Repository

ULS Archives & Special Collections

Title

Congregation Kether Torah, Pittsburgh, Pa. Historical Miscellanea

Creator

Congregation Kether Torah (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Collection Number

AIS.1988.04

Extent

0.56 Linear Feet

Date

1914-1958

Abstract

This collection contains miscellaneous records of Congregation Kether Torah (Pittsburgh, Pa.), including: history, charter, by-laws, membership lists from c. 1960, minutes of eight congregational meetings between 1927 and 1939, papers concerning the sale of the synagogue property in the Hill District, blueprint and legal documents concerning cemetery in Reserve Township, Pa., some general correspondence and a blueprint of synagogue from c. 1913.

Language

English .

Author

John Thompson. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process inSpring 1999.

Publisher

ULS Archives & Special Collections

Address

University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

This synagogue, originally named Kaiser Torah, was founded at the corner of Webster Avenue and Erin Street in the Hill District, Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1922, it changed its name to Congregation Kether Torah, and later, in the 1950s, moved to Bartlett Street in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Scope and Content Notes

This collection contains miscellaneous records including: history, charter, by-laws, membership lists from c. 1960, minutes of eight congregational meetings between 1927 and 1939, papers concerning the sale of the synagogue property in the Hill District, blueprint and legal documents concerning cemetery in Reserve Township, Pa., some general correspondence and a blueprint of synagogue from c. 1913.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mr. Richard Linder in May 1988.

Previous Citation

Congregation Kether Torah, Pittsburgh, Pa. Historical Miscellanea, 1914-1958, AIS.1988.04, Archives Services Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Congregation Kether Torah, Pittsburgh, Pa. Historical Miscellanea, 1914-1958, AIS.1988.04, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh

Processing Information

This collection was processed by John Thompson in September 13, 1989.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Alesha Shumar in 2009. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Notis ID number: AKE5700.

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Subjects

Corporate Names

• Congregation Kether Torah (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
• Congregation Kaiser Torah (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Other Subjects

• Churches and Synagogues
• Cemeteries -- Pennsylvania -- Reserve
• Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
• Synagogues -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
• Judaism -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List

Series I. History

History material, 1910-1935, 1975

Containers

box 1, folder 1

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Congregation Keser Torah, Pittsburgh, PA: Silver Anniversary 1910-1935

Invitation to 68th Anniversary Celebration, June 8, 1975

"Kether Torah Observes 68th," Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh, May 8, 1975

Photograph of "68 Years Old," Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh, May 22, 1975

Series II. Charter

Orginal Charter and Amendments, 1914 and 1923

Containers

box 1, folder 2

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Orginal Charter, September 5, 1914

Amendments to Charter, July 1923

The name change from Congregation Kaiser Torah to Congregation Kether Torah.

Series III. By-laws

By-laws and copies

Containers

box 1, folder 3

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Copies in Hebrew

Series IV. Membership

Membership lists

Containers

box 1, folder 4

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Three lists giving names, addresses of synagogue members; two lists are undated and the third has "circa 1960" written across it.

Minutes of Members Congregation Meetings

Containers

box 1, folder 5

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Minutes all written in Hebrew.

Meeting minutes, January 20, 1927

Meeting minutes, February 20, 1927

Meeting minutes, January 7, 1929

Meeting minutes, February 9, 1935

Meeting minutes, February 23, 1935

Meeting minutes, December 10, 1938

Meeting minutes, January 7, 1939

Meeting minutes, January 16, 1939

Notice of special meeting May 2, 1951 (in English)

Series V. Sale of Synagogue Property to Carter Chapel Colored Methodist Church of Pittsburgh, Pa., 1951-1952

Schedule of payments and Agreement of sale/indenture, with drafts

Containers

box 1, folder 6

Correspondence

Containers

box 1, folder 7

Series VI. Legal Papers

Congregation Kether Torah v. Jacob Gordon, 1920

Containers

box 1, folder 8

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Leases, court documents, and correspondence dealing with the eviction of Jacob Gordon from congregation-owned property.

Land claim, 1922

Containers

box 1, folder 9

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Court documents reasserting that the sale of land on Erin St. in Pittsburgh to the Congregation was legal and valid.

Leases, 1926, 1946, 1948-1949

Containers

box 1, folder 10

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Leases and related correspondence for dwelling on cemetery property.

Series VII. Cemetery (Reserve Township)

Land purchase, 1916, 1943-1944, 1946, 1949, 1955

Containers

box 1, folder 11

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Correspondence and legal documents involving the purchase of the cemetery grounds from the estate of Joseph H. Heil.

Cemetery Blueprints, Deeds, and Correspondence, 1946

Containers

box 1, folder 12

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: a Blueprint, 1946

Deeds, 1914, 1949

Copies of deeds and agreements for cemetery lots, 1914, 1949

Cemetery rules, undated

Cemetery related correspondence, 1949-1952

Series VIII. General Correspondence, 1920-1952

General Correspondence, 1920-1924, 1940, 1945-1952

Containers

box 1, folder 13

Series IX. Finances

Building fund and contributions

Containers

box 1, folder 14

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Build fund material

Contributors list giving names and amounts of gift

"An Urgent Appeal to the Jewish Public," Jewish Criterion, undated

Two ads for contributions from Jewish Criterion, undated

Blank contribution form

Gemilut Hesed (Free Loan Association)

Containers

box 1, folder 15

Taxes--Application for exemption, and correspondence, 1937, 1947-1950 1957-1958

Containers

box 1, folder 16

Mortgages

Containers

box 1, folder 17

Scope and Content Notes

Includes: Legal documents of Congregation's mortgages

Documents mortgages to: Washington Trust Company, August Hoffman; Colonial Trust Company, South Side Trust Company of Pittsburg,; Carl and John Ehrlinger, Fifth Avenue Bank of Pittsburgh, and Merchants Savings and Trust Company

List of bond holders and their debts, 1921-1949

Financial correspondence, 1922-1925, 1937, 1941, 1951

Containers

box 1, folder 18

Series X. Blueprint of Synagogue, 1913

Blueprint of Synagogue, 1913

Containers

box 1, folder 19