Cardoza Family History;

First American Cardozos

(Arrived New York, 1752)

Introduction

Our branch of the Cardoza family changed its surname from Cardozo sometime in the
1930's. Several other branches of the Cardozo family have, for one or another reason,
also made the change. Everyone thought Cardozo was an Italian name. Family legend has
it that the Cardozos came from Spain and that the family is of Jewish descent.

While much of my effort to date has been to identify the descendants of Ida's and Edwin's
parents, some research has been done into the ancestry, mainly through readily available
secondary sources of information and public records available at the State Archives.
Actually, there is a wealth of information regarding the early American Cardozos in
books available at the Richmond Public Library, and in the public records of Powhatan
County and the City of Richmond, available on microfilm at the State Archives.

Ancestry in Brief

We are descended from the Jewish immigrant Aaron Nunez Cardozo, the first
"American" Cardozo in our line. One of his four sons, Moses Nunez Cardozo, born in
New York in 1755, was in the Richmond area around 1788 and later in Powhatan
County. Moses' son Aaron N. Cardozo was the father of Abraham James Cardozo,
who had Edwin Walter Cardoza, our ancestor who, along with Ida Malisa (Goodman)
Cardoza, had 9 children: Alonzo James Cardoza, Abraham Walton Cardoza, Vivian
Leigh (Cardoza) Wood, Nannie Pearl (Cardoza) Crump, Ivy Lewis Cardoza, Percy
Edward Cardoza, Charles Calvin Cardoza, Ruth Samantha (Cardoza) Lewis, and Grace
Loraine (Cardoza) Henley. Percy Edward Cardoza was my maternal grandfather. All nine
of these children are deceased.

Some Jewish History

In 1492, the same year Columbus "sailed the ocean blue" and discovered America, Jews
were exiled from Spain. Several years before, they had been expelled from Portugal.
These Jews are called Sephardic (being from the Iberian Peninsula) as opposed to the
Ashkenazic Jews of eastern Europe. Generally speaking, the Sephardi were better
educated and wealthier than their east European counterparts, due to the tolerant attitude
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toward Jews by the Moors of Spain. When the Moors were driven out by the sword, Jews
were also seen as a threat to the victorious religious powers of the time who were intent
on re-establishing the Christian religion as the only sanctioned religion for their country.
Some Jews who remained behind in Spain or Portugal became Marranos, or "crypto-
Jews", meaning that they professed Catholicism (to escape the horrors of the Inquisition),
while secretly practicing Judaism.

Jews had similar problems in many of the European countries during this and many other
time periods. Around 1658, Jews were grudgingly and unofficially allowed back into
England after many years of exile. The ancestry of Aaron Nunez Cardozo has been
traced back to approximately that year by Jewish genealogists. (See the chart at the end of
this chapter.) No one seems to know where our specific ancestors were prior to that time.
It is generally accepted that they were from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain & Portugal).
Captain N. Taylor Phillips, former President of Shearith Israel, thinks the Cardozos in our
line fled the Portuguese Inquisition, went to Amsterdam and then to London, England
(See Benjamin N. Cardozo: American Judge, by George Hellman), and from there to
America, but there is no clear trail prior to England.

The Jews allowed back into England were required to wear "badges of shame", and to
keep a low profile. They were not allowed to be citizens. Remarkably, the Sephardi, who
had virtually drained the Spanish treasury when they left and took their personal wealth,
gained a fair amount of respect in England. They were well educated and generally
stayed out of trouble. Jews seemed to be fairly well settled (though never completely
comfortable) in England until an unusually large influx of poor, ill-behaved, and
uneducated Ashkenazic Jews, driven from eastern Europe, began to turn popular English
opinion against all Jews. In mid-eighteenth century England, with the economy depressed
for decades, there was talk of shipping Jews to the West Indies, and other schemes to deal
with this "Jewish question". The British, as others before them had done, tended to blame
Jews for their economic woes. Hogarth, in 1751, captured the general British social
attitude in an etching showing the streets filled with drunks, uncaring mothers, and only
the pawn shop in the background as having any business transactions. In 1753, the British
Government tried to pass legislation to allow Jews to become naturalized citizens. The
populace protested, crying "No Jews, No Wooden Shoes!"

On to America

Most of the wealthier Jews in England were merchants, as was Aaron Nunez Cardozo.
In England, Jews could not own real estate, so "middlemen" was their only means of
making money. Apparently, Aaron had business in America. Sometime in 1749, he
joined Beth Shearith, a Jewish Synagogue in New York City. In 1752, Aaron brought his
wife Sarah Nunez (Navaro) Cardozo, two daughters and his infant son Isaac to
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America. (Perhaps Sarah's parents also came on this trip, as they died in New York in
1759 and 1766.)

