History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas Jews have inhabited the city of Galveston, Texas, for almost two centuries. The first known Jewish immigrant to the Galveston area was Jao de la Porta, who, along with his brother Morin, financed the first settlement by Europeans on Galveston Island in 1816. de la Porta was born in Portugal of Jewish parentage and later became a Jewish Texan trader. In 1818, Jean Laffite appointed de la Porta supercargo for the Karankawa Indian trade. When Laffite left Galveston Island in 1820, de la Porta became a full-time trader. In 1852, residents of Galveston
Port of Galveston immigration United States population. The quarantine center was based on the example set by Ellis Island, however, was not as large or efficient as the station in New York. Although known as “The Ellis Island of the West”, Galveston did not have as many immigrants enter the United States through this port as there had been through Ellis Island. At a time, Galveston was one of the largest immigration stations in the west. "Between 1906 and 1914 nearly 50,000 immigrants arrived at Galveston, including Bohemians, Moravians, Galicians, Australians, Romanians, Swiss, English, Poles Italians, Dutch, and some 10,000 Jews." Many immigrants entered