The Jewish Genealogical Society of Philadelphia (JGSGP) will co-sponsor the 29th annual International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) conference on Jewish genealogy in August 2009. To help researchers prepare for the conference, this article outlines the history of Jewish newspaper publication in Philadelphia. Primarily, it will address the most important newspapers for genealogists; Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Jewish Record, Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Jewish Times, the Philadelphia edition of the Jewish Daily Forward, and Di Yidishe Velt (The Jewish World). The first three papers are in English (for some years the Record had pages in German); the last two are in Yiddish. Some of the papers are better for birth, marriage, and death

To help researchers prepare for the (2009) conference, this article outlines the history of Jewish newspaper publication in Philadelphia.

an­nouncements. Some are better for certain periods. For each newspaper, this article identifies the most helpful resources for particular records and eras, where each paper may be found, and whether the paper is available on microfilm or in hard copy.

Additional Philadelphia Jewish newspapers are not covered in depth in this synopsis. Only scattered issues have survived for some; others are of little help to genealogists. One example is the Yiddish-language newspaper, The Jewish American, published by David Tierkel from 1908 to 1910; it is on microfilm at the American Jewish Periodical Center (AJPC), located at Hebrew Union College, Klau Library, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Composed primarily of literary pieces, the paper has little of genealogical value except, perhaps, for its few advertisements. Most other papers had short runs or have not been preserved. Scattered issues of some of these papers are at AJPC and the Jewish Division, New York Public Library.

Occident and American Jewish Advocate

Reverend Isaac Leeser’s monthly journal, The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, published in Philadelphia (1843–69), carried stories from around the United States. The paper is being digitized and posted online with full-text searchability by the University of Pennsylvania Library. The library has scanned all 26 volumes; once the quality control function is complete, the materials will be made available to the public.

The personal correspondence of Leeser (1806–68), a major American Jewish communal leader whose legacy continues to generate enormous scholarly interest, is a pilot project of the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; telephone: 215-238-1290). The primary value of the Occident is that it carried stories from all over the United States. In addition to the Occident project, the library leads a consortium of institutional libraries and private collectors to produce high-resolution color scans, transcriptions, cataloging, full text searchability, and digital links of its extensive holdings of Leeser’s personal correspondence and publications.

Jewish Record

The Philadelphia Jewish Record, published in English and German from April 16, 1875, to June 25, 1886, was a weekly. It primarily covered news and genealogical information for German-Jewish Philadelphia. It does, however, have limited historical coverage for genealogists with Eastern European roots, especially the events leading up to the founding of the Association for the Protection of Jewish Immigrants of Philadelphia (APJIP, later known as HIAS) in the fall of 1884. Some of the stories about that fall’s historical events mention names of immigrants. The newspaper has limited value for the researcher of Eastern European ancestry, but since so few sources exist for the years of publication, it may be useful when a brick wall is encountered.

The APJIP ship arrival records for the port of Philadelphia, located at the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center (PJAC) (125 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; telephone: 215-925-8090, Ext 229) begin a few months after the Association was founded. (These records, of course, are different from the Federal government’s records held by the National Archives and Records Administration.) Microfilm copies of the Jewish Record (incomplete) are located in the Newspaper Reading Room on the second floor of the Free Library of Philadelphia on Logan Square. A more complete run of the Jewish Record on microfilm is located at the American Jewish Periodical Center (AJPC), Hebrew Union College (3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220). Bound volumes (or hard copies) of the newspaper (incomplete collection) are located in Philadelphia at the Center for Advance Judaic Studies (CAJS) (420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia 19106-3703). To do research at this facility, one must make an appointment; at times during the year the library at CAJS is not open to the public. Due to the age of the newspaper, no copies can be made from the hard copies at CAJS.

