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Myer S. Isaacs (1841-1904) Collection

 Collection
Identifier: P-22

Scope and Content Note

The collection, archived specifically under the name of Myer Isaacs, could more accurately be deemed the "Papers of the Isaacs Family," as many of the documents, particularly the correspondence and obituaries, reflect the immediate family of Myer Isaacs, including his father Samuel, brothers Abram and Isaac, and children Julian, Stanley and Minnie. The majority of the documentation of Myer's children in in the form correspondence, including childhood, adolescent, and adults letters, particularly from Julian and Minnie; other items regarding the children include newspaper clippings and commencement programs. Stanley Isaacs wrote a three-page elegy to his brother, Julian, after the latter's burial, which is included in Folder 7. Folder 13 contains various obituaries and funeral programs of Isaacs family members. Folder 13 also contains obituaries of non-family members including Adolph Sanger and Julia Richman.

Documents pertaining to the Rev. S.M. Isaacs include his 1844 American Citizenship Certificate (OS1), some correspondence, and several obituaries.

Documents regarding Myer include articles on his involvement in the Baron de Hirsch Fund, a criticism by Myer regarding the inadequacy of writing in the Jewish Encyclopedia, and a few editorials written for the Jewish Messenger. Election materials include an undated ballot, political endorsements, and campaign flyers. A document of Safe Passage from the State Department is included in OS1. Some correspondence from the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and M.A. Kursheedt on planning for Russian Jewish immigration can be found in Folders 1 and 10. Additional letters on Alliance Israélite Universelle matters from H. Pereira Mendes may be found in Folder 11, and a 100th Birthday Tribute to Sir Moses Montefiore including correspondence and clippings are located in Folder 12. Folder 2 contains a paper read before the American Jewish Historical Society on March 21, 1904 pertaining to the creation of the first Jewish chaplain position for the armed services during the Civil War. Folder 8 contains a Souvenir Book (1895) and 25th Anniversary Program (1915) of the Education Alliance and Hebrew Technical Institute.

Box 2 contains a yellowing and fragile scrapbook. The contents are from various New York newspapers, including the New York Herald and the Jewish Messenger. Though the scrapbook contains some documents pertaining to the Isaacs family, the majority of clippings refer to subjects such as the death of actors. Included are obituaries of John Gilbert, Lawrence Barrett (Barrett died of a cold in 1891 while performing in N.Y.; the scrapbook contains an article from the New York Herald dated March 21, 1891, as well as a program of the play "Richelieu," dated, week ending March 21, 1891) and William J. Florence. Obituaries of the poets John G. Whittier and Lord Tennyson are also included. Rounding out the majority of articles in the scrapbook are essays on New York City, song lyrics, theater and opera programs, obituaries, the Conemaugh Valley> dam break of 1889, and documents relating to the Centennial Celebration of the Inauguration of President George Washington (1890).

Scrapbook items relating directly to the Isaacs family include: an article and diagrams of the Hebrew Educational Fair of 1889, Myer Isaacs’ Civil War pass, dated Jan. 11, 1862, issued so that Myers could witness "the lives of main guards for three days"; articles about Purim Balls, Isaacs S. Isaacs and Abram Isaacs; articles on the Baron de Hirsch colony and fund, the Hebrew Institute, Educational Alliance, class examinations, reports cards, commencement and commencement dinner programs, and election materials.

All loose materials within the scrapbook have been removed to OS1 or OS2 (particularly clippings and an election ballot from May 24, 1891), Folder 2 (clippings, commencement programs, documents, invitations, Mizrach, etc.) and Folder 13 (obituaries and funeral programs, Isaacs family, and others.)

Dates

  • Creation: undated, 1844, 1851-1925

Language of Materials

The collection is in English and French.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers, except items that may be restricted due to their fragility, or privacy.

Use Restrictions

No permission is required to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection, as long as the usage is scholarly, educational, and non-commercial. For inquiries about other usage, please contact the Director of Collections and Engagement at mmeyers@ajhs.org.

