Jacob Josephson, who had converted from Judaism to Christianity and was a teacher of Christianity to Hebrews for the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, was sentenced to 14 years transportation for stealing the communion plate from a church. He arrived in Sydney in 1818 aboard the Neptune. He was described as being 5 feet 4 inches tall, with a dark ruddy complexion, black hair and dark eyes.
Josephson received a conditional pardon on 30 June 1820 and opened a jewellery and silver shop in the city. In 1827 he was imprisoned for bankruptcy. By 1828 he had become an innkeeper. He became a prominent member of the Methodist Church.
*information from John S. Levi, These Are the Names: Jewish Lives in Australia 1788-1850 (2013), pp 405-07
'Josephson, Jacob (1773–1845)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/josephson-jacob-29413/text36416, accessed 4 December 2024.
21 April,
1773
Breslau,
Poland
6 December,
1845
(aged 72)
Newtown, Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.