In 1967, the Judah L. Magnes Museum established its Western Jewish History Center, which was the first regional Jewish history center in the U.S., and remains the largest archive of this kind in the Western United States. The holdings of the Western Jewish History Center evolved into the Western Jewish Americana Archives, which center on the history of Jewish immigration and community engagement in the San Francisco Bay Area and the thirteen Western states since the Gold Rush.
The holdings of the Western Jewish Americana Archives are unique, as they combine two fields of research that have often been investigated in separate ways: the history of the American Jewish experience and the history of California and the American West.
Descriptions and finding aids for the collections of the Western Jewish Americana Archives are available in this website, as highlighted by the entries that appear in this page. These collection descriptions may be browsed by Creator name. Individuals and family creators are listed by last name (for example: Kahn, Julius or Lilienthal family). Institutional creators are listed by full name (for example: Eureka Benevolent Society or Jewish Council of 1933). Congregational records are listed under the proper name of the Congregation (for example: Emanu-El or Beth Israel).
The archival collections are also integrated with the Museum and Library holdings, and the broader cultural context resulting from this integration can be reconstructed by searching our online database.
To go directly to a specific entry, click on the "show more" button at the bottom of this page. To search for a name or term that may not be included in a collection's title, use the search box at the top of this page, or go to the advanced search page.
UPDATE: Western Jewish Americana Collections Available to the Public at The Bancroft Library
The collections from the Western Jewish Americana archives of The Magnes are now available to researchers, and can be accessed in the reading room of the Bancroft Library.
Collections listed below are (or will soon be) open to researchers. Check the record for each collection for availability status.
Many of these collections are stored off-site and must be requested a few days ahead of your visit to the Bancroft Library. Please check UC Berkeley's Library Catalog, OskiCat, for each collection for locations and details on access.
You can request information about these materials by contacting The Bancroft Library.
Aaron (Bella H.) papers, ca. 1890s-1996
Bella Hurst (Herscovich) Aaron was born in Canada and immigrated to Utah via Montana as a young child. She grew up in Ogden, Utah, the eldest daughter of eight children. Her elder brother, Morris, died at the age of ten. Her parents Clara and David Herscovich emigrated from Romania to Canada. Bella received a teaching credential from Weber College in Ogden, Utah in 1929 and a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah. In 1934 she moved to San Francisco, Calif., and entered San Francisco Law School in 1939. She received her degree and was admitted to the state bar in 1942.
Abals (Rahle) letter, 1858.
Rahle Abals settled in California shortly after the Gold Rush.
Aleph Zadik Aleph, Monterey Bay Chapter, Number 355 charter, 1939 Oct.
Aleph Zadik Aleph was a boys organization created and supported by B'nai B'rith.
Charter membership certificate for Aleph Zadik Aleph's Monterey Bay Chapter, Number 355 in Santa Cruz, California.
Altman (Hal) papers, 1958-1961
Hal Altman was active in public relations in Sacramento and interested in promoting awareness of California Jewish history; served on the board of the Northern California Region of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations; played a leading role in the founding of the Judah L. Magnes Museum's Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks of the Magnes Museum; and was a member of both the Sacramento Historic Landmarks Commission and the California History Foundation.
American Jewish Congress, Northern California Division records, 1959-1982
The American Jewish Congress (AJC) was founded in 1916 and reorganized in 1920 and 1938. The groundwork for the Northern California Division was laid in the 1930s by Rabbis Saul White of Beth Sholom and Elliot Burstein of Beth Israel when they organized a boycott of German goods. The Division was officially founded in December 1943.
Annual Report of Israel's Missionary Society of San Francisco, California, 1912
Israel's Missionary Society of San Francisco, founded circa 1910, was a women' s organization consisting of local Christian women interested in performing missionary work in the local Jewish population. The organization was founded by Jeanette Gedalius, who is described in the 1910 Annual Report of the American Bible Society as a "converted, consecrated Jewish worker" (175). Gedalius was born in Prussia, converted to Christianity at an early age, and immigrated to the United States.
Axe (Ruth Frey) papers, 1883-1973
Ruth Frey Axe was the secretary, for thirty years, of Henry R. Wagner, a historian of the West.
B'nai B'rith Women. Eleanor Roosevelt Chapter, No. 1165 (Oakland, Calif.)
The Eleanor Roosevelt Chapter No. 1165 of B'nai B'rith Women was organized in 1962 in Oakland, California. Its members engaged in social, cultural, civic, and educational activities.
Bachrach (Simon) papers, 1861-1916
Simon Bachrach was born in Richmond, Virginia and settled in Oakland, California in the early 1880s. Before he died, he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1908.
