Jewish Data Times- Focused on records and images posted at
www.jewishdata.com
Issue number 9 - April 15, 2004
1. "The Jew in Canada" completely posted.
2. "Who Who in American Jewry, 1938" added to database.
3. Special feature: An Article on early American Jewish History.
1. The entire book called "The Jew in Canada”, 1926 by Arthur Daniel Hart (1886- 1932) in now available at the site. This 576-page book details the History of the earliest Canadian Jews, and the story of every Synagogue, School, and Jewish Social group in Canada. The book contains hundreds of photographs, and in general is a goldmine of information. The book can be found in some Jewish Libraries, but not many. While the original book does not have an index, Jewish Data has compiled an index, so that the regular search engine retrieves names. The index has not been completed.There are two ways to search these records. 1. A name search, and it can be limited to these records by entering- A Jew in Canada – in the location field. 2. By page numbers. Pages 000e- 000i are the table of Contents where one can find names of Synagogues and Organizations and the page number. To view the pages, enter - The Jew in Canada- in the record location field on the member's search page, clear all other fields, press enter, and a list of pages will display. Click the camera icon to view the page. A tip on name searches: To search both the book and Jewish Cemetery images- just enter the word- Canada- in the record location field, and then enter the desired first/ last name in those fields.
2. An important book called "Who's Who in American Jewry", 1938 has been posted. This book contains more than 8,000 factual biographies of Jewish professionals and leaders. The book also includes hundreds of pictures. While the majority of the listings are US Jews, there are plenty of listings from other Countries. These records will be displayed as results of name searches alongside other records in the database. Here is a sample entry: Abelman, Max- public relations dir. Born Jassy, Rumania, Jan. 26, 1887, s. Abram and Ida Clara (Berkowitz) A; came to N.Y. City 1892. Ed; Prep. and De Wight Sch. of Accounting; Mechanics Inst. of N.Y.; Sch. of Philanthropy; N.Y.U.; took special courses. am. Inst. of Banking. In building constn 1905- 07; asst secy and asst trust officer Mfrs Trust Co. 1923- 32; public relations dir. and secy to pres. Nathan S. Jonas, Jewish Hosp. Brooklyn N.Y. Exec. dir. 1909-1923, asst secy since 1924, Fed. of Jewish Charities (an organizer Big Bro. and Big Sister Assn 1915); mem. exec. com. N.Y. City Conf. of Charities and Corrections 1920. Hon. secy United War Work campaign 1917- 18. Active in money-raising campaigns for civic and communal orgns; dir. concert in campaign to save Bklyn Acad. of Music 1935. Mem. advisory council Bklyn sect Boy Scouts of Am.;mem.; Young Men's Philanthropic League (hon.) Bklyn Chamber of Commerce, Bklyn Soc. of Etchers. Married Bessie d. Isaac Schwartz, Oct. 6, 1907, N.Y. City; child. Alan Nathan. Club; Unity. Synagogues; Wall St. (N.Y. City); Union Temple. Hobbies: music, golf, swimming. Home: 35 Tennis Court. Office: 555 Prospect Place, Bklyn, N.Y.
3. The 145-page hand written Journal that records Synagogue meetings of the Jewish Community of Hoosick Falls NY 1891- 1902 has been posted as mentioned in Issue 8. The Journal records their meetings and reading it provides us a picture of what life was like for Jews in a village more than a hundred years ago. Reading these pages one can see their efforts at maintaining a "Minyan", living according to the Torah in general, and how the members of a small Jewish Community cared for one another. Surely they were many similar Communities in this Country, but how many actually recorded and preserved their records? If Synagogues have similar Journals, it would be wonderful if they would also post them on the Internet. Anyone interested in American Jewish History will appreciate browsing through these pages. The written pages are easy to read online. In order to view these records, enter the words - Hoosick Falls- in the record location field at the member's main search page, clear all other fields, press enter, and it will retrieve a list of page numbers. Some of the most interesting pages are 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 15, 26, 30, 88, 113, and 115.The following names appear in the Journal very frequently: L. Baer, Joseph Borowsky, Myer Daniel, Isaac Daniel, Abraham Dinner, Ellis Ferber, Abram Goldman, Lewis Kobell, Rev. Dr. L. Lampert, Bernard Levin, David Levine, Joseph Levine, Jacob Lurie, Julius Lurie, Morris Lurie, Louis Markstone, Louis Pincus, Kalman Richless, Morris Richless, and Abe Rosenthal.The following Jewish people who lived in Hoosick Falls also filed Declaration of Intention documents that are in the database under the location - Rensselaer County-: Louis Berkman. Abraham Handelman, David Levine, Joseph Lewis, Hyman Miller, Moses Rabinowitz, Joseph Rokosky, Samuel Semelisky, and Joseph Shaulis. Joseph Lewis, who appears in the Journal as one of the donors for the Torah Scroll, signed his Declaration of Intention in Hebrew.Here is a more detailed article about these records.
