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Inventory of the Hirsch Family Papers, 1916-1990
Inventory of the Hirsch Family Papers, 1916-1990
Descriptive Summary
| Abstract: | Legal documents, financial papers, correspondence, photographs, and other assorted papers of the Hirsch family of Charleston, South Carolina, and New York, New York. Materials relate to Jacob Hirsch and his wife, Esther Hirsch; his sons, Max Joseph Hirsch, an actor in New York's Yiddish theaters, Louis Hirsch, and Isaac "Bingo" Hirsch; his daughter Julia Hirsch; Max's wife Sylvia Charen Hirsch, and his daughter Betty Hirsch Lancer. |
| Title: | Hirsch family papers |
| Creator: | Hirsch family |
| Date(s): | 1916-1990 |
| Extent: | 2.15 linear feet (1 document box, 1 oversize box, 1 audiocassette, 1 oversize folder) |
| 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 1080 |
| Language of Material: | Materials in English and Yiddish |
Biographical Note
Jacob Hirsch (1872-1928), youngest son of Wolf Baer Hirsch, was born in 1872 in Mogielnica, Poland. His first wife, Pearl Gottfrei, died in Poland circa 1904. The couple had three children: Max Joseph Hirsch (1894-1987), Sadie Hirsch, and Molly Hirsch. Emigrating from Poland to America in the early 1900s, Hirsch settled in New York, later sending for his son and daughter in 1910. In New York Hirsch married Esther Pieman/Pyman (b. 1878). The couple had five children: Rose Hirsch, Julia Hirsch, Rebecca Hirsch, Louis Hirsch (b. 1908) and Isaac "Bingo" Hirsch (1916-1985). Moving to Charleston, South Carolina, the family lived at 174 St. Philip Street where Hirsch earned a living during Prohibition making and selling kosher schnapps from his home. After his death in 1928, the family returned to New York.
In 1921, Max Joseph Hirsch, a tailor in the garment district and an actor in the Yiddish theatre, married Sylvia Charen (1902-1995), the oldest daughter of Nathan Charen, a baker, and Bella Rozalsky Charen, at the Daughters of Israel hall on St. Philip Street in Charleston, South Carolina. The couple lived above a used clothing store they operated on King Street. They had three children: Danny Hirsch (1922-1993), Betty Hirsch Lancer (1924- ), and Pearl Hirsch Baker (1927- ). Wanting to return to the theatre, Hirsch moved the family back to New York after the birth of his first child. In 1924 his wife returned to Charleston to give birth to their second child. Hirsch remained in New York but rejoined the family in Charleston six months later. Settling on St. Philip Street, Hirsch worked as a cloth peddler, and later, after the Great Depression, as a milkman for Crescent Dairy and Rephan Dairy. After World War II the family opened a notions business at 157-9 East Bay Street.
Collection Overview
Legal documents, financial papers, correspondence, photographs, and other assorted papers of the Hirsch family of Charleston, South Carolina, and New York, New York. Materials relate to Jacob Hirsch and his wife, Esther Hirsch; his sons, Max Joseph Hirsch, an actor in New York's Yiddish theaters, Louis Hirsch, and Isaac "Bingo" Hirsch; his daughter Julia Hirsch; Max's wife Sylvia Charen Hirsch, and his daughter Betty Hirsch Lancer.
Collection Arrangement
Materials are described at the folder level.
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, Jacob, 1872-1928
- Hirsch, Esther, b. 1878
- Hirsch, Max Joseph, 1894-1987
- Hirsch, Louis, b. 1908
- Hirsch, Isaac, 1916-1985
- Hirsch, Julia
- Hirsch, Sylvia Charen, 1902-1995
- Lancer, Betty Hirsch, 1924-
Subjects
- Jews--South Carolina--Charleston
- Jewish families--South Carolina--Charleston
- Theater, Yiddish
Places
- Charleston (S.C.)
- New York (N.Y.)
Types of Material
- Black-and-white photographs
- Photograph albums
- Legal documents
- Financial records
- Correspondence
- Clothing
- Audiocassettes
- Marriage certificates
- Playbills
Related Resources
Related Material
Related materials in Special Collections include an oral history interview with Betty Hirsch Lancer (Mss 1035-157) and the book Three Mogelnitzer by Louis Markowitz (1950).
Inventory
Contains bankbook from the Bank of Charleston, a car payment book to General Motors Acceptance Corporation, and a 1918 letter from the Red Cross in Frankfurt, Germany, notifying him of the death of his parents.
Also includes petition for citizenship.
Max Joseph Hirsch, 1917-1974, undated
Includes assorted correspondence, clippings, and receipts, as well as Hirsch's certificate of naturalization, Lyric Theatre playbills listing Hirsch as an actor, a 1940 program of the 18th Kalushiner Society Banquet, and a 1949 black and white cast photo of a "Womanless Wedding" staged in the social hall of the Beth Israel synagogue.
Includes bankbooks, correspondence, and assorted legal documents including a general release from the Jewish hospital of Brooklyn, a designation of beneficiary form, and a photocopy of Hirsch's birth certificate.
Photocopy of honorable discharge certificate from the United States Army.
Certification letter of promotion to high school from the Courtenay Public School.
Betty Hirsch Lancer, 1932-1965, undated
Contains a report card from the third grade, handmade high school banquet menus, achievement medal awarded from the Bennett Public School, and a letter from the War Department to Isidore Itzic Lancer, father of David Lancer and father-in-law of Betty Hirsch Lancer, announcing the death of his son, Murray Lancer, killed by friendly fire on 31 December 1944, as well as a letter to David Lancer from Lt. E. J. Urban, Murray Lancer's commanding officer.
Photographs, 1918-1988
Photo albums and assorted photographs of the Hirsch, Lancer, and Charen families, relatives, and friends. Photo albums include photographs of Daniel Hirsch and Betty Hirsch, as well as images of family and friends in and around Charleston and on Folly Beach.
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], Hirsch family papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Materials were donated in 2007 by Betty Hirsch Lancer.
Processing Information
Processed by Joshua Minor, June 2012.
Encoded by Joshua Minor, July 2012.
Finding aid updated by Joshua Minor with corrections to biographical note, August 2012.
Reviewed and uploaded by Martha McTear, July 2012, August 2012.
Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the processing of this collection and encoding of the finding aid.
