August 27, 2023

Vol. 4, No. 35

Restaurants:

Isaac Gellis

Jewish Encyclopedia:

Choye Adam Congregation

Family Clubs:

The MaxAnn (Cohen) Cousins Club

Calendar:

Aug. 29: Tree of Life memories

Sept. 3: JGS Presents Ellen Kowitt

Community:

SHHS archives

"How We Got Here"

JCBA "Road-Trip"

Mystery portraits

Research Tools:

Newspapers, Cemeteries,

Memorial Plaques, Books,

Population Figures, Synagogues, Newsletter Archive

Restaurants:

Isaac Gellis Inc.

Advertisement for new delicatessen at 2125 Murray Ave. in Squirrel Hill selling Isaac Gellis Inc. products—April 28, 1939.

—from Jewish Criterion

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

The classic Jewish-owned restaurant was a sandwich shop, and the classic Jewish sandwich was meat. Meat comes from animals, and animals must come from somewhere: a ranch, a butcher shop, or a processing plant.

If you study the available information about Jewish-owned restaurants in Pittsburgh in the 20th century, you find a secondary history: Jewish-owned meat distributors. Companies like Hebrew National Kosher Sausage Co., Sinai Kosher Sausage Co., Wilno Kosher Sausage Co., Zion National Kosher Sausage Factory Inc., and others based in major Jewish centers outside Pittsburgh.

One of the oldest was Isaac Gellis Inc., founded in New York in 1872. By the late 1930s, it operated out of a seven-story building on the Lower East Side.

Isaac Gellis appears to have entered the Pittsburgh market in April 1939, when Milton Segneff opened a delicatessen at 2125 Murray Ave., which today is one of the three storefronts near Douglas Street operated by North Side Carpet Cleaning Co. By the end of 1939, the location was operated by Irvin Malitovsky as Irvin’s Delicatessen and stopped mentioning the Gellis partnership.

Isaac Gellis later re-emerged across the street, which we’ll consider next week.

All year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting Jewish restaurants in Western Pennsylvania. If you would like to donate a material from a Jewish restaurant, or just reminisce, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

Choye Adam Congregation

“New Jewish Congregation.” Unsigned article reporting on the formation of Choye Adam Congregation—Sept. 2, 1889.

—from Pittsburgh Press

Newspapers.com

Choye Adam (Life of Man) was an Orthodox congregation founded in 1889 by Litvishe immigrants who broke away from Beth Hamedrash Hagadol (then called B’nai Israel) over financial disparities within the congregation. It was located on Fifth Avenue near Van Braam Street. Our entry for Choye Adam Congregation includes a copy of its charter and news clippings.

Family Clubs:

MaxAnn (Cohen) Cousins Club

Notice for the Maxann Cousins Club, announcing upcoming meeting to discuss “the investment group, blood bank, and the anniversary party”—Feb. 8, 1957.

—from Jewish Criterion

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

Eva Rosen survived three husbands.

Her first husband Harry David Cohen died of pneumonia in 1923. Her second husband Nathan Roth died in an automobile collision in 1928. Her third husband Abe Levy died of lung cancer in 1955. Eva (Rosen) Cohen Roth Levy died June 4, 1978 and is buried in the Tiphereth Israel Cemetery in Shaler.

With her first two husbands, Eva had at least five children: Mollie (Cohen) Tanenbaum, Esther (Cohen) Melnick, Hyman Cohen, Eddie Cohen, and Milton Roth. As early as October 1956, those children formed the MaxAnn (Cohen) Cousins Club. The “Max” may have commemorated Harry David Cohen’s father, Max Cohen. The origins of the “Ann” are still something of a mystery.

Known surnames in the MaxAnn (Cohen) Cousins Club include Baltansky, Berger, Cohen, Engel, Klein, Hourvitz, Lewis, Melnick, Miller, and Tanenbaum. 

Known meeting places include Louisa Street (Joseph Melnick residence); Mansion Place, Swissvale (Pearl and Edward Cohen residence); 537 Mellon St. (Hy and Shirley Cohen residence); 5916 Douglas St. (Clarence and Pearl Hourvitz residence); 6479 Stanton Ave. (Al Tannenbaum residence); Holiday House; Chalfont St. (Harry Klein residence); 1753 Sillview Dr. (Phillips Berger residence); 2205 Chalfant St. (Harry and Dorothy Cohen residence); 2603 Shady Ave. (Clarence and Pearl Hourvitz residence); 15 Hollenden Pl. (Yetta Engel residence); 1337 Manning St. (Saul and Dolly Berger residence); 371 N. Craig St. (Leana Baltansky residence); Canter's Restaurant, 5855 Alderson St. (Sara Miller residence); 5089 Rosecrest Dr. (Edward Cohen residence); 3415 Louisa St. (Eva Levy residence); and 1615 Sillview St. (Edward Cohen residence).

No known archival collections exist for the MaxAnn Cousin’s Club. If you have information about the club or its members, please contact the archive.

Sept. 3:

JGS-Pittsburgh presents:

"U.S. Synagogue Records as a Genealogical Resource"

with Ellen Kowitt

[LEFT] Portrait of Ellen Kowitt; [RIGHT] JGS-Pittsburgh logo

American synagogue records contain a wealth of genealogical treasures. Join us for a primer on using synagogue records for genealogical records. Where do you find synagogue records? What kind of genealogical materials do they contain? You will see examples and learn about JewishGen’s “Shul Records America,” a first-of-its-kind inventory of American synagogue records.

