Gershom Mott

Gershom Mott (April 7, 1822 – November 29, 1884) was a United States Army officer and a General in the Union Army, a commander in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.

Early life

General Mott was born in Lamberton, New Jersey, a town outside of Trenton. He was the grandson of American Revolutionary War Captain John Mott, who guided General George Washington’s army down the Delaware River to the celebrated victory at the Battle of Trenton. The reliability of this claim has recently come under question. His parents were Gershom and Phebe (or Phoebe) Rose Scudder Mott. Gershom Mott was the youngest of five children. He received his education at the Trenton Academy, which is now the Trenton Public Library (Main Branch). Gershom Mott began to work when he was only fourteen years old as a sales clerk in a dry goods store in New York City. He became a second lieutenant in the 10th U.S. Infantry during the Mexican-American War. On August 8, 1849, Gershom Mott married Elizabeth Smith. They had one child, Kate, who recorded and published the family genealogy in later years. From 1849 to 1861, Mott held a variety of jobs in New Jersey with the Lamberton Port, Bordentown, Delaware & Raritan Canal Co., and the Bordentown Bank.

Gershom

According to the Bible, Gershom (Hebrew: גֵּרְשֹׁם, Modern Gershom, Tiberian Gēršōm ; "a sojourner there"; Latin: Gersam) was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah. The name appears to mean a sojourner there (גר שם ger sham), which the text argues was a reference to Moses' flight from Egypt. Biblical scholars regard the name as being essentially the same as Gershon and it is Gershom rather than Gershon who is sometimes listed by the Book of Chronicles as a founder of one of the principal Levite factions.Textual scholars attribute the description of Gershom to a different source text to the genealogy involving Gershom.

The passage in Exodus concerning Moses and Zipporah reaching an inn contains four of the most ambiguous and awkward sentences in Biblical text. The text appears to suggest that some being, possibly God or an angel, attacks either Gershom or Moses, until a circumcision is carried out by Zipporah on Gershom.

The later Books of Chronicles identify Shebuel as a "son" of Gershom, though this is anachronistic for a literal interpretation of the bible because Shebuel is described as living in the time of King David. The Hebrew word for son can also mean a descendant; for example even remote descendants of King David are in many instances called "Sons of David" in the original Hebrew.

Gershom (disambiguation)

Gershom can refer to any of the following:

See also