Manuscript Resources on Jewish History
This guide describes manuscript collections documenting Jewish history in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley (LLMV) Collections at LSU. It includes the papers of Jews, Jewish organizations, family papers with references to Jews, and other collections that document Jewish history in one way or another. Much information about the life of Jews in the LLMV can be obtained not only from the papers of Jews themselves, but also from references to them by others. Prominent Jewish figures include Isidore Cohn, Simon Gumbel, Samuel Haas, and Joseph Simon.
The collection of manuscripts pertaining to the Jewish that may be found in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) of the LSU Libraries is varied in nature, ranging from the account books of Jewish merchants to tickets for a charity event benefiting the Jewish Widow's and Orphans Home in New Orleans. Personal papers, newspaper clippings, a diary, a scrapbook, and other artifacts are present in the manuscripts groups. A range of dates from the late eighteenth to the late twentieth centuries are present (see chronological listing).
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Haas, Samuel. Daybooks, 1892, 1906-1907. 2 volumes. Location: N:1. Jewish merchant born in Alsace, France. Daybooks contain records of merchandise sold at Haas' general store in Bayou Chicot, originally located in St. Landry Parish and then Evangeline Parish once the latter was created. Items sold include soap, nails, matches, tobacco, clothing, food, seeds, and tableware. Entries include customers' names, prices of sales, amounts of item sold, and calculations. Mss. 3942, 3960. Referenced in Guides: Business, Jewish Community
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Haas, Samuel. Letterpress copybook, 1886-1887. 1 volume [on microfilm reel]. Location: MSS.MF:H. Born in Alsace, France and of Jewish descent. He immigrated to the United States around 1852 and operated a store in Bayou Chicot, Evangeline Parish. Letters are primarily to business associates and to friends in Avoyelles, Rapides, and (at that time) St. Landry parishes and New Orleans. A few personal letters, mainly to family members, are present. The book discusses contributions from residents in St. Landry Parish for the Jewish Widows and Orphans Home in New Orleans and for the rebuilding of a synagogue in Ingville, Germany. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3698. |
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Haas, Samuel. Record books, 1881-1915. 11 volumes. Location: F:19, P:22, MSS.MF:H. Ten ledgers record orders for the sale of merchandise, the marketing and shipment of goods, the sale and purchasing of land, police jury per diems, and philanthropic donations. One letterpress copybook contains letters addressed to business associates and friends in Rapides, St. Landry, and Orleans parishes. Contains a few personal letters but primarily discusses merchandise, shipments, accounts with debtors and creditors, police jury matters, and land exchange. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3400. |
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Hardin, J. Fair, 1893-1940. Collection, 1718-1939. 2,225 items, 17 vols. Location: S-29-36, P-2, 78:66, OS:H, Map Cage, 98:H, Vault:3, Mss.Mf:H. Shreveport attorney, vice president of the Louisiana Historical Society, and author of historical articles and a three-volume history of Northwest Louisiana. Collection contains correspondence, articles, copies of speeches, research materials and related papers pertaining to historical sites or events. Included are Civil War letters, Confederate money and notes, and research notes on the Red River campaign. Also included are two bound manuscript volumes: J. W. Sims letter book (1863-1864) and a minute book (1904-1911). Earlier materials relate to Indian agents and the Caddo Indians in northwest Louisiana and settlement and land claims in the area. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1014. |
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Heberle, Franziska. Letters, 1872-1986 (bulk 1936-1965). 0.25 linear feet [photocopies]. Location: Y:82. Immigrant from Germany, student of social welfare, employee of the Louisiana State Public Welfare Administration, and wife of LSU Boyd Professor of Sociology Rudolf Heberle. Letters to family and friends describing in detail experiences of the writer, her husband, and their three children while adjusting to life in the U.S. Included are accounts of travels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3624. Referenced in Guides: Politics, Women, Baton Rouge, German, LSU, Jewish Community, 20th Century Wars
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Heberle, Rudolf. Papers, 1918-1991 (bulk 1936-1980). 9.5 linear feet. Location: 78:93-98, OS:H, Vault:1. Native of Germany and Boyd Professor of Sociology at LSU. Personal papers consist primarily of correspondence (some in German) relating to his need to leave Germany and obtain a position in the U.S. Professional papers include correspondence with sociologists and colleagues world-wide, research on displaced persons in Mississippi and Louisiana, social problems in Germany, German immigration, and World War II, as well as his comments on Naziism. Also included are notes, lectures, published and unpublished writings, and research files. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1921, 2254, 2345. Referenced in Guides: Politics, Education, Baton Rouge, German, LSU, Jewish Community, Literature, 20th Century Wars
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Koch, Christian D. Family Papers, 1829-1912 (bulk 1845-1900). 3,526 items, 24 vols. Location: U:186-195, H:14. Koch family was of Danish descent and settled near Pearlington, Hancock County, Mississippi. Christian Koch was a master of a schooner. Early correspondence describes farm life and operating a schooner on the Pearl River and along the Gulf Coast. Civil War letters describe the privations of war, and later papers detail the family's movements in Montana. H.P.G. Koch, nephew of Christian, discusses how a German Jew passenger was the butt of jokes and fined $5 for smoking on the wharf in Charleston, South Carolina. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 202. |
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Korn, Bertram W. Correspondence, 1965-1972. 16 items. Location: Misc. Senior Rabbi of Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Letters to Mrs. S. J. Gianelloni, Jr. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, about genealogical research of Jewish family in the U.S. and the scarcity of research in American Jewish history. The Monsanto, Dow, and Tessier families are mentioned. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3459. |
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Lanaux, George. George Lanaux and Family Papers, 1830-1915. 3 linear ft. (3,100 items). Location: UU:61-63, J:9, OS:L, 104-105. Planter of Bellevue Plantation in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and later president of the New Orleans Insurance Association. Papers include correspondence, legal documents, financial documents, and photographs documenting the Lanaux family, plantation management, slave holdings, and land sales. Partly in French. Available (with some omissions) on microfilm: University Publications of America Records of Ante-bellum Southern Plantations Series I, Part 1, Reels 11-13. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1318. Referenced in Guides: Plantations, New Orleans to 1861, New Orleans 1866-, African Americans, French, Jewish Community
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Lazaro, Ladislas. Papers, 1894-1928. 6,235 items, 43 vols. Location: C:37-43; P:4; Z:15, 22. Louisiana physician, state senator, U.S. congressman, and planter. Papers contain correspondence, clippings, speeches, government publications, and memorandum books recording Lazaro's service as a U.S. Representative. Political papers reflect his interest in agriculture and the tariff question, state and local politics, and related national matters. Daybooks and ledgers document his medical practice in Grand Prairie (1894-1913). Some bound volumes include material about World War I. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1113, 1149. |