Balzer and Annis family papers and photographs, 1888-1960
Julius Balzer married Augusta Marks in 1888, and Beatrice Joyce Balzer married Arthur Annis in 1910.
Photographs; pages from a family photo album; wedding invitations; and the ketubah of Julius Balzer and Augusta Marks signed by the rabbi of San Francisco's Congregation Sherith Israel, Falk Vidaver.
Baumann-Muhlfelder family papers, 1858-1935
Julius Baumann was born in Germany and arrived in the U.S. in time to volunteer for service in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. He enlisted under the name of John Bowman and served in the West Gulf Squadron. He received his American citizenship papers in 1868, married Henriette Ballin, who had emigrated from Germany with members of her family, and settld in the American Midwest and East. He owned and operated a highly successful women's shirtwaist factory and died in 1916. Julius's daughter Doretta was a debutante who attended secretarial school and married milliner Samuel Muhlfelder.
Bazaar (Mona) papers, undated.
Mona Bazaar (May 22, 1904 - March 7, 1992) was the author of several self-published books: Exotic Recipes for a World Without War (1963); Free Huey: Or the Sky's the Limit (1968); The Trial of Huey Newton; Selected Articles and Statements (1968); Black Fury: Police Brutality, White Racism (1968); The End of Silence (editor) (1970); and Cookbook in Solidarity with the Symbionese Liberation Army (date unknown).
Behrend (Julius) family papers and photographs, 1884-2006
Julius Francis Behrend (b. in Hamburg, Germany, 2 Aug. 1863; d. in San Francisco, June 1954) immigrated to New York in 1879 and moved to Arkansas City, Kansas in 1884, where he operated a clothing store. While in Kansas, Behrend became a Freemason and joined the Order of the Eastern Star, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and the Grand Commandery (i.e., Knights Templar), as well as the Knights of Pythias. On 3 Nov. 1884, he became an American citizen. In 1884, Behrend apparently met Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce on the Ponca reservation in what would become Oklahoma.
Berkeley Jewish Senior Citizens records, 1968-1979
Berkeley Jewish Senior Citizens was a group of senior citizens who met weekly at Temple Beth El in Berkeley, California for fellowship and to work on political issues related to aging.
Collection consists of records of Berkeley Jewish Senior Citizens, including minutes, correspondence, attendance lists, files on aging, and files on legislation relevant to senior citizens.
Bernstein's Fish Grotto menu, undated.
An undated menu for Bernstein's Fish Grotto, which shows that the restaurant served a variety of seafood, including shellfish.
Bibel (Bassya and Philip) papers, 1813-1999
Bassya (Maltzer) Bibel (1908-1980) was a poet, author, secretary, and an actress. She arrived to San Francisco in 1921 from Kopaygorod, Podolia (Kopayhorod in modern Ukraine). After settling in the city, she became very involved with a San Francisco Yiddish dramatic group. Bassya Bibel authored several volumes of poetry, including In Hours of Silence (1969), Fleeting Moments (1970), Passing Shadows (1974), and A Net of Black Clouds (1977).
Block (Gertrude) papers, 1912-1970.
Gertrude Block (originally Bloch) was born in Mannheim, Germany in 1893 to Salomon Bloch and Bertha Buhler. She immigrated to England in 1939 and then to the U.S. in 1940 and settled in California. While in Germany, she trained as both a nurse and kindergarten teacher.
Blumlein (Jacob and Phillipine Hellman) engagement agreement, 1862
In 1906, Jacob Blumlein became a partner in San Francisco’s S & W (Sussman-Wormser) Fine Foods.
An 1862 engagement agreement for Jacob Blumlein and Phillipine Hellman and a document providing details about the power of attorney.
Boris David Bogen family papers and photographs, 1895-1940
Boris Bogen was a social and Jewish communal worker as well as an editor and author. He was born in Moscow and immigrated to the U.S. in 1888. For a time, he worked as an instructor at the Baron de Hirsch Trade School and at the Hebrew Technical Institute. Eventually, he became a superintendent of the Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School, in Woodbine, N.J. He was also an international secretary of B'nai B'rith and a director of the United Jewish Charities in Cincinnati.
Brandenstein ( Max J.) legal records, 1882 and 1885.
Max J. Brandenstein was born in San Francisco on February 2, 1860. His parents were Joseph Brandenstein and Jane Rosenbaum Brandenstein. He married Bertha Weil in 1885 and had four children. In 1881, he established the firm of M.J. Brandenstein and Company (later, M.J.B. Coffee Company) and served as its first president.