Felix Moses, Born January 1st, 1827

Grave of Felix Moses
"A Confederate Soldier and A True Friend"
United Jewish Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Felix Moses was a Jewish immigrant from Europe who came to Boone County, Kentucky in the 1850s.

Moses was 44 years old when the Civil War began; he was a peddler in Kentucky, dealing mainly in furs and hides.

Felix Moses "Old Mose"

Born January 1st, 1827-Died March 28, 1886

Peddler in Northern Kentucky - resident of Florence, Kentucky

Served with Captain John Hunt Morgan's Raiders

Believed to have been murdered; body found in the Ohio River near Rising Sun, Indiana

Felix Moses was the hero in the book “Felix Moses the Beloved Jew,” written by John Uri Lloyd, a native of Boone County. "Mose", as he was known to young and old alike, was a peddler, dealing in produce, furs, hides, trading for whatever the farmer had to offer. From a pack peddler, Mose became the owner of a horse and a covered spring wagon, carrying a full line of household wares, yard goods and tools. Mose was a frequent visitor at the religious services of the gentiles and contributed financially to the various country churches throughout Northern Kentucky. 

During the Civil War Felix Moses served on the side of the Confederacy with Gen. John Hunt Morgan, a native of Lexington.

At the time of his death Moses was returning by packet boat from a business trip to Louisville. The Cincinnati Enquirer published an item which said that the body of a man had been washed ashore and found among the willows of the Ohio River at North Landing, below Rising Sun, Indiana. Citizens of Florence identified the body as that of their friend, Felix Moses. The Boone County Recorder, in an item printed March 31, 1886, said that John Cox and John Henderson were on the packet boat and had gotten off at Belleview, leaving Moses on the boat. The newspaper item said that the body bore marks of violence, and the belief was that Moses had been killed and robbed. Moses was known to carry a large unmounted diamonds, which he brought with him from Europe.

The body was delivered to Mr. S. March of Cincinnati, for burial in the Jewish Cemetery on Walnut Hills, with the Jewish burial service. This was done after Mr. March advised the Masonic Lodge where Moses had been a member that it was the desire of Felix Moses to be buried in a Jewish cemetery, with a Jewish service.

The historian of Good Faith Lodge 95, the late Henry F. Childress, wrote that “sometime after his burial a monument was erected to his memory; and at a later date, dignitaries from the North and the South as well as Christian and Jew, paid tribute to his memory (and may we add he richly deserved it).”