Gratz, Barnard, 1738-1801

Contains the personal papers, including correspondence and documents, of Elijah Etting, his sons, Solomon and Reuben, and his three grandchildren, Samuel Etting, Kitty (Etting) Cohen, and Elijah Gratz Etting (frequently referred to as Gratz Etting).

Originally from England, the Franks family were colonial merchants who settled in New York City in the 1700s. This collection documents parts of their life through correspondence, legal documents, and financial records. The correspondence is primarily written by Abigail Franks in New York to her son, Naphtali, in England. Also included in the collection are the notes and correspondence of Dr. Leo Hershkowitz, who co-edited a book on the letters of the family entitled the Lee Max Friedman Collection of American Jewish Colonial Correspondence: Letters of the Franks Family (1733-1748), written with Isadore S. Meyer in 1968.

The documents in the collection were originally bound in a leather book embossed with the title "Autograph Letters and Documents Relating to American Jewish History." As of April 2023, the AJHS has not discovered how or why donated Rosenbach materials were removed and placed in the bound volume. Notes found in the collection of documents include several items that were removed for exhibitions and never returned to the book. The earliest of these notes is from 1937, indicating that the volume was created prior to that year. In 2023, the documents were removed from the bound book by the Cahnman Preservation Laboratory at the Center for Jewish History and digitized by the staff of the American Jewish Historical Society. The documents were then ingested into the Center's digital management system and are now viewable to the public.

The collection holds various documents from prominent members of Jewish society in the 18th and 19th centures, plus some advertisements and book pages. Documents relate to the American Revolution and tariffs; American Revolution pensions; politics between Whig and Democratic issues during the 1840s; other correspondence and items published from pamphlets promoting books or schools.

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.

Consists of the papers of members of the Mordecai family. Includes those of: Moses Mordecai (1707-1781), a bill of exchange (1771), and letters of administration signed by Elizabeth Mordecai (1744-1804), Isaac Moses, and Barnard Gratz, and inventory of his estate, and the accounts of his administratrix (1781-1782); Jacob Mordecai (1762-1838), a discourse delivered at the consecration of Congregation Beth Shalome (1822), and a notebook manuscript "The Truth of Divine Revelation"; George Washington Mordecai (1801-1871), a stock certificate signed by him as president of the Bank of North Carolina (1863); Alfred Mordecai (1804-1887), four letters on military matters (1838-1859); Alfred Mordecai, Jr. (1840-1920), a commission as captain in the Ordnance Department, signed by President Abraham Lincoln (1864), and a letter of condolence (1870); Rosa Mordecai (1839-1936), three letters to Rosa Mordecai concerning Rebecca Gratz, who apparently served as the model for the Rebecca in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1898-1905); Laura Mordecai (1837-1927), letters to her sister, Miriam, and brother, Alfred, about the Chicago World's Fair (1892-1893); and Miriam Mordecai (1843-1923), letters to her sister, Laura, about a trip to San Francisco and Seattle for the wedding of their niece (1901), and about her trip to Europe (1907). Also includes a letter of recommendation written by Winfield Scott (1786-1866) on behalf of Capt. Alfred Mordecai, who was on his way to Paris on business.

The collection contains materials related to various activities of the Congregation Mikveh Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. There is a variety of documents, including correspondence, annual reports, addresses, programs, printed materials, reports, and materials pertaining to the synagogue's burial ground.