Jewish Exponent

First issued on April 15, 1887, the Jewish Exponent continues weekly. The first editor, Melvin G. Winstock, left after one year. The next editor, Henry S. Morais, served only two years, but he was close to the immigrant community and wrote regularly for the paper until 1898. The most dedicated editor, Charles I. Hoffman, remained until 1898, when he left the city to study with Solomon Schechter in England. (Nominally, he remained the editor until 1907.) Morais and Hoffman, both of whom became congregational rabbis after 1898, wrote extensively during the newspaper’s first decade (1887–97). These were the golden years of Jewish scholarly writing in the city. In 1894, Morais published his classic, The Jews of Philadelphia, the definitive book on the Philadelphia Jewish community. During the same period, Hoffman served as secretary of APJIP and, in that capacity, came into contact with newly arriving immigrants from Eastern Europe on an almost daily basis. From 1887 to 1897, the Exponent acted as the secretarial arm of the Russian-Jewish community, and many names of ordinary immigrants found their way into stories printed in the paper.

Since the Jewish Exponent was printed by and for the German Jewish community, birth, marriage, and death announcements for German Jews may be found in it, but not those of the average Eastern European Jewish immigrant. For German-Jewish research, the Exponent is a gold mine. For example, one wedding notice listed virtually all the invited guests, plus the cities and towns in America where they lived.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia has undertaken to abstract death notices from the Exponent. Notices abstracted from the Exponent are for 1887–1903, 1914–35, 1946, 1950, 1955–57, 1992–94, and 2004–06; see <www.jewishgen.org/databases/usa/philaobits.htm>. The project’s index of 34,000 entries records name of the deceased, age, birthplace (rarely), other surnames (of related family members), issue in month/day/year format, and page number within the issue. The full obituary may be seen by viewing the actual newspaper either in hard copy or on microfilm.

Morais left Philadelphia in 1898, and Hoffman left the following year. The day-to-day activities at the paper were handed to others after which the paper demonstrated no special interest in Philadelphia’s Eastern European Jewish immigrant community. After 1898, the Exponent cut back its coverage of news from the immigrant sections of the city. Between 1900 and 1910, I found mention of only three marriages at Congregation Kesher Israel, the largest immigrant shul (synagogue) in downtown Philadelphia. As many additional marriages must have taken place during that time in that synagogue (although most were performed in halls), the coverage must be considered spotty at best.

In 1906, the paper published two editions, one for Philadelphia and the other for Philadelphia and Baltimore. The content of the City News section differed between the two editions, so, at least for 1906, if the microfilm copy does not include a sought-for item, consult a hard copy for the same date and see if the newspaper printed two different editions on that day.

During World War I, little news of immigrant Jewish Philadelphia found its way into the Exponent. Beginning in 1917 though, the paper printed many lists with individual names of World War I soldiers—men killed, enlistees, draftees, medal winners, heroes, and so forth. By 1926, the paper was so oriented toward the German Jewish community, and a new paper, the Philadelphia Jewish Times, was founded to address the concerns and needs of Eastern European Jews who could read English. In more recent times, and especially since World War II, the differences between the Russian and German communities have all but disappeared. Some of the more recent Exponent obituaries are extremely comprehensive and at times include life stories. The Philadelphia Jewish Times stopped publishing in the early 1990s.

Bound volumes of the Exponent are at the Exponent Office (2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103; telephone: 215-832-0700). Contact the office to see what issues are available for public inspection. Hard copies also are located at PJAC, but at best they only have 50 or 60 years of coverage, most being from post-World War II. The Free Library on Logan Square has a fairly complete run on microfilm, but several early years are missing. The CAJS holds some bound volumes of the Exponent. AJPC in Cincinnati, of course, has the microfilm.

Philadelphia Jewish Times

Noted historian of 20th-century Jewish Philadelphia, Esther M. Klein, writes about the founding of the Philadelphia Jewish Times:

Joseph Herbach served as secretary of Pannonia (Beneficial Association) for more than three decades and also executive secretary of B’nai Brith Council, which maintained offices there. He was the founder and publisher of the Philadelphia Jewish Times in 1925, and many of the Pannonia members were charter subscribers. (page 63). See A Guidebook to Jewish Philadelphia, Esther M. Klein (Philadelphia Jewish Times Institute, 1965).

