1939. Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati.

    Seixas, Joshua. Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners. 2nd ed., enl. and impr. Andover, MA: Gould and Newman, 1834.

  7. [7]

    Seixas, Manual Hebrew Grammar, iii. Former students endorsed the professor’s teaching methods as effective, and before moving to Ohio to teach at Oberlin, Seixas forwarded to the college’s president a list of enthusiastic testimonials gleaned from past students. (“Testimonials,” verso of Joshua Seixas, Utica, NY, to John Shipherd, Oberlin, OH, 29 May 1835, Office of the Treasurer, Record Group 7, Series 7/1/5, Letters Received by Oberlin College, 1822–1907, Subseries 1, Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH.)

    Seixas, Joshua. Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners. 2nd ed., enl. and impr. Andover, MA: Gould and Newman, 1834.

    Office of the Treasurer Records. Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH.

  8. [8]

    Seixas arrived in Oberlin, Ohio, during the summer of 1835 and, though not an official faculty member, taught classes at the Oberlin Collegiate Institute during the fall. From 8 December 1835 to 23 January 1836, he taught Hebrew to students at the Western Reserve College in Hudson, Ohio. (Joshua Seixas, Utica, NY, to John Shipherd, Oberlin, OH, 29 May 1835, Office of the Treasurer, Record Group 7, Series 7/1/5, Letters Received by Oberlin College, 1822–1907, Subseries 1, Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH; Faculty Minutes, 14 July 1835, Board of Trustees Records, 1833–1982, Record Group 1, Series 2, Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH; Fletcher, History of Oberlin College, 368–370; “Hebrew Lectures,” Ohio Observer [Hudson], 7 Jan. 1836, [2]; “Extracts from the Daily Journal of John Bus,” Enclosure, in F. C. Waite, Cleveland, OH, to Joseph L. Rubin, Washington DC, 8 Nov. 1933, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH.)

    Office of the Treasurer Records. Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH.

    Faculty Minutes. Board of Trustees Records, 1833–1982, Record Group 1, Series 2. Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH.

    Fletcher, Robert Samuel. A History of Oberlin College: From Its Foundation through the Civil War. 2 vols. Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College, 1943.

    Ohio Observer. Hudson. 1827–1855.

    “Extracts from the Daily Journal of John Bus.” Enclosure, in F. C. Waite, Cleveland, OH, to Joseph L. Rubin, Washington DC, 8 Nov. 1933. Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH. Copy at CHL.

  9. [9]

    “Extracts from the Daily Journal of John Bus,” Enclosure, in F. C. Waite, Cleveland, OH, to Joseph L. Rubin, Washington DC, 8 Nov. 1933, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH.

    “Extracts from the Daily Journal of John Bus.” Enclosure, in F. C. Waite, Cleveland, OH, to Joseph L. Rubin, Washington DC, 8 Nov. 1933. Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH. Copy at CHL.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 4–6 Jan. 1836. In January 1836, McLellin and Orson Hyde had been sent by the school committee to hire an instructor. McLellin described Seixas as a “highly celebrated . . . hebrew schollar” who “proposes to give us sufficient knowledge to read and translate the language” in seven weeks. (JS, Journal, 4, 6, and 26 Jan. 1836.)

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 26 Jan. 1836.

  12. [12]

    JS, Journal, 26 Jan. and 1 Feb. 1836; Cowdery, Diary, 1–2 Feb. 1836.

    Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.

  13. [13]

    JS, Journal, 4 Feb. 1836; Cowdery, Diary, 4 Feb. 1836.

    Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.

  14. [14]

    JS and the committee did have a limited number of books in their possession. In November 1835, Oliver Cowdery had traveled to New York, in part to purchase Hebrew study materials, and JS’s journal notes that he returned with a “Hebrew bible, lexicon & Grammar, also a Greek Lexicon and Websters English Lexicon.” (JS, Journal, 20 Nov. 1835.)

  15. [15]

    JS, Journal, 4 and 5 Feb. 1836. Apparently Hebrew Bibles were scarce in 1835; in a letter to a trustee at Oberlin, written in May 1835, Seixas remarked that the Bibles “cost rather more than I had anticipated on account of their scarcity. Perhaps there are not ten copies for sale in the U. States.” (Joshua Seixas, Utica, NY, to John Shipherd, Oberlin, OH, 29 May 1835, Office of the Treasurer, Record Group 7, Series 7/1/5, Letters Received by Oberlin College, 1822–1907, Subseries 1, Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH.)

    Office of the Treasurer Records. Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin, OH.

  16. [16]

    Joshua Seixas, Supplement to J. Seixas’ Manual Hebrew Grammar (New York: West and Trow, 1836).

    Seixas, Joshua. Supplement to J. Seixas’ Manual Hebrew Grammar, for the Kirtland, Ohio, Theological Institution. New York: West and Trow, 1836.

  17. [17]

    Cowdery, Diary, 6 Feb. 1836.

    Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.

  18. [18]

    Stern, First American Jewish Families, 264, 326; Phillips, “Levy and Seixas Families of Newport and New York,” 208.

    Stern, Malcolm H., comp. First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654–1977. Cincinnati: American Jewish Archives; Waltham, MA: American Jewish Historical Society, 1978.

    Phillips, N. Taylor. “The Levy and Seixas Families of Newport and New York.” In Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, 4: 189–214. Baltimore: American Jewish Historical Society, 1896.

  19. [19]

    Stern, First American Jewish Families, 264; Fletcher, History of Oberlin College, 369.

    Stern, Malcolm H., comp. First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654–1977. Cincinnati: American Jewish Archives; Waltham, MA: American Jewish Historical Society, 1978.

    Fletcher, Robert Samuel. A History of Oberlin College: From Its Foundation through the Civil War. 2 vols. Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College, 1943.

  20. [20]

    JS, Journal, 13 Feb. 1836; Cowdery, Diary, 13 Feb. 1836. According to JS’s journal, JS and the school committee “made arrangements with Mr. Seixas about continuing longer with us & bringing his family to this place” on 11 March. The family arrived three days later, though it is not clear how long they remained. (JS, Journal, 11–14 Mar. 1836.)

    Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.

  21. [21]

    Warren F. Cowdery was the son of Warren A. Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery’s older brother.

  22. [22]

    Cowdery, Diary, 6 Feb. 1836.

    Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.

  23. [23]

    Cowdery, Diary, 7 Feb. 1836.

    Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.

  24. [24]

    JS, Journal, 13 Feb. 1836.

Page [78]

our own individual desires to have it the same taken the liberty to thus tresspass upon your time and patience and request the privilege of purchaseing of you through this Lexicon. It is unnecessary to wholly unnecessary for us to communicate or attempt to the great worth this Lexicon would be to this in our present and future studies as yourself of the fact and we only say that we hope that God may direct you by his Holy Spirit to do right, and we trust the issue in his hands believing you will call to mind the flood of reproach heaped upon us as a people the few advantages we profess in comparison with others institution in consequence of the same and that all favors thus bestowed will be only appreciated and thankfully remembered.
We are most respectfully.
Your Obt. Servants.
Joseph Smith Junr.
Ohio, Feb. 1836
A true copy from the original.
Rec. [p. [78]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Henrietta Raphael Seixas, between 6 and 13 February 1836
ID #
5777
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:173–178
Handwriting on This Page
  • Warren F. Cowdery

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