Finding aid for the Ante-Bellum Cleveland Jewish Immigrants Database

History of the Ante-Bellum Cleveland Jewish Immigrants Database

The Ante-Bellum Cleveland Jewish Immigrants Database is a collection of data pertaining to the 850 Jews known to have emigrated from Europe to Cleveland, Ohio, between the 1830s and 1861. This data, generated by Stanley Lasky under the supervision of Nancy F. Schwartz, was assembled as part of a research project sponsored by the Cleveland Jewish Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society. The project, organized to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Cleveland's Jewish community, resulted in the traveling exhibit, FOUNDERS: Cleveland's Jewish Community Before the Civil War, which opened at the Western Reserve Historical Society Museum on March 13, 1990.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Jews and Judaism in Cleveland

Scope and Content

The Ante-Bellum Cleveland Jewish Immigrants Database, 1989-1990, consists of computer print-out data sheets of all immigrant-generation Jews known to have been in Cleveland, Ohio, before the Civil War.

This collection is of value to researchers studying the origins and early development of the Jewish community of Cleveland, Ohio. It is also valuable for those compiling genealogies and/or family histories of Jewish immigrants known to have been in Cleveland before 1861. Researchers focusing upon the central European, especially German, migration of Jews to America in the Nineteenth century will also find this collection of value. Each data sheet in this collection includes one individual's earliest known name and variant spellings. In addition, the categories of potential information about that individual include: gender; country, region and village of origin; arrival date and arrival age in America and in Cleveland; birth date, death date, and cemetery name; marital status, name of spouse(s), marriage date(s), and number of children; home and business address(es); occupation(s), institutional affiliation(s), and extant visual images(s). The collection's print-out data sheets are followed by the original three-page work sheets on which data was entered by hand. Pages two and three of these work sheets indicate the sources for each item of information noted on page one. In some cases additional information, not appropriate for inclusion in the database form, is noted on these sheets. All individuals included in the database are known to have been Jewish immigrants who were in Cleveland prior to the Civil War. However, some of the information about these individuals may pertain to their lives post-1861 (e.g., home and business addresses, occupations, number of children, spouses name, institutional affiliations) and categories which have multiple entries are not necessarily in chronological order. Sources should be checked to identify the relevant dates. In some cases (e.g., information cited in obituaries), sources do not cite specific dates.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4516 Ante-Bellum Cleveland Jewish Immigrants Database, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Western Reserve Historical Society, 1990.

Processing Information

Processed by Stanley Lasky in 1990

Detailed Description of The Collection