Montefiore, Moses, Sir, 1784-1885

The Records of the Board of Delegates of American Israelites (1859-1878) documents the life cycle of the Board of Delegates, a Jewish civil rights organization located in New York City. The Board served in a two-fold function: acting as a central organization for American Jews and working on behalf of Jews abroad. To the latter end, the Delegates collaborated with the Committee of Deputies of British Jews and the French Alliance Israélite Universelle to provide for the relief and aid, civil, and religious rights of Jews throughout the Americas, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, particularly Romania, Ottoman Palestine including Jerusalem, and Morocco.

In the U.S., the Delegates were partially responsible for the appointment of the first Jewish Military Chaplain and surveyed member synagogues concerning the history and size of their congregation, the first organization to systematically record this type of information in the States. The Delegates merged with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) in 1878 and dissolved in 1925. Correspondents include Adolph Crémieux, Sir Moses Montefiore, Benjamin Franklin Peixotto, Isaacs S. Myer, the Rev. Dr. Arnold Fischel, and Maj. General Benjamin Butler. Documents include correspondence, minutes, committee reports, memorials, announcements, surveys, some printed material including clippings, and a 1932 Rabbinical thesis on the Delegates by Allan Tarshish.

This collection contains the personal papers, photos, and correspondence of educator Bruno Schindler and journalist James Heckscher. The Heckscher materials include several letters from notable cultural figures like Moses Montefiore and Ivan Turgenev, as well as several from members of Parliament.

The collection contains Dutch and Portuguese documents pertaining to the Jewish community and dealing especially with Congregation Mikve Israel and Neve Salom, the David Aboab controversy, and the communal reorganizations of 1750-51. Four rolls of microfilmed documentary and printed materials are present in the collection

The collection consists primarily of correspondence, as well as documents and newspaper clippings pertaining to efforts made by the American and British governments and Jewish communities in both countries on behalf of their co-religionists in the "East" during the blood accusation in Damascus, and related persecution in Rhodes.

Included is correspondence between Moses Montefiore and the Executive Committee of the Israelites of the city of New York; correspondence between the N.Y.C. Israelites and similar committees in Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Richmond and the Board of Deputies of British Jews; correspondence between the committee and President Martin Van Buren and Secretary of State John Forsyth and other government officials; minutes and resolutions of the committee; a printed address by Montefiore to the Turkish Sultan and his reply; an English translation of the Firman granted by the Sultan at Montefiore's request and its Greek translation circulated by Montefiore in the "East"; a communique in Turkish, Hebrew, and Ladino issued by the Haham Bashi in Constantinople, Haim Moshe Frisco.

This collection contains the materials of the following members of the Seligman family: from Henry (1828-1909), a letter, with typed transcription, written from Frankfort (1870), addressee unknown, to rescue Mrs. Abraham Lincoln from poverty after the defeat of the Pension Bill for Presidential Widows, 1869; from Isaac Newton Seligman (1855-1917), a letter on a business matter; from William Seligman (1822-1910), a copy of a speech delivered on July 4, 1903, at the banquet given by the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris, accompanied by a letter to Cyrus Adler from Isaac N. Seligman; a bill of exchange payable to Sir Moses MOntefiore, written by J. Seligman & Co. (1870); obituary of Arthur Seligman (1871-1933); Seligman Bros. (London), envelope with wax seal of firm (1872); Edwin A.R. Seligman (1861-1939), correspondence from M.J. Burstein (undated) [originally P-252]; and miscellaneous family related materials.

Collection contains research notes and writings relating to London's works on early American Jewish portraits, miniatures, and silhouettes; this includes family histories of the subjects of the artwork, biographical information on the artists, and information about the works themselves. Also includes items relating to London's personal life, such as her genealogy and a notebook of letters written by her son Robert who was killed in action in World War II during his service in the army; notes, manuscripts, and published and unpublished articles and poetry; art catalogs; legal documents; lantern slides; photographs; correspondence; newspaper clippings; genealogical charts; handwritten sheet music; military medals; sound recordings; a theater program; and a scrapbook.

