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Inventory of the Lazarus and Hirsch Families Papers, 1776, 1818-2005
Inventory of the Lazarus and Hirsch Families Papers, 1776, 1818-2005
Descriptive Summary
| Abstract: | This collection contains photographs, correspondence, clippings, pins, a textile, legal documents, albums, and other items relating to Jane Lazarus Raisin and the Lazarus and Hirsch families of Charleston, as well as the related Hart, Levy, Cohen, Mordecai, Harby, De Lyon, De La Motta, and Raisin families. Collection includes numerous early photographs. Materials also pertain to Charleston's Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) synagogue and Jewish life in Charleston and South Carolina in the 19th and 20th centuries. Numerous items belonging to Isaac Hirsch relate to his involvement with masonic organizations in Charleston and to his service in the Confederate army. |
| Title: | Lazarus and Hirsch families papers |
| Creator: | Lazarus family;
Hirsch family |
| Date(s): | 1776, 1818-2005 |
| Extent: | 5 linear feet (7 document boxes, 2 flat boxes, 2 paper folders) |
| Repository: | Jewish Heritage Collection, Special Collections, College of Charleston Libraries 66 George Street Charleston, SC 29424 Phone: (843) 953-8016 Fax: (843) 953-6319 URL: http://archives.library.cofc.edu |
| Call Number: | Mss 1018 |
| Language of Material: | Materials in English and Hebrew |
Biographical Note
This collection contains documents, photographs, and other items relating to the Lazarus and Hirsch families of Charleston, South Carolina. The families were linked together in 1949 with the marriage of Willard Newman Hirsch and Mordenai Lazarus Raisin. Items in the collection pertain primarily to the relatives of Willard's grandfather, Isaac Willard Hirsch, and Mordenai's mother, Jane Lazarus Raisin.
John M. Hirsch (1804-1874) and Miriam R. Woolf (1814-1857) had two sons: Isaac and Melvin. Isaac Hirsch served in the Confederate army, was released in 1865 from Charlotte, North Carolina, and returned to Charleston. In 1873, he married Elizabeth Harris. Four of their children were: George, Alexander, Marion, and Miriam. Alexander married Miriam Newman, of New York, and they had four children: Willard, Marion, Roslyn, and Elizabeth. Isaac Hirsch died in 1925 in Charleston.
Jane Lazarus was born in Charleston in 1887 to Marks Hubert Lazarus (1846-1914) and Mordenai Levy (1850-1897). In 1917 Jane Lazarus married Jacob Raisin, rabbi of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) from 1915 to 1944. They had three children: Mordenai, Rachel, and Aaron. Jane Lazarus Raisin died in 1965.
This collection contains materials relating to the Lazarus and Hirsch families, and their relations, mostly on the Lazarus side, including the Levys, Harts, Cohens, Harbys, De Lyons, De La Mottas, Mordecais, and Raisins.
Collection Overview
This collection contains photographs, autograph albums, clippings, certificates, letters, programs, education materials, Bibles, legal documents, pins, a textile, and ephemera related to the Lazarus and Hirsch families of Charleston, South Carolina. The families are connected through the marriage of Willard Hirsch and Mordenai Lazarus Raisin.
Collection Arrangement
| 1. | Lazarus family, 1776, 1818-2005 |
| 2. | Hirsch family, 1855-1998 |
| 3. | Jewish community materials, 1849-2004 |
Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person, family, or organization, by topical subject, by place, and by types of material.Names
- Hirsch, Isaac Willard, 1844-1925
- Raisin, Jane Lazarus, 1887-1965
- Hirsch family
- Lazarus family
- Levy family
- Hart family
- Cohen family
- Mordecai family
- Raisin family
- Harby family
- De Lyon family
- De La Motta family
- Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, S.C.)
Subjects
- Jews--South Carolina--Charleston
- Freemasons--South Carolina--Charleston--History
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Jews
- Jews--Social life and customs--19th century
- Jews--Social life and customs--20th century
Places
- Charleston (S.C.)
