KA-EL Family Society
Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project
Using gravestones for genealogy
Jewish Squirrel Hill: 1907-1957
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The members of the KA-EL Family Society at an unidentified gathering. Some of the faces were removed to be used in other purposes, and handwritten names fill the resulting holes.
—from Katz and Elinoff Papers and Photographs [MSS 1130]
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Most of what we know about the family clubs of this region comes from short notices published in the local Jewish newspapers in the 1950s and 1960s. In 100 words or less, these notices describe recent activities and announce upcoming events: annual banquets, family picnics, and Chanukah parties.
That's not the case for the KA-EL Family Society.
The Society did palce occasional notices in the Jewish press. But those notices fail to capture the full scope, scale, and intensity of the club and its activities.
For that, you have to go to the archives.
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Notice of the inaugural meeting of the "KA-EL Club" at the Philip Katz residence in Oakland.
—from Jewish Criterion
April 15, 1949
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The Katz and Elinoff Family Papers and Photographs [MSS 1130] contains two volumes recording the activities of the club. The first is a minute book. It records the activities of the club month by month. The second is a scrapbook. It collects photographs of club events, copies of its newsletter KA-EL Komments, and other ephemera over 25 years of the life of the club.
Together, the two volumes tell a richer and more intimate story than the newspaper notices. Straight mentions of "family picnics" and "annual banquets" in the notices become crowded, joyous photographs and write-ups.
The KA-EL Family Society was founded in March 1949, making it one of the earlier Jewish family clubs in the region. The name of the club came from its two founding families: Katz and Elinoff. The idea came from Jack Elinoff.
In the inaugural edition of its newsletter KA-EL Komments, the club issued a salute to its "Uncle Jack" for his efforts to found the club: "To our beloved Uncle Jack, for his staunch belief that a family society is possible to organize, for his persistence in bringing up the subject on many, many occasions, and for his service as temporary chairman in the organization period..."
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Pages from the KA-EL Family Society scrapbook. (Left) The first issue of the KA-EL Komments newsletter, April 1949. (Right) Photographs from the 16th anniversary dinner of the KA-EL Family Society at Weinstein's Kennilworth restaurant in Shadyside, 1965.
—from Katz and Elinoff Papers and Photographs [MSS 1130]
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The records demonstrate what the newspaper notices imply: these clubs were a way to strengthen bonds by formalizing the normal affairs of family life.
Reading through the two volumes, you see photographs from get-togethers, reunions and parties. You find notes congratulating teenagers who were accepted to good schools, couples on their recent engagements, and parents on the births of their children. There are photographs where kids light the menorah with their grandparents or eat hot dogs together at summer picnics.
You can find these sorts of things in the records of many families. But "family clubs" heightened the importance of these events. A family has memories. But a family club has a historian, who is responsible for documenting real life.
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The KA-EL Family Society minute book, including (left) handwritten title page and (right) typed minutes from the first meeting, 1949. The minutes continue into the early 1970s.
—from Katz and Elinoff Papers and Photographs [MSS 1130]
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In the KA-EL Family Society scrapbook is a collection of essays on the theme, "What the KA-EL Family Society Means to Me." One member wrote:
"A friend of mine has often said to me, 'I don't know how you do it. I couldn't stand meeting with my relatives every month. I get along fine with my relatives but only because I never have to see them.' I feel sorry for him. He doesn't realize what he's missing.
"It's true there are times when I would prefer doing something else instead of coming to our monthly meetings. But after I get there, I soon forget what it was that I wanted to do. And although I don't seem to do much at the meetings but sit back in my usual quiet way and listen, I realize it isn't the program, or the food or any other single thing that might happen that night, but the opportunity to see and be with my relatives, if only for a few hours."
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All this year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting stories of Jewish club life in Western Pennsylvania. If you would like to donate records of a local Jewish club, or just chat about clubs, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.
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Help the Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project |
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The home page of the new Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project website, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. The redesigned website is launching this month. |
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The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project is likely the most widely used resource for conducting research about Jewish history in this region.
Launched in 2007, and expanded over a period of years, it now includes digital reproductions of four English-language Jewish newspapers—The Jewish Criterion, The American Jewish Outlook, the Jewish Chronicle, and the Y Weekly. These searchable issues begin in 1895 and continue through 2010, creating an invaluable tool for studying Jewish history and Jewish genealogy.
Carnegie Mellon University Libraries created the website, using materials and resources from the Rauh Jewish Archives, Rodef Shalom Congregation, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. CMU recently announced plans to move the Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project to a different online platform. As with any change, this one will require people to learn a new system: the site will look a little different and will act a little different than the one we have become accustomed to using for many years.
The new system will be an improvement in some ways. But as with any change, it will also create new quirks and shortcomings to navigate.
At this early stage in the transition, CMU is asking for help. They want you to try out the new site and to let them know what you think about it.
In the meantime, the existing site remains accessible. You can find it here.
These transitions can be exciting, and they can also be frustrating. The Rauh Jewish Archives is currently learning the new system, in order to help researchers make the switch over the coming months. We are always available to help you troubleshoot problems, and we hope to provide training workshops in the near future. You can contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.
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Dec. 12
JGS Presents: Dr. Janette Silverman
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As genealogists, we depend on gravestones to give us at least basic information about a decedent: name, for example, and perhaps years of birth and death. What happens when the gravestone doesn’t match other documents – how do you discover the facts? How do you interact with a cemetery to find graves when the gravestone isn’t in their database?
This is a virtual program. It will be recorded, and the recording will be made available for JGS-Pittsburgh members who are current on their dues.
This program is possible through the support of the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.
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Dr. Janette Silverman is a professional genealogist, heading a team of researchers specializing in Eastern European and Jewish research at AncestryProGenealogists® the division of Ancestry® that does private client research. Her research on behalf of clients takes her all over the U.S. and Europe. Silverman holds a Doctorate in Jewish Studies from Spertus Institute. Her dissertation, “In Living Memory” explored her family’s journey from Europe to the U.S. from the 1880s to the 1920s, contextualizing their experiences.
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Dec. 13
Jewish Squirrel Hill: 1907-1957
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Squirrel Hill has been the “Jewish part of Pittsburgh” for nearly a century. How did that happen? In this presentation with Doors Open Pittsburgh, the Rauh Jewish Archives will track the development of Squirrel Hill year by year over half a century, looking at the creation of subdivisions, the establishment of businesses and the arrival of synagogues, schools and community centers. We will also consider Squirrel Hill in relationship to the larger Jewish population of Allegheny County, following migrations into the neighborhood as Squirrel Hill gradually consolidated the Jewish population of a broad region.
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[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—from Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]
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The Rauh Jewish Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa. |
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Plan a Visit
Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
412-454-6000
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A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Senator John Heinz History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.
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