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Guide to the Papers of the Jacobi-Schlossberg Family,
undated, 1874-2000
P-705

Processed by Rachel A. Wise

Processing and preservation of this collection were funded through a generous gift from Deda Schlossberg Miller and Roger E. Miller.

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16th Street

New York, N.Y. 10011

Phone: (212) 294-6160

Fax: (212) 294-6161

Email: reference@ajhs.org

URL: http://www.ajhs.org

© 2013, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Machine-readable finding aid created by unknown author as MS Word document, February 1999. Electronic finding aid converted to EAD 1.0 by Dianne Ritchey Oummia, October 2001. Description is in English.
December 2004. Converted to ead 2002. Revised as JacobiSchlossberg02.xml by Dianne Ritchey Oummia. Removed deprecated elements and attributes, updated repository codes, added language codes, changed doctype declaration, etc. April 2005. Removed boilerplate entities and updated the Descriptive Summary. Tanya Elder. April 22, 2005. Photograph of four generations of the Jacobi-Schlossberg family added by Tanya Elder. October 5, 2006. The collection was partially reprocessed and the MS-Word finding aid was revised and updated by Adina Anflick. The electronic finding aid was updated by Marvin Rusinek to reflect these changes. In May 2013, items were added to the collection and changes made to the finding aid by Susan Malbin. Christine McEvilly updated the EAD record to reflect these changes.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Jacobi, Sarah Simon (1857-1943)
Creator: Jacobi, Freda Moritz (1886-1939)
Creator: Jacobi-Schlossberg, Alice (1912-1987)
Creator: Schlossberg-Miller, Deda (1940- )
Title: Jacobi-Schlossberg Family Papers
Dates: 1870-2000
Abstract: Collection consists of personal papers of the Jacobi-Schlossberg family, specifically of papers belonging to Sarah Simon Jacobi, Freda Moritz Jacobi, Alice Jacobi Schlossberg, and Deda Schlossberg Miller. Papers include correspondence between Freda and Harold Jacobi, and between Alice and Arnold Schlossberg, as well as baby books, journals, report cards, photo albums, and a videotape. The collection also includes genealogical information on the family and family photographs.
Languages: The collection is in English, German, Yiddish, and Hebrew.
Quantity: 6.7 linear feet (6 manuscript boxes, 1 20"x16"x1½" oversized flat box, 1 24"x20"x1½" oversized flat box)
Accession number: P-705
Repository: American Jewish Historical Society at the Center for Jewish History
Note:

A digital archive of selected photographs from the Jacobi-Schlossberg Family papers may be found here: http://digital.cjh.org/R/?func=collections-result&collection_id=1638
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Biographical Note
photo of Jacobi-Schlossberg Family, circa 1930

Four generations, circa 1930)

Four generations of women are represented in the collection: Sarah Simon Jacobi, Freda Moritz Jacobi, Alice Jacobi Schlossberg, and Deda Schlossberg Miller.

Sarah Simon Jacobi was born on August 16, 1857 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She married Emile Jacobi in New Orleans on January 8, 1879. SSJ and Emile had five children, all of them born in Montgomery, Alabama. Their fourth child, Harold Jacobi, was born on October 1, 1884. SSJ, who died on December 13, 1943, survived two of her sons, Harold and Sanford, who both died in 1938.

Freda Moritz Jacobi married Sarah Simon Jacobi's son Harold. Freda Moritz Jacobi was born on November 4, 1886 in Chicago, Illinois. She married Harold Jacobi in 1910 in New York, New York. Freda Moritz Jacobi and Harold had three children: Alice, Edith and Harold Jr. Freda Moritz Jacobi died when she was 52, nineteen days after her husband, on January 19, 1939 in Woodmere, Long Island, New York

