Hebrew Infant Asylum of the City of New York Records (I-166)
The origins of the Hebrew Infant Asylum can be traced back to Mrs. Solomon [Esther Hellman] Wallenstein, a member of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society. She and other concerned New Yorkers recognized a lack of proper housing for the city's abandoned Jewish children below the age range of orphanage admittance. In 1892 she engaged the help of the United Hebrew Charities of the City of New York, and created an informal committee to tackle this problem. Two weeks later, the committee coalesced into the Hebrew Infant Asylum Society, with Wallenstein as President.
This collection contains primarily bound volume reports of the Hebrew Infant Asylum, and its later iteration: the Home for Hebrew Infants. Included in these volumes are annual reports, 1898-1917; the "monthly city billing" (1904-1906), reports of the admitting physicians, 1895-1908; and other printed materials.
Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of New York records (I-42)
Originally named the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum (HOA) was created out of a merger of two New York Jewish benevolent societies--the Hebrew Benevolent Society (HBS) and the German Hebrew Benevolent Society (GHBS)--in 1860. Immigration surges brought new social problems to the Jewish community: unemployment, malnutrition, chronic diseases, destitute children and widows, etc. The relinquishing of one's children to the asylum not only prevented starvation, but also offered the possibilities of a vocational or college education, medical care, and easier adjustment to American life.
The records of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum include extensive administrative records, child records, and material on its affiliated organizations. This collection provides unique insight into the life of Eastern European immigrants in New York City in the late 1800s to early 1900s, as well as the progression of social and medical services, as reflected in the departmental programs and standards of HOA. HOA orphan alumni and genealogists will find personal histories within the children's admission and discharge ledgers, medical records, and conduct books. Please note, however, that, due to privacy concerns, some records may be restricted from access.
Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society Records (I-43)
The Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society, founded in 1879, merged with the Jewish Child Care Association of New York in 1940. This collection includes administrative records consisting of annual reports, Board of Directors' annual reports and meeting minutes, a limited amount of committee reports, financial records, donation books, and property records. The collection also includes children admission and discharge ledgers, which date from 1898 to 1942, with gaps. Please note that children records dated after 1925 are restricted for privacy reasons.
Hyman Bogen collection (P-767)
The collection consists of memorabilia and research materials Hyman Bogen collected regarding the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York and its alumni association, the Seligman Solomon Society. A scrapbook compiled by HOA librarian Mildred Stember offers a detailed view of HOA life in the 1920's.
Jewish Foster Home and Orphan Asylum of Philadelphia (I-300)
This collection consists mostly of annual reports. Also includes charter, constitution and by-laws, employee lists and information, and memorial book for Rose Krauskopf by S.M. Fleischman.
Pride of Judea Home Records (I-448)
The Pride of Judea Orphan Home opened on April 16, 1923 at 992 Dumont Avenue and Elton Street in the East New York section of Brooklyn, New York. The home was founded by Orthodox Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia who opted to use the term “Judea” in the organization’s name rather than “Jewish” or “Hebrew” which were used in the naming of other orphanages and organizations.
The Pride of Judea Children's Home records document life at the home from the 1930s through the 1950s. The collection contains photographs and the newsletters Pride Survey, Judea Journal, and the alumni newsletters The Voice and the Rose Nadler Schefer Chapter. The collection also holds a few brochures, lists of residents from 1941 and 1946, newspaper and magazine clippings about the home and its residents and staff.
Records of the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum (I-230)
On May 16, 1878 German Jewish philanthropists gathered in Temple Beth Elohim on Keap Street in Brooklyn to discuss what action to take for Jewish orphans in Brooklyn, who until recently, were cared for by the neighboring city's Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of New York (HOA), the largest Jewish child-care institution in the country. Led by philanthropist Sigismund Kaufman, the German Jewish Brooklyn community raised $2000 to open an orphanage. The State chartered the Hebrew Orphan Asylum Society of the City of Brooklyn in August 1878, and on January 1, 1879, with Ernst Nathan as the first elected president, the BHOA officially opened in a rented house at 384 McDonough Street.
The records of the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum consist of administrative records, child records, and material on affiliated organizations. The records are valuable for genealogists and alumni and for researchers studying the immigrant population in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Jewish Community's fundraising efforts, reforms in child welfare and foster care systems in New York State, and Americanization of immigrants.
Records of the Home for Hebrew Infants (I-232)
This collection contains several histories of the Home, Board of Directors Minutes (1928-1942), annual report for 1927 (includes numerous photographs), a list of donations (1897-1923), records of Admission and Discharges (1922-1943), financial records (1924-1941) and the certificate of merger with the New York Association for Jewish Children (1942). Includes material re the Young Folks League for Aid to Hebrew Infants.
Ahawah Children's Home Collection (AR 6427) (Digitized)
Photo albums and photographs of children and caretakers at the Ahawah Children's Home in Berlin and in Haifa during the 1920s and 1930s.
Auerbach Orphanage Photos, 1932-1939 (AR 25827) (Digitized)
Ralph Moratz was born on October 10th, 1931, in Berlin Germany. After his parents divorce in 1936, he was sent to live in Auerbach orphanage in Berlin. The increase in antisemitism after Hitler’s rise to power, especially following the events of Kristallnacht, forced Ralph and other
Jewish children to flee Germany through a Kindertransport to France on July 4th, 1939. The Auerbach orphanage photos are from Series II of the larger Ralph Moratz collection. This collection has been digitized in its entirety and is fully available online.
Jüdischer Frauenbund Collection, 1927-1976 (AR 2106) (Digitized)
The Jüdischer Frauenbund (JFB; League of Jewish Women) was founded in 1904 by Bertha Pappenheim and Sidonie Werner. The JFB aimed to unite the emancipatory and social efforts of different Jewish women’s associations. The JFB founded orphanages and schools for Jewish girls, such as the Mädchenwohnheim in Neu-Isenburg while also providing accommodations and support centers for unmarried mothers or pregnant women.
The collection contains photographs of the organization’s children’s home in Wyk auf Foehr. This collection has been digitized in its entirety and is fully available online.