Levin 's precise connection to his purported family in Charleston and Columbia , South Carolina is unclear . It has been claimed that the family records in Charleston were destroyed during an earthquake and fire in 1886 . According to published family trees , Levin had a father , a brother , and two nephews also named Lewis C. Levin . However , these trees , and the published records of Jewish families listing the Levins , do not include the Lewis C. Levin who is the subject of this article — or , indeed , any member of the family born in or around 1808 . One might speculate that Levin was a " natural " or illegitimate child and/or adoptee . According to some sources he was called Charles Lewis Levin when he taught school in Woodville , Mississippi in the late 1820s . If this is the case , it would appear he transposed his forenames after his presumptive elder brother , Lewis C. Levin , Jr. , died in 1829 . ( Lewis C. Levin , Sr. had died in 1817 . ) After leaving Congress in 1851 , Levin continued to campaign for the Native American or Know-Nothing movement , as it became known . He attempted to campaign for U.S. Senator , which prior to the 17th Amendment was a seat elected by the state legislature rather than by popular vote . Levin was accused of bribing members of the Pennsylvania Assembly and was subpoenaed by a state investigation in February 1855 . The findings were inconclusive , but Levin never again held office
earthquake and fire in 1886
1886 Charleston earthquake
Lewis Charles Levin