Alice Jacobi Schlossberg was born on April 24, 1912 in Montgomery, Alabama, and moved with her family to New York City when she was eleven years old. In 1929 Alice Jacobi Schlossberg attended Bradford Junior College, and later, Simmons College. While at Simmons, Alice Jacobi Schlossberg met Arnold Schlossberg from Roanoke, Virginia, who was a student at Harvard College. Alice Jacobi Schlossberg and Arnold secretly eloped in 1932, and had a formal family wedding on June 24, 1933. Only Alice Jacobi Schlossberg's sister Edith, knew about their elopement. Alice Jacobi Schlossberg and Arnold moved to Roanoke, Virginia in 1940 with their three children: Nancy, Arnold Jr., and Deda. Alice worked as a probation officer at the Juvenile Court in Roanoke for approximately ten years beginning in 1946. Alice Jacobi Schlossberg died on December 15, 1987 in Sarasota, Florida.

Deda Schlossberg Miller, was born Freda Harol Schlossberg in New York City in 1940, and moved to Roanoke, Virginia the same year. She was named after her maternal grandmother and grandfather. In 1961, Deda Schlossberg Miller married Roger E. Miller of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Deda Schlossberg Miller and Roger have two sons: Kenneth David Miller and Ross Eric Miller. In 1976 Deda Schlossberg Miller received a Master of Arts degree in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from the University of Santa Clara in Santa Clara, California.

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Scope and Content Note

The bulk of the Jacobi-Schlossberg Family Papers comprises personal papers in the form of journals, baby books, wedding albums and correspondence kept by four generations of women in the Jacobi-Schlossberg family.

The collection is rich in genealogical content and is valuable for researchers studying the social and daily life of women in the late 19th and 20th centuries and Jewish life in Montgomery, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York; and Roanoke, Virginia. The collection is particularly strong in regards to marriage, raising and educating of children, college life, and personal journals. Deda Schlossberg Miller donated the material and included explanatory notes throughout the collection.

This collection also includes a sterling silver card case given to Freda Moritz Jacobi by her husband and mentioned in the Trousseau book; an original etching of the Jacobi home on Long Island in Woodmere, New York, as described in Freda Moritz Jacobi's diary; and a sterling coffee pot and creamer belonging to Deda Schlossberg Miller's great, great maternal grandmother. In addition there is a lace baby dress made by Louisiana nuns for the Brit Milah of Harold Jacobi in 1884, with his silver baby cup.

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Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into four series reflecting the four generations of women represented in this collection:

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011.

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Related Material

Information about Arnold Schlossberg Jr., Deda's brother who died in 1994, can be found at the Virginia Military Institute Archives, Preston Library, Lexington VA 24450, and The Virginia Military Institute Museum, Jackson Memorial Hall, Lexington VA 24450. He served thirty-three years in the United States Army, and retired in 1991 as a Major General.

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Separated Material

This collection also includes a sterling silver card case given to Freda Moritz Jacobi by her husband and mentioned in the Trousseau book; an original etching of the Jacobi home on Long Island in Woodmere, New York, as described in Freda Moritz Jacobi's diary; a sterling coffee pot and creamer belonging to Deda Schlossberg Miller's great, great maternal grandmother; and a "christening dress" made by Louisiana nuns for the Brit Milah of Harold Jacobi in 1884, with his silver baby cup. For more information on these items, see the Museum Curator.

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Provenance

The Society acquired the collection through three accessions (1998.005, 1998.006, 1999.005, 1999.009, 2003, 2010, 2013) all donated by Deda Schlossberg Miller.

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Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Jacobi-Schlossberg Family Papers; P-705; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY.

