Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo, Local Jewish Community records
Scope and Contents
Records of the Local Jewish Community, Series I, includes cemetery records of Erie County Lodge 300, consisting of two ledger books, and one CD-ROM. Erie County Lodge Cemetery Records are also available through the website, Jewish Buffalo on the Web.
II, Community Religious Matters consists of meeting minutes of the Buffalo Board of Rabbis and records of the Buffalo Council of Jewish Congregations. Series II also includes citizenship papers dating back to 1844 of Emanuel Newman, an early leader of the Buffalo Jewish community and active in the affairs of Temple Beth Zion. Other local congregations including Temple Beth El, Temple Beth Am, Temple Shaarey Zedek, and B'rith Israel are also documented here.
III, The Jewish Community, Buffalo: Matters of General Interest includes three subseries. Records in this series mainly document various local organizations, agencies, and activities of the Buffalo Jewish community. Subseries A consists of photocopies of Xeroxes made by Dr. Adler. Included are a photograph circa 1940 of the Buffalo Jewish Choral Society and a recording with singer Sidor Belarsky. Surveys, correspondence, memorandum, membership lists, and committee reports are found in this series.
Other Jewish Associations, Series IV, primarily documents the Jewish Hospital Association, 1920-1928, which includes a minute book and constitution, reports of annual meetings and special meetings. This series also houses an index of past members of the United Jewish Federation as well as a scrapbook for the 1927 Jewish Federation Campaign.
Dates
- 1844-1976
Creator
- Adler, Selig, 1909-1984 (Person)
Language of Materials
Collection material in English and Yiddish.
Terms of Access
Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo, Local Jewish Community Records, 1844-1976 (bulk 1920-1960) are open for research.
Copyright
Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.
Historical Note
The Jewish Community of Buffalo, New York holds a rich, extensive history, evident in the records of the Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo. Selig Adler and Thomas Connolly, co-authors of From Ararat to Suburbia: A History of the Jewish Community of Buffalo (1960) point out that "Early in 1814, the City of Buffalo was mentioned for the first time in Jewish history." (Ch. 1, p. 3). The research for Adler and Connolly's work was assisted in large part by the original source material of the Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo.
Extent
4.92 Linear Feet (4 cartons, 1 flat box)
Abstract
Records of the Local Jewish Community in the Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo include cemetery records, local temple and shul records, and Jewish organizations. Also included are material pertaining to deported persons and refugee matters, and the papers of Max M. Yellen and Dr. Gerhard J. Falk and Dr. Ursula A. Falk.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in four series as follows:
- Cemetery Records
- Community Religious Matters
- The Jewish Community Buffalo: Matters of General Interest
- Other Jewish Associations
Acquisition Information
The collection was transferred from the State University of New York College at Buffalo (Buffalo State) Archives in 2006 by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo.
Accruals and Additions
No further accruals are expected to this collection.
Processing Information
Collection originally processed by the staff of the State University of New York College at Buffalo (Buffalo State) Archives.
Collection rehoused by Mark McGuire, February 2007.
Finding aid updated by Karen Morse, October-November 2006.
- Charters
- Citizenship papers
- Correspondence
- Israel -- History
- Israel and the diaspora
- Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo
- Jewish archives -- New York State
- Jews -- New York (State) -- Buffalo
- Judaism -- History -- Modern Period, 1750-
- Minutes (administrative records)
- Silver, Abba Hillel
- Temples -- New York (State) -- Buffalo
- United States -- Foreign Relations -- 20th Century
Source
- University Archives (Repository, Organization)
- Jewish Buffalo Archives Project (Organization)
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo, Local Community records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by staff of the State University of New York College at Buffalo (Buffalo State) Archives.
- Date
- 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives Repository
420 Capen Hall
Buffalo New York 14260-1674 US
716-645-2916
716-645-3714 (Fax)
lib-archives@buffalo.edu