August 2, 2023

Vol. 4, No. 34

Restaurants:

The Elovitz Family

Jewish Encyclopedia:

Ahave Sholem Congregation

Article:

"Our Poor Brethren"

Calendar:

TODAY: JGS Pittsburgh: Tyler Stump

Aug. 29: Tree of Life memories

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:

The Elovitz Family

Black and white photograph of New Light Congregation members including the Elovitz brothers and Dr. Weisberg relocating congregational Torah scrolls to their new synagogue at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. in Squirrel Hill.

—from New Light Congregation Records [MSS 1230]

By the time New Light Congregation sold its synagogue on Roberts Street in the Hill District in 1955, it had amassed 11 Torah scrolls. It placed nine in storage with Congregation Knesseth Israel in the East End. The other two were given to the newly formed Parkway Jewish Center in the suburb of Eastmont.

This photograph from April 1957 marks the day the Torahs were finally brought to New Light’s synagogue on Beechwood Boulevard in Squirrel Hill. 

The two men in the middle of this photograph are labeled “Elovitz brothers.” 

Who were these brothers, and why did they get this honor?

Advertisement announcing the opening of Meyer’s De Luxe Delicatessen at 1928 Murray Ave. under the management of Charles and Meyer Elovitz—July 7, 1939.

—from Jewish Criterion

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

Harry and Anna Sarah Elovitz immigrated to the United States from Romania with their eldest daughter Hattie around 1903. They lived for a time in New York, where they had three more children, Meyer, Hyman, and Charles. The fifth child, Gilbert, was born in Pennsylvania.

Meyer and Charles Elovitz opened Cheesy’s restaurant at 6497 Washington Blvd. as early as 1934 and appear to have rebranded it as Cheesy’s Moonlight Garden the following year. They opened Meyer’s De Luxe Delicatessen at 1928 Murray Ave. in 1939 and relocated to 5882 Forbes Ave. in 1942. With brother Gill, they opened Meyer’s New Haddon Hall dining room in Haddon Hall at 4730 Center Ave. in 1952. Their father Harry Elovitz had worked for the railroad for many years but increasingly joined the family business, becoming an assistant manager at the restaurant for a time.

The Elovitz family was closely associated with New Light. Charles was part of the group that reorganized the congregation in the mid-1950s and served as president in the 1970s. The entire family is buried in the New Light Cemetery. 

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:

Ahave Sholem Congregatio

Reproduction of deed transferring cemetery property in Baldwin Township from Congregation Ahave Sholem to Louis Moskovitz—April 23, 1913

—from Marks Family Papers [MSS 1006]

Ahave Sholem Congregation—Brethren of Peace was an Orthodox congregation chartered in 1889 by immigrants from Romania and Galicia.

Ahave Sholem established a cemetery in Baldwin Township in the 1890s that later became the Shaare Zedeck Cemetery and the Marks Cemetery.

Throughout the mid-to-late 1890s, the Galician members joined Machsikei Hadas Congregation and the Romanian members joined Ohel Jacob Congregation (which later became New Light Congregation).

Our entry for Ahave Sholem Congregation includes its charter and assorted real estate documents, as well as newspaper clippings.

Article:

"Our Poor Brethren"

First page of a letter from Louis Horwitz on Pittsburg General Store letterhead to Central Committee of the Baron de Hirsch Fund, also known as the Industrial Removal Office—Sept. 6, 1906.

—from the Industrial Removal Office Records, American Jewish Historical Society

The Industrial Removal Office was a Jewish employment bureau with a philanthropic mission. It sought to alleviate big-city congestion in the early 20th century by relocating urban Jewish immigrants to smaller cities throughout the country.

The IRO emerged from a basic fact of immigration: It’s a national conversation about a local issue. In coming to a new country, immigrants come to a new city. Local conditions inspire national policy — sometimes sincerely, sometimes cynically.

The leaders of the IRO worried that conditions in crowded eastern cities would be used to justify closing national borders to Jewish immigration. These worries emerged from reality, as well as from their own biases about class, ethnicity and religiosity. It is a complex, perpetually relevant story, and I wanted to find some compelling local angle.

August 20:

JGS-Pittsburgh presents:

"Researching Institutionalized Family Members

at the Pennsylvania State Archives"

with Tyler Stump

Color photograph of archivist Tyler Stump discussing a document with a patron.

Since the early 19th century, Pennsylvania has operated nearly 50 different state institutions for people with intellectual and mental disabilities. Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians lived in these institutions. Today, the Pennsylvania State Archives holds the historical records created by these institutions, which are invaluable resources for researchers and genealogists.

Join archivist Tyler Stump to explore this important part of Pennsylvania’s history and to learn about the information in the archives’ collections.

The program is TODAY, Aug. 20, from 1-3 p.m. at the Library & Archives reading room on the sixth floor of the Heinz History Center with a virtual option for those who wish to attend remotely. The program will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to current JGS-Pittsburgh members.

"Researching Institutionalized Family Members at the Pennsylvania State Archives" 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.

Tyler Stump has been an archivist at the Pennsylvania State Archives since 2016. He helps collect and preserve records from state-run institutions such as asylums, prisons, and hospitals as well as many other government offices around the state. Tyler has degrees in history and library science from the University of Maryland. Though he grew up in Baltimore, Tyler has deep roots in Pennsylvania, mostly around York County, that go back to the 18th century. He currently lives in Camp Hill, PA, with his wife Andra who is also an archivist.

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.