History Department

	RESOURCES History of Temple B'nai Israel Burials in Canton Jewish Cemetery

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The first record of a Jewish presence in Canton was Joseph Perlinsky, a Polish immigrant who first settled in New York. His mother told him of an unknown cousin from Jackson, and after earning enough money as a tailor’s apprentice, he made the journey to Mississippi.  He later moved from Jackson to Canton and developed a men’s clothing store in the 1850’s.  Perlinsky wrote to his relatives in Poland, telling them of his success and encouraging them to join him.  This store, which sprung from the sewing kit brought from Poland, was taken over by Perlinsky’s sons and son-in-law.  When Joseph’s son Isadore retired in the 1950’s, Abie Levy took over by managing and co-owning the business for the next twenty-six years.

Similar to Perlinsky, the Hesdorffer brothers arrived in Canton after their original plans to settle in Jackson.  Their plans were disrupted, however, when a malaria epidemic hit Jackson.  Upon arrival in Canton they opened a grocery store which was referred to locally as “the hollow” in 1905.   This grocery store grew to be a staple of the community, and was successful because of its close proximity to the railroad.  In addition to his contributions to the commercial economy of Canton, Eugene Hesdorffer also played a vital philanthropic role.  Even his wife, Henrietta Goodman, did not know about his distribution to the needy until thankful beneficiaries approached her after her husband’s death.

Other early Jewish settlers include Jacob Loeb, a native of Reichstoffer, France.  One report claims that Loeb came to Mississippi to visit his sister Sophie, but due to a Civil War blockade around New Orleans his journey was rerouted to Mexico.  A contradictory report suggests that Loeb was sent on a secret mission to secure funding for the confederacy in Mexico, but when peace was declared, he was left without the means to return to the South.  Either way, Jacob Loeb spent the Civil War years in Mexico, and it was not until after the Civil War that he was able to become a peddler and make his way to Canton.  After he arrived, he married Mary Gross, who had nine children, and became an active participant in the Jewish community.  When congregation B’nai Israel was formed in 1879, Jacob Loeb served as the first president. 

The Jews of Canton enjoyed particularly amicable relations with their Christian neighbors.  Though some people viewed the Jewish community as different, most Canton Jews faced little overt anti-Semitism.  Relations between Jews and gentiles were usually warm.  Fanethel Wales played the pump organ and a minister’s wife sung Hebrew incantations during services at B’nai Israel.

Much of the history of Jews in Canton is reflected in their cemetery, which dates back to at least 1874.  This cemetery bears evidence of Jewish life in Canton even before Temple B’nai Israel was built, and displays graves showing birthplaces from all over Europe including Rehinbellen, Germany, Krotochin, Prussia, and Seibersbauh, Pheinprussien.  Increasingly throughout the twentieth century, children in the Canton community chose to forego the store owning careers of their fathers for professional careers elsewhere.  Before his death in 1974, Isidore Perlinsky deeded the Jewish Cemetery to the City of Canton, exchanging a $4,000 payment for permanent care of the cemetery.  The Canton congregation finally dwindled to zero when Alvin William Levy passed away July 20, 1999.  Levy was a World War II veteran, general manager of Levy’s department Store, and lifelong resident of Canton, Mississippi.

In 2006, only one Jewish family remained in Canton, yet it has had a significant impact on the community.  Jo Anne Gordon has served as head of the Canton Tourism Bureau for many years, and has been instrumental in building local museums and developing the extremely popular Canton Flea Market.