David Levy Yulee

David Levy Yulee, born David Levy (June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney from Florida, a territorial delegate to Congress, the first Jewish member of the United States Senate, and a member of the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War. 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 that year's "Great Floridian" by the state. He was born David Levy in Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas. His father Moses Elias Levy was a Moroccan Sephardi Jew who made his fortune in lumber. His mother was also Sephardi; her ancestors had gone from Spain to the...