Congregation Shearith Israel (New York, N.Y.)

An important figure in the social welfare movement, Menken devoted much of her life to working with women in the penal system. The collection contains publications regarding her social reform work; scrapbooks and travel notebooks; journals; diaries; correspondence and reports relating to her activities with the Society of New York State Women, Jewish Welfare Board, Jewish Protectory and Aid Society (later called Jewish Board of Guardians), New York City Woman's Night Court, Hudson State Training School, New York State Reformatory for Women, Society for Political Study, Daughters of American Revolution, Progressive Party, Mayor's Committee of Women on National Defense, New York, Congregation Shearith Israel, Florence Crittendon League, Committee of Fourteen and the Inwood House.

Contains primarily papers of Benjamin Franklin Peixotto, including: addresses to Constitution Grand Lodge of B'nai B'rith and to YMHA; a letter from Ulysses S. Grant appointing Peixotto as U.S. Consul-General to Romania; correspondence during Peixotto's residency as Consul in Bucharest and Lyons; and the estate papers of Moses Levy Maduro Peixotto.

Contains published and manuscript material relating to the activities and administration of the congregation and its subsidiary organizations, including: reports and weekly bulletins; early financial records and lists of those honored at religious services; and copies of resolutions and forms of service and prayers for various occasions in manuscript form. Contains also material relating to the cemetery photographs, the Hebra Hased Va-Amet (the congregational burial society) and to later clergy in the congregation: Henry Pereira Mendes, David de Sola Pool, and Louis Coleman Gerstein--including published copies of their sermons.

Contains two documents from Congregation Shearith Israel of New York City: a printed Constitution from 1805 and an advertisment for a teacher of Hebrew from 1839.

Collection consists of a draft of a letter from Emanuel Mendes da Costa of London to Richard Hill Waring of Leeswood, Wales; part of the letter in reply, discussing in part their mutual interest in conchology (1776); an invitation requesting Baruch Judah's presence at a meeting of the Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection (Order of Freemasons) of Charleston, signed Joseph da Costa, secretary (1788); and a statement of money received and disbursed for M. da Costa Senior, presumably for the binding of books for Congregation Shearith Israel of New York (1873).

This Collection consists of the papers of the following members of the Gomez family of New York: Lewis Moses (1654/60-1740); Jacob (d. 1722); Daniel (1695-1780); Mordecai (1688-1750); Moses; Aaron Lopez (d. 1860); and Aaron and Hetty Gomez. It also contains also a photograph of the Gomez family coat of arms.

This collection contains correspondence, legal documents, and miscellaneous items concerning the personal lives and business interests of brothers Barnard (1738-1801) and Michael Gratz (1740-1811). It also contains the correspondence of Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869), Michael Gratz's daughter.

Collection consists primarily of legal documents pertaining to the importation of merchandise from England to the Port of New York by various members of the Judah family. Also contains a detailed list of creditors and debtors of an undidentified member of the Judah family, among which appears the names of A.L. Gomez, Uriah Hendricks, and Henry Breevort of New York (1818-1831). Of special interest is a letter written to Samuel B.H. Judah by Aaron Burr regarding the study of law shortly after Judah's release from prison (1823); and a manuscript copy of a sermon belonging to Rev. Isaac H. Judah, generally considered to be the first reader of the Congregation Beth Shalom in Richmond, VA. The collection also contains inventories of the estates of Moses Judah (1822), Jessy (Jessie) Jonas Judah (1818), and her son, Aaron Hart Judah (1836), and letters of administration for and the inventories of the estate of her grandson, Samuel N. Judah (1849).

Sephardic House was established in 1978 as a correction to the often-overlooked contributions of the Sephardic community to American-Jewish culture. The Records of Sephardic House documents the administrative, programming, and publishing activities of Sephardic House since its founding. Such documents include financial records, meeting minutes, correspondence, artist portfolios, press releases, photographs, slides, and much more.

Contains the inventory and papers relating to the estate of Nathan Hart, administered by Benjamin Franklin Salomon. Of special interest in the inventory is the listing of the books he owned, which included several of Jewish interest, and of his burial plot in the Congregation Shearith Israel cemetery on Long Island.

