Solomon Hart (from The Jew in Canada by Arthur Daniel Hart, Montreal, 1926)
Solomon Hart
Solomon and Alice Hart, along with some of their children, are acknowledged as the first permanent Jewish residents of Saint John, New Brunswick.
Solomon Hart was born in London, England. He became a cigar-maker, a trade he brought first to New York and then to Saint John in August 1858. He came with his wife Alice Davis Hart and his children, Abraham, Henry, Jennie, Carrie, Elizabeth, Rachel and Rebecca.
His cigar factory was located on Prince William Street, close to the wharves. In the 1875 City Directory, he was listed as a manufacturer and importer of Havana cigars. This business was destroyed in the Great Saint John Fire of June 20, 1877, but it was soon re-established on Union Street.
Hart organized the first High Holy Day services in Saint John in 1879 by bringing a rabbi from Boston and searching the city’s hotels for the tenth man required for the minyan (quorum of ten men required to hold a religious service). Solomon Hart and his family were involved in the establishment of the city’s first synagogue, the Ahavith Achim (Brotherly Love), which was dedicated in January of 1899.
Alice Davis Hart
Alice Davis Hart had attended a private Jewish school in London, England where she learned Hebrew.
In Saint John she started a religious school in her home, a key to developing the early Jewish community. Her daughters assisted her as teachers.
Her most notable accomplishment was founding a chapter of the Daughters of Israel in 1899 and of which she served as its first president. The membership was drawn from the wives of the early Jewish settlers in Saint John. Their mandate was to help the poor and needy and to provide funds to poor families. Members of the organization made clothing for the needy. The members promoted Jewish education and raised funds for the construction of a Mikvah (ritual bath) which was located in the basement of the Ahavith Achim Synagogue.
Alice Hart (from The Jew in Canada by Arthur Daniel Hart, Montreal, 1926)
Alice was instrumental in linking this organization to the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society in 1899 and to the Local Council of Women in 1912. From 1899 until the 1940s, these ladies fulfilled their mandate and also reached beyond the Jewish community to assist those in need and support women in the city. At the time of dissolution, the remaining funds were turned over to the Sisterhood of Congregation Shaarei Zedek.
As a social activist, Mrs. Hart became involved in a day nursery and free kindergarten, both of which were supervised by the Local Council of Women.
Elizabeth Hart
Solomon and Alice had 4 sons – Henry (died 1907), David (born 1866), Jacob (died 1873), and Abraham Solomon (1875-1930), – and 6 daughters – Jennie (Mrs. Abraham) Isaacs (1847-1931), Carrie (Mrs. Israel) Isaacs (1860-1933), Amelia (died 1877), Elizabeth (Mrs. Louis) Green (1867-1947), Rebecca (Mrs. Maurice W.) Wyzanksi (1869-1939), and Mrs. Rachel (Landau) (1873-1943).
See also Green Family and Isaacs Family
References:
Louis I. Michelson Archives and Research and Exhibition Files, Saint John Jewish Historical Museum
Marcia Koven – Weaving the Past Into the Present (Saint John: 1989 and 2008)
The Evening Times Globe / The Telegraph Journal (Saint John newspapers)
This project is made possible with funding from the Archaeology and Heritage Branch, Province of New Brunswick through their Exhibit Renewal Digital Component program and the unwavering support of the Jewish families who made Saint John their home.
