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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Liddell, Moses and St. John Richardson. Family Papers, 1813-1919 (bulk 1838-1870). 6.5 linear ft., 39 vols., 11 mf reels. Location: U:200-209, G:21, 98:, Mss.Mf:L, microfiche 2729. Planters of Woodville, Mississippi and Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, Confederate officers. St. John Richardson Liddell was Moses Liddell's son. Bulk of the material is that of St. John Richardson Liddell, Confederate officer and son of Moses Liddell. Papers consist of plantation records, personal correspondence, slave lists, business and legal papers, account books, notebooks, plantation diaries, and persecution of Jews. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 531. Referenced in Guides: Plantations, Civil War, Acadiana, African Americans, Natchez, Mississippi, Jewish Community
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Machette, William. Letterbook, 1807-1820. 1 ms. vol. Location: U:107. Ship owner of Boston, Massachusetts. Letter book containing handwritten copies of letters to business associates in various parts of the world including several letters addressed to Judah Touro, New Orleans merchant, and other letters referring to Machette's dealings with Touro. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1808. |
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Mann, Lawrence. Papers, 1862-2013 (bulk 1890-1930, 1946, 1952).1 linear ft. Location: U:309-310, OS:M, Vault. LSU alumnus and retired member of the LSU engineering faculty. Collection is comprised of correspondence related to the relationship of Lawrence Mann, Jr. and Suzanne Alcus before their marriage, and genealogical material and family photographs of their families. Correspondence and photographs of 1945 and 1946 relate to Mann’s military service during World War II. Mss. 5161. |
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Meyer Brothers. Store records. 1855-1909. approx. 26 linear ft. Location: H:19, 92:2-14. Natives of Germany and general merchants of Clinton, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Family papers consist of letters from family in Germany and in the U.S. and from various friends pertaining to business conditions and social life in Louisiana and Texas. Business papers include correspondence, bills, receipts, and manuscript volumes. The Jewish community in the Feliciana Parishes is reflected in a group of record books of the Feliciana Lodge No. 239 of the International Order of B'nai B'rith. For further information, see onine catalog. Mss. 2909. |
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Minor, William J. and family. Papers, 1779-1898, 1941 (bulk 1830-1870). 410 items, 37 volumes, 1 microfilm reel, 70 microfiche. Location: U:229, H:2, MSS.MF:M, VAULT:1, OS:M, MICROFICHE 2729. Sugar planter of Southdown and Hollywood Plantations in Terrebonne Parish and Waterloo Plantation in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Minor was president of the Agricultural Bank of Natchez, Mississippi. Collection includes plantation records; banking papers; and personal correspondence of the Stephen, William J., and Henry C. Minor families of Natchez and Terrebonne Parish. Some letters in Spanish and French. Some items available on microfilm 6061: University Publications of America Records of Southern Plantations from Emancipation to the Great Migration, Series B, Part 3, Reels 1-4. Some items available on microfiche. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 519, 594. Referenced in Guides: Spanish, Sugar, Plantations, Business, French, Natchez, Mississippi, Jewish Community
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Moyse-Gottlieb-Sommer Family Papers, 1886-1986 (bulk 1910-1960). 3 linear ft., 2 v. Location: U:317, OS:M, M:19. Members of the Moyse, Gottlieb, and Sommer families were predominantly merchants, businessmen, and bankers in Louisiana, primarily Baton Rouge. Correspondence, financial documents, photographs, printed items, scrapbooks, and writings reflect the personal and professional lives of a Jewish family from the 1880s to the 1980s. Central topics include Hermann Moyse Sr.'s involvement in the First World War and his employment at City National Bank, the educational activities of Ray and Lydie Sommer, and the family's association with Temple B'nai Israel. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4671. Referenced in Guides: Religion, Women, Education, Business, Baton Rouge, French, LSU, Jewish Community, 20th Century Wars
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Percy, Leroy. Family papers, 1894-1930. 5,509 items, 3 ms. Vols. [on microfilm]. Location: Mss.Mf:P. Lawyer, plantation owner, and U.S. senator of Greenville, Mississippi. Papers reflecting Percy's wide interests and including topics such as administration of large scale cotton farming and factoring; employment of immigrant labor, mainly Italians; railroad and levee policies; state politics; and his world-wide travels. Also covered is Percy's relationship to family, friends, and adversaries. Of special interest is a collection of correspondence on his outspoken stand against the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3275. |
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Purvis, George C. Family Papers, 1831-1956. 1,706 items and 115 volumes. Location: UU:151-153, 159-161, H:15, 99:P. Planter of Richland Parish, Louisiana. Collection encompasses personal and business correspondence of Purvis, Hatch, and Evans family members, residing in Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Washington. Included are ms. Volumes, printed items, photographs, postcards, newspapers, and miscellanea. A letter to Carrie Purvis from Holden, West Virginia remarks that any work was preferable to working for J. Norman, the Jew of Maugham. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2971. |
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Reynard, Charles A. and Marian Reynard Baun. Papers, 1927-1997 (bulk 1956-1993). 0.6 linear feet. Location: 107:17-18, J:25. Charles Reynard was a law professor at Louisiana State and an advocate of desegregation in Louisiana schools. Marian Reynard Baun was a psychology professor and community activist in Baton Rouge. The papers include correspondence, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, photocopies of scrapbooks, and other printed materials. Her collection contains personal papers, records from her involvement with the Committee on Campus Life and Committee on Women, and papers from her work as a member of the Friends of Public Education Board. For further information, online catalog. Mss. 4772. Referenced in Guides: Religion, Women, Education, Baton Rouge, African Americans, LSU, Jewish Community
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Rosenbaum, Max. Family Letters and Photographs, 1898-1945, undated. 92 items. Location: S:136. World War I veteran and shopkeeper-resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Collection includes a series of letters written from Max Rosenbaum to his son, Bert Rosenbaum, who was in Europe serving in the United States Army during World War II. The collection is also comprised of photographs of Ruth (Elgutter) Rosenbaum's German-Jewish immigrant family. Mss. 4878. |