The collection documents the work of Henry Besso and reflects various aspects of his professional life, personal research and writings in the field of Sephardic culture, Spanish language and linguistics, and Sephardic and Spanish history. Collection also documents Besso's involvement with Sephardic organizations and communities. Collection includes audio materials, brochures, booklets, clippings, conference procedures, correspondence, government publications, minutes, notes, photographs, printed matter, reports, speeches, and writings and translations by Henry Besso and others.

Jacques Judah Lyons, hazzan, rabbi and community leader, was born in Surinam and emigrated to Philadelphia in the early 1800s. Minister of the New York Congregation Shearith Israel for 38 years, he gathered extensive materials on early Jewish history in the United States, Canada and the West Indies. His papers include manuscripts, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, notebooks, photographs, and a Sansom ship's log book. Contains material relating to Jews in North and South America generally and more specifically to Congregation Shearith Israel and the Jews in New York, the Touro Synagogue and cemetery and the Jews in Newport, Rhode Island, Philadelphia and the West Indies. Also contains material relating to Jews in the wars of the United States, correspondence of the Jews with George Washington and items relating to Haym Salomon. Collection consists of manuscript material and five notebooks and three scrapbooks of Lyons. Contains material not listed in calendar consisting of sermons by Lyons, a manuscript prayer book used in Surinam and a guide for religious ceremonies at Congregation Shearith Israel, as well as letters written during the Civil War period and correspondence relating to the personal life and career of Lyons.

The Papers of Reverend Abraham Lopes and Mrs. Irma Robles Cardozo contain various materials reflecting the personal and professional lives of Rev. and Mrs. Cardozo, including Rev. Cardozo’s position as Hazzan at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City and Irma Lopes Cardozo’s numerous philanthropic activities. In addition, there are various materials relating to Sephardic communities throughout the world, honors the Cardozos received, and individuals who had an important influence upon them.

Ms. Brandmark conducted research on early Jewish wills in New York City in order to complete the requirements of an undergraduate course conducted by Leo Hershkowitz at Queens College. Her research includes typed worksheets for each will, statistical charts compiling information in various categories, and lists of death records by synagogue name.

The papers of Iyda Hirsh Levitt are composed of two sections: (1) Notes derived from Ms. Hirsh Levitt’s work serving as the secretary for Rev. Dr. David de Sola Pool and (2) genealogical family trees for five families dating back to the colonial period, prior to the Revolutionary War. Dr. Pool served as the spiritual leader for Congregation Shearith Israel-the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York from 1907 till his death in 1970. Ms. Hirsh Levitt worked as his secretary from 1935 till 1945.

The collection documents the work and correspondence of Joy Zacharia Appelbaum and reflects various aspects of her life, personal research and writings in the field of Sephardic Jewish culture and society, mainly as they made their way here in the United States. Collection consists in large part of a large array of newspaper and magazine articles describing Sephardic life in various areas of the world, and especially in the United States. An extensive portion of the collection examines the various customs and traditions found among the Sephardim, including customs for the Jewish Holidays (and especially Passover). The collection also includes a significant quantity of information about the American Sephardi Federation, focusing a great deal on its conventions and activities in the late 1980s to early 1990s. There is also a sizable amount of information about the Sephardic communities in the Ottoman regions of Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans, with a considerable amount of material that focuses on the Quincentennial celebrations held to commemorate the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.

This collection documents the research of Jewish historian Samuel Oppenheim (1857-1928) concerning the lives of colonial Jews in the Americas, and the early history of the United States. Included in the collection are his notes, transcripts of original works, photocopies of the records of the Dutch West India Company, correspondence relating to his research, his writings, and original documents from the Mayor’s Court of the City of New York that date from 1653-1760.

The Papers of Sam Camhi are comprised of correspondence, research, and newsletters from his involvement in numerous Jewish organizations, especially those related to Sephardim. Also included are various audio recordings of Sephardic folksongs.

The collection contains correspondence, personal, and business papers of the following members of the Touro family: Abraham (1777/78-1822), Judah (1775-1854), and Rebecca (1779-1833) Touro of Newport, Rhode Island. Documents include an insurance policy, correspondence, and wills.