Types of Material
- Account books
- Autograph albums
- American paper money
- Bible
- Black-and-white photographs
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Cased photographs
- Certificates
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Copybooks (instructional materials)
- Genealogical tables
- Lapel pins
- Pennants
- Personal correspondence
- Picture postcards
- Programs (documents)
- Scrapbooks
- Studio portraits
- Visiting cards
- Wills
Related Resources
Related Material
Related materials in Special Collections include the Rabbi Jacob S. Raisin papers (Mss 1075), the Willard N. Hirsch papers (Mss 1074), the Thomas J. Tobias papers (Mss 1029), the Asher D. Cohen papers (Mss 1034-054), the Isabel Cohen Doud collection (Mss 1034-090), the Lee Cohen Harby papers (Mss 1019), and an oral history interview with Mordenai Raisin Hirsch and Rachel Marla Raisin (Mss 1035-083).
Separated Material
Southern Table Book (1856) removed from collection and cataloged separately (call number QA103 .S68 1856).
Detailed Description of the Collection
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1. Lazarus family, 1776, 1818-2005
Includes photographs, documents, and pins from members of the Lazarus, Cohen, Levy, Hart, De Lyon, Harby, De La Motta, and Raisin families. Jane Hart married Mordecai Marks Levy. Jane's niece Miriam married Asher Cohen. One of Jane and Mordecai Levy's daughters was Mordenai Levy, who married Marks Hubert Lazarus. Their daughter Jane Lazarus married Jacob Raisin. Photographs of members of all these families are represented in the collection. Documents include copies of Aaron Lazarus's will, student materials, correspondence, autograph albums, family bibles containing handwritten family records, and clippings, primarily pertaining to the Lazarus, Levy, Raisin, and Hart families.
Photographs, 1850-1919
This series consists of daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, platinotypes, albumen prints, and silver gelatin prints of the Cohen, Hart, Lazarus, Levy, Raisin, and related families.
Includes a daguerreotype of Mary Hart Cohen, mother of Asher and David Cohen, wife of David Daniel Cohen. Ambrotypes of David Daniel Cohen and Asher Cohen, albumen prints of David Cohen and Miriam (Mary) Hart Cohen.
Includes a daguerreotype of Jane Hart, wife of Mordecai Marks Levy, mother of Mordenai, Rachel, Elizabeth, and Mary Levy. Daguerreotype of Hyman Hart, brother of Jane Hart Levy. Includes albumen prints of Nathan Hart, great-grandfather of Jane Lazarus Raisin; Jane Hart; Rachel (Hart) Hart, wife of Nathan Hart; Isabel Lazarus Hart, wife of Samuel Nathan Hart; Samuel Nathan Hart, Samuel Hart, Jr., Hyman Hart, Joshua Hart, Bella Levy Hart, and Nathan Samuel Hart.
Includes an ambrotype of Mordenai Charlotte Blair (Levy) Lazarus, mother of Jane Lazarus Raisin; a daguerreotype of Mary Lazarus, sister of Jane Lazarus Raisin; a tintype of Jane Levy Lazarus; albumen prints of Jane Levy Lazarus and Clifford Lazarus, brother of Jane Lazarus Raisin; and silver gelatin prints of Jane Levy Lazarus.
Includes albumen prints and silver gelatin prints of Mary Lee Lazarus; platinotypes of Mordenai Charlotte Blair Levy Lazarus and Marks Hubert Lazarus, father of Jane Lazarus Raisin. Also includes slides of miniature paintings of Joshua Lazarus and his wife, Phoebe Yates. Joshua Lazarus was the great-uncle of Jane Lazarus Raisin.
Includes a daguerreotype of Rachel H. Levy; silver gelatin prints of Mary Hannah Levy, Elizabeth Jane Levy, and Rachel "Ray" Hart Levy; albumen prints of Mary Hannah Levy, Rachel "Ray" Hart Levy, and Elizabeth Jane Levy, sisters of Mordenai Charlotte Blair Levy, including a photograph of the three Levy sisters with their niece Mary Lee Lazarus.
Includes albumen prints of Mordenai Raisin Hirsch, daughter of Jane Lazarus Raisin; and Julius Moses, father of Hannah Moses Mordecai. Also includes an image of Jacob S. Raisin.
Documents, 1776, 1818-2005
This series consists of photocopies of Aaron Lazarus's will and the "Palmetto State Waltz" by Nathan Hart. It also includes an account book for Lazarus and Company, educational materials belonging to Rachel Levy, correspondence and speeches given by Jane Raisin, and a family Bible belonging to Isabel Cohen Doud, daughter of Asher Cohen. Also includes several albums belonging to members of the Levy and Lazarus families, materials relating to Mordenai Lazarus Raisin, and family bibles containing handwritten records of births, marriages, and deaths in the family.
