| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Gries, Moses J. Family |
| Title: | Moses J. Gries Family Photographs |
| Dates: | 1864-1956 |
| Extent: | 0.40 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | Moses J. Gries (1868-1918) was Rabbi of Tifereth Israel Congregation (The Temple) in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1892 to 1917. His wife, Frances, was the daughter of Kaufman Hays, a Cleveland businessman and banker. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of the Gries family and friends of Cleveland, Ohio. |
| PG Number | PG 192 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
Biographical sketch courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
Moses J. Gries (1868-1918) was a proponent of Classical Reform Judaism and spiritual leader of the Temple (1892-1917) in Cleveland, Ohio. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Jacob an Kate Gries. He attended the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College, graduating and receiving ordination in 1889. Gries served in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before coming to the Temple, the first native-born, Hebrew Union College-educated rabbi in Cleveland. Gries, believing Reformed Judaism should be Americanized, radically changed the congregation, discarding German, adopting the Union Prayer Book, moving Sabbath services to Sunday, substituting English for Hebrew, removing Hebrew from the religious school curriculum, and creating congregational groups: the Temple Women's Association, Temple Library, Temple Alumni Association, Educational League, Temple Orchestra, and Temple Society.
Gries was politically progressive and a founder of the Citizens League of Greater Cleveland. He was also active in ecumenical affairs. He helped found the Council Educational Alliance, a settlement house of the National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section (1899); and the Federation for Jewish Charities (1903) to coordinate Jewish charitable activities.
Gries protested pogroms and urged help for immigrants, yet remained removed from the largely Orthodox, Yiddish-speaking group. He denounced Zionism, believing it raised questions concerning Jewish identity and loyalty which threatened the Jewish community in America. For health reasons, Gries resigned from the Temple in 1917, dying a year later. He married Frances (Fannie) Hays on 15 June 1898, daughter of Kaufman Hays. They had two sons: Robert and Lincoln. Gries was buried in Mayfield Cemetery.
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Moses J. Gries
The Moses J. Gries Family Photographs, ca. 1864-1956, consist of individual and group portraits of the Gries family and friends of Cleveland, Ohio.
The photograph album contains 288 black and white and color photographs and measures 10.5 x 12 inches. The collection also includes 96 loose black and white and color photographs that measure 8 x 10 inches and smaller. The collection contains two tintypes and one salted paper print.
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of the Jewish community in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Hays and Gries families.
None.
Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult MS 3756 Moses J. Gries Family Papers.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 192 Moses J. Gries Family Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
These photographs were removed from MS 3756 Moses J. Gries Family Papers. Gift of Robert Gries in 1976.
Moses J. Gries Family Photographs ca. 1864-1956 |
|||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Portraits, Frances Hays Gries (Watters) ca. 1885-1895 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Portraits, Frances Hays Gries (Watters) ca. 1895-1905 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3-4 | Portraits, Frances Hays Gries (Watters) ca. 1905-1915 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Portraits, Frances Hays Gries (Watters) ca. 1920 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Portraits, Frances Hays Gries (Watters) ca. 1925 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7-8 | Robert Gries family album that contains 288 portraits and views ca. 1880-1956 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Portraits, Gries family, unidentified ca. 1900 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Portraits, Louis Beaumont ca. 1919-1931 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Portraits, Louis A. and Hattie Schoenberg Braham ca. 1870-1880 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Portraits, Bessie Braham Dauby ca. 1885-1915 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Portrait, Elizabeth Hays (salted paper print) ca. 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Portrait, David May ca. 1915 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Portrait, Schoenberg, Braham, and May group ca. 1910 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Views, unidentified building ca. 1910 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Portrait, unidentified school group ca. 1885 | |||||||||