CINCINNATI THE QUEEN CITY 1788 - 1912 By REV. CHARLES FREDERIC GOSS ILLUSTRATED BY A. O. KRAEMER VOLUME II THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO - CINCINNATI 1912 CONTENTS BOOK II. CHAPTER VI. THE GERMANS IN CINCINNATI. GERMANS AMONG THE FIRST SETTLERS-GENERAL DAVID ZIEGLER SUCCEEDS GENERAL ST. CLAIR IN COMMAND AT FORT WASHINGTON AND WAS THE MAYOR OR PRESIDENT OF CINCINNATI IN 1802-MARTIN BAUM NOTED PIONEER CAME WEST WITH JOHN CLEVES SYMMES-GERMANS PROMINENT IN CINCINNATI'S EVERY ACTIVITY - 9 CHAPTER VII. JUDAISM IN CINCINNATI. TO THE JEWS CINCINNATI THE PIONEER CITY OF THE WEST-MAGNIFICENT CHURCHES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL-ISAAC M. WISE AND OTHER NOTED RABBIS-THE HEBREW UNION COLLEGE AND KINDRED INSTITUTIONS-HOMES FOR THE AGED-HOMES FOR CHILDREN-BENEFACTORS AND THEIR BOUNTEOUS LARGESSES-CLUBS-SOCIETIES, ETC. - 21 CHAPTER VIII. PUBLIC SAFETY. VILLAGE COUNCIL IN 1803 PROVIDES FOR A NIGHT WATCHMAN-FIVE DOLLARS FINE FOR DECLINING TO ACT-FIRST MARSHAL JAMES SMITH IN 1802-LAWRENCE M.. HAZEN FAMOUS DETECTIVE, A POLICE LIEUTENANT IN 1855 AND CHIEF OF POLICE IN 1869 - POLICE STATIONS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT - RELIEF AND BENEVOLENT . ASSOCIATIONS-POLICE LIBRARY-FIRE DEPARTMENT-PRIMITIVE METHODS AND APPARATUS-GREAT AND BITTER RIVALRY BETWEEN VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES-HEALTH DEPARTMENT-WATERWORKS - 53 III IV - CONTENTS CHAPTER IX. THE RIVER. LA BELLE RIVIERE MAINLY USED BY THE EARLY IMMIGRANTS—FIRST PACKET BOATS MADE REGULAR TRIPS BETWEEN CINCINNATI AND PITTSBURGH EVERY FOUR WEEKS—BARGEMEN AND FLATBOAT MEN—PERILS OF THE RIVER END. "LINGO" OF THE BOATMEN—THE "MUSKINGUM" CLEARS FROM CINCINNATI FOR LIVERPOOL IN 1844.—TRAFFIC ON THE RIVER IN I869 AMOUNTED TO $160,000,060 NINE- FOOT LEVEL AND FERNBANK DAM - 91 CHAPTER X. THE POSTOFFICE. THE PRIMITIVE POSTOFFICE A VERY RUDIMENTARY AFFAIR—ABNER N. DUN N KEPT THE FIRST POSTOFFICE IN HIS LOG CABIN ON SECOND STREET—FIRST MAILS CAR- RIED BY A POST RIDER—POSTAGE ON LETTERS TWENTY-FIVE CENTS IN COIN—POSTMASTERS AND POSTOFFICE BUILDINGS - 117 CHAPTER XI. BENCH AND BAR. DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY'S FIVE COURTHOUSES—FIRST COURTS AND JUDGES—RIDING THE CIRCUIT—PIONEER LAWYERS OF GREAT ABILITY—JUDGE JACOB BURNET BELLAMY STORER, CHARLES HAMMOND---NOTED CASES—SALMON P. CHASE—JUDGE GEORGE HOADLY—ALPHONSO TAFT— WILLIAM H. TAFT—STANLEY MATTHEWS—AARON F. PERRY—GEORGE E. PUGH—RUFUS KING—WILLIAM HAINES LYTLE—WILLIAM S. GROESBECK— GEORGE H. PENDLETON—JOSEPH B. FORAKER— JUDSON HARMON AND MANY OTHERS—THE COURTS—LAW LIBRARY—LAW SCHOOL OF CINCINNATI—BAR ASSOCIATION—THE BAR OF TODAY - 133 CHAPTER XII. BANKS AND. BANKERS. BANKS ESTABLISHED IN CINCINNATI OVER A CENTURY AGO—SOME OF THE FIRST FINANCIAL CONCERNS—BRANCH OF THE UNITED STATES BANK— SCARCITY OF COIN AND SUSPENSIONS OF SPECIE PAYMENT—WILDCAT AND NECESSITY MONEY —THE CITY'S MANY BANKS AND THEIR BEAUTIFUL HOMES—NOTED MEN OF THE MONEY WORLD - 171 CONTENTS - v CHAPTER XIII. MEDICAL CINCINNATI. THE PIONEER PHYSICIAN \ ND THE HARDSHIPS HE ENDURED-FIRST KNOWN DISCIPLE OF ESCULAPIUS A SURVEYOR KILLED BY THE INDIANS-DR. DRAKE THE MOST NOTED PIONEER WHO WRITES OF HIS TIME ENTERTAININGLY-MEDICAL COLLEGES-LIBRARIES-SOCIETIES-HOSPITALS - 215 CHAPTER XIV. INSTITUTIONAL. CINCINNATI'S BENEFICENCES NOT MENTIONED ELSEWHERE-FOUNDING AND MAINTENANCE OF HOSPITALS AND ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS-THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION NOTED FOR ITS CHARITIES-BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS-LARGE HEARTED AND GENEROUS MEN AND WOMEN OF THE CITY - 275 CHAPTER XV. INDUSTRIES. FIRST ENTERPRISE IN CINCINNATI THE MANUFACTURE OF EARTHENWARE-THE PIONEER SAWMILL AND GRIST MILL-DISTILLERIES AND BREWERIES SOON IN THE FIELD-GREAT MARKET FOR FURS, TOBACCO AND PORK-ACQUIRES THE NAME OF "PORKOPOLIS"-IN 1880 CINCINNATI HAD THIRTY HUNDRED MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS - 327 CHAPTER XVI. INDUSTRIES CONTINUED. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE-INDUSTRIAL BUREAU AND COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION-GROWTH OF TRADE AND MANUFACTURING MANY FOLD IN LAST DECADE-TRADE EXCURSION TO THE SOUTH-PROPOSED THIRTY MILLION DOLLAR TERMINAL-MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION -BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH - 349 vi - CONTENTS CHAPTER XVII. EDUCATIONAL. PRIMITIVE SCHOOLS AND PEDAGOGUES-THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI- FAMOUS EDUCATORS-LIBRARIES-GREEK LETTER FRATERNITIES-HUGHES AND WOODWARD HIGH SCHOOLS OF NATIONAL REPUTE -THEIR HISTORY- COMMERCIAL COLLEGES-THE OHIO MECHANICS' INSTITUTE-KINDERGARTENS - 377 CHAPTER XVIII. LIBRARIES. FIRST LIBRARY IN NORTHWEST TERRITORY FOUNDED IN CINCINNATI IN 1802-LEWIS KERR THE FIRST LIBRARIAN-MILLIONS OF BOOKS FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION-THE PUBLIC, LAW, MEDICAL AND OTHER LIBRARIES-SIX CARNEGIE BRANCH LIBRARIES IN THE CITY AND MORE TO COME - 419 CHAPTER XIX. CULTURE OF THE CITY. CINCINNATI A GENEROUS PATRON OF MUSIC AND THE FINE ARTS-ITS NOTED SCULPTORS, PAINTERS, POETS, ENGRAVERS AND ARCHITECTS-THE ART MUSEUM -THE SAENGERFEST-WORLD FAMOUS MAY FESTIVALS-MUSICAL SOCIETIES-SPRINGER MUSIC HALL-ROOKWOOD, ETC. - 439 CHAPTER XX. LITERATURE, JOURNALISM AND PUBLISHING. DR. DANIEL DRAKE FIRST IN THE FIELD OF LETTERS-EDWARD D. MANSFIELD AND BENJAMIN DRAKE COLLABORATE ON A HISTORY OF CINCINNATI IN I 826-CIST AND ROBERT CLARKE OFTEN QUOTED AS LOCAL HISTORIANS-SALMON P. CHASE WRITES PIONEER HISTORY OF OHIO-NAMES OF WRITERS ARE LEGION-GENERAL WILLIAM LYTLE, CARY SISTERS, THOMAS BUCHANAN READ, HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, WILLIAM HENRY VENABLE, THE PIATTS-NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS AND THEIR FOUNDERS-NOTED JOURNALISTS-PUBLISHERS - 481   CONTENTS 0 vii CHAPTER XXI. CLUBS AND SOCIETIES. NUMEROUS ARE THE CLUBS OF CINCINNATI-ALUMNI OF HARVARD ORGANIZED THE CLUB OF THAT NAME IN 1869 MANY OTHER ALMA MATER ASSOCIATIONS- POLITICAL, COUNTRY, COMMERCIAL AND SOCIAL CLUBS-WOMAN'S CLUB-WOMAN'S PRESS CLUB - 517 CHAPTER XXII. SUBURBS AND NEIGHBORING VILLAGES. SUBURBS OF CINCINNATI HER CROWNING GLORY-NO ANNEXATIONS TO THE CITY UNTIL 1848-COVINGTON AND NEWPORT ACROSS THE RIVER-ST. BERNARD AND ELMWOOD SURROUNDED ON ALL SIDES BY CINCINNATI-NORTH BEND HOME OF GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON - 527 CHAPTER VI. THE GERMANS IN CINCINNATI. GERMANS AMONG THE FIRST SETTLERS-GENERAL DAVID ZIEGLER SUCCEEDS GENERAL ST. CLAIR IN COMMAND AT FORT WASHINGTON AND WAS THE MAYOR OR PRESIDENT OF CINCINNATI IN 1802-MARTIN BAUM NOTED PIONEER CAME WEST WITH JOHN CLEVES SYMMES-GERMANS PROMINENT IN CINCINNATI'S EVERY ACTIVITY The German element has been, and is, so notable a portion of the life and progress of this city as to require separate treatment. From the first clays of the town there were Germans here. Later they came in great numbers. Certain of the early Germans were born in eastern states of this land, while some came from the old world. Later, in the forties during revolutionary troubles in Germany the Germans came hither in large numbers. The important pioneer Denmann was a German-American, from Strasburg, Pennsylvania. After St. Clair's defeat, and during his absence in Philadelphia, David Ziegler took St. Clair's place on the frontier, taking command at Fort Washington. "General Ziegler," says A. B. Faust, in "The German Element in the United States," reestablished a sense of security among the settlers. Every inch a soldier, and the ablest of the officers under St. Clair,, he was the latter's choice for the position of defending the frontier at this trying period. He was a native of Heidelberg, Germany, born in 1748, and had served in the Russo-Turkish wars and then immigrated to America, settling at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1775. He had been among the very first to enlist during the Revolution, serving in the first regiment of Pennsylvania in the Continental line, which became the second regiment enrolled under Washington's banner. In the Revolutionary service he had the reputation of being second to none as a disciplinarian. His subsequent career as an Indian fighter was noteworthy. He took part in the defense of Fort Harmar, .(Marietta) at various times ; of Fort Finney at the mouth of the Great Miami ; he was in the expedition of General George Rogers Clark against the Kickapoos on the Wabash ; and, in 1790; in Harmar's expedition on the Upper Miami. He was not present in the fatal, encounter on the Wabash, having been detached for special service. After the battle, through watchfulness and enforcement of discipline, Ziegler succeeded in getting the remnants of the retreating army back into Fort Washington. The woods being full of Indians, he began at once the task of clearing them, at the same time adopting energetic measures for the protection of the inhabitants of the Ohio valley. He thereby - 9 - 10 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY became the hero of the day and the favorite officer of the army in the Ohio district. "St. Clair had, by his assignment of Ziegler to this office, placed the latter over the heads of the ranking officers, Wilkinson, Butler and Armstrong. This created bad feeling against Ziegler, particularly on the part of Wilkinson, whose resourcefulness at intriguing became notorious, subsequently in the affair of Aaron Burr. Ziegler was made the victim of false charges, accused of drunkenness and insubordination to Secretary of War General Knox. Ziegler thereupon resigned from the army, but retained his enviable place in the hearts of the settlers of the Ohio valley. When Cincinnati was incorporated, he was elected the first mayor, or president, in 1802. In the following year he was reelected unanimously in recognition of his able defense- of the settlement in 1791 and 1792, and as a recompense for unjust treatment on the part of the government." While the Indian wars were in progress, there were many Germans who won reputation as scouts and Indian fighters. The most famous of these was Lewis Wetzel. In the early settlement of Cincinnati there were but few Germans but these had much influence. It was about 1830 that the large increase of German population in Cincinnati began. In 1830, only five per cent of the population was German. In 1840 there were twenty-three per cent. In 185o there were twenty-seven per cent ; in. 1860, thirty per cent ; in 1869,, thirty-four