Finding Aid to the Emanu-El Residence Club of San Francisco records, 1894-1969

Finding Aid written by Judah L. Magnes Museum staff; revised by The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life staff

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California, 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/

Finding Aid to the Emanu-El Residence Club of San Francisco records, 1894-1969

Collection Number: BANC MSS 2010/717

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Finding Aid Written By:: Judah L. Magnes Museum staff; revised by The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life staff
Date Completed:: September 2011

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Emanu-El Residence Club of San Francisco records

Date (inclusive): 1894-1969

Collection Number: BANC MSS 2010/717

Creators : Emanu-El Residence Club (San Francisco, Calif.)

Extent: Number of containers: 10 cartons, 5 boxes, 2 oversize boxes (Linear feet: 12.4)

Repository: The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California, 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/

Abstract: This collection contains materials relating to the Emanu-El Residence Club for single, working Jewish women. Among the records are correspondence, minutes, bylaws, photographs, reports, agendas, calendars of events, surveys, financial information, organizational histories, membership lists, scrapbooks of clippings, reports of head social workers Ethel Feineman and Mary Michels, and building materials.

Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English

Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Information for Researchers

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Emanu-El Residence Club of San Francisco records, BANC MSS 2010/717, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Alternate Forms Available

There are no alternate forms of this collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Emanu-El Residence Club (San Francisco, Calif.)--Archives

Emanu-El Sisterhood of San Francisco

Jews, East European--California--San Francisco--Services for

Jews--California--San Francisco--Charities

Jewish women--California--San Francisco--Societies and clubs

Administrative records.

Annual reports.

Financial records.

Minutes.

Photographs.

Western Jewish History Center. 085

Judah L. Magnes Museum. WJHC 1970.011

Bancroft Library. Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Emanu-El Residence Club of San Francisco records were given to The Bancroft Library by the Judah L. Magnes Museum in 2010.

Accruals

No additions are expected.

System of Arrangement

Arranged into eleven series: Board of Directors; Executive Director Correspondence; Resident Girls Application Cards; Resident Financial Statements; Resident Correspondence; Resident, Other; Building; Program, General; Scrapbooks; Photographs; and Financial.

Processing Information

Processed by the Judah L. Magnes Museum staff. Additional processing by The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life Staff in 2011.

Administrative History

The Emanu-El Sisterhood for Personal Service was founded in 1894 as a neighborhood center and settlement house. Within a year it offered employment assistance, relief, sewing classes, a Working Girls' Club, a boys' club, and bible classes for the Eastern European Jewish community in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. Its first officers included Bella Lilienthal, Mrs. J. Voorsanger, Mrs. M.S. Eisner, Hannah Gerstle, Georgie Davis, and Victoria Lilienthal. Matilda Esberg was also among the founders. Incorporated in 1902, its mission was "to develop and secure personal service on the part of its members in all human enterprises and in elevating the moral standard of the people, improving the condition of their homes, teaching them self-reliance and self-respect, promoting their moral and mental education, and developing technical skill among the young of both sexes." In 1903, the Sisterhood opened a medical clinic that eventually merged with Mt. Zion Hospital. The 1906 earthquake and fire devastated the South of Market area and many Jews relocated to the Fillmore-McAllister district; a new Emanu-El settlement house opened on Golden Gate Avenue. In 1910, Emanu-El Sisterhood President Matilda Esberg conceived the idea of opening a boarding house for single women who did not have families in the area due to death or migration. Ethel Feineman was director from 1915 to 1937. Within a decade demand for such housing was so great that the Sisterhood decided to build a residence club that could house 60 to 70 young working women and students. Designed by Julia Morgan and Dorothy Wormser, the edifice was built at Page and Steiner streets. At the same time that the Sisterhood decided to focus on housing needs, other organizations, such as the YM/WHA, were increasingly capable of fulfilling the social and recreational needs of the Jewish community. As the Sisterhood transitioned into residential services it discontinued its settlement house programs. From 1923 until it was sold in 1969 to the Zen Center, Emanu-El Residence was home to thousands of young women. While about three-quarters of its population in the '20s spoke Yiddish, by the 1960s many non-Jews were living at the Residence. Mary Michels was director from 1945 to 1969.

Scope and Content of Collection

This collection contains materials relating to the Emanu-El Residence Club for single, working Jewish women. The collection is divided into the following series: Board of Directors; Executive Director Correspondence; Resident Girls Application Cards; Resident Financial Statements; Resident Correspondence; Resident, Other; Building; Program, General; Scrapbooks; Photographs; and Financial. Particularly notable in the collection are the minutes of Sisterhood and Board of Director meetings, annual reports, the executive director correspondence, the resident application cards and correspondence and the photographs, which include images of the Residence building, Passover Seders in the Residence, and theatrical productions.

