USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cleveland, Ohio, Volume I > Part 48
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St. Mary's Home for Young Women, was opened in 1895 on Harmon street, in the building formerly used as an asylum for orphan girls. It is in charge of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart and is intended as a temporary home for girls and young women seeking employment.
The latest Catholic charity established in Cleveland is St. Anthony's Home for Working Boys. It was founded by the late Bishop Horstmann, in 1907, and is located on Detroit avenue, a short distance west of St. John's hospital. From their very start St. Mary's Home and St. Anthony's Home became popular, thus showing that both institutions met a long felt want.
From the above it will be seen that Catholic charity has not been idle in Cleve- land. Under its auspices there are now three hospitals, with accommodations for about four hundred patients; two orphan asylums, with over five hundred or- phans; one foundling asylum; one maternity home, one home for fallen women; one home for the aged poor, with nearly two hundred inmates; a home for young women, and a home for working boys.
With the exception of a home for the wayward boys, which will also be estab- lished as soon as the means can be secured, Cleveland's Catholics have provided for every form of human misery. And they have generously done so, out of their not plentiful means, true to the mission of their church : "To provide homes for those on the threshold of death; to provide asylums in which the poor and the aged may find refuge in the storms of life and at the same time a novitiate in which to prepare for death;" and in accord with the Scriptural injunction: "Bear ye one another's burden, and so ye shall fulfill the law !"
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HISTORY OF CLEVELAND
CHAPTER XLI.
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF CLEVELAND. By Rabbi Moses J. Gries.
THE FIRST SETTLERS.
Seventy and three years ago, 1837, the first Jewish settler, Simson Thorman, of Unsleben, Bavaria, came to Cleveland. Within the next two years, a num- ber of others from his native town, some with families, followed him to the New World and to the Western Reserve.
Political unrest in Europe and unfavorable conditions of life in the Old World, seem to have been the causes which impelled these pioneers to seek opportunity in the unknown western world. Thus, one year after Cleveland was chartered as a city, the Jewish settlement began. Four generations, de- scendants of these first pioneers, have been born and are now living in Cleve- land.
CONGREGATIONS.
In 1839, it seems that the first permanent religious organization was estab- lished, under the name of the Israelitic Society. In 1840, a burial ground was purchased in Ohio City, at a cost of $100. To worship God, to unite the living, to care for the sick and the poor, and to bury the dead, the little community formed its definite organization.
The Israelitic Society was not destined to a long life. Though small in number, it was divided in 1842, and the seceders formed the Anshe Chesed Society. The Israelitic Society worshiped in a hall on South Water Street and Vineyard Lane, and the Anshe Chesed Society in Farmers Block, on Prospect Street.
ANSHE CHESED CONGREGATION.
The wounds were healed and the two societies were reunited in 1846 and received a charter under the name of The Israelitic Anshe Chesed Society of the City of Cleveland. This marks the real beginning of the oldest Jewish con- gregation in Cleveland.
It is an interesting revelation of the spirit of the times to note that Leonard Case presented to the Anshe Chesed Society, a lot on Ohio Street, for the building of a synagogue. This lot was exchanged for the one on Eagle Street, on which the first synagogue in Cleveland was built, at a cost of $1,500.
Again dissension split the congregation in 1848, resulting in the formation of the Tifereth Israel Congregation, in 1850.
The Anshe Chesed Congregation, by reason of growth, enlarged its syna- gogue, which was rededicated April 14, 1860, by Dr. Wise of Cincinnati. Ques- tions of ritual, strife concerning the prayer book and the form of service, and personal differences, caused repeated dissensions. In 1866, the Rabbi, G. M.
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Cohen, withdrew, and with him went twenty-one members, all of whom joined the Tifereth Israel Congregation.
The Jewish population continued to increase and the congregation continued to grow. On October 21, 1886, the cornerstone was laid for its new temple on Scovill Avenue and Henry Street (now East 25th Street). This building was dedicated September 2, 1887, and has been the home of the congregation until this time.
