| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Ohab Zedek Congregation |
| Title: | Ohab Zedek Congregation Records |
| Dates: | 1920-1991 |
| Extent: | 0.20 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | Ohab Zedek Congregation was an Orthodox Jewish congregation founded ca. 1884 and located near the Harvard-Broadway area of Cleveland, Ohio, in what had been Newburgh Village, Ohio, before its annexation to Cleveland in 1873. The congregation was housed at various locations in this neighborhood until 1909, when they moved into their own building on Homestead Ave. In 1895 the congregation acquired a section of the Lansing Cemetery, located at Lansing Ave. and East 58th St. Isolated from the centers of major Jewish settlement in Cleveland, and sustained by only a small local Jewish population, Ohab Zedek struggled during the Depression to survive. In 1933, the congregation sold its synagogue. In 1976, an elderly surviving member of Ohab Zedek arranged with Heights Jewish Center to undertake custodianship of the Ohab Zedek section of the Lansing Cemetery. The collection consists of two interment record scrolls (ca. 1920s) which provide a diagram of the location of the grave sites of the section of the Lansing Cemetery belonging to Ohab Zedek, a copy of a cemetery maintenance agreement (1976), and a history of Ohab Zedek compiled by Lou Rosenblum. The history includes a description of the Harvard-Broadway area during Ohab Zedek's lifetime, a description of the occupations of members of Ohab Zedek, and a map showing the location of the businesses of members of Ohab Zedek. |
| MS Number | MS 4541 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
The Ohab Zedek Congregation of Newburgh (f. ca. 1884) was throughout its existence located within a 1/2 mile of the Harvard-Broadway neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio -- the heart of Newburgh Village before it was annexed to Cleveland in 1873. From 1894-1906 the congregation was housed at 2318 (now 7700) Broadway, from 1907 to 1909 at Opera Block hall, corner of Broadway and Harvard, and from 1909 to 1933 in their own building on Homestead Avenue (the former Homestead Avenue Baptist Church building). Rabbi Nathan Ganger, born in Hungary, 1842, served the congregation from approximately 1894 until his retirement in 1906. In the succeeding years the congregation was without a rabbi, except for brief periods: Rabbi Jacob Kohn, ca. 1907-1909; Rabbi Schiff, 1926; and Rabbi Max Gershuny, 1928-1931. In 1895 the congregation acquired a section of the Lansing Avenue Cemetery (East 58th Street and Lansing Avenue). According to the interment record, the first burial was Solomon Levi, June 18, 1896. Rabbi Ganger, who died in 1911, is also buried in the Ohab Zedek section. Isolated from the centers of major Jewish settlement and sustained by only a small local Jewish population, Ohab Zedek of Newburgh was fatally impacted by the depression in the years following 1929. In 1933 the congregation was forced to sell its synagogue on Homestead Avenue. Finally, in 1976 an elderly surviving member, Dr. Samuel Volk, arranged with Heights Jewish Center to undertake custodianship of the Ohab Zedek section of the Lansing Avenue Cemetery. It is important to note that there were two unrelated congregations named Oheb Zedek in Cleveland: (1) a congregation, occasionally subtitled, "Hungarian", located at Lorain Avenue at the corner of Root (now West 47th Street), 1883 to ca. 1890; and (2) a congregation formed in 1904 by a break-away group from B'nai Jeshurun. This Oheb Zedek merged with six smaller congregations during the 1950s, forming Taylor Road Synagogue.
Ohab Zedek Congregation Records, ca. 1920s-1991, consist of two interment record scrolls (ca. 1920s), a copy of a cemetery maintenance agreement (1976), a copy of a quit claim deed (1976), and a history of Ohab Zedek compiled by Lou Rosenblum, during the processing of this collection (1991). This history includes a description of the Harvard-Broadway neighborhood during Ohab Zedek's lifetime, a description of the occupations of members of Ohab Zedek, and a map showing the location of the businesses of members of Ohab Zedek. The collection is maintained in two folders.
This collection will be of interest to researchers concerned with genealogy and the history of Orthodox Jewish congregations in America in general and Cleveland, Ohio, and Newburgh, Ohio, in particular. Of genealogical interest, the interment record scrolls provide a diagram of the location of the cemetery's grave sites. If a grave site is occupied, the interment record scrolls include name, date of death and, occasionally, date of birth; if not occupied, name of purchaser, or "open". Lou Rosenblum's history of Ohab Zedek provides information about one of the few Jewish congregations in Cleveland that was located in a neighborhood that was not predominantly Jewish.
None.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4541 Ohab Zedek Congregation of Newburgh Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio,
Alex Adelman, 1990; and Daniel Ringholz, 1990.
Processed by Louis Rosenblum in 1990.