Specifically why Aaron decided to bring his family to America is not known, but it seems
reasonable to conclude that the events stated earlier had a good deal to do with the
family's dissatisfaction in London. Contemporary visitors to America noted the relative
ease and freedom enjoyed by Jews in America. Aaron's taste of this freedom in 1749
(and perhaps even earlier) must have contributed to his interest in living and trading in
this British colony. Surely, he must have sensed a growing economy in the colonies, and
surely he wanted the best conditions for his children. This was around 25 years prior to
the Declaration of Independence. The colonies were fairly well developed along the east
coast. Keeping in mind that 1749 was 142 years beyond 1607, the founding of
Jamestown, New York was somewhat populated by this time, although still a small town
by today's standards. Aaron was not required to be a pioneer. He had some wealth and,
being a merchant, the growing colonies offered an opportunity to make real gains and
provide for his family in relative safety. There was already a group of Jewish settlers in
New York.

The Cardozo Family

The family stayed in New York until the children - two girls and four boys - grew up.
Aaron's wife Sarah died in New York in 1761. Isaac Nunez Cardozo, eldest son of Aaron
and ancestor of Benjamin Nathan Cardozo, Supreme Court Justice, fought in the
Revolutionary War. David Nunez Cardozo fought the British also. The two youngest
sons, Moses Nunez Cardozo and Abraham Nunez Cardozo, may not have been involved
directly (no record of their involvement has been found). During the heat of the war in
New York, Aaron moved, with other Jews, to Connecticut to wait out the war.
Apparently, he operated a boarding house in Wilton, Connecticut on July 5, 1779. A
Jewish traveler documented his business adventures during the War, and Aaron was
mentioned as a landlord in one of his letters. Since most of the northeast was operating
under British and Dutch tradition and laws, he was probably not allowed to own property.

On 14 January 1786, Virginia passed legislation respecting the separation of Church and
State. This first opportunity in many years to own real estate and enjoy true religious
freedom probably attracted Aaron, a devout Jew. Additionally, Richmond was at the fall
line of the James River, and served as a gateway to the western portion of Virginia and
beyond. One of George Washington's pet projects was the Canal in Virginia. By 1789,
the first seven miles of the canal were completed. Doubtless, Aaron knew of the project
and saw an opportunity to establish himself early at the fall line in Richmond where
significant trading would occur.

By 1788, Aaron, Moses and Abraham were settled around Richmond. The three of them
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bought a farm in Bowling Green, then in Henrico County (this tract is now a part of the
Whitcomb Court area of Richmond). Moses moved to Powhatan County, perhaps to have
his own farmland. Around 1800, Virginia's tax structure was deliberately skewed to favor
the farmers. Merchants and others were taxed more heavily. This legislation probably
influenced Moses to extend his newly acquired farming knowledge. Aaron stayed with
one of his sons until his death in 1800. He most likely stayed at the farm in Bowling
Green, near supplies and physicians in Richmond. Aaron helped organize and was a
charter member of Richmond's first Jewish Synagogue. The Cardozos were the only
Sephardic Jews in the Synagogue. Nevertheless, it operated under Sephardic principles.

One traditional Jewish custom was to be buried with other Jews. Richmond had a Jewish
cemetery, now an historical landmark at 21st and Franklin Streets. Unfortunately there
are no definitive records of persons buried there, but the cemetery was "active" until 1819
when, with this property full, a new cemetery was opened immediately east of Shockhoe
Cemetery. Those records are fairly complete and do not include any Cardozos. I believe
Aaron's son Abraham (died 1816), and his son Moses (died 1818) are both buried in this
cemetery. Both died in Richmond. The graveyard was later buried under approximately
six feet of fill dirt, used as a coal storage area, and finally reclaimed as a cemetery.
Today, there is a substantial iron fence around the graveyard. Aaron is thought to have
returned to New York before his death in 1800.

Four Sons

• Isaac Nunez Cardozo, eldest son of Aaron, was the grandfather of Isaac N. Cardozo, III
who became a California State Assemblyman from San Francisco in 1852 and had been
prominent in Michigan prior to his move to California. Isaac was also the great-
grandfather of Benjamin Nathan Cardozo, Supreme Court Justice. Several other
prominent New York lawyers and judges were descendants of Isaac. Michael Hart
Cardozo, Isaac's son, who was married in Richmond in 1819, is an ancestor of Michael
Hart Cardozo, IV of Washington, D.C. and New York. Mr. Cardozo is working on
developing a National Center for Jewish Genealogy in New York. He has sent me 18
pages of charts of Cardozos and is very interested in seeing the final family chart. Isaac
was "among the company of Jews who helped defend Charleston Harbor against the
British (1776) during the American Revolution". Apparently, both Isaac and his brother
David lived with a large community of Jews in Charleston, South Carolina for a while.
Most of Isaac's descendants settled around New York.