per mint; in 1900, over forty-one per cent. The first German colony in the Miami valley was on the banks of the Little Miami, in 1795, the site being near the present Milford. Christian Waldschmidt, native of Baden, coming by way of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, brought the colony. It had a tract three miles by two. Barns, mills, forges and houses were quickly erected, and then arose the first paper mill in Ohio. The Western Spy in 1811 advertised "Store keepers and printers may be supplied with all kinds of paper at the store of Baum and Perry, Cincinnati, or at the mill." Other German settlers came in 1796-7 and 1798. The first were from Baden ; the later ,companies were from Pennsylvania. Waldschmidt, who died in 1814, left property worth $48,000. While there were large settlements, from 182o to 1835, of Germans to the northward, as in Montgomery county, in Dayton and Germantown, and indeed in all the counties between Cincinnati and Toledo, there was a large German element in the Ohio valley. Gross and Dietrich, manufacturers, who came to America in 1828, built the Dayton & Michigan railroad from Dayton to Toledo, one hundred and forty three miles, at the cost of about three million dollars, out of their own pockets. Up to 1850, the Irish immigration to the United States exceeded the German influx. From 1841 to 1850, the German immigration was about twenty-four per cent, while the Irish was forty-two per cent of the total. From 1851 to 186o the German immigration surpassed all ethers. It so continued until 1890, when Slavic and Italian immigrations surpassed all others. The height of the German immigration was during the revolutionary troubles in Germany in 1848 and onward. After our Civil war, there was another great German immigration up to 1873. This was the period of the wars of Prussia. CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 11 Edward A. Steiner in The Outlook, January 31st, 1903, writing on "The German Immigrant in America," says the earliest German immigrants from 1682 on were idealists, but the later ones were not. In 1848, when the breath of freedom grew into a wind-storm, there came involuntary immigrants, political exiles of whom Carl Schurz is the best known, if not the best example. They were all educated men, many of them real scholars, and whatever culture there is among the Germans today in our cities is in a large measure due to their influence and example. They and their descendants are our real German aristocracy, and in the German centers of Cincinnati and Milwaukee they form the select society." Albert B. Faust says : "In the city of Cincinnati, the German residents were also the pioneers and performers of music. In 1852, a Cincinnati paper speaks of the city's musical place as follows : 'As far as we know, there is no society in the city out of the ranks of our German friends.' The Männerchöre of Cincinnati were vigorous and progressive and had held a national Sängerfest in 1846. A new organization, the Cecilia society, destined to increase the interest and appreciation of music, was largely composed of cultivated Germans, until the effort was made by them to obtain members representative not exclusively of one but of all elements of the population. Subsequently, a number of other musical associations were founded, Hans Balatka and C. Borus being at various times connected with them. After these beginnings, Cincinnati soon got the reputation of a musical city, famous for her musical festivals." Martin Baum, born at Hagerstown, Md., June 15, 1765, became one of the chief forces in the early development of Cincinnati. His father died when he was two years old, leaving two children, Jacob, aged four, and Martin. Mr. Baum, in his later years, was fond of relating his various adventures when a youth, crossing the Allegheny Mountains with the sutlers' trains of supplies to Wayne's army, and then fighting the Indians in the Northwest Territory. He was afterward engaged in surveying in New Jersey, and is supposed to have come west with a surveying party, probably with John Cleves Symmes. His great tact and judgment in selecting the finest localities in southwestern Ohio would seem to indicate that he profited by the knowledge thus acquired. Witness his selection of the Yellow Springs, Greene county, where he once owned three or four sections ; also lands near Miamisburg; and again five or six miles above Hamilton, Butler county, where he located his mother and his half-brothers. He selected Cincinnati for his future residence in 1795, and from that time to his death, he was one of the most prominent, energetic, and enterprising of her citizens. He married in November, 1804, Miss Ann Wallace, sister of Judge Burnet, at whose house the wedding took place, in their then new brick house, where the Burnet house stands. Mr. Baum immediately built a brick residence on Front street, northwest corner of Sycamore street, his place of business being a log house, weather boarded, right on the corner, his garden running back about two hundred feet to the residence of his brother-in-law Samuel Perry. Mr. Baum engaged in everything that would advance the prosperity of Cincinnati ; owned an interest in the first steamboats, on one of which D. K. Cady was clerk ; in the first steam flour mill, located at the foot of Broadway ; in shipping produce to New Orleans and bringing back in his barges sugar, coffee, tea, and 12 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY all groceries ; with Judge Burnet, in the first sugar refinery, of which Jacob Guelick was manager and afterward owner. He was for some time president of the Miami Exporting Company Bank ; was the first mayor ; was interested in the first public library ; the Cincinnati College ; was president of the building committee of the Second Presbyterian church, (now torn down) on Fourth street, between Vine and Race streets ; was much interested in the construction of the Miami canal ; he was president of the companies that selected and bought, at the land office in Wooster in 1817, the lands on which Fremont, Maumee city and Toledo are now located. He built, in 1820-23, the large house east of Pike street, afterward owned by Nicholas Longworth, afterward the residence of David Sinton. After such an active and useful life, Mr. Baum became involved, through indorsements and losses, and saw a large part of his fortune swept away. He died December 14, 1831, during an epidemic of influenza, which carried off a number of- citizens. He left a widow and six children, four sons and two daughters. Christian Burkhalter was another illustrious German of the first quarter of the 19th century in this city. He had been the secretary of Prince Blucher. He was born in Neu Wied and came to America in 1816. He entered the Shaker community at Union village, Warren county, Ohio, in 1820. When the Duke of Weimar was in this country in 1826 he visited Burkhalter at Union village. Burkhalter forsook Shakerdom, came to Cincinnati and in 1837 established Westlicher Merkur, and conducted it until, 1841. The name was then changed to Der Deutscheimt Westen, and it was edited by Burkhalter and Hofle. Later in that year Rudolph von Maltiz took charge of the paper and named it Ohio Volksfreund. Burkhalter now became a silent partner in the Chronicle, editor by Pugh, Hofle and Hubbell. In 18136 Burkhalter had assisted James G. Birney in issuing the Philanthropist, the noted Abolitionist paper. Albert von Stein, a capable engineer, arrived in Cincinnati in 1817. He was the builder of the Cincinnati waterworks. Later he went to Philadelphia where he worked for a time in illustrating Wilson's Illustrated Ornithology. He constructed the waterworks at Richmond and Lynchburg, Virginia, the Appomatox Canal, near Petersburg, Virginia, and the waterworks at Nashville, New Orleans and Mobile. He died in 1876, aged eighty-four years. The Rev. Dr. Friedrich Reese was the first German Catholic priest in Cincinnati in 1825. He was born at Vianenburg, near Hildesheim. He became the Catholic bishop of Detroit. He founded in Cincinnati the Athenaeum, which was at first a scientific school and later came into the possession of the Jesuit Society and was transformed into the St. Xavier College. Dr. Reese was a very able and scholarly man. The earliest German Protestant ministers in this city were Jakob Gulich, Joseph Zaslein and Ludwig Heinrich Meyer. The Germans appeared in religious journalism in the thirties. In 1837, the Wahrheits-Freund began to be published by the German Catholics, being the earliest Catholic paper of the land. Der Protestant was under the management of George Walker. In 1838 a Methodist paper, Der Christliche Apologete was edited by Wilhelm Nast. Dr. Wilhelm Nast was born July 8thh, 1807 and studied at Tubingen. In 1828 he came to America, was a private tutor in New York for a time, taught CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 13 German at the West Point military academy in 1831-32. He became a Methodist and then taught the classics in several colleges. He was the organizer of German Methodism in Ohio. He established and edited Der Christliche Apologete and then the paper for young people called Sonntagschul-Glocke. By means of his German Methodist papers, Dr. Nast aided the Germans who became Methodists in the preservation for themselves of their language and their habits of thought. Dr. Nast advised many of the young men under his influence to attend the German universities and thus brought them still more under German influences. Of secular German papers, the first that appeared here was Die Ohio Chronik, 1826, a weekly that proved short-lived. In 1832, a German campaign paper, on the whig side, was issued by Karl von Bonge, Albert Lange and Heinrich Brachmann. The Weltbürger came out October 7, 1834. Its editor was Hartmann ; at first it was anti-democratic ; it soon passed into charge of Benjamin Boffinger, who renamed it Der Deutsche Franklin and advocated Van Buren, the democratic candidate. The Franklin was recaptured by the whigs before the election. The Volksblatt was quickly established by the democrats as their organ. The editor was Heinrich Rodter, who was born in 1805 at Neustadt. Having served in the Bavarian light cavalry, he then studied law for a time. Catching the revolutionary spirit then active in the Rhine provinces, he came under the influence of journalists and leaders of the revolutionary party. Being in danger of arrest, he came to Cincinnati in 1832. He soon