Eldridge Street Synagogue (New York, N.Y.)

Minute-books, records, ledgers, and miscellaneous material relating to activities of the Congregation, 1873(?)-1933.

Contains research and original documents compiled by Milton M. Gottesman for his book "Hoopskirts and Huppas: A Chronicle of the Early Years of the Garfunkel-Trager Family in America, 1836-1920." Original documents are numbered to correspond with chapter notes. These primarily consist of correspondence between Garfunkel and Trager family members. Letters written by Louis Trager and Mark Moses are also available; as well letters between Aaron Garfunkel and his grandfather Abraham Isaac. Aaron Garfunkel pocket diaries from 1892-1940 form the second half of the collection. Research documents on Louis Trager's Civil War career include official records of the Union and Confederate Army, copies of correspondence concerning his appointment as U.S. Consul, and a copy of a recommendation letter from U.S. Grant Major General to Major General H.W. Halleck. Further research pertains to copies of Garfunkel family birth registers from Rzeskow, marriage and anniversy notices (Moses and Mashe Hennie Garfunkel; Aaron and Sarah Garfunkel; Ray and Nathan Adler), obituary clippings and articles (Abraham Isaac Trager, Moses Garfunkel, B.M. Garfunkel, Max Lubetkin, Aaron Garfunkel, and extended Garfunkel members), death certificates (Max and Rachel Lubetkin), copies of Moses Garfunkel's 1870 census records, a copy of a deed of slave to Abraham Isaac Trager, and a memoir written by Esther Garfunkel Gottesman. The Garfunkel-Trager hoopskirt business is documented through newsclipping of advertisements, a partnership contract for a new hoopskirt business in New York City, and advertisements and catalogs for the Broadway Bargain House. Information is also available regarding the founding of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol (New York, NY), Eldgridge Street Synagogue (New York, NY), and Congregation Tree of Life (Columbia, SC) as well as Montefiore Hospital (New York, NY).