For reference questions, please email: inquiries@cjh.org

Biographical Note

Newlyweds Rev. Samuel Myer Isaacs (1804-1878) and Jane Symmons arrived in New York from London in 1839. Rev. Isaacs, an Orthodox Rabbi, had been appointed as the head of the Elm Street B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue. During this period in Jewish American history, spiritual services were conducted for Jews in the languages of Hebrew or German. Rev. Isaacs became the second Jewish spiritual leader in the United States to teach in English, the first being Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia. Originally from Leewarden, Holland, Samuel's father, Myer Samuel Isaacs, lost his business during the Napoleonic Wars, and fled to London in 1814. Of Myer Isaacs' five sons, four of them entered the Rabbinate, teaching in England, Australia, and the United States.

Reared and educated in England, as a young man Samuel Isaacs served for a brief period as the Principal of the Neveh Zedek orphan asylum in London. The demonstration of his teaching and leadership skills in London led the B'nai Jeshurun Congregation to request that he serve as cantor and preacher, though he did not have official rabbinical ordination. B'nai Jeshurun, the largest immigrant Ashkenazi congregation in New York City at the time, was eager to Americanize and sought a well-spoken leader with a natural ability for the English language. Rev. Isaacs led the B’nai Jeshurun at the Elm Street Synagogue (formally a church) beginning in either 1839 or 1840. In either 1845 or 1847, a schism took place within the Congregation over doctrinal issues, prompting the founding of Congregation Shaaray Tefila. (Dates vary in sources as to both Rev. Isaacs' beginning at B'nai Jeshurun and the creation of Shaaray Tefila.)

Rev. Isaacs became the leader of Congregation Shaaray Tefila, which was first located at Franklin Street near Broadway and gradually migrated uptown to Wooster and Green Streets, W. 36th St. and Broadway, W. 44th Street, W. 82nd Street, and its current location, at 250 East 79th Street. Like many churches and synagogues with roots in Lower Manhattan, the Congregation followed a pattern of moving toward upper Manhattan as the immigration population increased in New York, and as the older, established Congregations grew in affluence. Though Shaaray Tefila began as an Orthodox congregation, by 1879, it looked to the reformation of services. Under the leadership of Rev. Isaacs, and after much discussion, services were shortened and simplified, more English added to the liturgy, an organ and mixed chorus were included, and men and women were permitted to sit together.

Samuel and Jane had at least three children, the oldest, Myer Samuel (1841-1904), Isaac Samuel (1845-1906), and Abram Samuel Isaacs (1853-1920). The Isaacs father and sons would have a palpable influence upon the Jewry of 19th century New York. They were all activists, fighting for the rights of Jews, promoting Jewish identity, and founding numerous organizations for the relief of Jews in the U.S. and abroad. The most prominent of Samuel's sons was Myer, though Isaac and Abram were also known during their time. It was Myer Isaacs, however, who took the most concerted initiative in pushing for the rights of Jews in the U.S., Europe, Jerusalem, Turkey, Romania, and Morocco.

In 1857, Samuel and his sons, particularly Myer, helped their father found the Jewish Messenger. Myer edited, contributed articles and opinion to the newspaper, and was affiliated with the publication until 1872. Isaac was editor from 1867-1878, and Abram was the editor from 1878 until 1902, when the newspaper merged with the American Hebrew.

Myer graduated as valedictorian from the University of New York (later New York University) in 1859. As valedictorian, Isaacs delivered a commencement speech in which he alluded to the 1858 case of Edgar Mortara, a young Italian Jew reportedly baptized by his family's Christian maid during a sickness. Once baptized, the maid informed Catholic authorities who forcibly removed Edgar from his home, citing that the child was no longer a Jew, but a Catholic due to Baptism. This and similar incidents, incited Jews to seek justice regarding Jewish interests and religious freedom. The Mortara case was a leading factor in the formation of the American Board of Delegates of American Israelites (1859) and its European equivalent, the Alliance Israélite Universelle (1860). (The two organizations worked closely with the British organization, the London Committee of Deputies of British Jews, founded in the 1700s.) The Isaacs family, particularly Myer and Samuel, were major influences in the formation of the Board of Delegates. Myer acted as Secretary until 1876, at which point he became President of the organization. The Board of Delegates, whose membership consisted of the most prominent and influential Jews of New York, Philadelphia, and other American cities, tackled issues that infringed on the safety and religious freedom of Jews in the United States, Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East, beginning with the Edgar Mortara case in Italy. Among other issues confronted during the life of the Board of Delegates were issues concerning the oppression and killing of Moroccan, Turkish, Romania, and Palestinian Jews; and refugee and American Jewish immigration issues. In the United States, the Board of Delegates staunchly spoke out against General Ulysses S. Grant's 1862 Order No. 11 expelling Jews from Kentucky due to supposed looting, and Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler's accusations of Jews as being looters and liars. Grant's order was immediately rescinded partly due to pressure asserted by the Board of Delegates and Butler issued a public apology for his comments after a series of letters written by Myer to Gen. Butler.