after went to Columbus and became manager of a German democratic paper. Coming again to Cincinnati, he edited the Volksblatt from 1836 to 1840. A German society was founded in this city in 1834. A meeting of two hundred Germans, was held in the city hall July 31st of that year. A resolution was passed stating that "as citizens of the United States we can take that part in the people's government which our duty and right commands, and that through reciprocal aid we may mutually assure ourselves of a better future, to assist those in need, and to secure generally those charitable aims which are impossible to the single individual." Heinrich Rodter, Karl Libeau, Johann Meyer, Ludwig Rehfuss, Solomon Menken, Daniel Wolff, Karl Wolff were among the leaders of this movement. Rodter became the president of the society. Rodter was also influential in organizing the German Lafayette Guard, 1836, and was its first captain. Rodter became a member of the city council and was generally esteemed throughout the city. Having sold the Volksblatt in 1840, he left Cincinnati for a time but soon returned, took up the further study of law, and became a member of the legislature of this state in 1847-48. For a time he then practiced law, but in 1850 he purchased the Ohio Staats Zeitung, renaming it the Demokratisches Tageblatt. He died in 1857. When in 1832, there was a large emigration from Wurtemberg, Karl Gustav Rumelin, or Reemelin, whose father was a business man of Heilbronn, desired to start for America. He was born in 1814, had attended school in Heilbronn and then entered his father's office. Having obtained his father's consent, he left home, arriving in Philadelphia in August, 1832. There he did such work as he could find. He became an enthusiastic admirer of Jackson, and, after 14 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY the former. fashion of many Europeans, identified the word Democracy with advocacy of the republic and the rival party with aristocracy. After a year in Philadelphia, he started westward. Cholera appeared on the boat by which he came from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, and on his arrival at Cincinnati he was seized by this sickness, but fortunately his case proved a light one. Rumelin found work in a store and began his career in Cincinnati. He took an active part in politics, was among the founders of the German society, and entered into the public life of the city in general. Rumelin was interested in the founding of the Volksblatt, the printing plant of the paper occupied, rent free, a room in the building where Rumelin did business, and he learned the printer's art and even at times carried the paper himself. He became a member of the legislature in 1844 and '46, and of the state senate in 1846. He was a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention in 1850-51. He visited Germany several times, and sent his son to a German university. He took a deep interest in political matters for many years, but at the time of the presidential campaign of 1860 lie retired to country life. He had charge in 1871 and 1872 of the Deutscher Pionier. He was the democratic candidate in 1879 for auditor of the state, but was defeated. He wrote an important book on "Politics as a Science." Emil Klauprecht, born in Mainz in 1815, arrived in America in 1832, made his home for a time in Kentucky and then came to Cincinnati in 1837. Follows ing lithography for a time, he then took up journalism, and in 1843 founded the Fleigende Platter, the first illustrated German paper in this country. He later became editor of the Republikaner, a Whig paper. He was the author of a volume called, in translation, the "German Chronicle in the History of the Ohio Valley." He also wrote several romances. From 1856 to 1864 he was employed on the V olksblatt. He was appointed consul at Stuttgart and held that position until 1869. Later, he became a correspondent from that city for various German journals in this country, among them the Volksblatt. During his career in this city he exercised much influence. Heinrich iron Martels was born in 1803, at Castle Dankern, in Arenberg-Meppen. He studied in the college at Osnabruck, became a cadet in the cavalry of Hanover. In 1822 he was a second lieutenant of Curassiers. Having become captain in an infantry regiment he received a leave of absence and traveled in 1832 with his father and brothers to the United States and settled in Missouri. In 1833 he went back to Germany for' a time and gave himself up to study. Corning once more to America in 1845, he invested his money in Colorado and lost all he had, a comfortable fortune. He came to Cincinnati in 1850, worked for a number of years on the V olksfreund, spent some time on a farm, and again in 1860 returned to journalism. He was a fine linguist and became court interpreter. Joseph Hypolit Pulte was born at Meschede, Westphalia, studied medicine and came in 1834 to America. His brother was at the time an established physician in St. Louis, and Joseph there became an enthusiastic student of homeopathy. In 1840 he came to Cincinnati to pfactice medicine. In 1850 he published a scientific work entitled "Hänsliche Praxis der Homeopathischen Heilkunde." This book was issued in English in London and in Spanish in Havana. Dr. Pulte edited for several years the American Magazine of Homeopathy and CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 15 Hydropathy, and in 1852 became professor of clinical practice and obstetrics in the Homeopathic College at Cleveland. He established by his own resources the Pulte Homeopathic Medical College in Cincinnati in 1872. Heinrich A. Rattermann was born at Ankum, Osnabruck, October 14, 1832, and came with his family in 1846 to Cincinnati. After the death of his father, a carpenter, in 1850, young Rattermann had charge of the family. During leisure hours he studied. Later he attended a commercial college, and became a bookkeeper. He obtained a partnership in a lumber business. In 1858 he was chiefly influential in founding the German Mutual Fire Insurance company, which became very successful. During his whole career he has been a literary man and devotee of music. His specialty has been German life in America. He was prominent in the founding of the Sangerbund, the Maennerchor and the Orpheus. Friedrich Roelker was born in Osnabruck in 1809, graduated at the College Karolinum in Osnabruck and then studied at Munster. Having taught for some time in Osnabruck he came to America in 1835, spending two years in New York in teaching. He came to Cincinnati in 1837, teaching English for two years, and then became principal of the Catholic Dreifaltigkeits-Schule. At the end of a year he began to study medicine at the Ohio Medical college, and after graduation he began to practice medicine in this city. In 1843 he was elected a member of the school board. Later he became chairman of the committee on instruction in German and he accomplished much for the German-English schools, to the great delight of the Germans. He proposed and took a large part in the founding of the Deutsche Lese-und-Bildgungsverein, which had for its ideal the preservation of the German language. To him as much as to any one was due the introduction and success of the teaching of German in the public schools. August Renz was born in Würtemberg in 1803, studied law at Tubingen, practiced for a time in Würtemberg, and arrived in Cincinnati in 1836. Here he became a notary public, entered journalism, and was one of the editors, in 1839, of Der Deutsch-Amerikaner, and in 1841-45 of Die Volksbühne. Joseph Anton Hemann was born at Oesede, near Osnabruck, in 1816, was a pupil at the College of Osnabruck, and came to America in 1837. He taught in Canton, Ohio, in 1838. In 1839 he became a teacher in the parochial school of St. Mary's parish, Cincinnati. When the teaching of German had been introduced into Cincinnati schools, Hemann passed an examination and received the position of principal of the German school. In 1841 the school board attempted to dispense with the teaching of German, and the Germans by private contributions established a school of their own. Of this, Hemann became the principal. He held this position until the next year, when he once more became the principal of the St. Mary's school. In 185o he established the Volksfreu.nd and continued with that journal until 1863. He removed afterward to Canton and there edited a German paper. Stephen Molitor was born at Cheslitz, Oberfranken, January 5, 1806, studied at Wurtzburg, was for a time police reporter at Munchen, and came to America in 1830. In 1835 he was engaged on the New Yorker Staats Zeitung; he was for a time on the Weltbürger in Buffalo ; and in 1837 he came to Cincinnati. He entered into a partnership here with Heinrich Rodter in the Volksblatt. He soon became 16 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY sole owner of that paper and managed it until 1863. Molitor was an able and highly educated man, whose influence in politics was felt throughout the nation. George Walker was born in Urach, Würtemberg, in 1808. He studied theology at Tubingen, was influenced by the teachings of Hegel and Straus. When the Lutheran synod of Baltimore, asked the Tubingen theological faculty to furnish some young teachers for their theological school at Gettysburg and as pastors, Walker was one of those who were chosen. He came about 1833, but soon discovered that his ideas were considered heretical. Coming to Ohio he entered upon work in Tuscarawas county, where there was a small congregation of people from Würtemberg ; but the Lutheran synod at Columbus were not satisfied with his orthodoxy, and in 1838 he went to Germantown, Ohio. He, with Dr. Espich, established the Protestant in that place, and soon afterward he brought his paper to Cincinnati. Here he became also one of the managers of the Volksblatt. His Protestant having failed, as well as a political paper, the Deutsch-Amerikaner, with which he became connected, he went to Louisville. In 1840 he took charge of a paper in Louisville called Die Volksbühne, which he soon brought to Cincinnati. This paper soon failed and he established the Hochwächter, which was a semi-religious and semi-political journal. While a man of talent, Walker kept himself too exclusively among his own countrymen and failed to adapt himself to American conditions. He died in 1849. Ludwig Rehfuss was born at Ebingen, January 26, 1806, and studied chemistry, pharmacy and botany. Joining