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Access Points

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Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

 

Series I: Sarah Simon Jacobi (1857-1943), undated, 1870, 1874, 1879-1962, 1976.
Boxes 1-2. Folders 1-2, and Oversized Box 8.
Arrangement:

Arranged by document type.
Scope and Content:

This series comprises a Hebrew family Prayer Book (Seder Hatfilah), Sarah Simon Jacobi's personal journal, a family photograph album, and a confirmation certificate. The material is arranged by document type. The Hebrew family Prayer Book (Box 1, Folder 1) contains Yiddish commentaries and a handwritten family record in German (translation available) inscribed in the front. Sarah Simon Jacobi's Journal, 1874 (Box 1, Folder 3) was written in New Orleans when Sarah was sixteen and seventeen years old. This very fragile journal appears to have been written for a school assignment. The Album, undated, 1879-1962 (Box 2, Folders 1-2) was compiled by Sarah Simon Jacobi, and then passed onto her granddaughter, Alice Jacobi Schlossberg. It contains family photographs and souvenirs from when Harold Jacobi (Freda's husband and Alice's father) was a young child. Sarah's confirmation certificate was granted in New Orleans by Congregation Shangarai Chassed in 1870 (Box 8).
Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Prayer Book undated
1 2 Prayer Book Translations undated, 1976
1 3 Journal 1874
    [Fragile]  
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Album undated, 1879-1962
2 2 Items from Album undated, 1879-1962
Box Folder Title Date
8 (OS2) Confirmation, Congregation Shangarai Chassed, New Orleans 1870
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Series II: Freda Moritz Jacobi (1886-1939), undated, 1879-1939.
Box 2, Folders 3-5 to Box 4, Folder 5, and Oversized Box 7, Folder 1 and 5.
Arrangement:

Arranged by document type.
Scope and Content:

Freda Moritz Jacobi is the daughter-in-law of Sarah Simon Jacobi, and mother of Alice Jacobi Schlossberg. The series contains an autograph album, three diaries, two journals/account books, two personal journals, a wedding book, a trousseau record book and personal correspondence and is arranged by document type. The diaries, account books and journals (Box 2, Folders 4-5, Box 3 Folders 1-6) carefully document Freda's life from 1879-1937. Pages are missing from some of these journals and it is speculated that her daughter Alice removed them at a later date. Of particular interest in this series is a detailed Trousseau Record Book, 1909-1931 (Box 3, Folder 7). Mentioned in this record book is the purchase of a wedding dress for Alice, which can be seen in Alice's Wedding Portraits, 1933. (Box 7, Folder 2)

Freda's relationship with Harold Jacobi is recorded through her Wedding Book, 1910 (Box 3, Folder 8) and their love letters (Harold Jacobi: Correspondence, undated, 1938. Box 4, Folder 2). One poignant letter was written the year before they both died.

Harold Jacobi's involvement in the United Palestine Appeal is documented through issues of the Yearbook (1937, 1939) and a memorial plaque (Box 7, Folders 1 and 5).
Box Folder Title Date
2 3 Autographs album and two packages of dried flowers 1879-1909
2 4 Diary 1901-1903
2 5 Diary 1903-1907
Box Folder Title Date
3 1 Diary 1907-1909
3 2 Unbound Journal/Account Book 1901-1904
    (Photocopy for Researchers' Use)  
3 3 Unbound Journal/Account Book 1901-1904
    (Restricted)  
3 4 Bound Journal/Account Book 1915-1916
3 5 Journal 1909-1911
    [Fragile]  
3 6 Journal 1928-1937
    [Fragile]  
3 7 Trousseau Record Book 1909-1931
3 8 Wedding Book 1910
Box Folder Title Date
4 1 Family: Sigmund Moritz 1928
4 2 Family: Harold Jacobi: Correspondence undated, 1937, 1938
4 3 Family: Harold Jacobi 1938-1939
4 4-5 Family: Harold Jacobi 1939
Box Folder Title Date
7 (OS1) 1 Family: Harold Jacobi: United Palestine Appeal Yearbook 1937, 1939
7 (OS1) 5 Family: Harold Jacobi: Memorial Plaque 1938
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Series III: Alice Jacobi Schlossberg (1912-1987), undated, 1912-1939.
Box 4, Folders 6-8 to Box 6, Folder 4, and Oversized Box 7, Folder 2
Arrangement:

