Judah P. Benjamin

Birth Name: Judah Philip Benjamin

Date of Birth: 11 August, 1811

Place of Birth: Christiansted, Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands)

Date of Death: 6 May, 1884

Place of Death: Paris, France

Ethnicity: Sephardi Jewish

Judah P. Benjamin was an American lawyer and politician. As a member of the Whig and then the Democratic parties, he was a U.S. Senator from Louisiana, from March 4, 1853 to February 4, 1861. Later, he was the Confederate States Attorney General, from February 25, 1861 to November 15, 1861, the Confederate States Secretary of War, from September 17, 1861 to March 24, 1862, and the Confederate States Secretary of State, from March 18, 1862 to May 10, 1865.

Judah was born on St. Croix, Danish West Indies, now in the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. Croix was then occupied by the British, while the Napoleonic Wars were ongoing. He was the son of Rebecca (de Mendes) and Philip Benjamin, who were shopkeepers. His family was Sephardi Jewish. They moved to the U.S. in the mid 1810s, settling in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and then Charleston, South Carolina.

Judah was said to be a second cousin of politician and attorney David Levy Yulee.

Judah was married to Natalie Bauché de St. Martin, until his death, with whom he had one child.

Judah’s paternal grandfather was Judah Benjamin (the son of Philip Benjamin and Hannah De Leon). Hannah was born on Sint Eustatius, a small island in the Caribbean owned by the Dutch.

Judah’s paternal grandmother was named Hannah.

Judah’s maternal grandfather was named Solomon Mendes.

Judah’s maternal grandmother was named Eva Levy (the daughter of Eleazer Levy).

Source: Genealogy of Judah P. Benjamin – https://www.geni.com