A Viable Village Synagogue
Hoosick Falls, NY is a village located near Bennington Vermont, about 30 miles from Troy, NY and 45 miles from Albany, NY. One of the only signs that a Jewish community ever lived there is the Louis Miller Museum, a house donated by a Jewish family in 1981. Charles W. Filkins, the Director, assisted my research of the Jewish Community. I found no Jewish Synagogue or group listed in the Village’s Town directories until 1904, although there actually was an organized Jewish Community at least by 1891. In the 1860's Hoosick Falls had a population of about 1,000 people. During the next 40 years, the Village grew to a peak of 7,000 residents in 1890. The main force behind this growth was Mr. Walter A. Wood, who developed the best horse drawn harvesting equipment. He located his “Wood Mowing and Reaping Company” in the village, and employed between 3,000- 4,000 workers. Mr. Wood also owned much of the village, and the Jewish Congregation rented rooms from him to use as their Synagogue. There was a small Jewish Community of around 40 families and individuals in Hoosick Falls in the late 1880's, and in 1891 they formally got together to form a Congregation, which they named "Love Peace" (Ahavas Shalom). Fortunately, they recorded their meetings and preserved a Journal that records details of their meetings and provides us with a picture of their life. Several years ago someone donated the 1891- 1901 Journal to me, and it served as the main source for this article. The first action was to purchase a Sefer Torah, and a special collection was made. As the Congregation was not able to decide on a committee to purchase a Torah, President Morris Lurie stepped in. He offered to buy a Torah himself, and if the Congregation found it satisfactory, they may purchase it from him. The group ended up purchasing the Torah from Morris Lurie in 1891 for $65.00. A special Celebration was held to welcome the new Torah on Sunday, September 20, 1891. In August 1991 the Journal records amounts received from all members. The list includes 38 members who donated sums ranging from $0.25 to $7.15, raising a total of $102.75. It is interesting that in 1891, when the Congregation was founded with the Community member's donations, there were no official membership dues. On October 11, 1891 it is recorded that 16 members offered to pay $0.50 a month to the Synagogue. Gradually this became the standard, and in 1892 the Congregation declared a new rule that everyone "must be clear on the books" before the High Holidays, and if members were too far behind in paying dues they would be suspended from he Congregation. As a result of charging dues, the number of members fell from 38 to about 15. However, some of the non-members would offer donations from time to time. In the latter half of the 1890's it became increasingly difficult for some members to pay their dues. Several members were suspended, but they usually ended up coming back a few months later and managed to pay back dues, and be re-instated as members. The sum of $0.50 may sound like a small amount of money, but judging from prices recorded in the journal, it seems like every dollar amount listed in the Journal is more like x 100 in today's dollars, making $0.50 more like $50.00 The members of the Jewish community were mainly retailers or peddlers. It is probable that at least some Jews worked at Mr. Wood's factory, but from the records researched so far, only one by the name of Kalman Richless is listed as being employed there. Services At a meeting on October 11, 1891 - "A motion carried to have every member attend services at least once in 4 weeks on Saturdays. Said members to be notified failing to do so they are to be fined $0.50". Although they did not gather for daily services on a regular basis, they would do so when someone had a Yahrzeit and efforts were made to form a “Minayn”- a quorum of at least 10 Jewish male adults. An entry dated August 21, 1892 states: "By a motion made and carried that Brother Louis Markstone should keep the key from the Shool (sic) and in case somebody of strangers living out of this town mentioned above, or anyone else who does belong to the Congregation and living here wish to get a menion (sic) for carrying out their memorial day are obliged to pay for opening the Shool (sic) and getting a menion (sic) one dollar in cash- $0.50 of which should be paid to Dr. L. Lambert and the other $0.50 for the benefit of the Shool (sic).” Community responsibilityOn December 20, 1891 the members decided to open a Sunday school for the children, and Abe Rosenthal was elected as superintendent. This was a very young community and there were no deaths of elderly Jewish people recorded from 1891-1901. Nevertheless, the Congregation decided at a meeting in 