TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement Note

Restrictions

Related Material

Administrative Information

Search Terms

Box Folder Listing

Series A. Correspondence. 1794-1869.

A Finding Aid to the Rebecca Gratz Collection. 1794-1869.

Manuscript Collection No. 236


Introduction

Repository: The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
Creator: Gratz, Rebecca, 1781-1869
Title: Rebecca Gratz Collection
Dates: 1794-1869
Quantity: 1.6 linear feet ( 4 Hollinger Boxes)
Abstract: Collection consisting of correspondence with family members and friends.
Collection Number: MS-236
Language: Collection material in English.

Biographical Sketch

Rebecca Gratz (March 4, 1781 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania - August 27, 1869 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a preeminent Jewish American educator and philanthropist. Gratz was the seventh of twelve children born to Miriam Simon and Michael Gratz. Her mother was the daughter of Joseph Simon (1712-1804), a preeminent Jewish merchant of Lancaster, while her father was descended from a long line of respected rabbis. Miriam and Michael were observant Jews and active members of Philadelphia’s first synagogue, Mikveh Israel.

In 1801, at the age of 20, she helped establish the Female Association for the Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances, which helped women whose families were suffering after the Revolutionary War.[1] In 1815, after seeing the need for an institution for orphans in Philadelphia, she was among those instrumental in founding the Philadelphia Orphan Asylum. Four years later, she was elected secretary to its Board. She continued to hold this office for forty years. Under Gratz' auspices, a "Hebrew Sunday School" was started in 1838. Gratz became both its superintendent and president, and assisted in developing its curriculum,[1] resigning in 1864.

Gratz was also one of the founding members of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, around November 1819. In 1850, she advocated in The Occident, over the signature A Daughter of Israel, for the foundation of a Jewish foster home. Her advocacy was largely instrumental in the establishment of such a home in 1855.[1] Other organizations that came about due to her efforts were the Fuel Society and the Sewing Society.

Gratz is said to have been the model of Rebecca, the daughter of the Jewish merchant Isaac of York, who is the heroine in the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Scott's attention had been drawn to Gratz's character by Washington Irving, who was a close friend of the Gratz family.[2][3] The claim has been disputed, but it has also been well sustained in an article entitled "The Original of Rebecca in Ivanhoe", which appeared in The Century Magazine, 1882, pp. 679–682.

Gratz never married. Among the marriage offers she received was one from a Gentile whom she loved, but ultimately chose not to marry, on the account of her faith. Her portrait was painted twice by the noted American artist Thomas Sully. One of those portraits, both owned by the Rosenbach Museum, is on display at the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Gratz is buried at Mikveh Israel Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

--Wikipedia contributors, "Rebecca Gratz," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rebecca_Gratz&oldid=416424813 (accessed May 3, 2011).


Scope and Content Note

Collection consisting of correspondence with family members and friends. Collection is comprised of photostat copies of originals from the American Jewish Historical Society (Waltham, Mass.) and the University of North Carolina Libary (Chapel Hill, N.C.).


Arrangement Note

This collection is arranged in one (1) series:

Series A. Correspondence. 1794-1869.

Restrictions

Terms of Access and Use

This collection is open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the Barrows-Loebelson Reading Room of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

Property and Literary Rights

Originals are held at the American Jewish Historical Society (Waltham, Mass.) and the University of North Carolina Libary (Chapel Hill, N.C.). User must inquire at above institutions for property and literary rights information.

Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information see the American Jewish Archives copyright information webpage.


Related Material

Gratz, Rebecca. Correspondence. 1785-1851. MS-143.


Administrative Information

Alternative Forms of Collection

Originals are held at the American Jewish Historical Society (Waltham, Mass.) and the University of North Carolina Libary (Chapel Hill, N.C.).

Preferred Citation

Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Rebecca Gratz Collection and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:

[Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-236. Rebecca Gratz Collection. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Provenance

Provenance unknown.

Processing Information

Processed by American Jewish Archives' staff.


Box Folder Listing

Series A. Correspondence. 1794-1869. [4 Hollinger boxes]
Box Folder
1 1 Cohen, Miriam. 1836-1840.
1 2 Cohen, Miriam. 1841-1845.
1 3 Cohen, Miriam. 1846-1850.
1 4 Cohen, Miriam. 1851-1855.
1 5 Cohen, Miriam. 1856-1862.
1 6 Cohen, Miriam. Undated.
Box Folder
2 1 Cohen, Miriam. Undated.
2 2 Cohen, Solomon. 1839-1860.
2 3 Gratz, Anna Maria. 1844-1863
2 4 Gratz, Anna Maria. Undated.
2 5 Gratz, Benjamin. 1790-1829.
2 6 Gratz, Benjamin. 1831-1863, 1871.
2 7 Gratz, Benjamin. Undated.
Box Folder
3 1 Gratz, Maria. 1809-1820.
3 2 Gratz, Maria. 1821-1828.
3 3 Gratz, Maria. 1830-1833.
3 4 Gratz, Maria. 1834-1838.
3 5 Gratz, Maria. 1839-1841.
3 6 Gratz, Maria. Undated.
3 7 Gratz, Maria. Undated.
3 8 Gratz, Maria. Undated.
3 9 Hays, Sarah Ann. 1830-1835.
Box Folder
4 1 Hoffman, Maria Fenno. 1797-1801.
4 2 Hoffman, Maria Fenno. 1802-1804.
4 3 Hoffman, Maria Fenno. 1805-1808.
4 4 Hoffman, Maria Fenno. 1809-1813.
4 5 Hoffman, Maria Fenno. 1814-1823.
4 6 Hoffman, Maria Fenno. Undated.
4 7 Miscelleneous correspondence. 1802-1869, Undated.
4 8 Family correspondence. Undated.

Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the American Jewish Archives's online catalog.

Persons and Families

Cohen, Miriam Gratz Moses
Cohen, Solomon
Gratz, Anna Maria Boswell Shelby, 1808-1882
Gratz, Benjamin, 1792-1884
Gratz, Maria Gist, 1797-1841
Hays, Sarah Ann
Hoffman, Maria Fenno

Subjects

Families
Jewish women
Jews -- Pennsylvania
Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Genres and Forms

Photostat