The Presidents of Anshe Chesed Congregation have been: Abraham Strauss, 1857; Simon Thorman, 1858; Simon Newmark, 1859-1860; S. Goodhart, 1861; J. Rohrheimer, 1862; A. Schwarz, 1863; M. Loeser, 1864; S. Newmark, 1865- 1868; Nathan New, 1869; M. J. Moses, 1870-1871; Nathan New, 1872-1875; S. Newmark, 1876-1878; I. Reinthal, 1879-1881 ; S. Skall, 1882-1890; I. Rein- thal, 1891-1893 ; Moses Halle, 1894-1895; Isaac Levy, 1896.
The following Rabbis have served Anshe Chesed Congregation: E. Hertz- man, 1860; G. M. Cohen, 1861-1866; -- Nathan, 1866; G. M. Cohen, 1867- 1874; M. Tintner, 1875.
In 1876, Dr. M. Machol was chosen Rabbi and continued in active service thirty years. In 1901, the congregation celebrated the silver anniversary of his ministry. He was elected Rabbi Emeritus in 1907.
In September, 1906, Rabbi Louis Wolsey of Little Rock, Arkansas, was elected as Rabbi, and was installed in office August 30, 1907.
The Euclid Avenue Temple League of young men and the Euclid Avenue Temple Sisterhood are new activities of the congregation.
The Anshe Chesed Congregation now has 385 members. In July, 1907, the congregation purchased a lot on the southeast corner of Euclid and East 82nd Street, on which they plan to erect a new temple.
THE TIFERETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION-THE TEMPLE.
Tifereth Israel Congregation was organized May 26, 1850, with forty-seven charter members. Its first worship was conducted in a house on Lake Street, and later in other homes. From 1851 to 1855, its services were held in a hall in Kelley's Block on Main Street, now Superior Street.
In 1854, the Congregation received a bequest of $3,000 from Judah Touro, the distinguished patriot and Jewish philanthropist. On May IIth of the same year, a lot was bought on Huron Street for $4,200. The bequest of Judah Touro made it possible for the struggling congregation to buy a permanent site and to build a temple.
Forty years thereafter, the service of Judah Touro was recognized by the erection of a memorial tablet, in his honor, in the new Temple, dedicated in 1894.
The temple on Huron Street was dedicated on or about December 14, 1855. It was remodeled in 1861 and rededicated on August 23, 1861, by Rev. Dr. Max Lilienthal of Cincinnati. It was enlarged in July, 1866; again, on May 21, 1874, there was a rededication by Rev. Dr. Isaac M. Wise of Cincinnati.
Its presidents have been: Alexander Schwab, 1850; Marks Wolf, 1852; Selig Hexter, 1853; David Kaufman, 1854; Solomon Wolf, 1856; Solomon Hyman, 1857; Mosle Ezekiel, 1860; Solomon Wolf, 1862; Solomon Hyman,
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The Temple, built 1892, corner Scovill avenue and E. 55th street
Original building of the Temple
JUDAH TOURO,
GENEROUS PHILANTHROPIST AND FAITHFUL JEW, WHO BEQUEATHED $3000 TO THE TIFERETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION, WITH WHICH MONEY, THE ORIGINAL TEMPLE SITE ON HURON ST., WAS PURCHASED
IN HONOR TO HIS MEMORY THIS TABLET IS ERECTED. "BY RIGHTEOUSNESS AND INTEGRITY HE GATHERED HIS WEALTH; IN CHARITY AND FOR SALVATION HE GAVE IT." BORN, NEWPORT, R. I. JUNE 16™ 1775, DIED, NEW ORLEANS, LA. JANUARY 18TH 1854.
