A History of Agudas Achim by Doug Jones - Jewish history began
in Iowa when Alexander Levi settled in Dubuque. - Moses Bloom,
who had left Alsace in 1850, settled in Iowa City and opened a
clothing store. The railroad had just arrived in Iowa City,
promoting the town, briefly, to a major railhead for travelers
going west by the overland route. Over the next year, the
Hesselberger, Rothchild, Hilfman Kaufman and Fleishman families
moved to town. - The United States Hebrew Association of Iowa
City was founded for the purpose of establishing the cemetary
that currently serves congregation - Moses Bloom was elected
mayor of Iowa City; he was the first Jewish mayor of any city in
the United States, and in 1875, he turned down the Democratic
Nomination for Leutenant Governor of Iowa. In 1877, Moses Bloom
was elected to the state senate, where he led the effort to get
a standing appropriation for the State University of Iowa added
to the budget. - Mary Grove Chawner was hired by the University
of Iowa as an instruct