Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Satartia, Mississippi
Overview >> Mississippi >> Satartia
Overview
The village of Satartia was once the busiest Mississippi River port in Yazoo County. As of the 2020 census, however, it had a population of 41 people, fewer than any other incorporated municipality in Mississippi. A small Jewish population seems to have established its own section of the town cemetery in 1845, but the community was short lived and left little evidence of its existence.
Jewish Satartia
Jews in Satartia and the nearby area likely arrived as peddlers and merchants, serving the local population of white landowners and enslaved Black workers. Satartia was then a significant port for shipping cotton from the Mississippi Delta to New Orleans. Of the Jewish families represented in the original local burials—Hirsch, Kohler, Friedlander, Rauh, and Gould—the only known birthplace is that of Abraham Rauh, who came from Altenkundstadt, Bavaria. Frank Hirsch is known to have been a merchant in town, and the Mary Hirsch buried at the site was likely his daughter.
The handful of Jewish graves in Satartia (either confirmed or presumed) almost all date from 1845 to 1850. They are located in the Brazeale Cemetery, named for town founder C. W. Brazeale. The headstones feature commonly Jewish names and face East, in line with Jewish tradition. Some of them also include Hebrew engravings.
Local histories indicate that another Jewish migrant, Abe Kling, arrived from Watertown, New York, in 1850. He peddled by foot for a time before establishing a small store. His brother Monroe later moved to Satartia and joined the business. The Kling store became one of the largest in the area, and the family was remembered for welcoming newcomers, likely other Jewish migrants. In 1880 they met John and Mary Gould at the docks when the couple arrived from England. (John and Mary were presumably relatives of Alfred Gould, buried in the cemetery in 1883). In 1889 Lizzie Kling, the wife of Monroe Kling, bought the part of Brazeale’s land containing the Jewish graves. While the Kling family remained in Satartia for several generations, the purchase of the burial site is the only evidence of ongoing Jewish affiliation. Lizzie Kling does not seem to have come from a Jewish family, and her children appear to have married local non-Jews.
Satartia never grew into a large town, and the Jewish population there soon dwindled. There are several possibilities of why Jews may have left Satartia. One is the frequent incidence of flooding. Specifically, the Kling residence was in a particularly vulnerable position in terms of water damage. The high proportion of children’s graves as well as records of yellow fever outbreaks suggest that the families may have left due to fear of disease. Regardless, the Jewish population of Satartia was short-lived, and the confirmable details of its existence are few and far between.
The handful of Jewish graves in Satartia (either confirmed or presumed) almost all date from 1845 to 1850. They are located in the Brazeale Cemetery, named for town founder C. W. Brazeale. The headstones feature commonly Jewish names and face East, in line with Jewish tradition. Some of them also include Hebrew engravings.
Local histories indicate that another Jewish migrant, Abe Kling, arrived from Watertown, New York, in 1850. He peddled by foot for a time before establishing a small store. His brother Monroe later moved to Satartia and joined the business. The Kling store became one of the largest in the area, and the family was remembered for welcoming newcomers, likely other Jewish migrants. In 1880 they met John and Mary Gould at the docks when the couple arrived from England. (John and Mary were presumably relatives of Alfred Gould, buried in the cemetery in 1883). In 1889 Lizzie Kling, the wife of Monroe Kling, bought the part of Brazeale’s land containing the Jewish graves. While the Kling family remained in Satartia for several generations, the purchase of the burial site is the only evidence of ongoing Jewish affiliation. Lizzie Kling does not seem to have come from a Jewish family, and her children appear to have married local non-Jews.
Satartia never grew into a large town, and the Jewish population there soon dwindled. There are several possibilities of why Jews may have left Satartia. One is the frequent incidence of flooding. Specifically, the Kling residence was in a particularly vulnerable position in terms of water damage. The high proportion of children’s graves as well as records of yellow fever outbreaks suggest that the families may have left due to fear of disease. Regardless, the Jewish population of Satartia was short-lived, and the confirmable details of its existence are few and far between.
Updated April 2022.
Selected Bibliography
Rabbi Richard Birnholz, "Who Were the Jews of Satartia, Mississippi," 26 March, 1981, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati.
Rabbi Richard Birnholz, "Who Were the Jews of Satartia, Mississippi," 26 March, 1981, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati.