Moses Myers

Elmwood Cemetery
4th Alley East, Lot 8

Moses Myers (1753 – 1835) was the first Jewish settler in Norfolk, Virginia and had a long career in public service for the City of Norfolk and the United States Government. He was born in New York and after marrying Eliza Judah (1763 – 1823) in 1787, he moved to Norfolk. Within five years had established a five-vessel fleet for his import-export business. In 1795 he was elected president of the Norfolk city council and in 1804 was commissioned colonel of a regiment of Virginia volunteers. He was appointed vice-consul for both Denmark and the Netherlands at Norfolk and in 1828, President John Quincy Adams appointed him collector of customs for the port of Norfolk. Fortune did not always smile on him, however. In 1816, Congress passed the Embargo Act, which forced Myers into bankruptcy. He was told he could avoid debtors’ prison by trafficking in slaves or opium but he refused. Although he was never able to recover his fortune, his debts were repaid by the time of his death in 1835. The classic Georgian townhouse that he and his wife Eliza built in 1792 still stands and is a popular tourist attraction. Approximately 70% of the eighteenth-century furniture in the house was used by the Myers family. This is one of the few historic homes in which Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is celebrated.

Moses and Eliza had 12 children, 9 of which survived into adulthood.  One of their sons, Samuel Myers, was the father of the Moses Myers who is buried at Elmwood on the Myers Family Lot along with:  2 infants, d. 1847 & 1924; Mary, d. 1847; Barton, d. 1927; Kate, d.1940; Francis, d. 1974; Robert, d. 1962; Katharine, d. 1964; Barton, d. 1960; William, d. 1891; Georgia, 1901; Julia, d. 1864; Adeline, d. 1873; Caroline d. 1865; Judith, d. 1880; Julia, d. 1885 and Carolina, d. 1895.

*http://www.chrysler.org/Myers_house.asp

Biographical information provided by Norfolk Bureau of Cemeteries.

Visitor Information

Visitor Hours: Sunrise to Sunset

Office hours: Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

Free parking inside cemetery.

Admission Cost: Free

Address: 238 E. Princess Anne Road , Norfolk, VA 23510

Official web site for more information: www.norfolk.gov/cemeteries

Norfolk Society for Cemetery Conservation Web Site: www.norfolksocietyforcemeteryconservation.org