The Jewish Times was published for more than 60 years and was founded to fill the void in the English language news about Eastern Europe. After Morais and Hoffman left the Exponent, news of pogroms in 1903 and 1905 and other news from Eastern Europe was covered by the Philadelphia daily newspapers of general circulation. The most noteworthy period of the Jewish Times was during the terrible years of the 1930s. To gain an understanding of what Jewish Philadelphia knew and did not know in the years leading up to the Holocaust, a reading of the papers published during those years is revealing. Many issues included long stories about daily tragedies over much of the European continent. The Times reported in great detail the calamities befalling the Jews in Eastern and Western Europe, but because of the enormity of the Holocaust, many of these pre-Holocaust tragedies almost are forgotten today.

The Times published rich birth, marriage, and death information about Philadelphia’s Eastern European Jews and is an excellent source of information. The paper may be viewed on microfilm at the Free Library, but some issues are missing. Missing issues, especially those for the early years (from 1926 through 1932), may have to be ordered on interlibrary loan from AJPC in Cincinnati. The gap years for the Eastern European Jewish community for the period from 1897 to 1926 were, to some degree, (particularly 1914–26), filled by the publication of the Yiddish-language Di Yidishe Velt (see below).

Jewish Daily Forward—Philadelphia Edition

The Jewish Daily Forward, still published in Yiddish, began as a Yiddish publication on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1897. Its long-time editor was Abraham Cahan. In 1901, a Philadelphia edition was started. Offices of the paper were located in the Jewish quarter of Philadelphia until the 1920s when the paper moved to 131 S. 5th Street, just opposite Independence Hall. At its height, more than 40 writers covered news in Philadelphia. Microfilm of the paper from 1901 to 1951 is located at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) (1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; telephone: 215-732-6200). The newspaper is written in Yiddish, but some English-language advertisements are included.

Di Yidishe Velt (The Jewish World)

The most popular Yiddish newspaper printed in Philadelphia from 1914 to 1942 was Di Yidishe Velt. The eight-page daily did not carry death notices of ordinary immigrant Jews, but did publish obituaries of well-known Philadelphia immigrants from Eastern Europe. If an immigrant ancestor was well known, look here for a story or obituary. This newspaper has been preserved on microfilm at the AJPC in whole (on 99 reels) and in part (1932–42, with some missing issues) in the Logan Square Library in Philadelphia. In the 1930s, the eighth (last) page was in English, but usually had little personal news.

I was able to learn through this newspaper that the famous Powel House, 244 S. 3rd Street, the house where George Washington spent time during the 1790s, was known to the immigrants as the “First White House.” Whether it was the first White House, I do not know, but it is interesting to know that the immigrants of Jewish Philadelphia were told this in the paper. The Powel House, from 1904 to 1930, was owned and maintained by Wolf Klebansky, a Russian Jewish immigrant.

Guides to Philadelphia Newspaper Collections

English-language Newspapers. A Checklist of Pennsylvania Newspapers, Volume I, Philadelphia County, prepared by The Pennsylvania Historical Survey, Division of Community Service Programs, Works Project Administration (Harrisburg, 1944). This 320-page guide includes Jewish newspapers, but mainly covers newspapers of general circulation published in English for the entire city, such as the Inquirer, the Evening Bulletin, The Press, the North American, the Times-Philadelphia, the Record, the Public Ledger, the Evening Telegraph, the Philadelphia Item, and others. These daily newspaper are on microfilm at the Logan Square Library, 19th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, across the street from the Sheraton Hotel, the 2009 IAJGS-JGSGP co-sponsored conference headquarters. The coverage by all these daily newspapers was good for many years. For example, the dedication of an East European shul in the Jewish district was covered by three of these dailies in 1897. It should be remembered that the proceedings would have been in Yiddish, and the reporters for all three papers must have known some Yiddish.

The guide describes Philadelphia’s various newspapers, mostly English, published from 1719 to the 1940s. The guide is in English and is kept in the newspaper reading room on the second floor of the Free Library on Logan Square. It shows, as of 1944, where each newspaper was located, the names of the newspapers, mergers (and there were many over the years), and the names of the editors and publishers. This guide is a good place to begin to learn something about a Philadelphia newspaper.

