Senta K. Simon Family Collection

The collection contains genealogical research materials compiled by Senta K. Simon on the Bachmann, Beihoff, Ettisch, Fechheimer, Fleischmann, Freudenthal, Friedeberg, Friedmann, Kahn, Katz, Pretzfelder, Reichmannsdörfer, Rosenbaum, Rosenthal, Schloss, and Simon families, as well as locations with which they were associated, primarily in Franconia and Thuringia. Materials include correspondence, research files, work sheets and lists, and a small quantity of primary sources including a cookbook with handwritten recipes, Fritz Katz’s notebook from English lessons taken in Geisa, and book containing death and death anniversary dates for member of the Kahn family.

Correspondence in the collection is between Senta K. Simon and extended family members, fellow genealogists, researchers, and archives and historical societies regarding her family history. Accompanying the correspondence are materials including family trees and histories, photocopies of articles and book excerpts, catalog printouts and call slips, photocopies and printouts of archival documents and other pertinent records, and notes from her research trips and on the materials she received.

Research files assembled by Simon consist of correspondence on family history, histories of the Jewish communities of various locations and the locations themselves, lists of individuals from relevant locations who perished in the Holocaust, photocopies and printouts of relevant records and documents, photocopies of book excerpts, clippings and articles, family trees and histories, biographical information, individual and family group work sheets, handwritten notes, and photographs.

Work sheets and lists document information on individuals found within Senta K. Simon’s family research files, in contrast to the research files, which provides information on families and communities. Individual work sheets found in Series III include the individual’s name, birth date and place, occupation, military service, death and burial date and place, information regarding parents, spouse, and children, residences and dates, references and sources, and an option to include further data on the reverse. Lists include both lists compiled during Simon’s genealogical research, as well as spreadsheets generated from her family history records.