Nathan’s Income Tax form for 1928.

Nathan Halliday Friedman was one of Abraham’s sons. He was born in 1890 in Brooklyn, New York, and he married Sadie Stone on May 28, 1912. They had two children; Robert Simon Friedman, born in 1915 and Ruth F. Friedman, born in 1920. Nathan moved to Taunton, Massachusetts where he worked as a treasurer and manager at Harodite Finishing Company.

This is ribbon from the Civil War Reunion.

Abraham and Rachel.

Abraham was one of Aaron’s twelve children. He was born in 1843 in Trier-on-Moselle, Germany. He was married to Rachel Isaacs.

It is unknown exactly what his profession was but there are many business documents relating to him in the collection. He was also in the Civil War.

Civil War Reunion photograph. Abraham is circled in the photo.

Business letter written to Abraham. (In Yiddish)

Aaron Tzevi Friedman was born in Stavisk, Poland on March 22, 1822. When he was seventeen he became the shochet (a licensed and trained ritual slaughterer) for the city of Stavisk. He later moved to Bernkastel-on-the-Moselle in Germany where in 1844, he became a rabbi and the shochet for the city.  He married Rebecca Lieberman of Frankfort. In 1848, he moved to New York where he was chosen as shochet of one of the largest abattoirs (slaughterhouse) in the city. In response to attacks made against the practice of shechita, Friedman wrote a defense of shechita entitled “Tuv Ta’am” in 1874. He became known as the “Ba’al Shem” of America because of his strict Orthodoxy.  He remained a shochet of New York City until his death on May 17, 1876.

Aaron’s wife Rebecca.

The collection mostly focuses on three members of the family. Aaron, Abraham, and Nathan Friedman. Aaron was a prominent shochet (licensed and trained ritual slaughterer) and rabbi of New York City. Abraham was one of his sons and Nathan is a grandson to Aaron.

Aaron Friedman (1822-1876)

Abraham Friedman (1843-?)

Nathan Friedman (1890-?)

Example of Mailer

Example of Exhibit Invitation

Example of Exhibition Guide

Example of Schedule of Events Program

Overview of Exhibition Sections for Docents

We’re pleased to offer you a complimentary day pass to the American Jewish Historical Society, New England Archives and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. There are many more stories to share and we look forward to seeing you at our 99-101 Newbury Street location.

To receive a day pass, or to have someone contact you about donating your family papers or business records, please fill out the form below (fields marked with a * are mandatory.)

December 2nd, from 8AM-7PM: AJHS will be at LimmudBoston! Come by and see our exhibition table and learn more about our archive. For more information or to buy tickets for LimmudBoston, visit their website at http://www.LimmudBoston.org.

December 5th and 19th from 6-8PM: Wednesday Night Jewish Genealogy with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. If you’re new to genealogy or just hitting a brick wall with your research, these genealogists can answer your questions and help identify resources. Sessions are free but you must RSVP by 3PM on December 4th or 18th. Call 617-226-1245 or email judi.garner@ajhsboston.org to reserve a spot.

November 2012

November 14th from 6-8PM: Wednesday Night Jewish Genealogy with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. If you’re new to genealogy or just hitting a brick wall with your research, these genealogists can answer your questions and help identify resources. Sessions are free but you must RSVP by 3PM on November 13th. Call 617-226-1245 or email judi.garner@ajhsboston.org to reserve a spot.

October 2012

October 3rd and 17th from 6-8PM: Wednesday Night Jewish Genealogy with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. If you’re new to genealogy or just hitting a brick wall with your research, these genealogists can answer your questions and help identify resources. Sessions are free but you must RSVP by 3PM on October 2nd or 16th. Call 617-226-1245 or email judi.garner@ajhsboston.org to reserve a spot.

October 30th at 7:30PM: Join us for a joyful evening of theatre, music and storytelling, as performers and local personalities (including actress Annette Miller, WCVB’s Ted Reinstein, Tufts University professor Barbara Grossman and Boston City Councillor Mike Ross) share the stories of Boston’s early Jewish pioneers in New Center LIVE!: The Promised Land. When Jews first arrived in Boston in the 17th century, Boston, with its Puritan heritage, was an inhospitable place. By the late 1800’s when they began to settle in large numbers, Jews found a city with few Jewish institutions or resources to help. Discover the stories of these early immigrants who overcame great adversity and planted the seeds for today’s Boston Jewish community. One of those pioneers was a precocious young woman named Mary Antin, who, in 1912 wrote a national bestseller, The Promised Land, which became the country’s most famous immigrant autobiography and a symbol of Jewish struggles and achievements. Note: This event will be held at the Arsenal Center for the Arts: Charles Mosesian Theater, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown. Admission is $45 for Patron or $28 for Regular. For more information call 617-531-4610 or visit http://www.newcenterboston.org

September 2012

Wednesday Night Genealogy Dates

New sessions of Wednesday Night Jewish Genealogy with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston have been scheduled. Mark your calendars for September 19th, October 3rd, October 17th, November 14th, December 5th, December 19th, from 6-8 PM. Genealogists will be available at our 5th floor reference desk to help those who are just starting out to those who have hit a “brick wall” in their research. Sessions are free to attend but you must RSVP in advance by calling 617-226-1245 to reserve a space.

