Search the collections at the Center for Jewish History
Center for Jewish History: General Information
Lillian Goldman Reading Room
Ackman and Ziff Family Genealogy Institute
The mission of the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) is to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish experience and serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history. Founded in 1892 as a membership organization, research library, archives, and museum, the American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest ethnic historical organization in the United States. |
The AJHS Archives contains valuable records of American Jewish organizations and personal papers of individuals and families. Collections of personal papers (mainly of well-known personalities and rabbis) are given “P-“ numbers, while institutional records are given “I-“ numbers. Collections from the Greater Boston metropolitan area and New England are held at the AJHS New England Archives; all others are held at AJHS New York at the Center for Jewish History (CJH). This guide focuses exclusively on the collections held at AJHS New York. The AJHS Library collection includes local histories of many Jewish communities around the country and biographies of prominent American Jews.
You may search the CJH’s online catalog at search.cjh.org by author, title, or subject (such as a town name) to locate relevant books and archival collections. Most of the collections described in the following pages (click on the American Jewish Historical Society tab above) have been indexed and/or digitized (in some cases, only partially). Searchable indexes without record images are available for free in the CJH’s Family History Databases. Searchable indexes with record images (in most cases) are available on Ancestry.com, a paid subscription database that you may access for free on-site at the CJH. To search a specific collection within Ancestry.com, under the search tab, click “Browse Card Catalog,” and search for the collection title.
AJHS New York
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Tel: 212-294-6160
E-mail form