THE TOURO TABLET IN THE TEMPLE
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1863; Aaron Halle, 1866; Kaufman Hays, 1867; Sigmund Mann, 1871; Jacob Rohrheimer, 1874; Sigmund Mann, 1881; Jacob Rohrheimer, 1882; Simon Sampliner, 1884; Henry Richman, 1886; Morris Ullman, 1887; Marcus Gross- man, 1889; Martin A. Marks, 1890; Abram Lewenthal, 1905; Martin A. Marks, 1907 to the present time. With the exception of the two years from 1905 to 1907, Mr. Lewenthal's term of office, Mr. Martin A. Marks has been president of the Congregation from 1890 to 1910.
The Rabbis of Tifereth Israel Congregation have been: Isadore Kalisch, 1850-1855; Wolf Fassbinder, 1855-1857; Jacob Cohen, 1857-1866; Gustav M. Cohen, 1866-1867; Jacob Mayer, 1867-1874; Aaron Hahn, 1874-1892; Moses J. Gries, 1892 to present time.
Dr. Aaron Hahn resigned as Rabbi of the congregation in 1892 and retired from the ministry to study and later to practice law in Cleveland.
The congregation resolved to build a new temple and in 1892 purchased the lot at the southeast corner of Willson and Central Avenues.
Rabbi Moses J. Gries of Chattanooga, Tenn., who had previously been elected as Rabbi, came to Cleveland on November 20, 1892. On July 16, 1893, the cornerstone of the new Temple was laid. Saturday, April 28th, and Sunday, April 29, 1894, the last services were held in the old temple on Huron Street. The new Temple was dedicated September 21 to 24, 1894. Dr. Isaac M. Wise of Cincinnati laid the cornerstone and preached the dedicatory sermon. The first religious service, following the dedication, was the confirmation of fifteen boys and girls. The dedicatory services were distinguished by a noteworthy "fellowship" evening, in which the representative ministers of all denominations participated, in the presence of a great assembly of people. "The Temple," as the congregation and the new house of worship were called, soon made re- markable strides in the growth of its membership and in its varied organiza- tions. From time to time, it has established many kinds of endeavor for men and women and for boys and girls. Historically, it is the first "Open Temple" or institutional church among Jews in the United States, and in the world.
The Temple Society, established in November, 1894, conducted University Extension Classes and Popular Lectures, which, in 1896, developed into the well known "Temple Course," which continued until 1909.
Among the institutions of The Temple are a free Public Library, opened October 2, 1898. It has a fine collection of books in English on Jews and Judaism, in addition to a general library of other books and magazines. On January 22, 1904, the Cleveland Public Library assumed direction of the Temple Library, since which time it has experienced a large increase, both in circulation and attendance.
The Congregation has grown from its original membership of forty-seven in 1850, to a membership of 125 in 1892, and to a present membership of 595.
"The religious attitude of the community differs but little from that of others in the West," says Dr. Wolfenstein, in his article on Cleveland, pub- lished in the Jewish Encyclopedia, "save perhaps, that the Reform movement has advanced more rapidly in Cleveland than elsewhere. All shades and varie- ties of Judaism are to be found, from the most rigidly Orthodox to the ultra- Radical Reform-on the one hand, an unswerving adherence to tradition; on
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the other, at Tifereth Israel synagogue, now called 'The Temple,' almost an entire abolition of it. The Temple congregation worships on Sunday, a large number of its attendants being non-Jews. It has abolished the reading of the Torah and practically all Hebrew from its service and Sabbath School. Its Sabbath School session is held on Sunday afternoon."
Sunday lectures were established in the Huron Street Temple in 1886, and the first Sunday Service, under the ministry of Rabbi Gries, October 8, 1893. The Sunday afternoon sessions of the Sabbath School began September 18, 1898.
The Temple Alumni Association, the junior organization of The Temple, composed of former Confirmation boys and girls, now has a membership of 572, of which about 200 are active.
ORTHODOX CONGREGATIONS.
