ELCAN, MARCUS

ELCAN, MARCUS (c. 1757–1808), early settler of Richmond, Virginia. Elcan probably was born in Germany. He arrived   in Richmond by 1782, when his name appeared as witness to a deed, although he was listed as a member of Philadelphia's Mikveh Israel in the same year. A founder of Beth Shalome Congregation, Elcan was a successful merchant and highly respected citizen; his will provided an endowment of $1,000 to the Richmond Charity School. A man of cultural attainments, he willed his considerable library of almost 200 volumes to Joseph Marx, a friend and one of his executors. Elcan's widow, Phila (c. 1760–1820), is buried in the cemetery of Touro Synagogue, Newport, Rhode Island. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Rosenbloom, Biog Dict, 34. (Saul Viener)