Iphigene Bettman Papers

Iphigene Bettman (1892-1978) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to James and Helen Wise Molony. She was well known as a newspaper columnist, Republican Party worker, and radio show moderator, though she primarily considered herself a writer. Bettman was the wife of Gilbert Bettman, Sr., a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court and a vice mayor of Cincinnati. She was also a granddaughter of Isaac Mayer Wise, the founder of Hebrew Union College and an important figure in Reform Judaism. Bettman had three children, Carol Lazar, Alfred Bettman, and Judge Gilbert Bettman, Jr.

Bettman was a consultant for the Office of War Information during World War II in the United Kingdom. Her account of that assignment appeared in the New York Times and the Cincinnati Times Star. After the war she was the moderator for the radio forum, "What's on Your Mind?" in New York. She later was a columnist for the Cincinnati Times Star where her column "Hearabout" appeared for more than a decade. She also occasionally contributed an article for The Enquirer. 

Bettman was the president of the Republican Women's Club and state and local chairperson of the education committee of the League of Women Voters. She was the state legislative chairperson for the American Association of University Women, member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and volunteer for the Department of Welfare. 

In 1940 she ran for the Cincinnati Board of Education unsuccessfully. It was her only campaign, though she was a writer and organizer for the Republican Party in eight state campaigns. 

The Bettman family's ties to Cincinnati began in 1861 when Isaac Mayer Wise brought his family to a farm in North College Hill. Upon his death in 1900, Adolph S. Ochs, publisher of the New York Times and uncle to Bettman, bought the farm for his wife, Effie Wise Ochs. Since they were living in New York they asked James and Helen Wise Molony to live on the farm. Bettman wrote extensively on the importance of the farm to her during her formative years. The farm is now a park. 

The IPHIGENE BETTMAN PAPERS (1900-1964) contain the writings of Iphigene Bettman, a newspaper columnist, Republican Party worker, and granddaughter of Isaac Mayer Wise. Included are her journals from various trips overseas, correspondence with her family, and articles, stories, and speeches that she wrote. Of special interest are writings from her time in England at the end of World War II and reminiscences of her grandfather's farm in North College Hill. 

B. WRITINGS 

C. MISCELLANEOUS 

SERIES A. CORRESPONDENCE (1900-1958) contains letters written to her family and friends. Important in this series is correspondence with her children written while on a journalistic tour of England in 1943. 

SERIES B. NOTES, LECTURES, AND WRITINGS (1915-1955) is divided into two sub-series. Sub-series 1. Journals, contains Bettman's journals while on various trips overseas, including Asia, Europe, and Casablanca. Sub-series 2. Articles and speeches, contains articles and speeches written throughout her career as a columnist. 

SERIES C. MISCELLANEOUS (1964, n.d.) includes a tribute to Bettman's uncle, Adolph S. Ochs on his seventieth birthday and reminiscences of her grandfather, Isaac Mayer Wise and his farm. Also included is Bettman's scrapbook which contains some of her published articles, articles describing her and her noted family, and personal mementos. 

The papers are open to all users and available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives. 

The Iphigene Bettman Papers were donated in August 2001 by Helen Cohen, Houston, Texas