the agitators after the July revolution, he left Germany in 1833 and established a drug store in Cincinnati. He took part in founding the German society, and in establishing the Volksblatt; had a share in the struggle for the German schools ; helped organize the Lafayette guard and became its captain. He was among the founders of the German Reading and Educational society, and took a large part in the social affairs of the city. He achieved much reputation for his scientific attainments, was a member of the Association of Natural Sciences of the United States, and entertained Agassiz and Professor Henry at a meeting of scientists in this city. He died in 1855. August Moor was born in Leipzig, March 28, 1814 ; was a pupil of a military school ; was concerned in the revolutionary troubles of 1830; was imprisoned for eight months, and after he was set free started for America. Landing in Baltimore in 1833, he went to Philadelphia, became a lieutenant in the Washington guard of that city. In 1836 he enlisted for the Seminole war in a volunteer company and became a lieutenant-colonel. In 1838 he was in Cincinnati, in charge of a bake shop, a business which he managed successfully for several years. In 1846 he became captain of a company of Ohio volunteers for the Mexican .war ; he became major, lieutenant-colonel and then colonel. Some years later, he became major-general of the first division of Ohio militia, but soon resigned. When the Civil war opened he speedily enlisted and became colonel of the Twenty-eighth Ohio volunteer regiment,—the Second German regiment, which was part of the army of Rosecrans. He gained great distinction by his bravery, and led a brigade for the three years of his time in the service. When he was discharged he was appointed brevet brigadier-general. CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 17 August V. Kautz was born at Pforzheim, Baden, in 1828 and was brought in childhood to America by his parents. They made their home at Ripley, and were living at that place in 1846 when the Mexican war opened, and August enlisted as a private in the First Volunteer regiment of Ohio. When that war was over he became a lieutenant in the regular army. When the Civil war began Kautz was a cavalry captain but in fact commanded his regiment before Richmond in 1862. He was soon appointed colonel of the Second Ohio Cavalry, and then commanding general of the cavalry of the Twenty-third army corps. He was made brevet major-general in the volunteer and regular service, and when the war was over he went back to the regular service as lieutenant colonel of the Fifteenth Infantry. Gottfried Weitzel was born November 1, 1835, at Winzlen, Rheinpfalz, and was brought to America by his parents in his childhood. They made their home in Cincinnati, and when Gottfried was seventeen years of age he became a cadet at West Point. Graduating there in 1855 he became a second lieutenant of the engineer corps. When the Civil war broke out he had reached the captaincy, and as a captain was on Butler's staff at the siege of New Orleans. He or was put in command of a brigade in the corps of Banks. When transferred to the Army of the Potomac, under Grant, Weitzel was given command of a division. Weitzel, after the war, became a major in the engineer corps, with the brevet rank of a major-general. Nikolaus Hofer was born at Rulzheim, Rheinpfalz, in 1810. He came to this city in 1832. After having spent some time in the business of a gardener, he became a real estate agent. He entered into all the activities of the Germans for their advancement and was foremost in advocating the establishment of German schools. He entered into politics, was the first vice president of the democratic association, and was a number of times a delegate in the local and state conventions of the democrats. He was distinctively a leader among the Germans of the city. August Kroll, known as Pastor Kroll, was born at Rorhback, Hessen, July 22, 1806. He studied at the gymnasium in Budingen, and at the end of his labors there took a theological course at Giessen. He became an assistant pastor in a German parish, and then in 1833 came to America with the Follenius emigration society. After having spent some time with other members of the society in Missouri and having cultivated land there, he became in 1838 pastor of a German Evangelical church in Louisville. In 1841 he became pastor of the oldest German parish in Cincinnati, the Protestant Johannis church, which position he occupied until his death in 1874. He was also associated with the Rev. Friedrich Botticher in founding the Protestantische Zeitblätter. Friedrich Eckstein was born in Berlin in 1787. He studied in the Academy of Arts in that city under Johann Schadow. Coming to America he arrived in Cincinnati about 1825. In 1826 he founded an Academy of Fine Arts here, which was sustained until his death in 1832 of cholera. His bust of Governor Morrow and that of General W. H. Harrison, rank high artistically. He made a great reputation. Eckstein, in addition to his own fine work, was the inspiration and the teacher of Hiram Powers. Vol II-2 18 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY Friedrich Botticher was born at Mackerock, Prussia, in 180o. He studied theology at Halle, taught at Nordhausen, was a pastor at Habernegen and came to America in 1832. He was co-founder with Pastor Kroll, of the Protestantische and was a representative of liberal Christianity. Gottfried and Johann Frankenstein were painters. Gottfried executed a large landscape painting of Niagara Falls, which has been widely copied by engravers and lithographers. He executed a notable bust of Judge John McLean. Gottfried revived the Academy of Fine Arts, became its president, but did not succeed in making it permanent. Samuel N. Pike was the son of Jewish parents named Hecht, Hecht signifying Pike in English. He was born in Schwetzingen and came to America with his parents in 1837. After having lived a time in New York, then in Connecticut and having been well educated, the young man went to Florida and engaged in storekeeping for a year. Then in Richmond, Virginia,, he became an importer of wines. He removed to Baltimore, then to St.. Louis and in 1844 to Cincinnati. He engaged in all these places in the dry goods business. In Cincinnati he became rich in the liquor business. Having been fascinated by the wonderful concerts of Jenny Lind, he declared if ever rich enough he would build a temple of music in Cincinnati that would be the pride of the city. He began in 1856 and completed in 1859, Pike's opera house, then the largest in America and one of the largest in the world. In 1866, Pike erected in New York the Grand opera house, afterwards sold to Fisk for $850,000. In the spring of 1866 the Cincinnati structure was burned, but was later rebuilt. Mr. Pike was at his death worth several millions of dollars. Johann Bernhard Stallo was born March 16, 1823, at Sierhausen in the grand dukedom of Oldenburg. He came to America when he was seventeen years of age and began teaching. He said of himself : "All my ancestors, as well on my father's as on my mother's side, were, so far as I can trace back our family genealogy, village schoolmasters. My grandfather, after whom I was named, was my first teacher. He was an honorable old Frisian (Stallo is not an Italian name, but a real Frisian name, meaning forester), and wore tip to the time of his death a three-cornered hat, knee breeches and buckled shoes. He reserved my education to himself, notwithstanding his seventy years, and was made very happy when I could read and solve all sorts of arithmetical problems, before my fourth year." His father was a fine mathematician and instructed him in this study. He had his son study the ancient languages and French. The son was sent at fifteen, to Vechta, where he prepared for the university, but his father was not able to pay his way there. Stallo recorded : "The only choice left me was either to lengthen the chain of schoolmasters in our family by another link, or go to America. The idea of emigrating was brought near to me through my father's brother, Franz Joseph Stallo, who, about the year 1830, had led the line of emigrants from the Oldenburg country." This uncle was a man of ideas, inventions and of revolutionary opinions. Having been arrested in his native country as an agitator, he came to Cincinnati in 1831, and worked at his trade as printer and bookbinder. By correspondence with his old home he induced a large number of people to immigrate from that vicinity. He founded a community of these immigrants which grew to one CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 19 . hundred members in 1833. The town was at first called Stallotown. Franz Joseph Stallo died of cholera. It was in 1839 that J. B. Stallo came to this country, armed with letters of introduction to pastors and teachers in this city. Here he became a teacher in a private school. He soon issued a German spelling and reading book, which filled a want and became popular. He was soon called to teach the St. Xavier's college, where he gave instruction in German, in the ancient languages and mathematics. At the same time he studied physics and chemistry. In 1843 he was invited to be teacher of mathematics, physics and chemistry in St. John's college, New York city, and occupied that position until the close of 1847. In 1848 he published a philosophical work, "General Principles of the Philosophy of Nature." Returning to Cincinnati, Mr. Stallo studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1849. In 1853 he was appointed by the governor, judge of the court of common pleas, to fill a vacancy. He was chosen the same year by popular. election for the same position. Mr. Stallo having married and being in need of more money than his salary provided, resigned the judgeship, which he had filled ably, and in 1855 took up the general practice of the law, in which he gained a great reputation. Charles Henry Niehaus, sculptor, born in Cincinnati in 1855 of German parents, educated at the Royal Academy of Munich, is one of the great sculptors of modern times. His statue of Garfield, in Garfield place, Cincinnati, is one of his greatest monuments. "His conception of the man was adequate. The figure has dignity, distinction and personality." Another of his great works is the statue of Hahnemann, founder of homeopathy. Another is "The Driller," a figure of the monument of Colonel Drake, who sank the first oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859. His "Moses" and his "Gibbon" are in the Congressional library. The Germans themselves were responsible for the introduction of the teaching of German in the Cincinnati public schools. In 1836, the Lane Theological, seminary (Presbyterian), had been influential in the establishment of a German school, called the Emigrants school, sustained by the Emigrants' Friends society. Of this institution Bellamy Storer was president, Johann Meyer, vice president, and Jakob Gulich, chairman of the executive committee. Johann J. Lehmanowsky, a German Pole, was general agent of the society, and F. C. F. Salomon was principal of the school. German schools had been founded in half a dozen other cities by Lehmanowsky. There arose some dissension because of predominant Presbyterian influence in this school. The Catholics established a German school of their own. A strong movement now began to have German taught in the public schools. In 1838 the legislature passed a law permitting school boards to introduce German as a study where a sufficient number of petitioners were found and there were enough pupils to justify it. The board of education refused the petition. During the election of 1839, candidates for the legislature were asked to promise to endeavor to have the law modified that it should read "shall," instead of "might" and so command the school boards to act. March 19, 1840, the law was altered to read as desired. In the summer of 1840 the first German-English 20 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY public school was founded. While there has been agitation from time to time on this point, the teaching of German is still general in the Cincinnati public schools. The Germans have from 1840 on, since the German vote became large enough to be of importance, taken a large and influential and progressive part in the politics of the city. To the Germans have been due chiefly the beginnings and: the remarkable advancement of music in this city. They have also a large share in the progress of art in other directions. Cincinnati owes much in every way to its large German element. Many of the prominent families of today are of German descent. A considerable number of the leading men of the city are of the same race. CHAPTER VII. JUDAISM IN CINCINNATI. TO THE JEWS CINCINNATI THE PIONEER CITY OF THE WEST-MAGNIFICENT CHURCHES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL-ISAAC M. WISE AND OTHER NOTED RABBIS-THE HEBREW UNION COLLEGE AND KINDRED INSTITUTIONS-HOMES FOR THE AGED-HOMES FOR CHILDREN-BENEFACTORS AND THEIR BOUNTEOUS LARGESSES-CLUBS-SOCIETIES, ETC. By Isador Wise. Cincinnati is the pioneer city of the west ; so far as the Jews are concerned she is the pioneer city of the world. To the long suffering children of Israel she is indeed the "Queen City," and so will ever remain, though she lose her commercial preeminence ten times over, and though a dozen newer cities have wrested her material laurels from her. How many of her children, scattered throughout the new and vast territory beyond the Mississippi, may cry with the Maccabean, "If ever I forget thee may my right hand be withered." Jewish charity work in Cincinnati began with the congregation and for many years was coextensive with it. But that is easily understood when it is considered that the handful of Jews who formed the early congregation had no people to spare for separate organizations. Furthermore, up to the settling of the early Jews in this city they had been hounded, derided and ostracised the world over. Even in the Atlantic coast cities they found no congenial environment, except in the south, where, even at this late day, the Jew is as exclusive as his Christian neighbor. It was to the then far west that it was left to provide a home for "the exile of the world," a home that meant much at the start, and more and more as the fortunate years advanced. The relations of the Jews of Cincinnati to their fellow citizens were always peculiarly pleasant, cordial, mutually forbearing. If the fact that the earlier Jews worked and fought shoulder to shoulder with the non-Jews is to be considered, then equally good qualities must be attributed to both. Somewhere about this point lies the real truth. It cannot be gainsaid that the early Jewish settlers were of a superior class, counting among their number men of culture and wealth, and the truly aristocratic character of the Virginian or South Carolinian who came here first there is no cause to question. 'To the south, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi. Louisiana and other territories came the cream of the cultured east, and Cincinnati's relations with that section of the country placed her on a par with her southern friends and made her the Queen City of - 21 - 22 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY the West. The growth of music, literature, art, science, commerce, churches, institutions, public schools, public organizations, all these grew with the spirit of these early corners. The misery, the squalor, the actual penury which existed among the Jews of the eastern cities, at no time was pronounced in Cincinnati. How the Jews in Cincinnati won such an eminent and enviable position among their fellows the world over, is told at the proper places' elsewhere. Suffice it to say here that in civic, communal and mercantile matters the Jews of Cincinnati have proved themselves progressive, liberal, earnest, sincere. Wherever the community was menaced or attacked the Jew has stood beside the Christian in the forefront of the defense. The Cincinnati Jew was the first to attack the "Bible in the Public Schools," as he has always been among the foremost in demanding justice and the sacred guarding of personal rights, and in one instance as in another, until it has come to be the recognized rule, he was on the winning side,—the side of right and justice. But the strongest tie that binds north, west and south to Cincinnati is the great educational institution, the Hebrew Union College, froth whence came the rabbis of American Judaism that now fill nearly every prominent pulpit in the United States and scores of lesser ones. The growth of Jewish congregations throughout the country is phenomenal, not only among the Reform, but among the conservative and Orthodox elements as well. Aside from the Orthodox, whose growth is to be accounted for by the great influx of refugees, this regenerative movement is attributable directly and unquestionably to the Hebrew Union College, the greatest institution of its character in the world, born of Cincinnati brains, nurtured by Cincinnati enterprise and means, and placed in its proud position by masterful Cincinnati ability. That is the tie that binds the Jews of this great country to the mother city of the west. The Hebrew Union College has sent forth its graduates to preach the doctrines taught them here, to introduce the methods which here prevail, in the temple, in the Sabbath school, in the charity organizations, in the social, the intellectual, the daily life of the Cincinnatian, just as our young men went forth in the early days to introduce business methods in the new sections to the westward. In like manner has Cincinnati charity work been made the exemplar of the whole country, and in like manner has Cincinnati always stood for the highest in education, refinement, art, music, literature and the brotherhood of man. Since the passing of Dr. Wise it has become a kind of habit with writers on this subject to trace the origin of the Hebrew Union College back to former centuries and continental countries ; to connect with the establishment of the Union of American Hebrew congregations and the Hebrew Union College many names. Such is not the fact. For a quarter of a century before the founding of the college Dr. Wise worked alone, aided only by his paper, the Israelite, and in the face of every discouragement and difficulty to establish these two institutions he succeeded, not with the assistance, but in spite of those who should have stood by him. The loyalty and unwavering faith and support of the Cincinnati Jews made it possible to carry into effect the plans which he, and he alone, had formulated. For half a century Dr. Wise devoted more hours daily to this great work, at his own expense, than any merchant ever did to his business in the same space of time. CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 23 What Dr. Wise's idea was with reference to the establishment of a seat of higher learning is clearly shown in the minute book of K. K. Bene Yeshurun. In October, 1853, it was recorded that Dr. Wise was unanimously elected "Rabbi for life," and in accepting the call Dr. Wise wrote as follows, from Albany, N. Y., where he was at that time officiating as rabbi : "I am a friend of bold plans and grand schemes, therefore I entertain the hope that the Talmud Yelodim Institute will in a few years realize my fervent wishes of a Hebrew college, in which our national literature may flourish alongside the classical and commercial education." This is but another illustration of the fact that Dr. Wise had conceived the idea of the Hebrew Union College years before any other man in America ever dreamed of it. In October, 1870, the New York conference of rabbis indefinitely postponed the Wise proposition for a union and college. Nevertheless, the Israelite continued to print editorials calling upon congregations to meet in conference. On December 9, 1870, the Israelite announced that Mr. Henry Adler, of Lawrenceburg, had consented to give $10,000 to Cincinnati Congregation Bene Yeshurun (Dr. Wise) for the establishment of a college, thereby "rendering his name immortal in the history of American Judaism." The year 1871 was to witness a great change in the history of American Judaism. In June, 1871, a conference of rabbis met at Cincinnati. Dr. Lilienthal, in his inaugural address, stated that the establishment of a rabbinical college demanded most serious consideration. At this conference Dr. Wise succeeded in securing the adoption of his plans to bring about a union of congregations and the establishment of a college. He introduced a plan for the establishment of a Hebrew Congregational Union, to preserve and advance the union of Israel, to take proper care of the development and promulgation of Judaism, to establish and support a scholastic institute for the education of rabbis, preachers and teachers in religion. In the catalogue of the Hebrew Union College, issued