Jonas Phillips Levy was a Jewish-American merchant and sea captain. Levy was granted the "freedom of the country" by the government of Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 for signal services rendered in the Peruvian Navy.

Early life and education

He was the younger son of Michael Levy and Rachel Phillips, a Jewish-American couple, and was born in 1807 in Philadelphia. His older brother was Uriah Phillips Levy

Uriah P. Levy

Uriah Phillips Levy was the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a major philanthropist. At the time, Commodore was the highest rank obtainable in the U.S. Navy and would be roughly equivalent to the modern-day rank of Admiral...

, who became the first Jewish commodore

Commodore (USN)

Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and a current honorary title in the U.S. Navy with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four ranks until 1862, considerable importance...

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

.

His maternal grandfather Jonas Phillips

Jonas Phillips

Jonas Phillips was the first of the Phillips family to settle in America. A founder of Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, Phillips was the father of twenty-two children and the grandfather of Uriah Phillips Levy, the first Jewish Commodore in the United States Navy.-Childhood and emigration:Phillips...

 had immigrated from Germany in the mid-1700s. A great-great-grandfather had come from London and was one of a group of the earliest settlers in Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

. He was a descendant of Sephardic Jews who had fled to Europe and England after the Spanish Inquisition

Spanish Inquisition

The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...

 of the early 16th century.

Marriage and family

Levy married Frances (Fanny) Mitchell on November 22, 1848. They had three sons:

• Jefferson Monroe;
• Louis Napoleon; and
• Mitchell Abraham Cass); and two daughters:
• Isabella; and
• Amelia.

Their son Jefferson Monroe Levy

Jefferson Monroe Levy

Jefferson Monroe Levy was a three-term U.S. Congressman from New York, a leader of the New York Democratic Party, and a renowned real estate and stock speculator....

 became a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and financier

Financier

Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...

 in New York, and an admirer of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

, as his father and uncle Uriah were. In 1879 the younger Levy bought out other heirs to take control of Monticello

Monticello

Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...

, which his uncle Uriah Levy had bought in 1834. Like him, the younger Levy invested his personal funds (in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars) to restore and preserve the mansion and 218 acres of grounds. He also purchased 500 acres that originally belonged to the plantation. In 1923 Monticello was purchased by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation to be preserved and operated as a house museum.

Career

Jonas Levy became a merchant and sea captain. He commanded the U.S.S. America during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and was assigned to the transportation of troops to Veracruz

Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...

. When the port surrendered, Levy was appointed its captain by Gen. Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

.

In addition, he aided the Peruvian Navy, in which he served for some time. The government honored him with "freedom of the country" for his contributions.