Guide to the Records of New Century Club, 1900-1982
 
I-95

Reprocessed by Amy Horton

American Jewish Historical Society, New England Archives

99-101 Newbury St.

Boston, Massachusetts

Phone: (617) 226-1245

Email: reference@ajhsboston.org

URL: http://www.ajhsboston.org

© 2018, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.

Machine-readable finding aid created by Amy Horton as MS Word document, November 2007. Finding aid was encoded by Marvin Rusinek on January 13, 2011. Description is in English.

Historical Note¹

The New Century Club - Boston, MA

On January 1, 1900, a group of lawyers and doctors gathered at a meeting called by Jacob J. Silverman to discuss the advantages of living in Boston with its many surrounding institutions of higher learning, and how they could increase their cultural knowledge. They also wanted to learn from each other the basic principals of their various professions. The members of the club eventually consisted of lawyers, optometrists, physicians, scientists, and members of a variety of other professions as well. The club entertained its members and guests by hosting speakers and events: in particular, their Ladies' Night and Chanukah festivals were some of their most well-known and well-attended events.

For the celebration of their twenty-fifth anniversary, the club established loan funds at Harvard University, Tufts University, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1946, the club became the first to establish funds at Brandeis University. In 1948, the club invested in student aid funds to help worthy students in the Boston area. The funds came from a portion of the yearly dues and from donations made specifically to the fund. The trustees also helped students by recommending them to other sources of educational funds.

¹ Information for this historical note is from the following resources:
Material from the collection.

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists primarily of documents concerning the governance of the New Century Club, and correspondence between the Club and its members. The collection also includes programs, flyers, and information about their various events, as well as newspaper articles concerning the club or its members. Also included are financial records from club activities and events.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into four series as follows:

• Series I: Governance, 1914-1969
• Series II: Financial Records, 1948-1963
• Series III: Correspondence, 1953-1968
• Series IV: General, 1900-1982

Access and Use

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

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
email: reference@ajhs.org

Related Material

Albert Einstein Papers, P-287 (New York)

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The New Century Club; I-95; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY, and Boston, MA.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to AJHS in 1973 by Dr. Alexander A. Levi.

Access Points

• Subject Names:

  • Harken, Dwight E., 1910-
  • Pearson, Drew, 1897-1969
  • Silver, Abba Hillel, 1893-1963

• Subject Topics:

  • Clubs--Massachusetts--Boston--History.
  • Scholarships

• Subject Places:

  • Boston (Mass.)

• Document Types:

  • Business Records
  • By-laws
  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Scrapbooks

Container List

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

Click the box in the request column to learn more about viewing materials at the New England Archives of AJHS.

Series I: Governance, 1914-1969
The Series is in English.
Box 1, Folders 1-4.
Scope and Content: This series consists of meeting minutes, membership applications, membership lists, and brief histories of the club, the constitution, by-laws, by-law revisions and amendments. The series also includes officer lists and nominations. In addition, recruitment and donation letters are also included.
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	1	Membership	1914-1969
1	2	Constitution	1926-1964
1	3	Executive Committee Minutes	1956-1963
1	4	Honorary Membership Committee	1963-1969

Series II: Financial Records, 1948-1963
The Series is in English.
Box 1, Folder 5.
Scope and Content: This series consists of scholarship applications, lists of loans granted, student aid fund reports, statements of cash receipts and disbursements, analysis of dinner costs, and letters regarding scholarships, loans and finances. Some of these items may be restricted.
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	5	Loan and Grant Material (some items restricted)	1948-1963

Series III: Correspondence, 1953-1968
The Series is in English.
Box 1, Folders 6-12.
Scope and Content: This series consists of correspondence concerning the speakers Dr. Paul Mather, President of the University of Massachusetts; Drew Pearson, the author of The Famed Column; Semah Cecil Hyman, the Consul General of Israel in New York; Dr. Selman A. Wakeman, internationally noted scholar, teacher, investigator and Nobel Prize winner in Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Dwight E. Harken, world renowned cardiac surgeon; Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, the nationally known Rabbi, Zionist leader, and author of "Where Judaism Differed:' and Dr. Salo W. Brown, Professor Emeritus of Jewish History, Literature, and Institutions at Columbia University.
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	6	Dr. Paul Mather	1953-1957
1	7	Drew Pearson	1956-1957
1	8	Semah Cecil Hyman	1956-1957
1	9	Dr. Selman A. Wakeman	1956-1957
1	10	Dr. Dwight E. Harken	1956-1957
1	11	Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver	1956-1957
1	12	Dr. Salo W. Baron	1967-1968

Series IV: General, 1900-1982
The Series is in English.
Box 2, Folders 1-5.
Scope and Content: This series consists of Anniversary materials, news articles, photographs or club members, programs for events and speakers, and a scrapbook.
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	1	Anniversary Materials	1900-1950
2	2	News Articles and Photographs	1924-1981
2	3	Programs	1942-1982
2	4-5	Dr. Alexander Levi’s Scrapbook	1945-1958