1891 that in case a death occurs in any family, all members would assist them in covering the expense of the funeral. At a meeting on October 25, 1891- "A motion was made and seconded in case if it will be happened any death by any of the member's families to pay that member for help paying the funeral expenses to one dollar by each of our members and should be obliged to raise more money if it is necessary for that very purpose". It should be understood that this was before the safety nets we know of today such as Social Security existed. In January 1892, tragedy struck the community with two deaths within one week. On January 15, Linnie Markstone, the 7 and half-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Markstone died, and on January 18, Kalman Richless, a 27-year-old husband and father died of pleurisy after being ill for three days. A special meeting was held on January 24, 1892, and we read this moving entry: January 24, 1892."According to the law of the Congregation from 1st of November 1891- Mr. L. Markstone and Mrs. Kolman Richless are entitled to get of each member of the above Congregation to one dollar to help paying Funeral expenses of losts (sic) ... Mr. L. Markstone was willing to give offers for a present to the Congregation with which the Congregation with tears and sorrows thanked Mr. Markstone and hoped that he and family will escape all the troubles their life forever.-- The meeting closed with tears and sorrows for Mr. L. Markstone and widow Kolman Richless and with great hopes for their blessings from God in future in prospering in health and wealth". Both individuals were buried far way from Hoosick Falls, in the Jewish Cemeteries of Troy, and Albany NY The members got together $1.00 each for Mrs. Richless and presented $14.00, some of which had to be borrowed from the Treasury and collected from members later. While the records show that money was always tight, in March 1898, the group was finally able to deposit $25.00 in an interest bearing account at the Bank of Hoosick Falls. However, a few months later they tapped into their savings in order to help one of the members. At a meeting held June 5, 1898- "A motion was made and seconded that $10.00 should be withdrawn from the bank, and donated to Brother Lewis Kobell to help paying his doctor bills for his sick wife". Kosher meatThe records do not discuss this in detail, but it is pretty clear that the Congregation supplied Kosher meat to their members. They perhaps followed the model of nearby Troy, NY at the time, where the Chazzan (Cantor) doubled as the "Shochet"- one trained to slaughter according to Jewish Law. This is mentioned only in one entry dated July 29, 1900. At a meeting it was decided that "strangers" (non-members) must pay $0.50 per month to the Synagogue if they want to receive the benefit of Kosher meat. Synagogue meetings During the monthly and later bi-monthly meetings members would hopefully pay their monthly dues, address issues and cite the bills they're paying. One of the two main annual responsibilities was to secure a Chazzan for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Every year a committee of usually two members was appointed to hire a qualified individual for the price the Congregation agreed upon. At first the salary was around $25.00 for Shachris (the morning prayer) and a similar amount for the Chazzan for Musaph (the afternoon or additional prayer), and in the late 1890's they tried unsuccessfully to hire the Chazzan for closer to $15.00 It is evident that every dollar counted when we see discussion on whether the $15.00 is with or without expenses. In any case, they always succeeded in finding a Chazzan from Troy, Albany, or NY City. At first members were not charged for High Holiday tickets, but by 1898 it was decided to charge members $2.00 for married people. Tickets for "strangers" were always a bit higher than for members. This process was also carried out with sensitivity, as we see that in 1896 when the price for "outsiders" was set at $1.00 for singles, and $2.00 for married people, members L. Baer and Morris Richless served as a committee "to consider who is able to pay for seats or not". The highest price for tickets was reserved for the suspended members. It was decided in 1892 that they should be charged $5.00. However, viewing the records it does not appear that this was implemented. Another Committee was appointed to buy a Lulav (palm branch) and Esrog (a type of citrus) for the Congregation to celebrate the Holiday of Sukkos in September- October. The committee usually spent $3.00 - $4.00 for these Religious items. Compared to other expenses this was very costly, perhaps because the Esrog grows only in Israel and Italy, and shipping was complicated at the time. The Congregation