Arranged by document type.
Scope and Content:

This series consists of a bible, journals, a baby book, correspondence and photographs and is arranged by document type. The series shows the relationship between Alice and her mother Freda through the notes they wrote to each other. Alice's Baby Book, 1912- circa 1929 (Box 4, Folders 7-8) was maintained by Freda and contains notes written to Alice until she was seventeen. (Items from Baby Book, 1912- circa 1929 Box 4, Folder 8) This series also contains the Bible undated (Box 4, Folder 6) given by Freda to Alice on her ninth birthday, which is mentioned in Alice's baby book. The bible is written in English.

Series III: Alice Jacobi Schlossberg includes the personal Journal, 1930-1931 (Box 5, Folder 3) kept by Alice while she was a student at Simmons College, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her mother Freda mentions the marriage of Alice and Arnold on June 24, 1933 in her Journal, 1928-1937 (Box 3, Folder 6). Within this series are love letters that Alice and Arnold wrote to each other in 1932, the year they secretly eloped. (Correspondence: Marriage Box 5, Folder 5) A Photo Album, circa 1932-1933 (Box 6, Folders 1-3) documents the early years of their marriage.

Box Folder Title Date
4 6 Bible circa 1921
4 7 Baby Book 1912 - circa 1929
4 8 Items from Baby Book 1912 - circa 1929
Box Folder Title Date
5 1 Journal 1928-1930
5 2 Items from Journal 1928-1930
5 3 Journal 1930-1931
5 4 Correspondence: Family undated, 1919-1939
5 5 Correspondence: Marriage 1931-1932, 1942, 1949
Box Folder Title Date
6 1-3 Photographs: Photo Album circa 1932-1933
6 4 Photographs: Arnold Schlossberg Family undated
Box Folder Title Date
7 (OS1) 2 Photographs: Wedding Portraits circa 1932
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Series IV: Deda Schlossberg Miller (1940- ), undated, 1908-1989, 1992, 1998, 2000.
Box 5, Folders 6-11; Box 6, Folders 5-11; and Oversized Box 7, Folders 3-4
Arrangement:

Arranged by document type.
Scope and Content:

This series contains a baby book, school report cards, photographs, a videotape, family history records and personal correspondence and is arranged by document type. Deda's baby book was originally maintained by Alice and contains photographs and notes from 1940, (the year Deda was born) until Deda's marriage in 1961 (Box 5, Folders 6-7). Deda's name was originally Freda, after her grandmother, and the evolution of her name from Freda to Deda can be found her baby book. Also found in this book is a letter written to Alice congratulating her on Deda's first birthday. This letter was written by two of Alice's aunts and by Sarah Simon Jacobi.

Deda donated this collection and included genealogical information on her family that has been placed in this series. Family History, undated (Box 5, Folder 9) contains genealogical information on both the Schlossberg and Jacobi families and was compiled by Alice Jacobi Schlossberg in 1979. Also included in this series are Photographs, 1908-1989 (Box 6, Folders 5-9, Box 7, Folders 3-4) of the women represented in this collection. A VHS videotape (Box 6, Folder 10) records the family in the 1930s on Long Island.
Box Folder Title Date
5 6 Baby Book 1940-1961
5 7 Items from Baby Book 1940-1961
5 8 Report Cards 1946-1952
5 9 Family History undated
5 10 Correspondence 1948-1961
5 11 Obituary, Roger E. Miller 2000
Box Folder Title Date
6 5-9 Photographs: Family 1908-1989
6 10 VHS videotape: Family film, Long Island 1930s
6 11 Family Snapshots 1957, 1961-1962, 1965, 1980-1983, 1987-1988, 1992, 1998, 2005
Box Folder Title Date
7 (OS1) 3 Photographs: Family 1928-1940
7 (OS1) 4 Photographs: Wedding Portraits 1961
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