• David Nunez Cardozo settled in Charleston, South Carolina around 1775. He enlisted in
the South Carolina Grenadiers, saw repeated action against the British, and was taken
prisoner once. He was noted, in his obituary in the Charleston Courier of July 10, 1835,
to have led an unsuccessful storming party against the British to recapture Savannah.
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David married twice and had ten children. One of those, Jacob Newton Cardozo (1786 -
1873) became a prominent southern banker, economist and journalist who once wrote
"God made black people black to prove their inferiority". Be that as it may, Jacob or his
brother Isaac (who for the last 24 years of his life was a weigher in the Charleston custom
house) receives credit (or blame) for fathering Francis Lewis Cardozo, Sr., son of Lydia
Williams, a free mulatto of mixed Negro and Indian blood. Francis Cardozo became a
famous, extremely well-educated black politician, who was a "handsome, well-groomed
man, with cultivated manners...." and "almost white in color". He was hounded out of
office in Carolina in 1877 although no wrong-doing was ever demonstrated. David Nunez
Cardozo is buried in the Coming Street Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina.

• Abraham Nunez Cardozo, youngest of the Cardozo children, apparently never married.
He and his father and brother Moses owned a farm in Bowling Green. Evidently,
Abraham bought out the others in the family, or they informally allowed him to retain
ownership. When he died, Abraham willed the farm to Joseph Darmstadt, a member of
the Richmond Synagogue who was originally sent as an involuntary mercenary to enslave
the colonists. Darmstadt was a silver-tongued controversial character who owned a social
coffee house in Richmond's market square. This position afforded him access to the
leaders of the community who, having formed a social group, the Amicable Society of
Richmond, admitted Darmstadt on 17 February 1789. Abraham being a bachelor probably
spent a good deal of time at the coffee house and became good friends with Darmstadt.
Abraham's brother Moses was quite upset with the terms of this will and contested
probate. Eventually, the family won back a good portion of the estate.

According to the terms of a Mutual Assurance Policy (fire insurance) taken out on the
buildings by Abraham on 20 September 1813, there were 5 significant buildings on the
property, including 3 dwellings, a detached kitchen, and a barn. All this was on 12 acres
of land surrounded by more Cardozo property. The total value, since the estate was in
good condition, was estimated at $1850.00. Abraham signed the policy using his actual
name, not an "X".

• Moses Nunez Cardozo, ancestor of nearly all of the Powhatan/Richmond Cardozos,

was born in 1755 in New York. He married Gitlah (Moses) Cardozo on 11 January
1784. By 1787-1788, he was known to be in the Richmond/Henrico area. However for
Moses, the promised land was Powhatan. He was appointed caretaker of the courthouse
and town jailor of Scottville in 1799. He had ten children, many of whom carried typical
Cardozo family names: Aaron, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaac, Rachel, and Judith. Moses
died 1 January 1818, leaving a will which specified that his grave be fenced in with a
substantial fence to keep the cattle from pooping above him.

His son Abraham N. Cardozo was the town jailor in 1817. Moses' son Aaron was the
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father of Abraham James Cardozo, Edwin Walter Cardoza's father. Moses was the
only original Cardozo child to settle in Powhatan, although some of his brothers'
descendants were in Richmond in the early 1800's.

Another of Moses' children, Isaac Nunez Cardozo, married Mahala (Baugh) Cardozo and
they lived in Powhatan until Isaac's death in 1850. Isaac's descendants include a daughter
who married William Wilkinson, ancestor of Judge Wilkinson of Richmond, and a son,
Isaac Demetrius Cardozo, who married Rebecca Bacon (Pollard) Cardozo. Isaac and
Rebecca had one son, Benjamin Pollard Cardozo, who is buried in Hollywood Cemetery
near his parents. Pollard, as he was called, was in the wholesale lumber business, using
some of his property in Powhatan to supply the timber. He died without children in 1944.
Isaac was a very prominent businessman in the dry goods business, served as Director of
City Bank and The Mutual Assurance Society for a period of time. See section entitled
"Isaac Demetrius Cardozo and the Pollard Family of Richmond" elsewhere in this
booklet. Those Cardozos and many more, lived in Richmond.

Additional information regarding Moses and his family may be found in the section
"Moses Nunez Cardozo and Family" in this booklet. Apparently, neither of the
daughters of immigrant Aaron Nunez Cardozo ever married, at least not within the
Jewish faith. Additional information can be obtained from the family charts entitled "First
American Cardozos", and from books regarding early American Jewish families.

9/92 and 1/97