The oldest and most important of the Orthodox congregations is the Hun- garian, Bene Jeshurum Congregation, organized in 1865 and reorganized in 1886. In 1865, its first worship was held in the residence of Herman Sampliner in California Alley ; in 1866, on St. Clair Street; and then on Hamilton Street, and during the great Holy Days, public worship was conducted in Gallagher's Hall on Erie and Superior Streets ; in 1869, in Halle's old hall; in 1878, on Michigan Street. In 1886, the Congregation bought the temple on Eagle Street from the Anshe Chesed Congregation, but did not take possession until 1887.
Its Rabbis were: Morris Klein, 1875; Sigmund Drechsler, 1887-1905; A. E. Dobrin, 1906-1908. Samuel Schwartz was installed June 18, 1909.
The Congregation has passed through many struggles, differences and divi- sions, but has survived them all. In 1905, it completed its new temple on the southeast corner of Willson and Scovill Avenues. It now has a membership of 454
There are about twenty Orthodox Jewish Congregations, mainly Hungarian, Russian and Polish, in the city, the most prominent of which are: Anshe Emeth, East 37th Street near Woodland ; Agudath Achim, Scovill avenue and East Thirty- first street (Rabbi Benjamin Gitelsohn) ; Beth Hamidrash Hagadol Beth Israel, Woodland Avenue and East 27th Street; Keneseth Israel, East 46th Street near Woodland; Ohave Emuno, Scovill Avenue and East 37th Street (Rabbi Nach- man H. Ebin) ; Oheb Zedek, Scovill and East 38th Street (Rabbi H. A. Liebo- vitz; membership, 250). Anshe Emeth Congregation is said to have been or- ganized in 1867, and Beth Hamidrash Hagadol Beth Israel in 1868. All of these Congregations have erected new synagogues within recent years. Anshe Emeth Synagogue was dedicated in July, 1904. Since September, 1904, Rabbi Samuel Margolies has been in charge. Its present membership numbers 300.
The religious instruction of the children, in all probability, began, from the time, the first families came to Cleveland, in 1838 and 1839. The first Hebrew School seems to have been established in a house on Lake Street, but no record has been found of a permanent Sabbath School organization until 1858. In- struction was given in the Jewish religion and in Jewish history and in Hebrew.
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The Jewish community has no "parochial" schools. Its religious schools are supplementary to the public school instruction. The Religious School sessions are held on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and in The Temple on Sunday afternoons. Hebrew Schools, with almost daily instruction, are held in the afternoons after public school hours. Some of the congregations maintain Hebrew Schools. Oheb Zedek Congregation has 120 children in its Hebrew School and 200 pupils in its Sabbath School. Anshe Emeth Congregation re- ports 407 children in its Sabbath School. The Orthodox community has estab- lished the Sir Moses Montefiore Hebrew School Talmud Torah. The school is conducted in its own building, 2495 East 35th Street, and gives instruction to about 300 children.
Cleveland is celebrated throughout the country for its large religious schools. Bene Jeshurun in its Hebrew School has 160 children, and in its Sabbath School more than 400 children are enrolled. Anshe Chesed has 215 pupils.
The growth of The Temple Sabbath School has been remarkable. From the eighty children who were gathered for Sabbath School instruction in 1892, the school has grown, until its membership for a succession of years has been from 700 to 800. This Sabbath School, both because of its unusual member- ship and its new methods and its magnificent organization, has attracted the attention of the entire country.
LARGEST SCHOOLS.
Cleveland has the distinction of having the largest Jewish Congregational Sabbath School, viz., at The Temple; and the Council Sabbath School, which began in 1896 with about 100 children and now has a regular enrollment of 1,242, is the largest "Mission" Sabbath School.
CEMETERIES.
