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CHAPTER VIII Churches
and Religious Institutions |
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IX.
The Jews - 1860
BY HARRY J.
PODMORE 24 24 The material embodied here is in
the main abridged from articles published by Mr. Podmore in the Community
Messenger. THE first organization in the life
of Trenton Jewry was the Har Sinai Cemetery Association, formed in 1857.
Prior to the beginning of the Har Sinai Hebrew Congregation, which was
the outgrowth of the cemetery association, religious services were held
in the homes of individuals. An early mention of Jewish worship here
is given in the State Gazette, April 30,
1856, relative to the Passover observance. The following is an
extract from the item published on that day: There is quite a large
number of the Hebrew race in Trenton who adhere to their ancient worship
of the one, only, and true God. The nearest synagogue,
we believe, is at Philadelphia. In connection with
the observance of the Jewish New Year of 5619, which fell in September
of 1858, services were held in Temperance Hall. According to an item
in the Daily True American, September 10, fifty-two persons participated
in the ceremonies of the first day. HAR
SINAI HEBREW CONGREGATION (REFORM) - 1860
Formal
services, regularly conducted, began in Trenton about 1860 with the
formation of the Har Sinai Hebrew Congregation. In the summer of that
year meetings were held in the old Chancery Building which stood on
the site of the Trenton Trust Building, West State Street and Chancery
Lane. At a
meeting held on July 22 the congregation decided to incorporate and
the following were elected trustees: Simon Kahnweiler, Isaac Wymann,
Henry Shoninger, Herman Rosenbaum, Marcus Aaron, L. Kahnweiler and David
Manko. Soon after this time the body was incorporated with the trustees
named as the incorporators. Nearly all of the founders of the Har Sinai
Temple congregation were of German extraction. For many years the services
were conducted in German and Hebrew only. In 1865
Simon Kahnweiler, credited as the first president of the congregation,
purchased from the Lutherans a little brick chapel on North Montgomery
Street, known as Christ Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation.
The edifice was refitted as a temple and on March 23, 1866, it was dedicated
with appropriate ceremonies, the Rev. D. Frankel, of Philadelphia, officiating,
assisted by the Rev. Isaiah Gotz and the Rev. Reuben Straus. Judge David
Naar delivered the dedicatory address. The Rev. Isaac Lesser made a
few remarks appropriate to the occasion, and the ceremonies were brought
to a close by the singing of the 150th Psalm by the choir. The
year of 1872 was a dark one for the small congregation. Evidently the
benefactor had not deeded the temple to the congregation and there seems
to have been some dissension among the members. Matters went from bad
to worse, reaching a climax on March 16, when Kahnweiler's holdings,
including the little house of worship, were sold at public auction held
at the Trenton Home, with Ex‑Mayor Napton acting as auctioneer.
D. P. Forst became the new owner of the temple building. Left
without a permanent place of worship the congregation drifted. The prospects
for the future were far from bright. However, there was one member who
was not disheartened. Mrs. Toretta Kaufman, mother of S. E. Kaufman,
saw the possibilities for securing the building and through her tireless
activities in making a personal canvass she collected a fund and aroused
such an interest in the project that when autumn had arrived the property
was owned by the congregation. It is said that the contributor of the
largest amount to the fund was the late Joseph Rice who made up the
balance needed after all the money that could possibly be collected
had been brought in. In
July 1903 the congregation sold the little temple on Montgomery Street
to Bayard Post, No. 8, G.A.R. In the same year a lot was purchased at
the southwesterly corner of Front and Stockton Streets and upon it a
house of worship was erected. On the evening of October 7, 1904, the
building was dedicated. The officers of the congregation at that time
were: Sigmund Baron, president; Abraham Siegle, vice-president; Louis
Cohen, treasurer; and Jonas D. Rice, secretary. In
1925 the congregation purchased a lot on Bellevue Avenue where a new
temple will be erected in the near future. The
present rabbi of the temple is Abram Holtzberg. Some of the others who
have served in that capacity are: M. Lessler, Simon Rosenberg, Israel
Goldvogel, Morris Ungerleider, ‑ Wagenheim, ‑ Schomberg,
‑Kahn, Joseph Gabriel, L. Weiss, ‑ Bloch, Nathan Rosenau,
Louis B. Michelson, Nathan Stern, Harry K. Jacobs, Joel Blau and Jacob
Goldstein. BROTHERS OF ISRAEL (ORTHODOX) -1883
The
second oldest religious body in the life of Trenton Jewry is the Congregation
of the Brothers of Israel. This organization, which was founded by Jews
of Polish and Russian extraction, was incorporated in 1883, but it seems
that the group was not fully established until three years later. In
August 1887 the Union Street M.E. Church was purchased and converted
into a synagogue. On September 11, 1887, the remodelled edifice was
dedicated. In 1900 the building was demolished and a new one was erected