Container List

Series 1 Board of Directors. 1894-1969

Physical Description: Carton 1, Folders 1-21

Scope and Content Note

This series contains constitution and by-laws (1902-1962); minutes from meetings of the Sisterhood (1907-1920), its Board of Directors meetings(1941-1969), Executive Committee meetings (1929-1945), and House Council meetings (1966); meeting agendas (1949-1961); Board membership lists; Annual Reports (1894-1909 and 1935-1965); Board Correspondence (1943-1969); a file on Board Luncheons (1944-1969); a postcard announcing public lectures at the Sisterhood's Polyclinic (1904); and a handwritten history of the organization penned by Mrs. A.L. Lengfeld in 1939.

Series 2 Executive Director Correspondence. 1910-1969

Physical Description: Carton 1, Folders 22-25

Scope and Content Note

This series contains incoming letters to Executive Director Ethel Feineman mostly from former residents (1910-1923) and correspondence to and from Executive Director Mary Michels (1948-1969).

Series 3 Resident Girls Application Cards. circa 1910-1969

Physical Description: Cartons 6-7, Carton 8, Folders 1-17

Scope and Content Note

This series contains cards with personal and employment information about the residents from the 1920s through the 1940s.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically as follows: Carton 6: A-G. Carton 7: H-R. Carton 8: R-Z.

Note

These cards were indexed in 2003 by the historian Ms. Mary Ann Irwin and her intern, Jesse Singles. Please contact Magnes Collection staff for information.

Series 4 Resident Financial Statements. 1930-1969

Physical Description: Carton 8, Folders 18-20; Cartons 9-10; Boxes 1-2

Scope and Content Note

This series contains ledger sheets from the 1930s and from the 1950s recording payments and charges to the residents.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically and alphabetically as follows: Carton 8: 1930-1940, A-G. Carton 9: 1930-1940, T-Z; 1951-1959, A-D. Carton 10: 1951-1959, E-Z; 1960-1969, A-H. Box 1: 1960-1969, J-Z. Box 2: 1960-1969, A-Z assorted.

Series 5 Resident Correspondence. circa 1950-1969

Physical Description: Carton 1, Folders 26-31; Carton 2, Folders 1-16

Scope and Content Note

This series contains incoming and copies of outgoing correspondence between Mary Michels and prospective residents.

Arrangement

The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by applicant surname: Carton 1: A-E; Carton 2: F-Z.

Series 6 Resident, Other. 1917-1969

Physical Description: Carton 2, Folders 17-21; Carton 3, Folders 1-11

Scope and Content Note

This series contains files pertaining to the residents including monthly reports from Ethel Feineman from 1917 to 1920, statistics about and lists of the residents from the 1940s to the 1960s, and a petition from residents about the quality of the food in 1938.

Series 7 Building. 1918-1965

Physical Description: Carton 3, Folders 12-22

Scope and Content Note

This series contains information about the building campaign, building plans, and maintenance related materials. Of special note are a drawing of a pantry shelf and a file of correspondence to the Sisterhood from Julia Morgan (1923).

Series 8 Program, General. 1918-1965

Physical Description: Carton 3, Folders 23-41; Carton 4, Folders 1-15

Scope and Content Note

This series is comprised of information about the Residence's programs including the celebration of holidays, the Soup to Nuts Cookbook written during the depression as a fundraising tool, and lecture programs. Included in this series are miscellaneous office files including surveys of other residence clubs, news clippings, brochures, and evaluation and planning documents (including a 1916 Report of a survey of Jewish communal conditions for the San Francisco Young Men's Hebrew Association).

Series 9 Scrapbooks. 1941-1967

Physical Description: Carton 4, Folders 16-18, Box 3, Folder 1; Oversize Box 2, Folder 3

Scope and Content Note

The series is comprised of a scrapbook of clippings from 1941-1967; a 50th anniversary scrapbook (1946), which includes congratulatory correspondence and other materials; a folder of scrapbook pages with reflections on the history of the Emanu-El Sisterhood. Oversize Box 2, Folder 3 includes pages from a scrapbook from 1921-1923 and a copy of The Jewish Times from 1923 featuring a story on the new Residence building.

Series 10 Photographs. circa 1910-1956

Physical Description: Box 3, Folders 2-10; Oversize Box 2, Folders 1-2

Scope and Content Note

This series includes photographs of the Residence building (circa 1930), portraits and group photos of residents (circa 1914-1943); a folder of photographs of Seders and parties at the Residence Club (circa 1916-1956); a folder of photographs of Residence Club theatrical presentations (circa 1929); photographs separated from scrapbooks (circa 1940s-1950s). Oversize Box 2 includes oversize photographs of Seders (circa 1914-1923) and oversize group photographs (circa 1914-1940).

Series 11 Financial. 1923-1969

Physical Description: Carton 4, Folders 19-39; Carton 5; Boxes 4-5; Oversize Box 1

Scope and Content Note

This series contains a variety of financial information including financial reports, investment information, gifts and contributions, and budget materials, and volumes of financial records. Oversize Box 1 includes a cash book (1917-1923) and a purchase register (1916-1918). Carton 5 houses two financial journals (1925, 1968) and two accounts receivable volumes (1964-1968).

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