Photocopies of will of Aaron Lazarus [brother of Michael Lazarus?], originally drafted in 1776 in London.
Includes correspondence from Mordecai Levy to Jane Hart; to Mordecai Levy from [Samuel Nathan?] Hart and Edward Anderson Levy; to Jane Hart Levy from Samuel Nathan Hart; and to Jane Hart from her cousin Elizabeth. Also includes a typed biographical statement of Henrietta Hart and assorted clippings on members of the Hart family.
Includes Mordecai Cohen's will and an obituary for Asher Cohen, his grandson.
A penmanship book, correspondence to and from Levy, and two albums of handwritten poems, belonging to Rachel.
Bible containing handwritten family records and an album of poetry clippings and handwritten poems, both belonging to Lizzie Levy
Album of handwritten poems, belonging to Esther Ezekiel, daughter of Leah Levy Ezekiel.
Photocopied sheet music for the song written by Nathan S. Hart.
Lazarus family account book (1875-circa 1914); documents income and expenses of a number of Lazarus family members' estates, with similar notations from living members, noting rents, stocks, bonds, etc. Includes some accounts of those renting from Lazarus family members and a name index in the front of the volume. Also contains a typed transcript of an advertisement for B. D. Lazarus and Company from an 1835 issue of the Charleston Courier.
Belonged to Isabel Cohen Doud, dated 1921. Clippings of death notices of family members included. Published by Harper Bros. in 1846, title page indicates that volume was published with Old and New Testaments, as well as the Apocrypha. This copy lacking the New Testament.
Includes clippings and journal articles related to Jacob Mordecai, his girls' school in Warrenton, North Carolina, his daughter Rachel Mordecai Lazarus, and her correspondence with the author Maria Edgeworth. Also includes a clipping on the history of the firm Mordecai & Young.
Includes two versions of Hart's will. Hart was the grandmother of Mordenai Levy Lazarus.
Includes congratulatory note to Mordenai Levy on her marriage and a congratulatory note to Marks Lazarus on the birth of a grandchild. Includes documents on members of the Levy and Lazarus families from the Department of the Interior, the American Jewish Archives, and the Spanish & Portuguese Jews' Congregation in London. Much of this material relates to genealogical research conducted by Aaron Raisin. Also contains clippings on the Charleston Gas Light Company and Joshua Lazarus, notes or letters to members of the Lazarus family, mortgage documents from Jane Levy, and a letter to B. D. Lazarus from South Carolina State Senator A(lexander) H(amilton) Boykin. Also includes calling cards, several wills and legal documents of members of the Lazarus and Levy families, and an article on Michael Lazarus, great-great-grandfather of Jane Lazarus Raisin.
Includes a New Year's note to Mamie Lazarus; a note to her Jane Lazarus's aunt Mary; a note from her "great-grand aunt" Henrietta Hart; correspondence congratulating her on her marriage to Jacob Raisin; a condolence letter to Jane and Jacob Raisin on the death of Jane's sister, Mary Lee; a detailed membership listing, committee appointments, and speeches from the Charleston Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. Also includes materials from the Charleston chapter of Hadassah and the Needlework Guild of America, Jane Raisin's obituary, two albums of poetry clippings, and other items.
Portrait of Jane Lazarus Raisin as a small child.
Marx Edwin Harby's application for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution through ancestor Jacob De La Motta, who married Charlotte Lazarus, Jane Lazarus Raisin's great aunt. Also includes correspondence.
Harry Harby's typed recollections of his father Levy Myers Harby's naval service during the War of 1812. The Harbys were related by marriage to both the De Lyon and Levy families.
Minishter's handbook, published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, owned by Jacob S. Raisin.
"Humanitarianism of the Laws of Israel: Kindness to Animals," and "Reform Judaism prior to Abraham Geiger."
Rachel Raisin kindergarten portfolio, photographs, Mordenai Raisin National Council of Jewish Juniors meeting program, 1941, Ashley Hall "Cerebrus" yearbooks belonging to Mordenai Lazarus Raisin, essay by Mordenai Lazarus Raisin, certificate for Mrs. Jacob L. Raisin from the Charleston Jewish Welfare Fund, and loan and appraisal forms and correspondence for items from the Mordenai Raisin Hirsch and Rachel M. Raisin collection displayed in "Portion of the People," the Charleston Museum, and the McKissick Museum.
