Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Maury M. Travis Collection
- Dates:
- 1905-1989
- Creators:
- Travis, Maury Marion, 1905-1990
- Extent:
- 3.75 linear ft
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Maury M. Travis Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection consists of personal papers, correspondence, and press clippings which document Travis's personal life. It includes birth records, legal name change documents, and family correspondence with Travis's siblings, parents, and other extended family members. His profession as a Petroleum Geologist, along with his interest in the formation of the State of Israel, the Middle East in general, and his interest in anti-Zionism, are well represented. The collection also contains significant primary documents concerning anti-semitism in general, and in San Diego specifically, with publications of White Supremacy organizations. The collection is loosely filed chronologically.
Dr. Lawrence Baron donated this collection to the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego November 1, 1999 (JHSSD #1999.01.) It was transfered to the Library and Information Access May 22, 2008.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Maury Marion Travis was born Moses Marion Kornfeld in West Virginia in 1905 to a large Orthodox Jewish family. He attended school in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated high school in 1922. He received a BA and Graduate Degree in Geology from Stanford University and entered the professional field of Petroleum Geology. Travis also served in the USAAF in the Corps of Engineers from 1929 to 1943.
He legally changed his name to Maury Marion Travis October 29, 1946 as a final severance of his Jewish roots due mostly to his objections to Zionism and the founding of the State of Israel, which he felt would precipitate "bloody wars." He had at one time been a member of Lessing Rosenwald's American Jewish Council for Judaism, strongly opposing the formation of the Jewish State in Palestine.
Travis converted to Christianity and was baptized June 22, 1952 at Abraham Lincoln's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, but continued to support the Jewish Anti-Defamation League his entire life. Travis was a resident of San Diego from the late 1970s until his death in late 1989 or early 1990.
- Custodial history:
-
Dr. Lawrence Baron donated this collection to the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego November 1, 1999 (JHSSD #1999.01.) It was transfered to the Library and Information Access May 22, 2008.
- Note:
-
Other Information:
Since 2007, the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego has transferred numerous collections to Special Collections and University Archives. Click the link below to view other materials from the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego.
Additional information may be found at http://scua2.sdsu.edu/archon/index.php?p=core/search&q=%22jewish+historical+society+of+san+diego%22&content=1
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- 2008-05-23
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was encoded in EAD by Archon 3.20 from an SQL database source on July 5th, 2012 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. 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.
- Preferred citation:
-
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Maury M. Travis Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.
- Location of this collection:
-
Library and Information Access5500 Campanile DriveSan Diego, CA 92182-8050, US
- Contact:
- (619) 594-6791