September 19th from 6-8PM: Wednesday Night Jewish Genealogy with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. If you’re new to genealogy or just hitting a brick wall with your research, these genealogists can answer your questions and help identify resources. Sessions are free but you must RSVP by 3PM on September 18th. Call 617-226-1245 or email judi.garner@ajhsboston.org to reserve a spot.

New AJHS, New England Archives Exhibit

“Lest These Things Depart Your Heart: Stories of the Shoah and World War II from the Boston Jewish Community” is now on exhibit in the 2nd floor Education Center at 99-101 Newbury Street. Please call 617-226-1245 if interested in viewing the exhibit.

September 12th from 6-8 PM: Author Michael Hoberman will discuss his book New Israel /New England: Jews and Puritans in Early America, which examines the history of colonial New England through the lens of its first settlers. The New England Puritans’ fascination with the legacy of the Jewish religion has been well documented, but their interactions with actual Jews have escaped sustained historical attention. New Israel/New England tells the story of the Sephardic merchants in Boston and Newport between the mid-seventeenth century and the American Revolution. It also explores the complex and often contradictory meanings that the Puritans attached to Judaism and the fraught attitudes that they bore toward the Jews as a people. For more information, visit our homepage or http://www.americanancestors.org/Event.aspx?id=27191&dt=9/12/2012.

Sunday, September 9, 2012, 11:00 am & 1:30 pm: The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston presents their 2012-2013 season with “Ancestry.com and Jewish Records,” presented by Crista Cowan of Ancestry.com. Cowan will present three sessions on Ancestry.com and its Jewish Records. Ancestry.com is a leading resource for online family history research and a valuable tool in any Jewish genealogist’s toolbox. The one-day conference will be held at Gann Academy in Waltham, MA. For more information, visit their website at www.jgsgb.org.

August 2012

Notice from Justin L. Wyner, Chairman of the Board of Overseers, on the passing of Efrem Weinreb, former AJHS Trustee

It is my sad duty to report the passing on August 23rd of long-time AJHS trustee and good friend Efrem Weinreb, age 91.

Efrem Weinreb was a trustee of the AJHS for more than 30 years, joining the board while we were still located on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. He had a particular passion for the unique history of Boston Jewry. Efrem believed that AJHS served two important roles: documenting American Jewish life, and perhaps more importantly telling the story of the American Jewish experience through publications, exhibitions and programs. Several years ago, Kelly funded a lecture series at AJHS, New England Archives in Efrem’s honor.

Efrem was an energetic advocate for AJHS, encouraging his broad network of friends and family to support the Society and attend its events and exhibitions. He always had a smile on his face and a kind word for everyone. He brought energy and enthusiasm to everything he undertook in business, communal service and family life. He was a true mensch, and we will miss him.

In Efrem’s obituary in the Boston Globe, his wife, Kelly Schein Weinreb, asked that gifts in his memory be made to AJHS, New England Archives.

July 2012

Wednesday Night Jewish Genealogy session on July 25th from 6-8 PM. See homepage for more details. To RSVP, call 617-226-1245.

March 2012

Sunday, March 4th: “An American Journey,” an original musical theater production, will be presented by Revels Repertory Company at 3:00 p.m. at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown in partnership with the New England Historical Genealogical Society. Set in 1907, the height of immigration from Europe to Boston, the show tells the story of Irish, Italians, and Eastern European Jews who sailed from Liverpool, England to Ellis Island and on to Boston. Over the course of the journey, the show imagines that these groups shared their songs, stories, and dances and began to recognize the common opportunities and challenges they would find in America.

The Jewish families in the show come from Ukraine. The show includes traditional Yiddish music including the famous “Kaddish” of Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, “Borsht,” and “Oyfn Pripetchik.” A Klezmer band will be led by clarinetist Glenn Dickson, leader of the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra.

Tickets are $20 for adults/$12 for students under 12. Discounts are available to groups of 10 or more. Tickets: http://www.revels.org/revels-repertory-co/arsenal-performance/.

National Center for Jewish Film programs for February and March. Films will be presented at the Museum of Fine Arts and Emerson College (see flyer for details.)

February 2012

February 22, 2012: Lecture at New Center Live! about the changing landscape of American Jewry as in a post-Holocaust and post-survivor world.

New play about the 1936 “Nazi Olympics” will be performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts the weekend of February 11th. Please see the flyer for information and ticket sales.