In 1862, Myer graduated from New York University Law School at the age of 21. He began a law firm with Adolph Sanger, and was later joined by his brother Isaac, who graduated from the Columbia University Law School in 1867. The firm dealt primarily in real estate law. Myer became a member of several organizations between 1863 and 1887 including the American and New York State Bar Associations, the Municipal Society, and the Republican and City Clubs. He was a member of the Committee of Fifty-Three, a panel selected by Mayor Abram Hewitt to combat and route vice in New York City, and organized the Lawyer's Title Insurance Company. He also was one of the organizers of the Purim Association, which presented Purim balls for New York Jews of all social ranks with proceeds going to charitable organizations.

In 1880 he was appointed to the position of Judge of the Marine Court, later City Court, of New York. As a Republican, he was nominated for Judge of the Superior Court of N.Y. in 1890 and 1895, but did not win the election. He was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Alliance Israélite Universelle; founded the Hebrew Free School Association, the United Hebrew Charities, the Montefiore Home, and the Hebrew Technical Institute. In addition, he lectured on real estate law at the University Law School, was a director of the Columbia Bank and the American Savings Bank, and established Seward Park on the Lower East Side of New York. He was the first President of the Baron de Hirsch Fund and was a personal friend of the future president, Theodore Roosevelt.

Judge Myer was married to Maria S. Isaacs (d. 1889), daughter of Barnet L. Solomon, first President of the Hebrew Free School Association in New York, in 1869. They had six children: Stanley, Julian, Lewis Montefiore, Minnie, Estelle, and Alice. Toward the end of his life, Myer continued to write editorials and give speeches and lectures on the law and the treatment of Jews in Romania and Russia. Myer died on May 24, 1904. According to a memoir written by Abram Isaacs, he was vigorously working on behalf of Jews to the very day of his death.

Julian Isaacs died of tuberculosis at the age of 32. During this illness, his brother Stanley watched over him. Stanley M. Issacs (1882-1962) was elected Manhattan Borough President and oversaw the completion of the East River or Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Drive. In 1941 he was elected to the City Council and served as the Republican minority leader until his death. Lewis Montefiore Isaacs (1877-1944) was a real estate lawyer and accomplished musician. Lewis was one of the founders of the Musicians Foundation of New York and the MacDowell Artists Colony in Peterborough, NH. At Peterborough, he became a friend and benefactor to the poet, Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935), considered at the time of his death to be the greatest American poet. Lewis donated a collection of Robinson's papers to the New York Public Library. Lewis was married to Edith Juliet Rich Isaacs (1878-1956), an influential New York editor who was active in the Federal Theatre Project, supported black culture, and edited Theatre Arts Magazine. Minnie Isaacs (c. 1871-1918) was a communal worker and an associate of Julia Richman, the director of the Hebrew Free School Association, and the first female district superintendent of schools in the City of New York. Alice Isaacs (?) was the head of the Botany Department at Hunter College.

Rev. Samuel Isaacs was one of the officiating clergymen of the funeral services held in N.Y. for President Abraham Lincoln. In addition to being the head of Shaaray Tefila, Rev. Isaacs was a founder of the Jew’s Hospital (later Mt. Sinai Hospital) of N.Y., the Hebrew Free School Association, the United Hebrew Charities, and Maimonides College in Philadelphia. Despite the issuance of General Order No. 11, according to an obituary, former President Ulysses S. Grant held that Rev. Isaacs was a "warm and personal friend… held in high esteem and seldom [did President Grant come] to New York without calling upon him."

