David Levy Yulee
American senator
Died when: 76 years 120 days (915 months)Star Sign: Gemini
David Levy Yulee (born David Levy;June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney.Born on the island of St.
Thomas, then under British control, he was of Sephardic Jewish ancestry: His father was a Sephardi from Morocco, and his mother, also of Sephardi descent, was born in Sint Eustatius and raised in St.
Thomas.The family moved to Florida when he was a child, and he grew up there on their extensive lands.
He later served as Florida's territorial delegate to Congress.Yulee was the first person of Jewish ancestry to be elected and serve as a United States senator, serving 1845–1851 and again 1855–1861.
He founded the Florida Railroad Company and served as president of several other companies, earning the nickname of "Father of Florida Railroads." In 2000 he was recognized as a "Great Floridian" by the state.
Levy added Yulee, the name of one of his Moroccan ancestors, to his name soon after his 1846 marriage to Nancy Christian Wickliffe, daughter of ex-Governor Charles A.
Wickliffe of Kentucky.Though Yulee converted to Christianity (Episcopalian) and raised their children as Christian, he encountered antisemitism throughout his career.
Yulee was in favor of slavery and the secession of Florida.After the Civil War, he was imprisoned at Fort Pulaski for nine months for having aided the escape of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
After being pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, he returned to his Florida railroad interests and other business ventures.
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