Eulogies (documents)

Included in this collection are papers which reflect Solomon's personal life and his involvement in communal and civic affairs. Approximately half of the collection consists of correspondence with Clara Barton and others relating to the organization and activities of the American Red Cross, and Solomons' role in its initial organization. Various cards, ribbons, and other American Red Cross memorabilia are included. Among his personal papers are school documents and family correspondence; of special interest is an engraving of a photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken at Philp & Solomons Metropolitan Gallery shortly before his death (1865), and a letter from Josephine Phillips to Solomons describing the reaction of New Yorkers to the death of Abraham Lincoln and this engraving (1865), and two tickets of admission to the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson printed by the firm of Philp & Solomons (1868). Also included are typed copies of sermonettes given by Solomons to his family (1876-96). Of interest in his general papers is a letter to Dr. Wheeler regarding memorial services in Congress for Samuel F.B. Morse (1872); correspondence with several dictionary editors regarding the definition of "Jew" (1872-1874); and a letter from John Davis of the U.S. State Department regarding American Jews in Jerusalem. Clippings of newspaper articles by Solomons, tributes, memorial notices, and memorial sermons in honor or memory of Solomons are also included (1870-1910).

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence to Bertha Badt-Strauss from various writers and friends between 1940 and 1969. The letters deal with topics related to emigration/immigration, Judaism, Zionism and publishing opportunities in the United States and Mexico. Included are manuscripts, poems, photographs and clippings of Badt-Strauss's correspondents, as well as some of her own writings.

This collection consists of the papers of the author and teacher Gustav Weinberg, especially his creative works, including drafts of a play along with poetry. In addition, the collection contains some of his personal papers, such as curricula vitae, eulogies, newspaper clippings and official papers.

The Hermann Baerwald Papers holds documenation of and about the educator and historian Hermann Baerwald. Included in the collection are a number of articles about and by him, correspondence, notes, and a few photographs.

The Hirsch Family Collection, Mergentheim holds the papers of Abraham Hirsch, his children and one grandson. The collection consists of various official, business and personal documents as well as four folders of personal correspondence, including the courtship letters of Jakob Abraham and Esther Hirsch.

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.

Leopold Levi was a merchant in Stuttgart. Most of the material in this collection gives information on his activities for Jewish organizations and the Jewish Community in Wuerttemberg. Levi was a member of the Oberrat der Israelitischen Religionsgemeinschaft Wuerttembergs (from 1919 to 1940) and of the Israelitisches Gemeindevorsteheramt. He also was an Oberkirchenvorsteher in the Oberkirchenbehoerde and he was active in the Chewra Kadischa. Furthermore he assisted the Juedische Nothilfe. During the years 1941-1943 he succeeded to immigrate to the United States. He died in 1968 in New York.

Documents refer to the Ostwald, Tendlau and Cohen families. One focus is on the life of Alice Witte née Cohn. Of special significance is a letter that Karl Siche wrote to Alice Witte. Together with Alice Witte's former husband Max Witte, Karl Siche was detained in a concentration camp. Here Max Witte passed away. There is also a remarkable letter from Hedwig Ostwald, which she wrote in Theresienstadt in 1944, prior to her deportation to Auschwitz where she died. Her husband Max Ostwald, a lawyer and the head of the Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (district Westphalia) had already died in 1942 in Theresienstadt from disease.

This collection contains eulogies for Curtis L. Hereld (1923-2005), and genealogical tables and other family information for Peter Hereld, Curtis Hereld, and the Steinberg family.

The William Werner Bloch Collection documents chapters in the life of William Werner Bloch, especially his involvement as an American soldier in World War II, as well as the history of his family and the claim for compensation against Germany after World War II.