Sinai Jacobosky

Clothier
c.1862-1864


Charleston, SC

FAMILIES: Jacobosky

On October 18, 1853, Sinai David Jacobosky (c.1819-1864), his wife, Emma (1816-1892), and their daughter, Henrietta (1845-1893), arrived on Ellis Island after a weeks-long journey across the Atlantic from Liverpool, England aboard the ship Montezuma. Before Liverpool, the Jacobosky family emigrated from Poland. The son of a rabbi, Sinai likely followed in his father’s footsteps before he immigrated to the United States. After they passed through immigration, the Jacobosky family stayed in New York City. By 1860, Sinai was working as a cap maker (probably for apparel and accessory firm Thayer, Johnson & Brown), Henrietta was working as a dress maker, and Emma was staying at home with her second child, three-year-old Fannie (1857-1927). Two years later, the Jacobosky family was living in Charleston, South Carolina. With the United States engulfed in civil war, Sinai was conscripted into the state militia, serving in Company B, 1st Regiment (Charleston Reserves). This “Home Guard” unit likely received little to no military training and would have been a last defense against Union forces. As Charleston was an obvious target for the Union, Sinai saw military action and was injured during a skirmish on August 21, 1862. Drawing from his experience as a cap maker in New York, Sinai operated a hats and caps store in Charleston, reportedly under contract with Thayer, Johnson & Brown. In his first year in business, he did well enough to buy a home. Sinai’s store remained in operation until he died from yellow fever in 1864. Emma remained in Charleston until her death in 1892.

The Jewish Merchant Project is supported by the generosity of the Henry & Sylvia Yaschik Foundation and the Stanley B. Farbstein Endowment at the Coastal Community Foundation.

JHSSC Office
Sylvia Vlosky Yaschik Jewish Studies Center
96 Wentworth Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Phone: 843 953 3918