an insider's guide to doing family history in the magnes collections
DESCRIPTION
Presented at the 2011 IAJGS International Conference of Jewish Genealogy.TRANSCRIPT
An Insider’s Guide to Researching Western Jewish Families in the Magnes Collections
Lara Michels, MLIS, PhDArchivist for the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the Bancroft
Library, UC Berkeley
Archival collections
Jewish ceremonial objects and decorative art
Modern and contemporary fine art
The Past…Rare Books and Manuscripts
The Sixties @Magnes•Cemeteries Commission and WJHC
•Rescue trips to India and Iran•Strauss Collection
The Sixties @Magnes•Cemeteries Commission and WJHC
•Rescue trips to India and Iran•Strauss Collection
The Seventies @Magnes•First Jewish Museum to be accredited
•Film projects•Publishing projects
•Docent program
The Seventies @Magnes•First Jewish Museum to be accredited
•Film projects•Publishing projects
•Docent program
The Nineties and 2000s @Magnes•Seymour Fromer retires
•Dissolved merger between Jewish Museum of SF and Magnes•Digitization of collection and creation of online catalog
The Nineties and 2000s @Magnes•Seymour Fromer retires
•Dissolved merger between Jewish Museum of SF and Magnes•Digitization of collection and creation of online catalog
The Eighties @Magnes•Renovation of Burke
mansion•Blumenthal Rare Book
Library added•Gallery space expanded
The Eighties @Magnes•Renovation of Burke
mansion•Blumenthal Rare Book
Library added•Gallery space expanded
The Present…
“Historic collection of Jewish artifacts to
move to UC Berkeley”
“Major Jewish collection to move to
UC Berkeley”
The Future… New Name: The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the Bancroft LibraryPhysical access:•Bancroft Library•New Magnes facility in Downtown Berkeley
Intellectual access:•UC catalogs•OAC•Magnes online catalog•New Integrated Magnes website with more tools
Family and Personal Papers
Ackerman BehrendBogen
CorinsonDinkelspiel
ElkusGilbertGlazier
GreenebaumHaas
LilienthalLubinHirschKahn
Levy-PudlinLivingston
Lowenthal-Goldfarb
MarksMeyerNaftaly
NeustadterPantoskey
PhillipsPinto-LevyRosenbergRosenblatt
RosenbloomRubin
SamuelsSchoenfeld
SlossSwigTeller
WeinstockZellerbach
WJHC Vertical File•Three parts: Geographic File, Name File and Subject File•Name File arranged by surname•Watch for finding aid on OAC
Western Jewry and WJHC Indexes•Martin Meyer’s Western Jewry (1916)•Index to the Emanu-El newspaper•Index to the 1986 WJHC Collection Guide•Indexes to various publications on Western Jews (prepared by WJHC volunteers)
Books Indexed by WJHC•Jack Goldman’s A History of Pioneer Jews in California, 1849-1870•Rudolf Glanz’s The Jews of California--From the Discover of Gold Until 1880•I.J. Benjamin’s Three Years in America, 1859-1962
Other Published IndexesIndex in Norton Stern’s California Jewish History: A Descriptive BibliographyIndexes in Sara Cogan’s three bibliographies on California Jewish historyIndex in Robert Levinson’s The Jews in the California Gold Rush
Congregational Records
Marriage recordsMarriage records Membership listsMembership lists
Burial recordsBurial records MinutesMinutes
Sherith Israel, SF
Beth Israel, SF
Beth Israel, Berkeley
Beth Jacob, Oakland
Temple Israel, Stockton
Temple Sinai, Oakland
Emanu-El, SF
Keneseth Israel, SF
First Hebrew Congregation, Albany (Oregon)
Institutional Records
Membership listsMembership lists
Case FilesCase Files
PhotographsPhotographs
Eureka Benevolent SocietyLadies United Hebrew Benevolent Society
Mount Zion Hospital
Jewish Community Centers of SF and Oakland
Jewish Welfare Federations of SF and Oakland
Emanu-El Sisterhood for Personal Service
Business Records
Zellerbach Paper Co.
Bissinger and Co. Haas Bros.
White House Dept Store
Marks & Co. Ben Swig
Weinstock-Lubin
Think Broadly! Unusual Collections and Sources
Digital Magnes
The New Magnes @ Bancroft Website