in May, 1906, in memory of the founder, the story of the college is told from the beginning, in 1875, to the date of the catalogue. America was among the latest to carry the plan of a systematics rabbinical education into effect. Although as early as 1846 attempts were made in this direction, the difficulties were manifold, arising from the lack of cohesion between the recently formed congregations and from the critical internal conditions due to the religious controversies growing out of the introduction of reform. While many tried to perpetuate their ideas by raising a young ministry on American soil, it remained for the strong individuality of Isaac M. Wise to carry these attempts into effect. Moritz Loth, president of Congregation Bene Yeshurun of Cincinnati, in his annual message, October 20, 1872, recommended that Cincinnati join in an appeal to their sister congregations to appoint a committee to consider the calling of a general conference of all the congregations of the west, south and northwest in an appeal for a union of American congregations which should, among other objects, support a theological seminary. Appeals were sent to the various congregations, and in the following July thirty-four congregations were represented at a convention held in Cincinnati. This convention 24 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY drew up a constitution for a regular organization, which held its first council in Cleveland, July 14, 1874, when fifty-six congregations responded to the call. Moritz Loth was elected president of the new organization and to him belongs. a large part of the merit of having effected the first organized representative body of American Israel. Mr. Loth served in this capacity until 1889, when he was succeeded by Julius Freiberg, cf Cincinnati, who was reelected at each successive council, until advanced years compelled him to decline reelection in 1903, two years prior to his death. He was succeeded by Samuel Woolner, of Peoria, Ill., who holds that office at the present time. The first substantial encouragement was given to the institution by Henry Adler, brother of the Chicago rabbi, Liebmann Adler, a man of modest means, who handed to Dr. Wise a sum of $10,000 for this purpose. Henry Adler always remained a faithful friend of the institution, and on ,the occasion of his golden wedding, February 15, 1889, added $1,000 to his former gift. He died, deeply mourned, at the age of eighty-three, February 10, 1892. The minimum sum estimated for the maintenance of such an institution was $6o,000, and the funds had by no means reached that figure when the second council, convened at Buffalo, N. Y., July 17, 1875, at which seventy-two congregations were represented, resolved to open the college, which was done October 3, 1875. It was a bold undertaking in view of the many obstacles and with the meagre financial resources available. Many declared it impossible that American-born young men would take up the study of Jewish theology. Others opposed the institution because they were opposed to the religious views of the founder from personal motives, but nothing could daunt the energy of Isaac M. Wise. With the Sabbath-school rooms of congregation Bene Israel as class-rooms (later on changed to those of Bene Yeshurun), with a few books obtained by friends, and assisted by a single teacher, the late Solomon Eppinger, he refuted all doubts by going to work, and he had the satisfaction of gathering around him a class of seventeen students. The plan of instruction which had been agreed upon by the rabbis of the leading congregations, occasionally changed in detail, but remained in its essential idea the same. It was intended to give young men, receiving secular instruction in the Cincinnati schools, instruction in theological branches during their free hours. Consequently the college was to have two departments, one preparatory, for those who attended the high school, the other academic, for those who attended the university, each of these departments comprising a course of four years. The only change of importance was the addition of one year to the collegiate department under the name of third collegiate class, proposed by Isaac M. Wise in 1896, and carried into effect under his successor in 1904. A Semitic department, planned as part of the University of Cincinnati, and consisting of courses given by the instructors of the college, was announced in 1897. Its object was to overcome the difficulty created by the demand of a tuition fee by the university from the students of the Hebrew Union College, who had formerly been admitted free. This department, however, was never instituted. The administration of the college was placed in the hands of a board of governors, appointed by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. As the first president of this board, immediately preceeding the opening of the college, CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 25 Bernhard Bettmann was selected and he is still serving in this capacity. The first secretary was Adam A. Kramer, who in the following year was succeeded by Jacob Ezekiel, who served until advanced age forced him to retire in 1896, when his place was filled by Isaac Bloom, who was appointed clerk of the board. The work was crowned with success, manifested by the approval of public opinion. The committee of examiners, consisting of Rabbi S. H. Sonneschein, Rabbi Lipman Mayer and Lewis N. Dembitz, stated in their report that their "anticipations were more than realized." The next scholastic year saw twenty-three students, and a new teacher was required. As such Emanuel Loewenthal was engaged, who after a few months was succeeded by the Rev. Abraham Harris, who served during the remainder of the year 1876-7 and during the scholastic year 1877-8, when he was succeeded by Louis Aufrecht. From the second year of the college, Dr. Max Lilienthal, rabbi of Congregation Bene Israel, participated in the work of the college by giving instruction in Jewish history. In this way every year a new class was added, until in the fall of 1879 the first class of the collegiate department was opened, and Dr. Moses Mielziner, then at the head of a private school in New York, was elected professor of Talmud, which position he held until his death, February 18, 1903. Another important event was the acquisition of a home for the college by the purchase of a magnificent private residence on West Sixth street, Cincinnati, at the price of $25,250, which, with the cost of the necessary alterations, was increased to about $30,000. The dedication of the building took place with great solemnity April 24, 1881, the governor of Ohio and the dean of Cincinnati University assisting. A room in the college was furnished as a chapel by Mrs. Nannie Fechheimer, and since December 17, 1882, religious services have been held every Sabbath afternoon in the chapel, at which the students alternately read the prayers and preach. The year 1882 brought severe losses to the young institution. Dr. Max Lilienthal died April 2, and Louis Aufrecht July 25. The loss of two members of the teaching staff was felt the more keenly as one of the most devoted members of the board of governors was taken away in the person of Solomon Levi, May 2 of the same year, and with a ring of sadness the president said in his monthly report, dated. May 5, 1882: "It appears to me like frosty autumn, the leaves falling from the tree chilled by the cold storm. The host of the noble ones decreases." While the institution was struggling, owing to its limited means, and had to fill the vacancies in its teaching staff by the appointment of advanced students as assistant teachers, moral encouragement was given to it by the congregations who invited the students to preach from their pulpits and offered them positions before they graduated. Ignatz Mueller and Henry Berkowitz, students of the college, taught during the remainder of the school year 1882-3, the latter continuing in the same capacity up to the end of the scholastic year 1883-4. With the beginning of the scholastic year 1882-3, Morris Goldstein, cantor of Congregation Bene Israel, taught liturgical music, continuing for several years. In December, 1882, a rule about degrees was passed, granting to the graduates of the preparatory ,department the degree of B. H. (Baccalaureus Hebraicorum) to the graduates of the collegiate department of the rabbinical title, and opening to graduates 26 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY two years after their graduation the right of applying for the title of D. D. (Doctor Divinitatis). The first honorary degree of D. D. was bestowed on Solomon Eppinger on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, January, 1883. The crowning of the work of the college, a memorable event in the history of American Israel, took place July 11, 1883, when four members of the senior class, Israel Aaron, Henry Berkowitz, Joseph Krauskopf and David Philipson, received their rabbinical diplomas. One member of the class, Frederick Hecht, had unfortunately died in April, only a few weeks before the honors of graduation could be conferred upon him. The congregation showed at once that the desire for rabbis of American training, on which Isaac M. Wise had based his expectations when he founded the college, was generally felt. Already before the official graduation three of the candidates were elected as rabbis by prominent congregations—Israel Aaron in Fort Wayne, Ind., Joseph Krauskopf in Kansas City, Mo., and Henry Berkowitz in Mobile, Ala. The fourth graduate, David Philipson, remained connected with the college as preceptor until 1884, when he was elected to the pulpit of Har Sinai Congregation in Baltimore. Students came in unexpected numbers, and in 1885 for the first time all eight classes were in operation. Nor was endorsement from competent quarters and theological authorities wanting. The committee of examination, consisting of Revs. Dr. K. Kohler, Benjamin Szold and George Jacobs, stated in their report that the classes displayed an amount of knowledge that afforded the examiners great pleasure, and the words spoken by Dr. G. Gottheil, who delivered the baccalaureate address to the first graduating class of the college, were a testimony to the inspiration which the older members of the ministry felt in seeing the assurance of the continuation of their work. The resignation of Rabbi Philipson, and the still existing vacancy caused by the death of Dr. Lilienthal, necessitated