Chatham County GaArchives Biographies.....Minis, Abraham ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 12, 2004, 11:45 pm Author: William Harden p. 554 ABRAHAM MINIS. In the South, where family ties still bind and names still count, the Minis family are reckoned of the blue blood of Georgia, their history dating from colonial times and the grandfather of Abraham Minis having been the first male white child born in Georgia. The family is a historic one and it has been prominent in the history of the city for many generations. Abram Minis, youngest son of Abraham Minis, does not shine merely in the reflected light of his forefathers, but he is a citizen of ability, a lawyer of high standing at the bar and a man of property. Abraham Minis, the second son of Isaac and Dinah Minis, was born in Savannah in 1820, and, in early youth was sent North to a school in Westchester, Pennsylvania, which stood very high and was kept by a Frenchman, a Mr. Bolmar. Here he remained until the age of sixteen when, owing to his father having encountered business reverses, he determined to become self-supporting, a resolution which he carried out absolutely. Securing a position with Padleford & Fay, then one of the leading houses on the Bay, it was characteristic of the man that he never filled another clerkship and that the heads of the firm became his warmest, lifelong friends. Entering for himself the commission business, associated with Mr. James H. Johnston, the firm being Minis & Johnston, he continued actively engaged in this pursuit until the day of his death, although, in consequence of years, the business changed to that of shipping. Mr. Johnston retiring, Mr. Minis carried on the work alone until two of his sons were associated with him under the firm name of A. Minis & Sons. One who knew him best wrote of him: "From his earliest years his course was one of duty well performed. Quiet and modest, yet firm and brave, he noted well his part as son, brother, husband, parent, neighbor and citizen. With no ambition but to be right, his amiable qualities made him beloved and respected by all who knew him, while all he did was based upon strictly moral and religious principle, unswerved by fear or favor." All through the dark days of the yellow fever epidemic of 1876 he, with his eldest son, Mr. J. F. Minis, remained in Savannah doing all in his power, for those who needed assistance, in a quiet, unostentatious way of which the world knew nothing. His nature was one of the noblest simplicity, combined with the utmost moral strength and a deep sense of justice guided his every action. The affection he inspired in the humble and lowly was attested when the longshoremen who had worked for him, as a spontaneous tribute, marched in a body to his funeral. Many positions sought him. He rendered service as an alderman, acting as mayor, during the absence of that functionary, was a director of the Southern Bank and of the Central Railroad & Banking Company of Georgia. For years he devoted much of his busy life to the presidency of the Union Society, and unbounded were his zeal and enthusiasm in behalf of this noble charity. At the breaking out of the Civil war, physical disabilities rendering military service impossible, he entered the commissary department at Savannah, and, to help the cause, invested .a large-proportion of his means in Confederate bonds, although he had always been apprehensive of what proved to be the result of the desperate four years' struggle. On the failure of the South, he was consequently left with the most limited resources. Confronted with the disheartening task of, beginning afresh his business career, he did so with the courage displayed by the best type of the men of the South, and the years brought their reward. He died in New York City, November 6th, 1889, adding another honorable record to the family name, and was buried in Savannah. Savannah is the native city of Abram Minis, his eyes having first opened to the light of day on May 16, 1859, within the pleasant borders of that city. His parents were Abraham and Lavinia (Florance) Minis. The latter's parents were Jacob L. and Hannah Florance. Mrs. Minis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 26, 1826, and her marriage to Mr. Minis was celebrated in Philadelphia, October 22, 1851. Their union was blessed by the birth of six children, as follows: Jacob Florance Minis; Rosina Florance Minis, who died in infancy; Miss Maria Minis; Isaac Minis; Lavinia Florance Minis, the wife of Charles I. Henry, of New York City; and Abram Minis. Isaac Minis, mentioned above, is now deceased, his death having occurred in New York City, June .8, 1893. His wife, to whom he was married in Savannah, March 9, 1886, was before her marriage, Miss Eugenia P. Myers of Savannah. She survives her husband and has two sons,—Isaac Minis and Carol E. Minis. Mr. and Mrs. Charles I. Henry have two daughters, namely: Harriet and Lavinia. One of the subject's uncles, Philip Minis, married Miss Sarah A. Livingston, of New York, and their children are seven in number, and named as follows: Mrs. Alice Henrietta Poe, of Baltimore; Annie Livingston Spalding; Philip Henry; John Livingston; Mary Leila (Mrs. Poultney); and Augusta Medora. One of his aunts, Sarah Ann Minis, married Dr. Isaac Hays of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose children Were: Joseph Gratz; William DeWees; Harriet Minis; Theodore Minis; Frank Minis; Robert Griffith and Isaac Minis. Another aunt, Phillippa Minis, married Edward Johnson Etting, of Philadelphia, and their children were: Reuben; Charles Edward; Theodore Minis; Philippa Minis; and Harry Gratz. The paternal father of the subject was Isaac Minis, who, although of the Savannah family, was born near Charleston, whence his parents and family fled from the British troops, which at that time were besieging the city of Savannah. They returned here after the close of the Revolution. On December 4, 1803, Isaac Minis married Miss Dinah Cohen, of Georgetown, who was born April 12, 1787, and died in Savannah, February 17, 1874. Her husband preceded her to the grave, his death occurring on November 17, 1856, in Philadelphia. He and his wife are buried in the family lot in Laurel Grove cemetery in Savannah. Isaac Minis served in the War