Sobel Family Collection

The Sobel family collection contains seven folders which tell a lot about the family's history, not only in the form of a very detailed genealogical description, but also through letters of family members. The collection does not include original documents but only photocopies of such.

The first folder contains very detailed descriptions of members of seven generations of the Sobel and Auerhaim families, written by Norman T. Sobel, one of Isador Sobel's sons. The families are closely connected, as both Norman's grandfathers, Semel Sobel and Solomon Auerhaim, married into the same family (Kunz), and one of the sons of the Sobels married one of the Auerhaim daughters and gave birth to Norman and his brothers. There is no record of direct descendents of either of the brothers.

The second and third folders contain correspondence which deals with the family's history and cemetery arrangements. The main focus of the first part is on the communication of Isador Sobel and his cousin Emil Caro, both trying to recollect their family's history as accurately as possible. Occasionally, they discuss current family issues, such as the flight of family members from "Nazi hell" to the U.S. and tell about interesting events from their journeys. In addition to the cemetery correspondence, the third folder also contains photocopies of two death certificates, one of Henry Sobel, the other of Abraham Levin.

Folders four, five, and six consist of documents about four family reunions between 1937 and 1951, a photocopy of Helen Sobel’s Certificate of Secondary Education and of Recommendation for Admission to the School of Practical Arts, and Norman T. Sobel's last will with detailed instructions for his funeral arrangements. The last folder contains photocopies of photographs of the family.