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Guide to the Maury M. Travis Collection
MS-0401
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Collection Title: Maury M. Travis Collection
Dates: 1905-1989
Identification: MS-0401
Creator:
Travis, Maury Marion, 1905-1990
Physical Description: 3.75 linear ft
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Special Collections & University Archives
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA, 92182-8050
URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua
Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-6791
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
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.
This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Kornfeld family
Personal Papers
Publications
Israel -- Politics and government -- Philosophy
Travis, Maury Marion, 1905-1989 or 90 -- Archives
Antisemitism
Christian converts from Judaism -- California -- San Diego -- Biography -- Sources
Petroleum geologists -- California -- San Diego -- Biography -- Sources
Zionism -- Philosophy
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.
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.
This collection is open for research.
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Maury M. Travis Collection, Special Collections and University Archives,
Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.
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.