January 2012

Announcement from Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston and Hebrew College

There are still some spaces available for the 8-week course “Foundations of Jewish Genealogical Research,” at Hebrew College, taught by experienced researchers from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston.

Mondays 7–9 pm, starting January 30, 2012.

The award-winning “Foundations of Jewish Genealogical Research” is an intensive 8-session course that provides serious adult students with the tools to research their Jewish family origins. It offers a comprehensive introduction to Jewish genealogy including methodology, relevant world history, geography and world-wide resources, taught by experienced researchers from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. There will be individual help time for all students and a hands-on introduction to Internet research for beginners. Lectures will be recorded and available on the course website for those who miss a class and as a resource for all students.
The course meets on 8 Monday evenings from 7 to 9 PM, beginning on January 30, 2012, and excluding February 20th. Students must have basic computer skills.

Tuition is $250 payable to Hebrew College. Enroll at http://www.hebrewcollege.edu/events. For more information, go to http://www.course.jgsgb.org or contact course@jgsgb.org

The course will cover:

• Getting Started on Family History Research: Basic Steps, Strategy, and Skills
• Technical Tools and Online Resources for Genealogy
• History of Jewish Migration, the Diaspora, and Changing National Borders
• Identifying Your Immigrant Ancestors: Methods and Resources for Researching
• Family Members in the U.S.
• Finding Your Ancestors in European Records and Learning about Their Lives
• Identifying Holocaust Victims and Survivors
• Finding Family Members Living in Israel
• Social Media for the Jewish Genealogist
• Using Your Research: Making Connections and Sharing Your Findings

course.jgsgb.org
866-611-5698

“From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America” will be at the Langroise Center at the College of Idaho through March 16th, 2012.

September 2011

Thursday, September 29-Friday, September 30: AJHS closed for Rosh Hashana.

Sunday, September 25: “Remarkable Jewish Women of Boston’s West End” Walking Tour, from 1-3 PM. Click here for more information.

Sunday, September 11: “Nathan the Wise” fully restored 1922 silent film at Coolidge Corner Theater. For more information, visit their website: http://www.coolidge.org/content/nathan-wise-nathan-der-weise

September 7th and 21st, 6-8PM: Genealogists from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston will be on hand to answer your questions or get you started on researching your own family tree. For more information, contact us at 617-226-1245.

August 2011

August 10th and 24th, 6-8PM: Genealogists from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston will be on hand to answer your questions or get you started on researching your own family tree. For more information, contact us at 617-226-1245.

July 2011

July 13th and 27th, 6-8PM: Genealogists from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston will be on hand to answer your questions or get you started on researching your own family tree. For more information, contact us at 617-226-1245.

June 2011

COMING SOON! The New England Archives of AJHS and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston are teaming up to provide Jewish genealogical research assistance on Wednesday nights, starting July 13th. Stay tuned for more information as we continue to work on this exciting development!

Aging with Dignity Senior Tea

Dr. Michael Feldberg will be speaking at Temple Emanuel on Monday, June 6th from 2-3:30 PM on preserving family photographs, documents and artifacts for future generations. See their flier for more information.

May 2011

In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, The New England Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society will present a lecture, “Among Mishpocha: At Home in the Boston Jewish Community” by Dr. Michael Feldberg on Wednesday May 25, 2011 at 6 PM in the Education Center of the New England Historic Genealogical Society,  99 Newbury Street, Boston.

Dr. Feldberg, an historian and former executive director of the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), is currently executive director of the George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom. He will speak about Jewish genealogy in its historical context by highlighting some of the Boston Jewish family collections currently on exhibit at the New England Archives of AJHS. He will also offer an overview of some of the institutional and organizational records at AJHS that contain materials of interest to genealogists.

To register: The lecture is free of charge and open to the public. Space is limited. Please RSVP to Judi Garner at (617)226-1245 or judi.garner@ajhsboston.org.

April 2011

The New England Archives of AJHS will be closed on Monday, April 18th for Patriot’s Day (aka Marathon Monday) and Tuesday, April 19th in observance of Passover.

AJHS is pleased to announce our first exhibit in our new space at the New England Historic Genealogical Society! “Among Mishpocha: At Home with Boston’s Jewish Families” is on display from April 4-June 30, 2011, in the Education Center on the 2nd floor. Hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9AM-5PM and Wednesday from 9AM-9PM. The exhibit features photographs and artifacts from many of our family collections. We hope you stop by to see it!

We processed an addendum to the Leo Levine Papers (P-646 and P-646A), which is now available for researchers. Leo Levine was a journalist who escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe days before his hometown of Riga, Latvia, was invaded. His wife, Sylvia, immigrated from Russia in 1913 with her family to escape the pograms. The addendum includes memoirs and writings from Sylvia Levine and their daughter, Helena Levine Ryan, as well as family photographs.

