348:, these portraits are contained in original frames and touted as "the oldest surviving portraits of colonial American Jews, and the oldest family-series portraits to survive in all of American painting". The portraits – held to represent Moses Levy, Grace Mears Levy, Jacob Franks, Abigail Franks, Naphtali Franks, and two other children of Abigail and Jacob – are believed to have been painted in the 1720s and 1730s by Gerardus Duyckinck. They reflect the "costume, background, and pose" of
33:
221:
At the same time, the Franks were active members of the wider
Christian society. Jacob established himself in a variety of trades, including "the slave trade, privateering, general commerce, and shipping", and became quite wealthy. The Franks were considered one of the leading families of New York in
189:
Bilhah
Abigail Levy was born in London to Moses (Raphael) Levy, a German–Jewish merchant, and his wife Richea (Rycha) Asher. She had four brothers. Her father relocated the family to New York City in the early 1700s and became a wealthy, respected merchant in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Abigail
291:
The letters cover a range of topics, including family and community gossip, local politics, and
Abigail's observations on the current state and future of Judaism in colonial New York. While Abigail embraced Jewish observance and thought it important that her children marry within the fold, she was
269:
With the limited number of Jewish marriage prospects in colonial
America, the Franks family's comfort level with Christian society, and the willingness of Protestant families to wed their children to their Jewish neighbors, two of Abigail's children intermarried. Abigail broke off all contact with
335:
Abigail mentions several portrait commissions in her letters to
Naphtali, and the Franks and Levy families are known to have commissioned portraits of themselves and engaged in exchanges of portraits with family members in London. A series of seven portraits is traditionally held to depict three
278:
merchant family in New York; Phila later converted to
Christianity. (Jacob, however, accepted the marriage, as it "allied the Franks clan with the well-connected DeLanceys".) David married the daughter of one of Abigail's Christian friends. Naphtali and Moses both married Jewish first-cousins in
287:
Abigail kept up a lively correspondence with her eldest son, Naphtali, in
England. Thirty-four of her letters survive, as well as one letter from Jacob and two letters from David. The collection of letters dates from 7 May 1733 to 30 October 1748.
165:, she married a London-born merchant and reared a family of nine children. While committed to Jewish observance, she and her family also socialized freely in the wider Christian society. Theirs was considered one of the prominent families of
198:
In 1712 at the age of 16, Abigail married Jacob Franks (1688–1769), a London-born businessman. The couple had nine children between the years 1715 and 1742; two died in childhood. They were married for 44 years until
Abigail's death.
261:
Beginning around 1732, Abigail and Jacob began sending their children to
England to learn the family business. Sons Naphtali and Moses both established themselves in England and helped develop their father's business interests;
172:
She is known for the letters she wrote to her eldest son, Naphtali, after he moved to
England. Spanning the years 1733 to 1748, these letters describe the political and social milieu of 18th-century New York, together with the
181:
that affected Jewish families. Two of Abigail's children married outside of the religion and all of her grandchildren assimilated. By the end of the 18th century, she had no Jewish descendants.
300:". She describes the lives of other Jewish American women of the era, including her stepmother, Grace Mears Levy, and Grace's eldest daughter, Rachel Levy, who married Isaac Mendes Seixas, a
315:
Like her contemporaries, Abigail's spelling skills were wanting, but she enjoyed reading classical literature and contemporary magazines. She often quoted lines from the English poets
202:
The Jewish population of Colonial New York at that time was minuscule, comprising only about 50 families. Nevertheless, Abigail ran a traditional Jewish home, including strict
279:
England, but all of their offspring assimilated. It is unknown if any of Abigail's other children married. By the end of the 18th century, she had no Jewish descendants.
973:
190:
received a "formal, classical education". Her mother died when she was 11 and her father remarried to Grace Mears, with whom he had eight more children.
258:
in Manhattan, which served as a beacon for incoming ships. Abigail had many close friends who were Christian and spent summer holidays with them.
983:
308:, did not socialize with Sephardi Jews, although some were members of her synagogue. She wrote to her son about Rachel's marriage proposal: "
292:
critical of contemporary Jewish practice. In her letters she expressed a desire to inject more modernity into the religion to counter its "
250:, all prominent Protestants and civic leaders. Jacob and his father-in-law, Moses Levy, were among the 11 Jews who helped pay for a
341:
166:
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391:
948:
271:
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kitchen. All her children received "Hebrew instruction" and were familiar with the prayers. The family were members of
527:
978:
897:
The Lee Max Friedman Collection of American Jewish Colonial Correspondence: Letters of the Franks Family, 1733–1748
681:
953:
919:
877:
857:
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generations of family members, although some scholars have questioned the sitters' identities. Donated to the
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The Portugeuze here are in a great ferment abouth it. And think Very Ill of him.
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247:
207:
203:
932:
301:
162:
78:
784:
American Jewish History: The Colonial and Early National Periods, 1654–1840
392:"Guide to the Papers of the Franks Family 1711–1821, [1965–1968]"
316:
223:
275:
143:
682:"History, Herstory, Ourstory: The Case of the Franks-Levy Portraits"
777:
662:
650:
566:
211:
64:
32:
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60:
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her eldest daughter, Phila, after the latter secretly married
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and give no outward indication that the subjects are Jewish.
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Letters describing political, social, and religious life in
146:
327:, as well as contemporary writers, in her correspondence.
758:
756:
528:"Jews in America: Jewish 'Continuity' in Early America"
753:
218:; Jacob served as president of the synagogue in 1730.
869:
The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E.
596:
550:
548:
496:
Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
866:
Taitz, Emily; Henry, Sondra; Tallan, Cheryl (2003).