Finding synagogue records can be problematic and time consuming, as there are errors in catalogs and many ways materials are described. To make it easier, JewishGen starts the search for you with Shul Records America. This new finding aid helps you find American synagogue records. Launched in fall 2022 with over 500 collections held at 50 repositories or websites, about 20 percent include URLs for digitized materials. Not only a historical resource but important as modern-day synagogues merge or close, Shul Records America encourages congregations to preserve records with genealogical value.

At the end of the program, the Rauh Jewish Archives will present a quick survey of the dozens of available Western Pennsylvania synagogue records.

The program is Sunday, Sept. 3, from 1-3 p.m. ET. This is a virtual program occurring exclusively online. The program will be recorded, and the recording will be made available only to current JGS-Pittsburgh members.

"U.S. Synagogue Records as a Genealogical Resource" is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center.

Please register online. This program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and to receive a free membership code for this program, please visit its website.

This program is possible through the support of the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.

Ellen Kowitt is director of JewishGen’s USA Research Division and National Vice Chair of the Daughters of the American Revolution Jewish Specialty Research Team. She is past president of Jewish Genealogical Societies in Colorado and Greater Washington, DC, and served for three years on the IAJGS board of directors. Ellen publishes articles in Family Tree Magazine, she has completed the ProGen Study Group, attends genealogy institute programs, and is a member of the Colorado Chapter Association of Professional Genealogists. For upcoming lecture dates or more information, visit www.EllenKowitt.com.

August 29:

Tree of Life Memory Night

Color photograph of Tree of Life members rehearsing a congregational skit, undated.

—Tree of Life Congregation Records [MSS 1292]

The 10.27 Healing Partnership is welcoming all community members to a warm gathering to share memories of the Tree of Life synagogue building—memories big and small. Come to the Wightman School Community Building on Tuesday, August 29th from 6-8 p.m. to share music, food, and stories. Storytellers will share memories of the synagogue, and you can share yours, too. Included is a slide show of images from the Tree of Life Congregation Records [MSS 1292] held at the Rauh Jewish Archives. This program is co-sponsored by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives.

Community

Squirrel Hill Historical Society Archives

Squirrel Hill Historical Society has added a collection of 60 historic images of Squirrel Hill to the Historic Pittsburgh website. The collection contains selected images from three organizations: the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, Squirrel Hill Urban  Coalition, and Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church. The photographs document many aspects of life in Squirrel Hill, including many beloved businesses from the 1990s that no longer exist.

From the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh

"How We Got Here"

Each family is unique. 

Each family has its own traditions, its own spirit, and its own dynamics. 

Despite all these differences, every Jewish family in Western Pennsylvania has at least one thing in common: They all have a story about how they got here.

Perhaps your family sailed in steerage across the Atlanti in the 19th century.

Or perhaps your family drove the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a station wagon in the 1960s to work for the universities and hospitals during Renaissance.

Or perhaps your arrival into one of the many Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania involves marriage, or conversion, or a surprising DNA discovery.

Each of these stories is special, and each contributes to the larger story of our community. To collect and honor these origin stories, the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh is launching a new initiative called “How We Got Here.” To participate, just write a short account explaining how you or your ancestors came to settle in Western Pennsylvania. All stories are welcome.

Stories will be eligible for inclusion in the JGS-Pittsburgh’s monthly newsletter Z’chor and also for preservation in the Rauh Jewish Archives. For more information about this initiative, or to contribute, contact Eric Lidji.

From the Jewish Cemetery & Burial Association

"Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania"

The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh has released a new documentary showcasing Jewish cemeteries in Western Pennsylvania.

“Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania” is a one-hour tour of the many cemetery properties overseen by the JCBA, as well as an overview of the organization’s ongoing work to care for these sacred burial grounds. The video is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these special Jewish cultural sites in our region. The video includes many historic photographs and documents from the collections of the Rauh Jewish Archives. 

From Rodef Shalom Congregation

A mystery in primary colors

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle reports on an effort by Rodef Shalom Congregation to identify two people from a pair of mid-19th century portraits in the congregation's holdings. Do you recognize these two people?

Research Tools

The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project contains digitized, searchable copies of four local English-language Jewish newspapers between 1895 and 2010. It is a valuable tool for researching almost any topic about Jewish history in Western Pennsylvania. For a primer on using the website, watch our video.

Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project in 1998 to preserve burial records from Jewish cemeteries across the region. Over a period of fifteen years, the information was compiled into a searchable, online database containing approximately 50,000 burial records from 78 Jewish cemeteries throughout the region.

Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project in 2020. The goal was to create a comprehensive collection of burial records from memorial boards at synagogues across the region. Volunteers are currently transcribing these boards and records are being added monthly to our online database. The database currently contains more than 2,000 listings.

Rauh Jewish Archives Bibliography

University of Pittsburgh librarian and Rauh Jewish Archives volunteer Laurie Cohen created this comprehensive bibliography of the Rauh Jewish Archives library holdings from 1988 through 2018. It lists nearly 350 volumes arranged by type and then by subject. This a great tool to use early in your research process, as you’re surveying available resources on a given subject.

Jewish Population Estimates

Looking to figure out how many Jews lived in a certain part of Western Pennsylvania at a certain moment in time? This bibliography includes more than 30 estimates of the Jewish population of Pittsburgh and small-towns throughout the region, conducted between 1852 and 2017.

Synagogues

A database of buildings throughout Western Pennsylvania known to have hosted Jewish worship services. Includes links to photographs and citations with original source material. Database currently includes 57 locations from 18 institutions

Rauh Jewish Archives Newsletter

The Rauh Jewish Archives has been publishing a weekly newsletter since 2020. The newsletter contains a variety of articles about local Jewish history, including much original research not found anywhere else. You can find and read every issue—more than 150!— in our new index.