The newspaper reading room on the second floor of the Logan Square Library has a three-ring binder behind the librarian’s desk which lists all of the newspapers held by the library on microfilm (Jewish and non-Jewish) by decade. The six microfilm printers at the library are very good. At this writing, the cost to make copies is 25 cents per sheet.

Guide to Jewish Newspapers and Periodicals on Microfilm, Augmented Edition, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Hebrew Union College-–Jewish Institute of Religion, 1984). This 158-page guide, printed in English, may be found at the Gratz Library, Gratz College in Elkins Park, just outside of Philadelphia and, of course, at AJPC in Cincinnati. The Guide was not published in Philadelphia and mostly covers New York Yiddish newspapers, but it is a great source to learn about Yiddish newspapers published in Philadelphia. Newspapers are identified in Yiddish, English, Hebrew, and transliterated English. Microfilms referenced in the guide are located in Cincinnati and may be borrowed on interlibrary loan. Contact the Hebrew Union College library, Cincinnati, for details. The Yiddish newspapers are from towns and cities across the United States.

Scattered issues of the following Philadelphia Yiddish newspapers are noted in the guide: Gegenwart, 1896, 1898; Telegraph, 1898, 1899; Jewish Volks-Blatt, 1894; Philadelphia Jewish Evening Post, April 18, 1905; Philadelphia Jewish Press, 1904; Philadelphia Jewish Morning News, 1907; Philadelphia Stadtzeitung, May 12, 1895; and Zion’s Friend, 1898–1905. Some of these reels have very few issues of the paper.

About the Years 1886–87

Unfortunately, for those interested in Jewish Philadelphia, the period from 1886–87 must be considered “gap years.” The Jewish Record ceased publication in the summer of 1886, and the Exponent did not start until the spring of 1887. The New York Yiddish newspaper Di New Yorker Yudishe Volkszeitung, published in Yiddish from June 25, 1886, to June 14, 1889, is helpful for general news, but the coverage for Philadelphia is spotty. (Copies of this newspaper are available on microfilm at the New York City Public Library.) Since no Yiddish newspaper was printed in Philadelphia until 1891, and since Philadelphia immigrants did advertise in Di New Yorker Yudishe Volkszeitung, this paper represents another long-shot source to check when researchers run into a brick wall.

Philadelphia Inquirer Online Up to 1922

Recently, the Philadelphia Inquirer has been put online as part of a commercial venture. Articles in full text are available until 1922. Although the Inquirer is not a Jewish paper, it covers so many facets of Philadelphia life that many Jewish events are swept up in its broad coverage.

Case Study

Looking at death notices for the period 1900 to 1910, however, did lead to a significant finding. Philip Werner, a leader in the immigrant community, died in 1906. I knew his exact date of death, but a search through the Jewish Exponent obituaries on microfilm at the Logan Square Library newspaper reading room proved fruitless; I could find nothing. This seemed strange, since Werner was well-known in 1906 throughout the entire Jewish community. He was the president of the Talmud Torah and active in other organization. Next, I consulted a hard copy of the Exponent at the CAJS and found a long, helpful obituary in the City News section. Asking myself how this could be, I looked at the newspaper for the same date for which I had examined the microfilm and saw that two different editions of the Exponent had been published on the same date: one published for Philadelphia, the other for Philadelphia and Baltimore. The editions were identical except for the “City News” section, and it was in the “City News” that I found Werner’s obituary. One edition, the edition on microfilm, did not include the obituary; the other had the obituary.

Thus, for the year 1906, if the microfilm copy does not include a sought-for item, consult a hard copy for the same date and see if the newspaper printed two different editions on that day. Whether this phenomenon existed over a period of years, or only during 1906, I do not know. My experience may have been a fluke and nothing more.

 

Harry D. Boonin is the founding president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia and a long-time contributor to AVOTAYNU. He is the author of Jewish Quarter of Philadelphia, available through Avotaynu.