The first burial ground was purchased in 1840 in Ohio City. In 1853, addi- tional land was bought on Willett Street and the cemetery was again enlarged in 1862. On July 31, 1887, more than twenty acres of land, fronting on May- field Road, were acquired for cemetery purposes ; on July 6, 1890, the Tifereth Israel Congregation and the Anshe Chesed Congregation entered into an agree- ment for joint control and maintenance of the United Jewish Cemeteries of Cleveland. The chapel in the new Mayfield Cemetery was dedicated on Deco- ration Day, May 30, 1893. The Bene Jeshurun Congregation located its ceme- tery in Glenville, in 1880. A number of other Jewish Cemeteries, under the control of societies and lodges, are scattered around the city.
CHARITIES.
Jews endeavor to take care of their own poor. Though they contibute to every public cause for good, it is their aim to support their own charities. The Jews in the United States have taken pride in maintaining both the letter and the spirit of the charter granted more than two hundred and fifty years ago to
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the Jews of New York, which provided that their poor should not be a burden to the state.
HEBREW RELIEF ASSOCIATION.
The early records of the Jewish charitable organizations of Cleveland seem to have been lost or destroyed. According to report, a benevolent society was established in 1858, with membership dues of $4 per year. The present Hebrew Relief Association is said to have been established in 1875. For many years the members of the Board of Directors did all the necessary work, both of in- vestigation and relief-there were no paid officers or other employes. During the eighties and early nineties when, under the pressure of European persecu- tion, immigration increased, special relief funds were raised and the Russian Refugee Committee was organized. Agents were employed to give part or whole time.
In 1894 a Personal Service Society was established. This society was merged the same year with the newly formed Council of Jewish Women. In 1895, the Relief Association welcomed the help and cooperation of the Council of Jewish Women, in the care of the sick poor-an arrangement which was not discon- tinued until 1910.
The year 1904 marks the reorganization of the Hebrew Relief Association and the employment of a trained superintendent. It endeavors to do all relief work for the Jewish poor. It cooperates with the City Department of Charities and Corrections, the Associated Charities, and all other philanthropic agencies. It has three paid workers, and its budget for the year 1910 amounts to $21,000. The annual meeting of 1908, held on January 7th, was the occasion of the formal presentation of its present headquarters, located at 2554 East 40th Street. The gift, valued at Five Thousand Dollars, is a memorial in honor of Isaac N. Glauber, and assures the Relief a permanent home.
HEBREW FREE LOAN ASSOCIATION.
Cooperating with the Hebrew Relief Association, but in nowise a part of it, is the Hebrew Free Loan Association. It was organized in 1905 as a Gemilath Chesed Society and reorganized in 1907 under its present name. In 1909 it made 699 loans, amounting to over $20,000. These loans are free, without in- terest, but are secured by responsible endorsement. Although in three years the Association has loaned about $36,000, its losses have been but $168. It has an established contributing membership of nearly five hundred, paying $3 per year. Its chief purpose is to prevent the poor from asking for charity, by giving them an opportunity to maintain their self-respect and to establish their own inde- pendence.
INDEPENDENT MONTEFIORE SHELTER HOME.
During the Russian immigration, in the eighties, a house was rented on Perry Street, to shelter incoming immigrants and the transient poor. In later years, there were other temporary quarters. But in 1904, this work was re- organized and a new and commodious building was erected at 3902 Orange
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Street. It is open day and night to anyone requiring shelter. During 1909, it expended about $2,000 and housed 883 inmates and furnished 2,859 days of shelter and served 8,599 meals. It is supported by small membership dues and by an appropriation from the Federation of Jewish Charities. The Society now bears the name of The Independent Montefiore Shelter Home.
THE JEWISH ORPHAN ASYLUM.
No story of the Jewish charities of Cleveland would be complete without an account of the Jewish Orphan Asylum and of the Home for Aged and In- firm Israelites.
The Jewish Orphan Asylum is the pride of the Cleveland Jewish community and an enduring monument to the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith (Sons of the Covenant) who founded it. The Orphan Asylum is more than a local in- stitution-it is partly national. It receives both children and support from many Jewish communities, in many states of the Union.