often held a special collection to reach that amount. Another source of income was selling the "Aliyos" (being called to the Torah) to the highest bidder on the High Holidays- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These services brought in what they called "strangers", and it was decided at a meeting held September 18, 1892 "to have a security for the strangers and other people for their offerings if necessary" to make sure they wouldn't pledge money to the Synagogue and forget about it later. However, one honor was not auctioned. The Maftir Yonah (reading book of Jonah) in the afternoon Minchah prayer on Yom Kippur was chosen by a Congregation vote to receive this privilege. One of the ways they kept expenses low was by living within their means. One example is when they needed a new "Paroches" (Holy Ark hanging cover) in 1897, they made a special collection and raised $3.32. With this they purchased as follows: 6 ½ yards velvet @ $0.40= $2.60, 5 yards gild braid @$0.08= $0.40, 6 ½ yards cambric @$0.04= $0.26, rings- $0.06, Total= $3.32 Naturally they wove it themselves. Rabbis and ChazzansThe first Rabbi to serve the Congregation was Rev. Dr. L. Lampert, and there is little information available about him.. At first he was compensated with $0.50 per month, and in 1892 his salary doubled to $1.00, and a few years later to $2.00. In September 1897, Lampert is reported to be moving to Albany, NY. Abram Goldman, a local peddler and member, served as High Holiday Chazzan {be consistent in how you spell this} for the morning service for a few years. Other Rabbis and Chazzans mentioned were Rev. B. Berg, Rev. S. Alpert from NY City, Rev. Mr. Silverman from North Adams, MA, and Mr. Tauber from Albany, NY. The records also mention Rev. Udelson who came from Troy, NY to be Chazzan for a few High Holiday seasons. This may have been Ezekiel Edelston who operated a boot and shoe store in Troy, NY. He is listed in the Troy City Directory of 1894 as serving as the Rev. for the Sharah Tephilah Synagogue in Troy.
A few of the community leaders:
Morris Lurie: Morris Lurie served as the President of the Congregation during the entire period of 1891- 1901. He ran a business called P. Lurie-, which sold dry goods, fancy goods, millinery, etc. at 13 John St. An example of his leadership can be seen above when the Congregation needed a Torah scroll. A number of Jewish residents found employment at the Lurie store. Jacob Lurie served as a cashier, and Julius Lurie is listed as a clerk. Abram Goldman, who is listed as a peddler in the 1892 directory, is listed as a clerk at Lurie's in 1898. Ellis Kempner served as a clerk. Ellis Ferber is listed as a clerk in 1898, and by 1910 he is listed as a partner in the business. Around 1910, Morris Lurie moved to NY City, but retained ownership of the business. Louis Pincus: Louis Pincus served as the Vice President. He operated a store under his name that sold boots, shoes, and rubbers. There was also a Paul Pincus, who may have been the father of Louis. At least one of the members worked in his store. We find Samuel Litowich who was listed in the 1898 Village Directory as a salesman there. Louis Markstone: Louis Markstone served as the Treasurer and on many committees over the years. He owned a Shoes and Boots store. In the summer of 1896, Louis Markstone announced that he will be moving to Plattsburgh, NY and he presented some type of donation to the Congregation. The members decided "to keep his name in the books as long as the Congregation is in existence". What do these records teach us today, more than one hundred years later? I think scholars of American Jewish History will want to view these records themselves, but my observations are:The records show the dedication of a small, working-class group to organize a Synagogue as House of Divine worship and as a center for Jewish life.
1. They did not rely on several wealthy donors to sponsor the Organization.
2. The community conducted its own affairs to the point that they would accept the punishment of a fine or being suspended from the Congregation.
3. The community was well aware of every member's needs and they supported each other when a member needed help to pay for a funeral or medical bills.
4. The Synagogue was recognized as a center for Jewish life and the place that dealt with weddings, funerals, and Kosher meat.
5. It is a good idea for Synagogues and Jewish organizations to keep records and preserve them for future generations.
This article is focused on the specific time period 1891- 1901. The Synagogue continued until about 1932, and from around 1908 they held services on Shabbos only once a month. In the 1920's the Town declined in general, as Mr. Wood's products became obsolete due to the innovations of modern machinery