an addition of two members to the teaching staff of the college. Rev. Siegmund Mannheimer, then in Rochester, N. Y., was called as preceptor in exegesis, and began his work in January, 1884. He still continues as the oldest member of the faculty both in years and in service. The vacancy in the chair of homiletics, formerly held by Dr. Lilienthal, was temporarily filled by Dr. S. H. Sonneschein, of St. Louis, who came to Cincinnati regularly to deliver lectures on that subject. As Dr. Sonneschein felt that he could not do justice to his chair, another chair had to be created. With the beginning of the scholastic year 1884-5, Dr. Henry Zirndorf was called to the college from Detroit as professor of history and Jewish literature, teaching also homiletics, and continued his work until 1890, when he retired, remaining in Cincinnati as rabbi of Congregation Ahabath Achim until his death, December 17, 1893. infirmities of age forced the oldest member of the faculty, Dr. Solomon Eppinger, to retire February 1, 1886. Dr. Eppinger was succeeded by Rabbi David Davidson, of the Schearit Israel congregation in Cincinnati, who was elected preceptor in Talmud and exegetical literature in 1886. He continued to the end of the scholastic year 1891-2, when he was called to the pulpit of Montgomery, Ala. At the same time Ephraim Feldman, a student of the college, was made assistant preceptor, being raised to the position of instructor in 1895, and made professor in 1898. In 1889 Dr. David Philipson was called to the pulpit of Congregation Bene Israel, and offered his services to the college as instructor of CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 27 Semitic languages. Since 1891 he has also been teaching homiletics. Simultaneously with Dr. Philipson Rabbi Charles S. Levi was called by Bene Yeshurun Congregation as assistant to Dr. Wise, and, like his colleague, volunteered his services as instructor of history, serving in this capacity until 1898. The retirement of Dr. Zirndorf, in 1890, created a vacancy in the chair of history and literature, which was filled in 1891 by the election of Dr. Gotthard Deutsch, then rabbi of Bruex, Bohemia, who entered upon his duties in December of the same year. In the following year Dr. Max L. Margolis, who held a fellowship in the Semitic department of Columbia College, was called as instructor of exegesis, and held his post until 1897, when he was called to a chair in the University of California, returning to his former post as professor of exegesis in the beginning of the scholastic year 1905-6. The growing number of students repeatedly required temporary arrangements in the course of instruction, and during 1894-5 Rev. Jacob Mandel, then rabbi of congregation Ahabath Achim, gave instruction in biblical subjects for several hours a week. In the following year his place was filled by the appointment of a regular instructor in the person of Mr. Casper Levias, up to that time fellow in the Semitic department of Johns Hopkins University, of Baltimore. He continued at his post until his retirement at the end of the scholastic year 1905. The place of Dr. Margolis, who left for California in 1897, was filled by the appointment of Dr. Moses Buttenwieser, who shortly before had arrived in New York from Germany, and who since that time (1897) has continued as instructor in the biblical department. The number of students increased until in 1898-9 it reached the record number of seventy-seven students enrolled. In the beginning of the scholastic year 1898-9 Rabbi Charles S. Levi left Cincinnati to accept a call as rabbi in Peoria, Ill., and Dr. Louis Grossman, called to the pulpit of Congregation Bene Yeshurun by the side of Dr. Isaac M. Wise, offered his services as professor of theology, a chair which he has filled. since. In January, 190o, Dr. Henry Malter, then in Berlin, was called as instructor in Talmud and philosophical literature, and was in 1904 raised to the rank of professor of philosophical literature. On the 26th of March, 1900, death removed the most conspicuous factor in the history of the Hebrew Union College, and, one might well say, in the religious history of American Israel. On Saturday, March 24, Isaac M. Wise had taught his class at the college as usual, when at the end of the recitation he was seized with sudden illness, and removed to his home, where he expired two days later. It was a beautiful end of a remarkable career, especially fitting in view of the fact, that in spite of many other activities, the Hebrew Union College had always been Dr. Wise's most cherished creation. As president he was succeeded by the oldest member of the faculty, Dr. Moses Mielziner, who, in spite of his advanced years and the increasing debilities of age, remained at his post for nearly three years, until his death, February 18, 1903. During the last month of Dr. Mielziner's life, and after his death, Dr. Deutsch was acting-president until the beginning of the scholastic year 1903-4, when Dr. Kaufmann Kohler, formerly rabbi of Congregation Bethel, of New York, elected president of the Hebrew Union College, February 25, 1903, entered upon his office. His formal introduction to office took place, with due solemnities, October, 1904. 28 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY After the death of Dr. Mielziner, Dr. J. Leon Magnes was appointed instructor and held his office until the end of the scholastic year 1904, when he was succeeded by Dr. Max Schloessinger, who then was working on the literary staff of the Jewish Encyclopedia, in New York. Upon the retirement of Casper Levias, Dr. Max L. Margolis returned to the college, after an absence of eight years, as professor of exegesis. For years the support of the college had presented a grave problem. Its income depended on the dues of congregations forming part of the union, paying one dollar a year per member, and on voluntary contributions from individuals, while the sinking fund which was to be collected before the college opened had not reached the sum then estimated as necessary when, the institution celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its existence. The death of Isaac M. Wise stimulated activity in this direction. His many admirers declared their willingness to create such an endowment fund for the perpetuation of his memory, and in May, 1900, a circular was issued asking for contributions. The result was only partly encouraging, and in 1901 "The Isaac M. Wise Memorial Fund National Committee" was created for the purpose of bringing the fund up to the required amount of $500,000. In 1903 this committee called to its assistance Dr. Joseph Krauskopf, of Philadelphia, who entered upon this labor of love with characteristic energy and sound sense. At this writing there has been collected over three hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Another important problem grew out of the necessity of providing a new home for the college. The property acquired in 1881, which according to the views of the authorities would suffice for many years have now become unsatisfactory. The character of the neighborhood has changed, compelling both teachers and students to lose much time in going to and from the college ; the growing library could not be advantageously shelved, and the facilities for physical exercise so necessary to those who have to spend far more time indoors than the average student of an academic institution, were entirely lacking. Finally, March 5, 1905, a committee was appointed to secure a proper location for new buildings, and November 18, 1905, a site on Clifton avenue, seven hundred feet front by thirteen hundred feet deep, was acquired. Plans for the buildings are under consideration. The success of the Hebrew Union College was not attained without serious trials. In the eastern states, where the bulk of the Jewish population of the county always lived, Cincinnati was not considered a well-selected place for a rabbinical college, and another institution was started under the name of Jewish Theological School of Temple Emanuel. The council of the Union of American Hebrew congregations, held at Milwaukee in 1878, effected a mutual understanding, and the New York institution was placed under the care of the board of governors of the Hebrew Union College, as a preparatory institution, and remained so until it was closed in 1885. In the same year another crisis threatened the young institution. A rabbinical conference, convened at Pittsburg, November, 1885, adopted a very liberal platform, endorsing Sunday services and suggesting the abolition of the Abrahamic rite for proselytes. As Dr. Wise was one of those who. had participated in the conference, the cry of heretical teaching was raised against the college, and Mr. Bettmann, as president of the board of gov- CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 29 ernors, found himself compelled to declare it an erroneous impression that the "tenets of any platform other than Judaism pure and simple are permitted to be taught, directly or indirectly, in the Hebrew Union College." In spite of these assurances the opposition to the college constantly gained ground, and succeeded in the establishment of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, in 1885, chiefly through the efforts of Dr. Sabbato Morais, of Philadelphia. This institution, devoted to the interests of orthodox Judaism, was in 1902 merged into the newly established Jewish Theological Seminary of America, under the presidency of Dr. Solomon Schechter. From the start well endowed, it is another important testimony to the work done by Isaac M. Wise and the Hebrew Union College in arousing interest for the cause of Jewish learning in the new world. An important part in the work for Jewish culture was done by the establishment of the library of the college, which was the first large library of its kind in the United States. Originating with a few insignificant donations, and with sporadic purchases as occasion suggested, without any regular appropriation, it received finally some valuable donations, the greatest of which was the bequest of Dr. Samuel Adler, of New York, and finally an appropriation of one thousand dollars annually from the funds of the college. In the year 1905 the library of Dr. M. Kayserling, of Budapest, was, at the suggestion of the president of the college, purchased by Julius Rosenwald, of Chicago, and generously donated to the college. This library is especially valuable in helping to make possible scientific work done by members of the college faculty. Of the many joyous celebrations which united the alumni and well-wishers of the Hebrew Union College and showed their spirit of solidarity, mention may be made of the seventieth and eightieth birthday anniversaries of Isaac M. Wise in 1889 and 1899, of the inauguration of President Kohler, 1903, and of the seventieth birthday anniversary of B. Bettmann, 1904. The alumni of the Hebrew Union College form an association, and their interest in the cause of the college, as well as the work done by them in their congregational, sociological and literary activities, has helped to bring the college to its present standard in American Israel. THE LIBRARY. Max Schloessinger, Ph. D., librarian ; Abraham Cronbach, Max Reichler, assistants. The library of the Hebrew Union College contains over sixteen thousand volumes, devoted to the study of Judaica, Hebraica, Semitica, and various cognate branches. Through constant donations and purchases the number of volumes is rapidly increasing, a recent donation of great value being the Kayserling library of over three thousand volumes, presented to the college by Julius Rosenwald, of Chicago. More than ninety periodicals, treating of matters in which the college is interested, are regularly received. The reference alcove of two hundred and fifty volumes contains all of the works most frequently referred to in the pursuit of Jewish studies. 