Correspondence to Mordenai Hirsch regarding whether an M. H. Lazarus ever lived in Cheraw, South Carolina. Also includes an interview with Virginia Hersch, who claims to be a descendent of Michael Lazarus and a notice of her death, mailed to Mrs. Jacob Raisin.
A large family bible with significant handwritten records of births, marriages, and deaths in the front.
Objects, 1922-1963
This series consists of pins belonging to Jane Lazarus Raisin, and a framed portrait of Marks Hubert Lazarus.
Jewelry belonging to Jane Lazarus Raisin: pins from the National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, and the Daughters of the American Revolution, along with a case from J. E. Caldwell & Co. jewelers in Philadelphia.
2. Hirsch family, 1850-2013
Includes photographs, documents, medals, and pins from members of the Hirsch family. Isaac Willard Hirsch married Elizabeth Harris. Their son Alexander married Miriam Newman. Their son Willard married Mordenai Lazarus Raisin. Documents include Civil War ephemera, masonic certificates, genealogical tables, correspondence, and clippings, primarily pertaining to the Hirsch family.
Photographs, 1857-1860s
This series consists of photographs of members of the Hirsch family.
Includes an ambrotype of Miriam Woolf Hirsch with her sons, Melvin J. and Isaac Willard; a card de visite of Isaac W. Hirsch in his Civil War uniform; and a copy of an image of Elizabeth Harris Hirsch. Also includes photographs of Miriam Hirsch, Thomas and Rosa Newman (parents of the Miriam Hirsch), Miriam's maternal grandparents, Jane Hirsch and Willard Hirsch.
Documents, 1850-2013, undated
This series consists of clippings, certificates, letters, and ephemera related to the Hirsch family, including documents related to Isaac Hirsch's service in the Civil War, his involvement with masonic organizations, his service in Charleston's Jewish community, as well as clippings and ephemera related to other members of the Hirsch family. Also includes materials relating to the career of Willard Hirsch, a sculptor who taught and worked in Charleston.
Includes Hirsch's certificate from the 25th Annual Reunion of United Confederate Veterans, and a recommendation for his medical discharge. With correspondence between Hirsch and his family, and his pledge to the Union not to take up arms. Also includes a 15¢ state of South Carolina paper note, "issued under Act Feb. 1862."
Includes photocopies of the ketubah (marriage contact) for Isaac W. Hirsch and Elizabeth Harris, notice and congratulatory letter on Hirsch's election as commissioner of the Charleston Orphan House, obituaries and death notices, and a clipping about the home at 73 Rutledge, owned by Hirsch from 1893-1905. Also includes a letter from Hirsch to his children, letters from Alexander to Marion Hirsch, correspondence amongst members of the Hirsch family and historians regarding the genealogy of Isaac W. and Melvin J. Hirsch, including a biographical sketch of Hirsch from South Carolina Troops in Confederate Service (1914), and several Hirsch family trees. Also includes a bible owned by I.W Hirsch, passed down to Melvin Hirsch.
Includes Hirsch's masonic certificate, several tributes to Hirsch, a speech given by Willard Hirsch after his grandfather's death, and related clippings. Also includes a certificate signifying Hirsch as a master mason, and clippings and correspondence from the masons regarding Hirsch's death.
Includes an 1855 receipt given to T. H. Hirsch in Brownsville, Teaxs; Morris Harris's Oath of Allegiance signed after the Confederate surrender (1865) and his United Confederate Veterans certificate from 1889; and John Hirsch's freemason certificate from 1867. Also includes 20th century correspondence from Alexander to Willard Hirsch, and Willard Hirsch's freemason certificate. A sketch of the Hirsches by Alexander Abraham Hirsch with related correspondence, and clippings and ephemera related to members of the Hirsch family.
Materials pertaining to the work of Willard Hirsch, including articles and pamphlets for exhibits, exhibit catalogs, clippings, and a letter from a former pupil of Willard Hirsch. Also includes materials relating to his wife's work with the arts in Charleston.
Includes letters from Nance Gamse to Mordenai and Willard Hirsch. Nance was the daughter of Willard's aunt Miriam.
Objects, circa 1944-1945, undated
This series consists of medals and pins, probably belonging to Isaac Hirsch, from the United Confederate Veterans and masonic organizations.
Includes medals from the United Confederate Veterans, the Masonic Veterans Association, and three other masonic pins. Also contains Marion Hirsch's WWII metals and pins, including a Bronze Star Medal.