Contains letters and articles in manuscript to Leeser pertaining to: his work as editor of The Occident, his translation of the Bible and his other literary works; discussions concerning Jewish law, the Reform movement in the United States and in Curaçao; Reform and Orthodox Judaism in Albany, N.Y., Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson's anti-Semitic comments in the United States Congress; the founding of a synagogue in San Francisco; the condition of Jews and Jewish education in America and in England; equal rights for Jews in Massachusetts and North Carolina; the controversy over the Touro Monument; slavery and the Civil War; and converts to Judaism. Also includes information on Israel Joseph Benjamin's trip in the U.S., 1859-1862; Isaac Mayer Wise; Sabato Morais; a manuscript guidebook on Jewish ritual slaughter written by Moses Julian in Barbados in 1820; Moses Montefiore's report on his mission to Rome on behalf of the Edgardo Mortara affair; articles discussing Christian theology; the Jews in Cochin, India and in China; a Latin preface to Leeser's Hebrew Bible; a Portuguese prayer against the evil eye; and poems on topics of Jewish interest.

Contains a letter written by Montefiore to Gershom Kursheedt after Montefiore's return from a trip abroad, expressing his best wishes to Kursheedt, and asking that he come to England for a few months to discuss the final plans for the Judah Touro bequest for Palestine, administered by Montefiore. Also includes a letter by Montefiore to Mr. Kosch of Khebrat Sha'arey Beenah; a letter to Montefiore from Henry A. Henry about Hyman Moses; tributes for Montefiore's 99th and 100th birthdays; and a newsclipping on the Mortara Affair.

Real estate lawyer, judge, newspaper editor, and philanthropist, Myer S. Isaacs was the eldest son of the second English-speaking Rabbi in the United States, the Rev. Dr. Samuel M. Isaacs (1804-1878). The Isaacs Family were founding members of the New York-based Jewish civil rights organization, the Board of Delegates of American Israelites (1859-1878), published the Jewish Messenger (1859-1902), and Myer was the first president of the Baron de Hirsch Fund. This Collection contains documents deriving from Myer and Samuel Issacs, and Myer's brothers Abram (1852 or 53-1920) and Isaac Isaacs (1845-1907). Information concerning Myer's children may also be found, including documents from his son Stanley (1882-1962), Manhattan borough President and New York City Councilman. Includes correspondence, clippings, commencement programs, invitations, souvenir and anniversary programs, election campaign materials, obituaries, funeral programs, and citizenship papers.

Folder 1 contains a photocopy and transcript of a letter concerning the establishment of a physician in Posen (9/4/1937), Blaetter des Verbandes juedischer Heimatvereine No. 11/7 (July 1937) with article about the old market and the Jewish cemetery in Posen, program of the inauguration of the Jewish hospital in Posen (6/18/1895), regulations concerning the Jewish cemetery in Posen (10/1/1902), envelope of the Verband der Deutschen Juden in Berlin addressed to Rabbi Bloch in Posen with photo of the old Taharah house 1598 in the old Jewish cemetery on Theaterstrasse (n.d.), regulations concerning the "Repraesentanten-Versammlungen der israelitischen Corporationen" in Posen (7/1/1834), pamphlet "Aufruf" of the Central-Verein zur Begruendung der Colonisation der Juden in der Provinz Posen (4/7/1846), Amtsblatt der Koeniglichen Regierung zu Posen with police order regarding Jewish funerals, newspaper clipping and letter concerning C. C. Aronsfeld's "Memories of a Posen Childhood" by Margarete Jacoby-Orgler and Gustav Jacoby (1980), manuscript "Die Abwanderung der Juden aus der Provinz Posen - Denkschrift im Auftrage des Verbandes der Deutschen Juden" by Bernhard Breslauer (1909).

This collection contains the correspondence (1868-1872) of Sir Moses Montefiore to Charles Meyer, President of the congregation, acknowledging donations made for the poor in Jerusalem. Includes an official acknowledgment in Hebrew by representatives of the Jerusalem community.

The first folder contains a two part typescript by Salomon Samuel, a reflection on the period of Jewish emancipation (5600-5700, i.e. circa 1840 to 1938) titled "5600-5700. Rueckblick auf ein Jahrhundert juedischer Weltenaera". In the first part (27 pp.) Samuel describes the historical events from the so called "Damascus affair" (1840) to the Évian Conference (1938), in the second part titled "Religioese und geistesgeschichtliche Entwicklung" (179 pp.) the Jewish religious and intellectual developments in the Era of emancipation.

The second folder contains a photocopied typescript titled "Einfuehrung", the introduction to Samuel's "Ein Lehrbuch juedischer Religion" (published in 1930) and a biographical article by Samuel's son Jochanan Samuel (1901-1976) titled "Rabbiner Dr. Salomon Samuel" published in: Muenster am Hellweg. 6/9 (June, 1978). pp. 81-88.