National Council on Public History

"The Judah Will" presents a transcription of the 1827 will of Isaac H. Judah, an early resident of Richmond, Virginia, and the first reader of that city's Congregation Beth Shalome. Additionally this digital project offers extensive annotation of the will, including a family tree, a property map, biographies of those mentioned therein, information about the enslaved people mentioned in the will, and text analysis of the document itself. The project also features sections providing historical context on broader subjects including African Americans, women, and Judaism as related to the will, to further open this notable historical document. The project offers a useful window into an important Jewish community in the antebellum South, and it suggests a model for historical annotation.