In July, 1867, District Grand Lodge No. 2, Independent Order B'nai B'rith, in session at Milwaukee, resolved to establish an orphan asylum. After due investigation, Cleveland was chosen as the location, and the Cleveland "Water Cure" was purchased for $25,000. The Orphan Asylum was dedicated on July 14, 1868. Of the original Trustees, only two survive-one being Mr. A. Wiener of Cleveland, who is still a Trustee, and who served as President for seven years. One of the original Board of Directors was Mrs. Kaufman Hays, daughter of Simson Thorman, the first Jewish settler in Cleveland-she was a member of the Board from 1868 until the year of her death, 1907. Mr. Kauf- man Hays has been actively associated for many years and has been Treasurer since 1891. Mr. and Mrs. L. Aufrecht were the first Superintendent and Ma- tron, from September, 1868, until 1878. The Orphan Asylum opened with thirty-eight children.
DR. S. WOLFENSTEIN.
On July 1, 1878, Dr. S. Wolfenstein became the Superintendent, and has continued in office until the present time. It is because of his individuality that the Orphan Asylum has won for itself such unusual distinction as a model in- stitution.
Concerning it, General Brinkerhoff of Mansfield, Ohio, former President of the State Board of Charities of Ohio, and a well known authority in philan- thropy, said, "The Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum is admirably administered and is a model for imitation by all our county homes for dependent children. In fact it is not only an honor to the city of Cleveland, but it is an honor to the state and nation. I have visited hundreds of child-saving institutions, but I have never been in an institution where there was such a manifestation of affection and regard for the superintendent, as I saw in this home."
Dr. Wolfenstein has trained leaders and workers. The heads of the Orphan Asylums at Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Rochester and San Francisco were his former assistants at Cleveland.
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ITS GLORIOUS RECORD.
In 1888, the new main building, fireproof and splendidly equipped, was dedi- cated. The quarter centennial was celebrated in 1893, and Governor William McKinley, afterward President, was a guest of honor.
The boys and girls of the Orphan Asylum have gone out into the world and have honored their former home by their remarkable record. Little more than one per cent have ever become recipients of charity, "in every instance because of sickness or death of husband, a still smaller percentage, not quite one-half per cent, have made a shady record." "A considerable number are occupying prominent positions in the professional world, as rabbis, physicians, lawyers and trained nurses. A very fair percentage are pursuing trades as machinists, electricians, printers and different other trades. The girls are milliners, dress- makers, and quite a large number stenographers." They are found in almost every walk of life.
The Orphan Asylum for a number of years has been full to its capacity- 500 children. Since its opening, 2,941 children have been admitted, and 2,410 have been discharged-only thirty-one have been lost by death.
The total expenditure to the end of the forty-first year amounts to $2,500,- 000.
The Orphan Asylum has a sinking fund of $475,000. Its grounds and build- ings represent an investment of $350,000. There is a magnificent main building, with separate school and manual training buildings and other buildings; also two hospitals. Its property fronts 412 feet on Woodland Avenue and has a depth of 730 feet ; also 165 feet front on Sawtell Avenue; comprising altogether more than seven acres.
At the present time, there is under consideration a plan to move from the heart of the city into the country adjacent to Cleveland.
HOME FOR AGED AND INFIRM ISRAELITES.
The Sir Moses Montefiore Kesher Home for Aged and Infirm Israelites was established at Cleveland in 1881. Its property is at the southwest corner of Woodland and Willson Avenues, extending to Seelye Avenue, and was pur- chased for $25,000.
The Home was founded by District No. 4 of the Order Kesher Shel Barzel, a Jewish Fraternal Order, now out of existence. In the preamble, adopted by the Order, the purpose of the Home is declared to be: "the care, support and maintenance of aged and infirm Israelites of both sexes." The original name was "Aged and Infirm. Israelites Home, of District No. 4, O. K. S. B."
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