Isaac W. Hirsch's copy of this title, published in 1867. With Hirsch's photo and that of an unnamed family member's pasted on front free endpaper. Also contains marginalia.
3. Jewish community materials, 1849-2004
This series consists of clippings, programs, correspondence, pamphlets, and other materials related to the Jewish community, primarily in Charleston and greater South Carolina. It includes numerous articles written by Barnett Elzas and a photograph of Elzas. Also includes general materials on the history and life of Jews in America, and information on Jewish arts and culture in Charleston, including Piccolo Spoleto.
Includes numerous clippings by Elzas, many of them about Charleston Jews.
Includes photocopies of numerous clippings by Elzas, many of them about Charleston Jews. Also includes a 1933 photograph of Elzas.
Clippings, programs, and correspondence pertaining to Jewish organizations in Charleston. This includes materials related to KKBE and Charleston's Jewish bicentennial, the designation of KKBE as a national historic landmark, a Charleston Hebrew Benevolent Society event, an event with Alan Dershowitz sponsored by the Addlestone Hebrew Academy, and information on the historical diorama of Francis Salvador, along with an image of the Salvador Grant of Arms.
Includes clippings on numerous members of the Charleston Jewish community, as well as clippings on Charleston's Jewish institutions and buildings. Persons featured in articles include Thomas J. Tobias (1906-1970), Maier Triest (1901-1969), Sol Breibart (1914-2009), and Henry Yaschik (1909-2000), among others. Also includes clippings on other Jewish communities throughout the south.
Includes items pertaining to Temple Sinai in Sumter; Temple Beth Elohim in Georgetown; and Beth Israel in Florence.
Information on Piccolo Spoleto events held at KKBE, including the following exhibitions: Jewish Paper Cuts by Yehudit Shadur; Changing Images by William Halsey; and Music of the American Synagogue. Also includes a program and historical information for the dedication of Charleston's Holocaust memorial.
Includes materials related primarily to American presidents and their relationship with the Jewish community. Also includes the pamphlet The Jew and the American Revolution by Jacob Rader Marcus, and a list of genealogical resources.
Hand-painted cloth binder for a Torah scroll, inscribed, "To Moses the son of Jacob…born with good fortune…in the year 5609 (1849)."
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lazarus and Hirsch families papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Materials were donated in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2012, and 2013 by Mordenai Lazarus Raisin Hirsch and Rachel Marla Raisin.
Accruals
2 linear feet added in April 2015
Processing Information
Initial inventory by Marie Ferrara, 2008.
Processed by Jessica Epstein, August 2012.
Encoded by Jessica Epstein, August 2012.
Reviewed, edited, and uploaded by Martha McTear, August 2012.
Edited to add an image of Jacob S. Raisin to box 2 folder 3, April 2015.
Edited to add two albums of verse belonging to Rachel to box 2 folder 7-9, April 2015.
Edited to add box 3 folder 2, "Lizzie Levy, 1861." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Edited to add box 3 folder 3, "Esther Eudora Ezekiel, 1829." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Edited to add two albums of poetry clippings to box 5, folders 2-4, April 2015.
Edited to add box 5 folder 8, "Minister's Handbook belonging to Jacob S. Raisin, 1917." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Edited to add box 5 folder 9, "Jacob S. Raisin publications, 1910, undated." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Edited to add box 5 folder 10, "Raisin family documents, 1929-1941, 1960, undated." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Edited to add an interview with Virginia Hersch, and a notice of her death to box 6 folder 2, April 2015.
Edited to add box 7, "Lazarus family bible, 1839." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Edited to add photographs of Miriam Hirsch, Thomas and Rosa Newman, Miriam's maternal grandparents, Jane Hirsch and Willard Hirsch to box 6 folder 4, April 2015.
Edited to add a bible owned by I.W Hirsch, passed down to Melvin Hirsch to box 6 folder 6-7, April 2015.
Edited to add A sketch of the Hirsches by Alexander Abraham Hirsch with related correspondence, and clippings and ephemera related to members of the Hirsch family to box 8 folder 1, April 2015.
Edited to add box 8 folder 2, "Willard Hirsch, 1956, 2012, undated." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Edited to add Marion Hirsch WWII metals and pins to box 8 folder 4, April 2015.
Edited to add box 8 folder 6, "Williard Hirsch art, undated." Renumbered subsequent boxes and folders, April 2015.
Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the processing of this collection and encoding of the finding aid.