Isaac S. Isaacs (1845-1907) married Estelle Solomon, who died early, leaving one daughter. Isaac was a partner in the law firm of M.S. and I.S. Isaacs, president of the West End Synagogue, the Hebrew Benevolent Fuel Association, the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the Union of Jewish Congregations, and the first president and later vice-president of the National Conference of Jewish Charities of the United Charities. He was secretary and a founder of the United Hebrew Charities. He was the editor of the Jewish Messenger from 1867-1878, and a contributor to the paper until 1902; he also published a book called Friday Night (Jewish Tales), in 1871.

Abram M. Isaacs (1852/53-1920) was a Rabbi, linguist, and professor. He studied at New York University, the University of Breslau, and the Breslau Jewish Theological Seminary. He taught Hebrew and German language and literature at NYU and was head of the graduate department of German literature beginning in 1895. He served as Rabbi to the East 86th Street Seminary from 1886-1887, and the B'nai Jesurun congregation of Paterson, N.J., beginning in 1896. From 1878-1902 he was the editor of the Jewish Messenger and wrote several publications including A Modern Hebrew Poet: The Life and Writings of Moses Chaim Luzzato (1878), Stories from the Rabbis (1893), and What is Judaism? A Survey of Jewish Life, Thought and Achievement (1912).

References

  1. Concise Dictionary of American Jewish Biography, v. I., Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing, 1994
  2. Isaacs, Abram. "Myer S. Isaacs: A Memoir." American Jewish Yearbook. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1906 (5667), pgs. 19-33.
  3. Isaacs, Edith S. Love Affair with a City: The Story of Stanley M. Isaacs. New York: Random House, 1967.
  4. Jackson, Kenneth T. Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
  5. Jewish Encyclopedia, v. VI. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1904.
  6. Sherman, Moshe D. " Isaacs, Samuel Myer, at American National Biography Online", Feb. 2000. Accessed March 27, 2003.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 box (.25), one oversized box (scrapbook), and 2 oversized folders)

Abstract

Real estate lawyer, judge, newspaper editor, and philanthropist, Myer S. Isaacs was the eldest son of the second English-speaking Rabbi in the United States, the Rev. Dr. Samuel M. Isaacs (1804-1878). The Isaacs Family were founding members of the New York-based Jewish civil rights organization, the Board of Delegates of American Israelites (1859-1878), published the Jewish Messenger (1859-1902), and Myer was the first president of the Baron de Hirsch Fund. This Collection contains documents deriving from Myer and Samuel Issacs, and Myer's brothers Abram (1852 or 53-1920) and Isaac Isaacs (1845-1907). Information concerning Myer's children may also be found, including documents from his son Stanley (1882-1962), Manhattan borough President and New York City Councilman. Includes correspondence, clippings, commencement programs, invitations, souvenir and anniversary programs, election campaign materials, obituaries, funeral programs, and citizenship papers.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged alphabetically into one Series. in alphabetical order. Oversized materials have been moved to OS storage by size and type of material.

Provenance

Donated by the family of Judge Myer S. Isaacs.

Abram Isaacs

Myer Isaacs

Bibliography

The following books are located within the library collection of the American Jewish Historical Society

General

  1. A Modern Hebrew Poet: The Life and Writings of Moses Chaim Luzzato , 1878
  2. School Days in Home Town, 1928
  3. Step by Step: A Story of the Early Days of Moses Mendelssohn, 1910
  4. Stories from the Rabbis, 1893
  5. That Unknown Country, Or What Living Men Believe Concerning Punishment After Death, 1893
  6. Under the Sabbath Lamp: Stories of Our Time for Old and Young, 1919
  7. What is Judaism? A Survey of Jewish Life, Thought, and Achievement, 1912
  8. The Young Champion: One Year in the Grace Aquilar's Girlhood, 1913

General

  1. Persecution of the Jews of Russia, 1882
  2. Old Guard and Other Addresses, 1906

Subject

Title
Guide to the Records of Myer S. Isaacs (1841-1904) Collection undated, 1844, 1851-1925 *P-22
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Tanya Elder
Date
© 2003.
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Edition statement
This version was derived from MyerIsaacs1.xml

Revision Statements

  • December 31, 2003.: Access points (subject headings) added by Tanya Elder.
  • March, June 2020: EHyman: post-ASpace migration cleanup

Repository Details

Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States