New Cemetery Resources!

We've just updated our records of Jewish Cemeteries in Maryland!

Cemetery burial listings are now available on-line for Rosedale, Beth Jacob-Finksburg Cemetery, Beth Tfiloh Cemetery, Mikro Kodesh-Beth Israel, Other East Baltimore cemeteries, West Baltimore cemeteries, Chevrah Ahavas Chesed, Cumberland Eastview Cemetery, and Frederick, Maryland!

Our family history collection at the Robert L. Weinberg Family History Center contains many additional primary source materials, including:

• Baltimore Jewish Times obituaries, 1919 to present
• Jack Lewis Funeral Home records, 1924-1939, 1956-1965
• Published and unpublished genealogies of Maryland Jewish families
• Baltimore City directories on microfiche/film, 1752-1930 (some years missing)
• U.S. manuscript census, Baltimore and other parts of Maryland, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930
• Passenger index for ships that arrived in the Port of Baltimore, 1820-1952
• Passenger manifests of ships that arrived in the Port of Baltimore, 1840-1920
• Memoirs of Jewish Life in Maryland and Europe
• Records of Jewish cemeteries in the Greater Baltimore area
• Circumcision (1836-1870, 1940-1967), midwife (1892-1919) , and marriage (1850-1944) records of individual Baltimore-area mohels, midwives and rabbis
• H.I.A.S. arrival records (1911-1914, 1938-1953)
• Historical Database of Baltimore Religious Personnel
• Yizkor (Memorial) books of East European towns
• Hebrew Orphan Asylum records, 1873-1917
• Registries of Maryland military personnel in World Wars I and II

Additional resources include: archival collections from several Baltimore-area synagogues; records of local Jewish agencies, institutions and businesses; personal papers of prominent individuals; profiles of individuals and families in A History of the Jews of Baltimore (Blum, 1910) and other locally-published books; biographical, institutional and subject files related to Baltimore and Maryland Jewry; and oral histories of Maryland Jews. Periodicals that offer information on Maryland Jewry include the Baltimore Jewish Times (1919 to present), Jewish Comment (1895-1918), Jewish Chronicle (1875), Jewish Exponent (1887-1888), Sinai (1856-1860), Generations (1978 to present) and American Jewish Year Book (1899-1985). We also maintain a photograph collection related to immigration, Jewish life in Maryland, and the many institutions of Baltimore Jewry.

Our library contains publications on Jewish genealogy, including Shtetl Finder, Where Once We Walked, A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames From the Russian Empire, Jewish Roots in Poland, and the periodical Avotaynu. We also maintain a collection of publications and newsletters from genealogical societies across the nation.

To find out more, please contact our historian, Deb Weiner, at 410.732.6400 x224 or dweiner@jewishmuseummd.org.

Your Secret is Safe with Me!

Tuesday morning a safe cracker came to the Lloyd Street Synagogue to open the enormous old safe in the basement and I got to watch!

The cast iron concrete-insulated safe likely dates between 1880-1920. It doesn’t have manufacturers markings, but the expert thinks that it could be either Miller or York, two companies that were making this type of safe at the turn of the last century. My goal was to see what was saved inside so we could decide what to do the safe. If it held great treasures from Baltimore Hebrew Congregation or St. John the Baptist we might want to save it, otherwise we might chose to scrap it. Either way, it will have to move to make room for The Synagogue Speaks exhibition.

The safe cracker quickly ascertained that the lock was in the open position but the door still seemed to be sealed tight. Using a crow bar and a block of wood for leverage it took him about 5 minutes to pry the heavy door open. Someone was serious about protecting the contents of the safe – the door had five insulated layers and an interior door!

Imagine my surprise when there was an interior set of doors!

My fingers were tingling with anticipation as the safe cracker opened these also unlocked doors. There were two rows of small cubby holes at the top of the safe and a big open section below. And everything was empty! No important minute books, no bills of sale, no bodies!

So, if this were a mystery novel we would know that someone else had already opened the safe. We’d have to backtrack and do research to figure out who beat us to the punch! – and find out what had been locked inside! Now I just have to figure out a way to get ‘the beast’ out of the basement.

Once Upon a Time Photos: 8.21.09

The Baltimore Jewish Times publishes unidentified photographs from the collection of Jewish Museum of Maryland each week. Click here to see the most recent photo on their website. If you can identify anyone in these photos and more information about them, contact Jobi Zink, Senior Collections Manager and Registrar at 410.732.6400 x226 or jzink@jewishmuseummd.org.

Date(s) run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 8/21/09

PastPerfect Accession #: 2009.007.001

Status: Partially Identified. Five boys "goofing around" in Druid Hill Park, c. 1945. On the left is Hy Zlotowitz (later known as Hy Zolet); in the back center is Royal Pollokoff.

Special thanks to Helene Zolet.

Once Upon a Time Photos: 8.14.09

The Baltimore Jewish Times publishes unidentified photographs from the collection of Jewish Museum of Maryland each week. Click here to see the most recent photo on their website. If you can identify anyone in these photos and more information about them, contact Jobi Zink, Senior Collections Manager and Registrar at 410.732.6400 x226 or jzink@jewishmuseummd.org.

Date(s) run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 8/14/09

PastPerfect Accession #:1997.122.030

Status: Unidentified. Woman with child possibly at Patterson Park, n.d.

JMM Closing for Jewish Holidays

Please note that the Museum and its offices will be closed for the following holidays and dates:

Sunday, September 20 - Rosh Hashanah
Monday, September 28 - Yom Kippur
Sunday, October 4 - Sukkot
Sunday, October 11 - Simchat Torah

The Museum wishes you and yours a wonderful holiday season! Happy New Year's!

The Upstairs of Lloyd Street Synagogue has Re-Opened!

Lloyd Street Synagogue is once again open for tours at 1 and 2:30pm on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays - as well as for private groups Sunday - Friday starting at 9:30am. The downstairs of the synagogue will not reopen until the spring when our new exhibition, The Synagogue Speaks, opens.

B'nai Israel Synagogue and our two exhibition galleries, Voices of Lombard Street: A Century of Change in East Baltimore and Drawing on Tradition: The Book of Esther, are also available to view.

The JMM is once again full price, which is free for members, $8 for adults, $4 for students, and $3 for children ages 12 and under.

Once Upon a Time Photos: 8.7.09

The Baltimore Jewish Times publishes unidentified photographs from the collection of Jewish Museum of Maryland each week. Click here to see the most recent photo on their website. If you can identify anyone in these photos and more information about them, contact Jobi Zink, Senior Collections Manager and Registrar at 410.732.6400 x226 or jzink@jewishmuseummd.org.

Date(s) run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 8/07/09

PastPerfect Accession #: 1993.029.013

Status: Partially Identified. L-R: 1. Selma Schimberg 2. Gertie Greenberg

Special thanks to Mildred Hurwitz and Phil Schimberg.