Jewish History of Southern Illinois
Settling in the Land of Lincoln
Jewish settlement in Illinois began with John Jacob Hays, who settled in Cahokia (modern-day St. Louis area) in 1793. Hays served as postmaster and sheriff in Cahokia before relocating to Fort Wayne to become an Indian agent. The only other Jew known to have settled in Illinois before statehood was Joseph Phillips, a veteran of the War of 1812 and secretary of the Illinois Territory.
Early Jewish settlement was sparse, even well into Illinois statehood. Some prominent early Jews in Illinois included Abraham Jonas, who was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1842 and became a key political ally to Abraham Lincoln, and Samuel Nash, the first Jewish graduate of West Point.
In the Shadow of the North
For much of the history of Illinois the northern half of the state held the majority of Jewish communities. Jews settled in Chicago in the 1830s, Peoria in the 1840s, and Springfield in the 1850s. It wouldn't be until after the Civil War that Jews began settling in the communities in the southern part of the state. The first Jewish settlers in Cairo arrived in 1863, East St. Louis in 1888, and Centralia in 1894
Southern Illinois in the 20th Century
In the 20th century, there were about 2,000 Jews scattered across the communities in Southern Illinois, which would combine to form the Southern Illinois Jewish Federation. The largest Jewish communities represented in this federation are Aurora, Belleville, East St. Louis, Cairo, Alton, Centralia, Carbondale, Granite City, Benton, Mattoon, and Robinson.
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