When young Louis Merz arrived in Philadelphia, he quickly found his way to the residence of cousin Sam Cohen, a fellow Jewish emigrant from Bavaria. Cohen introduced his kinsman to another boarder in the house, Heyman Heyman from Prussia. These three young men were part of a tight-knit band of Jewish immigrants who had come to America’s “City of Brotherly Love” to escape antisemitism in Europe and pursue the American dream. After a year of working in the city’s mercantile trade, Heyman and Merz headed south, eventually opening a dry goods store in West Point, Georgia, in 1854.
Over the years, friends and relatives followed and became an integral part of West Point’s business community and social life. Several of these families- Heyman, Merz, Hagedorn, and others- lived in “Bluffton”, the Alabama heights overlooking the growing city of West Point. By 1859, they had established a Jewish congregation and held religious services in each other’s homes until a temple was constructed in 1909 in “Grandma Heyman’s (former) garden”.
Their stories are the focus of the quarterly program of the Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society on Sunday, April 28, at 3:00 pm EDT. History educators Malinda and Charles Powers will serve as presenters. While the former specializes in American and Alabama history, Charles is a university instructor with a concentration in European and American history. Mr. Powers will highlight the plight of the 19th-century Jews living in Prussia and Bavaria, lands which would later become part of the nation of Germany. In addition, he will examine their emigration to U.S. cities such as Philadelphia. A power-point presentation will include a variety of old photographs.
In 1959, the centennial anniversary of the founding of Temple Beth-eL, Miss Fannie Herzberg presented a paper she had written on its history and pioneer members to our historical society. Miss Herzberg, a resident of West Point, was a granddaughter of Heyman (later “Herman”) and Betty Heyman. At the close of her presentation, she stunned the crowd with her donation of the Confederate diary of her great uncle, Louis Merz. This diary was transcribed, and both Miss Herzberg’s address and the contents of Merz’s diary were published as CVHS Bulletin #4 later that year. The diary was then placed in a security vault for safe-keeping.
For the first time in 60 years, this diary will be on public display at our upcoming quarterly meeting. What a unique opportunity for those interested in local or Civil War history to view this important artifact! The program will be held at the H. Grady Bradshaw Library in Valley, Alabama, and is open to the public. For directions, please check our website at www.cvhistoricalsociety.org.
