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Jewish Studies Materials in the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Southern Jewish History: Notable Manuscript Collections

Beth-El Synagogue Records, 1899-1988 (bulk 1950-1980): Founded as the Durham Hebrew Congregation Company in 1902. This collection contains rganizational records consisting of records of board, general membership, Beth-El Sisterhood and Ladies' Aid Society meetings between 1930 and 1984, primarily containing minutes and financial reports, but also correspondence, committee reports and other material. See the catalog record for more details!

Evans Family Papers, 1926-1989: A family active in Durham, N.C. civic leadership, local and national religious leadership, and national journalism.Collection contains correspondence, scrapbooks, albums, clippings, addresses, writings, and other materials that concern the personal lives and careers of the Evans family, particularly Emanuel J. and Sara Evans, their sons, Eli and Robert, and Emanuel's brother, Monroe. See the overview and inventory for more details!

Mattie Goldberg Papers, 1889-1981: Born Mattie K. Lehman. Her family built the Kronheimer-Lehman house (1015 Minerva Ave., Durham, N.C.). Resident of Trinity Park, Durham, N.C. Married Julian Goldberg. The papers (71 items, dated 1889-1977) represent aspects of family, social and civic life of prominent Jewish family in Durham, N.C., including residence in Trinity Park.

Jacob Mordecai Papers, 1784-1936; (bulk 1784-1904): An educator, of Warrenton, N.C., and Richmond, Va.Collection (2474 items; dated 1784-1936, bulk 1784-1904) comprises correspondence, ledgers, personal and school accounts (1811-1818), personal journals (1858-1861), and other papers of Mordecai and of his family.

Abraham Oettinger Papers, 1886-1900: One of three brothers from a Bavarian Jewish family who came to the U.S. in the late 19th century. Together they founded the Oettinger Bros. Furniture Store in Kinston, N.C. This collection consists chiefly of the diaries of Abraham Oettinger.

Lenora Greenbaum Ucko Papers, 1966-1998: Professor of anthropology, sociology, and social work, who founded StoriesWork, a non-profit organization in Durham, N.C. Collection consists of several separate accessions and includes, among many other things, materials from the Henry Zvi Ucko Memorial Exhibit, "What We Brought with Us," which featured personal items taken by German Jews who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s; and other materials from Ucko's position at the Museum of the Jewish Family in the late 1990s. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.

Serials and Newspapers

Check the American Newspaper Repository Collection for more Jewish newspapers from the United States and around the world. Aufbau, for example, is a German language newspaper geared towards German-speaking Jews around the world; it was founded in 1934 in New York by the German-Jewish Club. The Rubenstein has issues printed fom 1940-1973.

Di Arbayter Tsaytung or Arbeiter Zeitung: An official publication -- in Yiddish, English, and German -- of the United Hebrew Trades, the Socialist Labor Party of North America, and others. The Rubenstein has issues from 1894 -1902.

Fraye arbayṭer shṭime: An anarchist labor newspaper from New York, with articles primarily in Yiddish. The Rubenstein has issues from 1917, 1950-60, and 1962.

Der Groyser Kundes (The Big Stick): A Yiddish satirical weekly serial from New York City, which ran from 1909-1927.

General Resources

American Jewish Committee Archives

A century of American Jewish History. View full text of documents, watch movies, listen to radio shows or browse through all the volumes of the American Jewish Year Book 1899-2000.

American Jewish Archives Journal

The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life

JHNC: Jewish Heritage North Carolina

The Occident and American Jewish Advocate

Southern Jewish Historical Society

Online Resources

Down Home: A Virtual Musem (Duke Center for Jewish Studies and the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina)

Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities (The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life)

South Carolina Jews Tell Their Stories (College of Charleston Jewish Heritage Collection)