Archival & Manuscript Collections

Records of the American Jewish Committee - Buffalo/Niagara Chapter primarily from its final 20 years of operation documenting interfaith and Jewish heritage programming and community awards.

Personal Papers documenting volunteer activities of Annette Blanchard and some family materials. Includes photographs, speeches, newspaper clippings, media, and other material relating to volunteer service and career in B’nai B’rith, as well as a small amount of materials relating to her husband William Blanchard’s Jewish scouting activities.

Personal scrapbook of Arline Gelman recording the activities of the Buffalo, (New York) Chapter of the Brandeis University National Women's Committee, 1986-2004.

Personal papers documenting the lives of Ida and David Bregger on their farm in Darien Center, N.Y., as well as Jewish life on the East Side of Buffalo, N.Y. Material includes loan documentation, photographs, personal correspondence, recipes, ephemera and newspaper clippings.

The archive of the Buffalo Jewish Review contains issues of the Buffalo Jewish Review and its predecessor the American Jewish Review from November 9, 1917 to the present.

Personal papers documenting the building of a mikvah in Buffalo, New York. Materials include reports, architectural sketches, correspondence and other material relating to the erection of the building as well as history of a previous mikvah founders and managers.

The Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Buffalo records consist primarily of records documenting the activities of the Bureau, a non-profit community-based educational institution.

Papers documenting aspects of Buffalo history and life within the family and friendship circles of the Carrel and Goldstein families in Buffalo, NY, as well as the Law School, University of Buffalo during the 1920s.

Materials documenting aspects of work of Chabad of Buffalo with an emphasis on outreach work for Jewish students at University at Buffalo and Buffalo State College as well as the social and education life of a Chabad affiliated school, Torah Teminah, Amherst, NY.

Cleanup and Restoration of the Beth Jacob Cemetery Records document mainly the cemetery inscriptions, and Joshua Finkelstein’s leadership activities of Cleanup and Restoration of the Beth Jacob Cemetery in 2008.

Collection includes a minute book, ephemera, and material relating to the religious and administrative and cultural activities of the synagogue also known as the Jefferson Shul. Materials relating to preservation campaigns includes clippings and reports.

Organizational papers documenting aspects of the congregational life of Congregation Kehilat Shalom. Materials include minutes, newsletters, programs, financial statements, video, ritual Judaica, and clippings.

Collection includes minutes, publications, correspondence, artifacts, framed prints, memorabilia and photographs relating to the Coplon family's involvement in the Rosa Coplon (Jewish Old Folks) Home, Temple Beth El and Temple Beth Zion, and the personal records of David Hascal Coplon, Minnie Greene Coplon, Alva Coplon Barozzi, and the extended Coplon and Greene families.

Arnold and Ruth Fernandez papers, document Temple Beth Zion’s Brotherhood’s and Sisterhood’s administrative and its members’ synagogue activities.

Personal papers documenting aspects of Jewish youth culture. Material includes programs, newspaper clippings, essays, invitations, and ephemera relating to Temple Beth El, Jewish Community Building, sororities and fraternities, Park School Buffalo, and Camp Kawagama in Ontario.

Organizational papers documenting the early beginnings of the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies forerunner, the development of Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies services, and samples of special projects developed within affiliated agencies.

Collection includes personal papers documenting the personal and career life of local politician and lawyer, Frank E. Freedman, from Buffalo, New York. Materials include personal photographs, autographed mementoes, art sketch, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other material relating to his interests in show business.

Personal papers documenting aspects of Jewish community in Buffalo and Niagara Falls collected by Charlotte E. Gendler. Material includes minutes, newsletters, programs, photographs, and newspaper clippings relating to Temple Beth David-Ner Israel and other institutions.

Includes collected and created photographs, slides, commemorative booklet and research paper relating to the activities of Temple Beth El, Niagara Falls, and Jewish community life in Niagara Falls.

Personal papers documenting the personal and career life of local communal leader, Muriel Markel Goodman. Materials include speeches, newspaper clippings, media, and other material relating to her volunteer service and professional careers in the Jewish community within several organizations. Materials relating to the Markel family are also included.

The records of the Niagara Falls chapter of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, document both organizational and individual activities.

These are the personal papers documenting a segment of the life of local communal leader, Ralph L. Halpern. materials include speeches, and other material relating to his volunteer service in the Jewish community.

Personal papers documenting aspects of the final few years of an independent Temple Sinai, and merger talks with Temple Beth Am, to form a new combined Reform and Reconstructionist congregation, Congregation Shir Shalom.

Organizational papers documenting aspects of the work and history of the Hebrew Benevolent Loan Association originally known as Gemilut Chasidim [Acts of Loving Kindness] and its work in the development of the Buffalo Jewish community through interest free loans.

The records of Hillel of Buffalo, the center of Jewish life on campus, documents organizational, religious, and cultural activities of students in the greater Buffalo area.

Papers documenting aspects of the work of the Holocaust Resource Center, and predecessor committees associated with the Jewish Federation. An additional series documents refugee aid, and the Haven-Buffalo Jewish Club 1933, a German-Jewish Refugee social club formed in 1933.

Papers documenting aspects of the Jewish community in Buffalo and Niagara Falls through family and organizational donations.

The Records of the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo in the Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo. Included are the records of constituent agencies and member organizations of the Federation such as, the Bureau of Jewish Education, Jewish Family Services, the Jewish Community Center, Kadimah School of Buffalo, and the Rose Coplon Home. Records include minutes, committee reports, publications, correspondence, yearbooks, scrapbooks, and photographs.

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.

The papers of Prominent Local Jews in the Jewish Archives of Greater Buffalo include the papers of Donald S. Day, Dorothy Goldberg, Bernard Mandelkern, Morton Merowitz, Haskell Penn, and Milton Plesur as well as oral history interviews with other notable persons. Included in the collection are committee reports, correspondence, photographs, and citizenship records.