Register of the Ahavath Chesed Congregation in Manhattan (Later the Central Synagogue) – Thousands of Marriage and ...

Register of the Ahavath Chesed Congregation in Manhattan (Later the Central Synagogue) – Thousands of Marriage and Death Records from 1849-1900 – Rich and Unique Source of Information on the History of New York Jewry in the 19th Century
Register of the Ahavath Chesed (Ahawath Chesed) congregation in Manhattan, New York, with thousands of marriage and death records from 1849-1900. German, with some English and Hebrew.
The Ahavath Chesed congregation was founded in 1846 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan by immigrants from Bohemia. The German-speaking community flourished and expanded, and relocated to the center of Manhattan, where it inaugurated its new premises in 1872. In 1898, the community merged with Congregation Shaar HaShamayim, and from 1917, it is known as the Central Synagogue.
This register contains comprehensive documentation of marriages and deaths in the Ahavath Chesed congregation, in the second half of the 19th century, and as such serves as a unique source of information on the history of this community and the history of New York Jewry in general. In the 1850s-1880s, there were only several tens of thousands of Jews in New York, of which close to 4000 are documented in this register. In many cases, this register serves as the only source of information on New York Jewry in that time. In other cases, it discloses inaccuracies in existing records (thus for instance, an entry on p. 125 records the passing of Hannah Bloomingdale, mother of the founders of the Bloomingdale's department stores in the United States, and states the exact date of her passing and her age at the time of her death – 62. In other sources, these details are not recorded, and she is sometimes recorded to have passed away at the age of 63).
Study of the register also allows us to track the development of the community over the years, and offers details about its members, leaders and activities. On p. 56 appears a record of the congregation's relocation to its new premises on Lexington Avenue corner of 55th Street (central Manhattan) in 1872; this location serves the congregation until this day.
The register documents prominent Jewish-German families, including: Oppenheim and Oppenheimer, Blumenthal, Guggenheimer, Weil, Wertheimer, Lauterbach, Loeb, Schwab, Schiff, and others, and sheds light on the activities of the rabbis and spiritual leaders in the community. Amongst others, the following rabbis are mentioned: Dr. Adolf Huebsch (first permanent rabbi of the congregation) and Dr. Alexander (Chanoch Yehudah) Kohut. On p. 76, a record of the marriage of Reform rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise.
Contents of the register:
Pp. 1-118: marriage records, 1849-1886.
Pp. 119-137: death records, 1874-1896.
Pp. 138-164: marriage records, 1886-1900.
Pp. 165-211: death records, 1849-1874.
The entries contain various combinations of the following details: Name (including maiden name), age, parents, spouse, date of marriage or death, name of officiating rabbi, place of burial and sum paid. In earlier records, the member's town of origin is often given (mostly towns in Bavaria and Bohemia). A small part of the entries document weddings which took place outside Manhattan. Most of the register is in German; a few entries (beginning from 1897) were written in English, and some of the dates are given in Hebrew.
[211] written pages (and several dozen blank pages). 31.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, some marginal creases and tears (mostly minor). Strip of paper pasted along margin on verso of first leaf (blank). Binding with gilt lettering, worn and rubbed, partially detached.
For more information about the contents of the register and its significance, see enclosed material (English).