Simonhoff Family

A native of Lithuania, the “Reverend” Jacob J. Simonhoff (1862–1950) was an authority on Jewish religious music and composed a variety of liturgical music. He immigrated to the United States in 1893 and served as the first cantor of Ahavas Achim Synagogue in Atlanta, Georgia. He was hired as cantor of Brith Sholom in Charleston in 1901 and remained in the position until moving to New York in 1922, where he served Congregation Talmud Torah Moses.

During the years he led Brith Sholom, Jacob lived in the house next door to the synagogue with his wife, Jenny, their daughters, Etta, Rose, and Fannie, and sons, Harry and Samuel. Etta and Rose were employed as stenographers/bookkeepers and Fannie taught at the Shaw School for African-American students. Harry (1890–1966), who clerked for King Street clothiers before earning his law degree, practiced law in Charleston and served as a South Carolina state legislator in the early 1920s. He published many articles and books on Jewish history; his works include Under Strange Skies (1953), The Chosen One (1964), Saga of American Jewry, 1865-1914 (1959), and Tolerance in Carolina in 1697 (1966). His last work, And Abram Journeyed (1967), was published after his death. Younger brother Samuel followed in Harry’s footsteps and became a lawyer also. In 1925, the brothers moved to Miami, Florida, where Samuel’s fiancée, Lillian Cohen, and her family lived, and established their law practice Simonhoff & Simonhoff.

The College of Charleston’s Simons Center for the Arts and The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts now occupy the site of Brith Sholom and its rabbi’s residence. See Discovering Our Past for more information on 40–70 St. Philip Street.

Jacob Simonhoff, younger

Simonhoff family

Jacob Simonhoff, older