upon the site. In
1885 the congregation established a place of burial on Vroom Street,
adjoining Har Sinai Cemetery. In 1907 the place was enlarged by the
purchase of an additional lot, and in 1913 an auxiliary cemetery was
established near Cedar Lane, Hamilton Township. THE
CONGREGATION OF THE PEOPLE OF TRUTH (ORTHODOX) - 1891
The
third organization, the Congregation of the People of Truth, was organized
either in the late ‘8o’s or in the early ‘90’s. The group filed papers
for incorporation in December of 1891. In 1902 the Second Presbyterian
Church, on Union Street, was purchased by the congregation and refitted
for a synagogue. On March 15, 1903, the edifice was dedicated to the
worship of Jehovah. In 1893 the congregation established a cemetery
near Cedar Lane, Hamilton Township. THE CONGREGATION OF AHAVATH ISRAEL (ORTHODOX) - 1909 The
fourth religious body, the Congregation of Ahavath Israel, was incorporated
in December 1909, In May 1910 the body purchased the Wesley Methodist
Church on Centre Street. The edifice was then remodelled and dedicated
to Jewish worship. The founders of the Congregation of Ahavath Israel
were in the main of Austro‑Hungarian extraction. The first officers
and trustees of the congregation were: Samuel Goldmann, president; Leo
Eisner, vice-president; Peter Littman, secretary; Henry Wirtschafter,
Herman Lefkowitz, Jacob Blaugrund, Louis Warady, Nathan Fuchs, Adolf
L. Moskowitz and Armin Bonyai, trustees. THE
CONGREGATION OF THE WORKERS OF TRUTH (ORTHODOX) - 1919
The
fifth religious body, the Congregation of the Workers of Truth, filed
incorporation papers in 1919. A few years later the organization purchased
two dwellings on Union Street, near Market Street, and remodelled them
into a house of worship. THE ADATH
ISRAEL CONGREGATION (CONSERVATIVE) - 1923
The
Adath Israel Congregation was organized at a meeting held on September
30, 1923. On October 15 the congregation was incorporated. Services
were held in the Progress Club on West State Street until the time of
the erection of the temple on Bellevue Avenue. The formal opening of
the temple was on Friday evening, July 23, 1926, and in October of that
year it was dedicated. JEWISH SCHOOLS
Next
in importance to the synagogue in the religious life of a Jewish community
is the Talmud Torah, or school where the youth are taught Hebrew and
the traditions and religious precepts of the race. Dr. Herzl's Zion
Hebrew School on Union Street serves the local community in this capacity.
The institution, under its present name, had its beginning as a school
maintained by the Congregation of the Brothers of Israel. Prior to this
time there was a Hebrew school which held sessions in a rented hall
on Union Street near Fall Street. This body in 1904 erected a school
house (the first of its kind in Trenton) on Union Street, opposite the
temple, which was named in memory of Dr. Theodor Herzl, father of political
Zionism, who died during the same month that the cornerstone was laid
(July 1904). The institution did not come up to the anticipations of
its sponsors. The building was subsequently sold to tile city for a
public school house. The
new Dr. Herzl's Zion Hebrew School stands on the upper part of Union
Street. This institution is supported by the entire Jewish community. THE SHELTERING HOME
Another
institution that is part of every Jewish community is the sheltering
home where meals and lodging are furnished the traveller who is without
funds. The local home at the comer of Mill and Market Streets is conducted
by the Hebrew Benevolent Society whose members purchased it in October
1904. The organization applied for incorporation papers in 1894. Harry
Haveson and the Rev. Max Gordon are prominently identified with the
body. JEWISH
CEMETERIES
Har
Sinai Cemetery Association was organized at a meeting held November
19, 1857. In the same year a lot was purchased for burial purposes at
the corner of Vroom and Liberty Streets and the body became incorporated.
The founders of this association were: Marcus Marx, Julius Schloss,
Isaac Wymann, Morris Sanger, lgnatz Frankenstein, Lantos Golheim, Isaac
Sanger, Joseph Rice, Ephraim Kaufman, Marcus Aron and Gustavus Cane. Among
other Jewish places of burial are several congregation and small lodge
cemeteries which are located near Cedar Lane in Hamilton Township. SOME
RELIGIOUS LEADERS
Simon
Kahnweiler, one
of the incorporators of the Har Sinai Temple Hebrew Congregation, was
born in Bavaria, Germany, August 26, 1820. He was the first prominent
Jewish merchant of Trenton, member of the Common Council 1863-64, president
of the Protection Hook and Ladder Company, and a member of several local
military companies. During the time that he was a member of the temple
congregation he served as president and head of the Sunday school. He
died in Philadelphia, May 4, 1890, Joseph
Rice, prominent
member of Har Sinai Temple, was one of Trenton's most highly-respected
citizens. Born at Riechen, Baden, Germany, June 26, 1834, he served
in several public offices, was made a director of the Mechanics National
Bank, January 13, 1891, and was vice-president and director from August
5, 1909, up to the time of his death, July 14, 1913. For many years
he was a clothing merchant. Mrs.