of 1812 as a private in Capt. William Bulloch 's company of artillery, first regiment of Georgia militia, commanded by General Johnston. Isaac Minis was the son of Philip and Judith (Pollock) Minis; Judith Pollock being a member of one of the first families that settled Newport, just as her husband belonged to a family that was numbered among the first settlers of the colony of Georgia. It is a somewhat interesting fact, in this connection, that Rhode Island and Georgia were the only ones of the colonies where Jews were not prohibited from settling. Philip Minis, the great-grandfather of the subject of this review, as mentioned in a preceding paragraph, bore the distinction of having been the first male white child born in Georgia, his birth having occurred at Savannah, July 11, 1734, the year following the founding of the Georgia colony by Oglethorpe. In substantiation of this fact there are various authorities, among which is the following notice that appeared in the Georgia Gazette of the issue of Thursday, March 12, 1789, concerning the family of Philip Minis: "On Friday, March 6, 1789, departed this life, Mr. Philip Minis, merchant, age fifty-five years. He was the first male white child born in this state. His remains were buried in the Jews' burial ground on Sunday morning, attended by a large number of respectable citizens, who by their solemn attention evinced how sensibly they felt the loss the community has sustained in so valuable a man. He has left a disconsolate widow and five children, together with an aged and venerable mother and five sisters, to deplore their loss. He was an affectionate husband, a dutiful son, a tender father and a kind brother; in short, he was in every sense of the word, a truly honest man." Philip Minis gave active aid and support to the colonists in their struggle with Great Britain, and on this account he was named in the Georgia Royal Disqualifying Act of 1780. When in 1779 the French auxiliaries besieged Savannah, Philip Minis acted as a guide, and was consulted as to the best place for landing. He also volunteered to act as a patriot guide thereafter. In 1780 the British passed their disqualifying act, whereby certain persons were disqualified from holding office, etc., because of their prominence in the "rebel cause," and the name of Philip Minis was one of the one hundred and fifty on the list of disqualified men. The founder of the Minis family in Georgia was Philip Minis' father, Abraham Minis, who with his wife, Abigail Minis, and two daughters, Esther and Leah, also his brother, Simeon Minis, arrived in Savannah on a vessel from London, July 11, 1733, the year of Oglethorpe's founding of the colony of Georgia. There were thirteen Jewish families on this vessel; and the history of their organization for the journey in London and their trials and tribulation, as well as their successes, after their landing on Georgia soil in 1733, forms one of the interesting romances of the colonization of the new world. Abraham Minis, first American of the name, died in Savannah in 1757, and was buried in the first Jewish burial plot in the city. His widow, Abigail Minis, in 1760, received a grant of land from King George III. She lived to a great old age, her death occurring in Savannah, in October 11, 1794, aged ninety-three years and two months. The history of Mr. Minis' forbears is as interesting and gratifying as that of any other citizen of the old and historic city. Emerson has said: “Biography is the only true history." When Macaulay was shown the vast clustering vines in Hampton court, with trunk like a tree, he expressed a wish to behold the mother root in Spain from which the scion was cut. Similarly, the average person confesses to an eager desire to trace the ancestral forces that are united in every interesting character, mental and moral capital being treasures invested by forefathers, nature taking the grand-sire's ability and putting it out at compound interest for the grandson. Abram Minis, the present representative of the family, has in addition to his law practice, many other interests of broad scope and importance. He is a director of the following named enterprises: The Propeller Tow Boat Company; the Columbus Manufacturing Company; the Commercial Life Insurance & Casualty Company; the United Hydraulic Cotton Press Company; the Georgia Land & Securities Company, and the Georgia Cotton Mills. Although he bestows a profound attention on his affairs, business and professional, he is by no means a recluse, for he has many affiliations, and is one of Savannah's most prominent clubmen. He belongs to Landrum Lodge of Masons and of the Oglethorpe Club, the Yacht Club and the Golf Club. He is a member of the Sons of the Revolution and is also an honorary member of the Georgia Hussars, of which he was an active member for several years. He enlisted as a private in the Hussars in 1883, and was promoted through the various ranks to that of first lieutenant; it was while acting in such rank that he resigned. Following this he was made quartermaster of the First regiment of cavalry, National Guard of Georgia, with the rank of captain, and later was made adjutant with the rank of captain in the same organization. He is now on the retired roll of the Georgia state troops. In all public affairs in the city, which is dearest to him with the associations and traditions of centuries, Mr. Minis takes a keen and helpful interest and he stands as one of the aggressive and enterprising men who are aiding in the upbuilding of the city. Mr. Minis has been twice married: His first wife was Miss Anna Maria Cohen, of Baltimore, Maryland, their union being solemnized October 8, 1890. She died May 24, 1891, in Savannah. The present Mrs. Minis was, previous to her marriage, Miss Mabel A. Henry, of New York City, where she married her husband on December 9, 1902. They have two children: Abram Minis, Jr., born November 6, 1993, and H. Philip Minis, born June 11, 1908. Additional Comments: From: A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA BY WILLIAM HARDEN VOLUME I ILLUSTRATED THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1913 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chatham/bios/gbs134minis.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 12.9 Kb