colony very early in the 18th century, and was one of the earliest Jewish settlers in Philadelphia and the first in Lancaster. In 1723, James Logan, secretary of the province, refers to him as an "apostate Jew or fashionable Christian proselyte," who had gone into the interior of the colony to transact some official business. In 1727, Miranda was appointed "agent to receive and collect the perquisites and rights of Admiralty," and on June 19, 1727, he was appointed "deputy judge of the Court of Vice-Admiralty" — the first judicial office held by a Jew in the provinces. He was a large holder of land, and his name is frequently mentioned in the archives of the colony. In 1730 (or 1720), the Indians of Lancaster made a complaint that he had acted unfairly toward them, but no action is recorded in the matter. Lancaster Jews came from the other colonies; some from New York, some even from Georgia, and took up their abode in the province. After Philadelphia, the next city in which they settled was Lancaster. The first Jewish resident was Isaac Miranda (see above), who owned property there before the town and county were organized in 1730. Ten years later, there were several Jewish families in the town; on February 3, 1747, there was recorded a deed to Isaac Nunus Ricus (Henriques) and Joseph Simon, conveying half an acre of land "in trust for the society of Jews settled in and about Lancaster", to be used as a place of burial. Henriques had come from Georgia in 1741. Joseph Simon was perhaps the best-known Jewish merchant in the county, while Dr. Isaac Cohen, one of the first residents of Lancaster, was the earliest Jewish physician in Pennsylvania. Scranton Scranton is the sixth-largest city in the state and the county seat of Lackawanna County. Jews settled there when the city was still called Harrison or Slocum's Hollow, the present name having been given to the city about 1850. The first Jew to hold public office was Joseph Rosenthal, who was Scranton's first, and for a long time its only, policeman. This was in 1860, when the population numbered but 8,500. The first Jewish congregation was organized in 1858, and was reconstituted in 1860 under the name "Anshe Ḥesed." In 1866, the synagogue on Linden street was built, it was the first building reared exclusively as a Jewish place of