Thanks to our supporters, AJHS’s 2022/23 Heritage Campaign made tens of thousands of pages, from dozens of family and institutional collections, available to researchers of genealogy and family histories – to YOU.
Since 1892, the American Jewish Historical Society has proudly undertaken the important work of collecting, preserving and sharing American Jewish history. Among three floors of stacks, the archived collections of Jewish American families, scholars, politicians, celebrities, social reformers, artists and others have been sought by and available for genealogists, authors, students, social scientists, filmmakers and lay researchers onsite at our location in New York. As we now move to expand the ways in which we extend these archives and the histories within them, and as we endeavor to make them easily available to people around the world, especially those who are unable to visit AJHS in in person, digitization is the foundation of all that is possible.
In 2021/22, we digitized over 39,000 pages as a result of our 378 Campaign. In all, more than 50 collections – including materials from notable Americans (Jewish and non- Jewish alike) such as Harry Houdini, Henry Ward Beecher and Martin Van Buren, as well as travel memoirs and diaries – were digitized in their entirety, and work remains underway.
And in 2022/23, with our Heritage Campaign, we increased our digitization goal with a focus on collections that are of particular value to those seeking enlightenment around American Jewish immigration and genealogical and family research, including the records of the Industrial Removal Office, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, and the National Jewish Welfare Board. With your support, we exceeded our campaign’s 50,000-page goal, and updated our finding aids and digital platforms to make searching AJHS archives that much easier for those researching remotely.
As we strive to expand and enhance access to our vital collections, your support ensures the conservation and accessibility of American Jewish history for all, and that the treasures we steward are protected and maintained, as they have been for 130 years, for centuries to come. Thank you for your commitment to our mission.