March 2011

We just processed the papers of Herbert Gorfinkle (P-904). Gorfinkle was the son of Col. Bernard Gorfinkle (P-664) and served in World War II under General Eisenhower.

A Celebration of the Oral History Project of Documenting Maine Jewry: Click here for more information.

Wellesley College Event: Lecture by Sheila Isenberg, author of Muriel’s War: An American Heiress. Click here for more information.

New Database for Researchers: Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts.

The National Center for Jewish Film’s 14th Annual Film Festival takes place March 2-March 14. AJHS is supporting the film “Jewish Soldiers in Blue and Gray” on March 3rd.  Buy your tickets today!

Our new plaque has been put up! Check it out.

February 2011

Wondering how to preserve those family papers? AJHS can help. Read Michael Feldberg’s article in the Jewish Advocate, here.

A recent article from the Jewish Advocate about our move to the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).

An article in Heritage about our move to Boston’s New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS.)

October 2010

You can view video from our opening reception, held on October 12, 2010 at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, here.

Levin’s 1887 naturalization certificate is stamped both front and back, marking its use for elections and as a passport.

His wife, Annie (Stark) Levin and their first child, Etta (born in 1880 or 1881) joined him in 1883. Once in the United States, the Levins had four other children- Bernard, Eva, Lillian and Agnus- between August 1883 and October 1889, born either in their first place of residence in New Jersey or in Boston. Once settled in Boston, Levin worked mainly as a salesman and manufacturer.

He donated to Jewish charitable organizations, including the Benoth Israel Sheltering Home and the Boston Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews and Orphanage, of which he was an Associate Member at least between 1890 and 1891. His eldest daughter Etta married Morris Morrison, making Robert, Ralph and Sidney Morrison his grandsons. He died in 1921.

Many of the details of his early life are contained in Morrison’s first autobiography, Shtetl Tintypes, compiled by his son Sidney. The cover page is shown here, where Morrison declared his intention to preserve the memories of shtetl life for the new generations of American Jews.

Morrison immigrated to the United States around 1889. Upon arrival, he changed his name from Moshe to Morris Lenn Morrison, modeled on his Hebrew name of Moshe ben Moshe (Moshe son of Moshe) with his mother’s maiden name as his middle name. This combination of Old and New World was typical of Morrison. A classically trained Eastern European yeshiva student beginning with cheder at age four, he easily navigated and referenced typical Judaic texts like Torah, Talmud, Pirkei Avot (Ethics/Chapters of the Fathers) and Rambam (Maimonides) throughout his life, while also investing himself in the American Jewish community and working in his own insurance firm.

Morrison was a charitable man, donating to multiple organizations throughout his life, both in Boston and across the country. These 1935 and 1938 letters to Morrison speak about the good works of the Los Angeles Sanatorium (now City of Hope National Medical Center) and thank Mr. Morrison for his donation.

Morrison was an avid record keeper, compiling two separate, extremely detailed memoirs. The first Shtetl Tintypes (seen above) dealt with his early life in Russian Poland until his move to America. The second contains a detailed account of his political doings in Boston as recorded and edited by his sons Robert and Sidney. He also kept a book of clippings from many Boston area newspapers, both English and Yiddish. His topic of interest was apparently the political life in Boston, particularly when it pertained to the Jews of Boston. In May of 1910, there are multiple pages devoted to his own appointment by Mayor John Fitzgerald as public assessor of the City of Boston.

Morrison was not merely an appointee and collector of political news. In

Morrison was a Democratic nominee for the position of Representative in General Court for the 21st Suffolk District on this 1910 ballot which he preserved between the pages of his political scrapbook.

1903, he became one of thirty delegates for Ward Eight of Boston to the Democratic county convention, earning 1,261 votes. In 1906, he ran again and became the sixth of eleven delegates, with 1,904 votes. By the 1910 election, he sought to become a Democratic representative in the General Court for the 21^st district of Boston. He lost the position to James T. Kenney by 96 votes, but continued to keep track of Boston’s political life and especially any political appointments of area Jews.

He moved to Florida and remained involved with the Jewish community there before returning to live with his wife, Etta, in Brookline.  She died in 1948, and Morris followed slightly over a year later. His children remembered him as a constantly giving, uncomplaining and invested member of their family and community.

Ralph was a shochet accredited by Rabbi B. Boruchoff of Malden, and worked for

Morrison’s certificate of skill in shchita, kosher slaughter, bears the stamp of Rabbi Boruchoff and was issued in .

Sturtevant + Haley, a subsidiary of the meat-packing giant Swift and Co.

He corresponded with rabbis from various Jewish communities, both in and out of Massachusetts.

This 1917 letter from Rabbi Mordechai Klatchko of Boston, also known by his name as a biblical commentator, Tcheilet Mordechai.