Amelia Kaufman Block, for many years an active worker in the Har Sinai Temple Sisterhood, was
born in Trenton. She is the daughter of Ephraim and Toretta Kaufman.
Toretta Kaufman, one of the early active workers of the Har Sinai
Temple Congregation, was born in Germany. She died May 25, 1887. Among
those who have been active in the religious life of the Orthodox congregations
are the Rev. P. Turman, the Rev. Mr. Prail, the Rev. Max Sufnoss, the
Rev. Meyer Rabinowitz, the Rev. Israel Price, Rabbi Isaac Bunin, the
Rev. Joseph Konvitz, David Lavine, Isaac Levy (Levie), who was
one of the founders of the Talmud Torah, Hyman Levy (Levie), first
president of the congregation of the Brothers of Israel, Max Gordon
and Rabbi Issachar Levin. SOME
LEADERS IN CIVIL LIFE
Most
of the early Jewish settlers in Trenton were of German extraction, the
outstanding exception being the Naars, whose remote ancestors came to
the West Indies from the Iberian peninsula in very early days. Besides
the Naar family who came to Trenton in 1856 and their contemporaries,
who incorporated the Mount Sinai Cemetery and founded the Hat Sinai
Congregation, the pioneer Jewish group included Isaac Wymann, Daniel
Piexotto, Marcus Marx, Samuel Rosenthal, Julius Schloss, Emanuel Kahnweiler,
A. Rosenblatt, David Manko and Marcus Bohn. Practically all of these
are representatives of the ‘5o’s and ‘60’s. The
Jewish colony here naturally attracted others of the race to the city,
and in the ‘70’s a considerable number of Jews of various extractions
made Trenton their home. These may be classified as members of a second
Jewish group. The third and largest group, which came here in the years
following 1880, mainly comprised members of the race who came from Russia
to escape the Czarist regime. Then three groups define, generally,
the Jewish immigration to Trenton. It was
the members of this third group who established the Jewish community
in South Trenton with its Orthodox synagogues, Hebrew School and Sheltering
Home. Their descendants constitute the majority of the present Jewish
population. The others are German, Austrian, Hungarian and Roumanian
Jews and their descendants. The
early Jews were mainly merchants. Among them may be mentioned Simon
Kahnsweiler, who was the first Jewish manufacturer (bricks) and
also one of the prominent merchants of his day in the city. His brother,
Emanuel, operated a soap factory near the Assunpink bridge on South
Broad Street. S.
E. Kaufman,
for many years the proprietor of the Kaufman department store, is a
native of Trenton. He was one of the leaders of Trenton's Board of Trade,
now the Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the interstate bridge
commission and the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America. Joseph
Rice came
to Trenton in the '5o's. He established a clothing business on South
Warren Street, and later removed to North Broad Street. His sons, Alexander
and Jonas, succeeded him in the business. Joseph Rice was a director
of the Mechanics National Bank Bernard
Tobish, who
has conducted a men's furnishing shop hem for nearly half a century,
came to Trenton in 1877 and opened a store on State Street. He is one
of the earliest members of the Har Sinai Temple. Associated with him
in business are his son, Abram, and his brother, Joseph. Another son,
Theodore, was at one time county engineer. Other
merchants were: the Fuld brothers, Jonas A., Manus A., and Louis
A., who came to Trenton in the '90's; Sigmund Kahn, who was senior
member of the firm of S. Kahn and Sons in the old Washington Market
Building; Simon Samler, who was in the clothing business on the
same site; Isidor Levin, who conducted a department store at
the "Five Points," as did Isaac Goldberg on South Broad
Street; Morris and Paul Urken, who now have a department
store in Chambersburg, as do Israel Kohn and Solomon Urken;
and Henry Wirtschafter, who maintains a large department store
on South Broad Street. JEWISH
PROFESSIONAL MEN
One
of the first Jewish professional men in Trenton was Moses D. Naar,
lawyer and journalist, who came to Trenton in 1856. His brother, Samuel
Grey Naar, studied law in his office and was admitted to the Bar
in 1880, becoming a counsellor in 1894. Later he was assistant prosecutor
and at one time was a city police justice. Among
the lawyers admitted to the Bar during the present century are Henry
H. Wittstein, J. Irving Davidson, Maxwell Kraemer
and William Reich. Philip Forman, who was appointed United
States attorney for the District of New Jersey, was admitted to the
Bar in 1917, and became a counsellor in 1920. He was appointed assistant
United States district attorney in 1923, He is a Major in the Judge
Advocate General's Department of the New Jersey National Guard, and
was commander of the American Legion, Department of New Jersey, in 1923-24. Dr.
Samuel Freeman,
the first Jewish physician in Trenton, began his practice in 1900, and
the first dentists were Dr. James S. Miller and Dr. William
Julian. |
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