Mendes Israel Cohen (1796-1879). Stock certificate for 50 shares of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-Road Company.

Cohen was one of the so-called Old Defenders of Baltimore, serving as a private in the Baltimore Fencibles, Captain Joseph H. Nicholson’s U.S. Volunteer artillery company during the War of 1812. Cohen also played an important role in achieving passage of the 1825 Jew Bill by the Maryland Legislature, allowing Jewish American citizens of Maryland to hold office. See The Baltimore Sun, May 8, 1879, p. 4.