805:
A Time for Planting: The First Migration, 1654–1820
741:
701:
632:
620:
296:", and denigrated the Jewish women of New York as "
894:Hershkowitz, Leo; Meyer, Isidore S., eds. (1968).
584:
572:
545:
930:
893:
865:
826:The American Jewish Woman: A Documentary History
614:
911:The Letters of Abigaill Levy Franks, 1733–1748
974:English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
679:
266:did the same after moving to Philadelphia.
31:
850:American Jewish Women's History: A Reader
435:"Bilhah Abigail Levy Franks (1696?–1756)"
330:
149:woman who lived most of her life in the
663:American Jewish Historical Society 1998
651:American Jewish Historical Society 1998
567:American Jewish Historical Society 1998
522:
520:
518:
516:
18:English-American Ashkenazi Jewish woman
931:
822:
675:
673:
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638:
485:
483:
481:
479:
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429:
386:
384:
342:Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
193:
843:
801:
787:. Vol. I. Taylor & Francis.
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984:18th-century American letter writers
719:
680:Hershkowitz, Leo (15 October 2013).
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340:in 1951 and currently housed at the
668:
142:(c. 1696–1756) was an English–born
37:Portrait of Abigail Franks, c. 1735
13:
902:American Jewish Historical Society
887:
779:American Jewish Historical Society
454:
414:
396:American Jewish Historical Society
361:
338:American Jewish Historical Society
222:the Colonial era. Residing on the
14:
995:
914:. Yale University Press. 2004.
713:
848:, in Nadell, Pamela S. (ed.),
829:. KTAV Publishing House, Inc.
720:Mead, Rebecca (27 June 2011).
615:Taitz, Henry & Tallan 2003
1:
490:Smith, Ellen (1 March 2009).
355:
226:, they lived in proximity to
184:
872:Jewish Publication Society.
823:Marcus, Jacob Rader (1981).
216:Congregation Shearith Israel
75:1756 (aged 59–60)
7:
949:18th-century American women
492:"Bilah Abigail Levy Franks"
274:, the scion of a Christian
10:
1000:
969:Writers from New York City
846:"Portraits of a Community"
771:
282:
140:Bilhah Abigail Levy Franks
964:18th-century English Jews
120:
112:
104:
93:
71:
42:
30:
23:
306:Ashkenazi Jewish descent
979:American Ashkenazi Jews
954:Colonial American Jews
532:Jewish Virtual Library
500:Jewish Women's Archive
440:Jewish Virtual Library
398:. 2003. Archived from
298:a Stupid Set of people
844:Smith, Ellen (2003),
346:Bentonville, Arkansas
331:Franks-Levy portraits
236:Jacobus Van Cortlandt
130:Richea Asher (mother)
959:Women letter writers
722:"Alice's Wonderland"
256:First Trinity Church
151:Province of New York
83:Province of New York
802:Faber, Eli (1995).
350:English aristocrats
194:Marriage and family
179:interfaith marriage
127:Moses Levy (father)
47:Bilhah Abigail Levy
244:Abraham de Peyster
210:observance, and a
204:Sabbath observance
765:, pp. 15–16.
605:, pp. 45–46.
240:Robert Livingston
228:Adolphus Philipse
167:colonial New York
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99:colonial New York
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431:Gelles, Edith B.
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402:on 28 April 2017
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294:Many Superstions
272:Oliver De Lancey
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727:The New Yorker
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332:
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325:Joseph Addison
321:Alexander Pope
304:. Abigail, of
284:
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248:Stephen Bayard
208:Jewish holiday
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161:and raised in
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28:
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25:Abigail Franks
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852:, NYC Press,
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808:. JHU Press.
807:
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759:
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750:, p. 15.
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939:1690s births
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743:
731:. Retrieved
725:
715:
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691:. Retrieved
685:
658:
646:
641:, p. 1.
634:
622:
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598:
586:
574:
562:
535:. Retrieved
531:
503:. Retrieved
495:
444:. Retrieved
438:
404:. Retrieved
400:the original
334:
314:
309:
302:Sephardi Jew
297:
293:
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286:
268:
260:
220:
201:
197:
188:
175:assimilation
171:
139:
138:
108:Jacob Franks
15:
944:1756 deaths
639:Marcus 1981
317:John Dryden
933:Categories
921:0300137788
879:0827607520
859:0814758088
836:0870687522
815:0801851203
794:0415919207
763:Smith 2003
748:Smith 2003
708:Smith 2003
627:Faber 1995
603:Faber 1995
591:Smith 2003
579:Faber 1995
555:Smith 2003
356:References
224:East River
185:Early life
157:. Born in
232:Frederick
144:Ashkenazi
781:(1998).
433:(2008).
276:Huguenot
254:for the
113:Children
772:Sources
283:Letters
252:steeple
121:Parents
65:England
52: (
50:c. 1696
918:
876:
856:
833:
812:
791:
323:, and
246:, and
212:kosher
159:London
147:Jewish
105:Spouse
61:London
733:1 May
693:1 May
537:2 May
505:1 May
446:1 May
406:1 May
264:David
916:ISBN
874:ISBN
854:ISBN
831:ISBN
810:ISBN
789:ISBN
735:2017
695:2017
539:2017
507:2017
448:2017
408:2017
234:and
177:and
72:Died
54:1696
43:Born
344:in
935::
900:.
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515:^
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416:^
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363:^
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238:,
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206:,
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153:,
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904:.
882:.
839:.
818:.
797:.
737:.
697:.
541:.
509:.
450:.
410:.
116:9
56:)
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