30 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY Besides the main collection of books kept in the library proper, there are in the several class-rooms smaller collections consisting of works needed for instruction in the several departments. The library also supplies the students with text-books and is open every day excepting Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 2 p. m. to 6 p. m. The circulation department is open every day between 2 p. m. and 3 p. m., also with the exception of Saturday, Sunday and holidays. During vacations the library is open from 2 p. m. to 4 p. m. THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS FOR 1906-1908. Rev. Dr. Henry Berkowitz, 1539 North Thirty-third street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bernhard Bettmann, Cincinnati, Ohio, president. Alfred M. Cohen, southwest corner Third and Walnut streets, Cincinnati, Ohio. Nathan Drucker, 901 Broadway, Cincinnati, Ohio. Maurice J. Freiberg, 216 East Front street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Samuel Grabfelder, Hotel Walton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Simon Greenbaum, Spring Grove avenue and Rawson street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Edward L. Heinsheimer, 326 Walnut street, Cincinnati, Ohio, vice president. Harry M. Hoffheimer, 2335 Grandview avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. Alfred M. Klein, 921 Walnut street, Philadelphia, Pa. Rev. Dr. Joseph Krauskopf, 4715 Pulaski avenue, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jacob Kronacher, 9 West Third street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Rev. Dr. Max Landsberg, 420 Main street, Rochester, N. Y. Rev. Dr. J. Leonard Levy, P. O. Box 995, Pittsburg, Pa. Max B. May, 518 Walnut street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Myer Oettinger, 421 Race street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Jacob Ottenheimer, 533 Walnut street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Rev. Dr. David Philipson, 852 Lincoln avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. Emil Pollak, 2648 Stanton avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. Rev. M. Samfield, 81 Market street, Memphis, Tenn. Rev. Dr. Joseph Silverman, 50 East 76th street, New York city. Louis Stern, 32 West 23d street, New York city. Rev. Dr. Joseph Stolz, 157 42d place, Chicago, Ill. CONGREGATIONS. The story of the growth of the Jewish congregations in Cincinnati is the best indication of the development and progress of Judaism in America. The evolution of the grand house of worship from the sometimes "shule," the change from the alley or back street to the prominent thoroughfare or hill-top location is not the sign of increased prosperity alone ; the intellectual growth, the keeping abreast with the progress of the years, the emancipation from self-imposed confines—religious, social and material—are represented as well. Nor has Cincin- CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 31 nati alone been affected by the wonderful changes brought about. The influence of the Cincinnati congregations has been national, nay, international. For it was in this city that the example was set which has been followed, to a greater or less extent, by the cities of the United States, and of Europe as well. The history of the congregations is the history of the Cincinnati Jews, one which they have just cause to regard with pride and satisfaction, as set forth at the beginning of this series of sketches. Although there were always the several factions here as elsewhere, there has ever existed that harmony, cooperation and unity of purpose which mark the work of great men, earnestly, sincerely and unselfishly performed. Such men were the founders and builders and leaders of the Cincinnati congregations, and to such other men have they bequeathed this rich heritage. PLUM STREET TEMPLE, K. K. BENE YESHURUN. The story of "Plum Street Temple" is so closely interwoven with that of Isaac M. Wise, the Hebrew Union college and Reform Judiasm in America that it becomes difficult to segregate the former and still preserve the most interesting features of its history. It will, therefore, be appropriate to let those voices long hushed in death give silent utterance to the words spoken two-score years ago, on Friday, May 12, 1865, the day upon which was laid the cornerstone of the great Temple. The Israelite of May 19, 1865, states that "a member of the congregation" (the late Solomon Levi), read the following HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATION. The existence of the congregation extends back only twenty-six years (1839) and is the first Reform congregation west of the Alleghany mountains. It, first of all others, essayed to consolidate Judaism with the true philosophy and just demand of this age, and Americanize the synagog without encroaching upon her old landmarks and divine principles. It was in 1839 that a few young Israelitish immigrants organized, under the title of "Killah Koclesh Bene Yeshurun." Their names are not fully known, as no record of transactions previous to September, 1841, exists. Among those were Jonas Levy, Mordecai Levy, Jacob Silverstone, Levy Thiedman, Joseph Simon and Alexander A. Cohen. Their first property was a burial ground, bought in 1840, near the Brighton house. A member of the congregation conducted the worship until 1841, when it was voted to pay $75 per annum for a public reader, Simon Bomberger being the first one elected. The congregation worshiped in a rented room for several years. In 1844, having a fund of $1,500 accumulated, a building committee was appointed, who were discharged for neglecting their business. In 1845 the lot on Lodge street was bought for $4,500, and it was resolved a synagog should be built by the next spring; and the building was contracted for at $9,840. This year Mr. J. Marshuetz was elected reader, at $15o a year. In 1847 Rev. James K. Gutheim was elected reader and preacher. During the year the funds of the congregation became exhausted in building, and the congregation embarrassed. Henry Mack was made chairman of the new build- 32 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY ing committee, whose earnest appeals and indefatigable labor succeeded in completing the synagog, but at an expense of $20,000. It was consecrated in October, 1848, the congregation numbering one hundred and thirty-four members. In January, 1849, a committee reported a plan for the establishment of a Hebrew institute, proposed by Mr. Henry Mack. The plan was accepted, and the Talmud Yelodim institute was established. In 1849 Rev. H. A. Henry was elected minister of the congregation. Complimentary resolutions and a silver goblet were presented to Henry Mack for his activity in behalf of the congregation. In August, 1850, the resignation of Rev. Mr. Henry was accepted. In September he was reelected, but in September, 1851, "he was again dismissed," and in October Rev. Mr. Rosenfield of Charleston, S. C., was elected minister, and continued his services until 1852. Mr. Samuel Levy acted as reader, gratuitously, until the spring of 1854. At a general meeting in September, 1853, it was resolved, on the basis of a private letter from Rev. I. M. Wise, of Albany, N. Y., to Mr. Goodheart, to invite him to visit this city. He declined, but in October he was unanimously elected minister "during good behavior," without being personally known to the congregation. His election expressed the determination of the congregation to take sides hereafter with a party of progress and reform in Israel. Since that day the work has progressed finely. The divine service was entirely improved by the introduction of choir, organ and Minhag America. The Talmud Yelodim institute is an honor to the community. The congregation now stands at the head of western congregations in numbers and progressive measures. The necessity for a new house of worship more eligibly situated, to accommodate an increasing membership (having become pressing), in April, 1863, it was unanimously resolved to make preparation for the erection of a suitable temple. A committee, consisting of Henry Mack, Sol. Friedman, Max Mack, Jacob L. Miller, A. J. Friedlander, M. J. Mack, Simon Shohl and Sol. Levy, was appointed to devise means and look out for a suitable lot and procure plans for a new temple. Subscriptions to the amount of $20,000 were raised, and Messrs. Jacob Elsas, B. Simon and Simon Marks were appointed a committee to raise further subscriptions. The site for the temple was agreed upon and the purchase effected in May, 1863. On Friday afternoon, May 12, 1865, with solemn and impressive ceremony the cornerstone was laid. A copper box had been prepared which contained the history and records of the congregation, copies of daily and denominational papers, constitution of the United States, list of the executive officers of the United States and the state of Ohio, coins and currency of the day. This box was deposited in its resting-place by the five oldest men of the congregation, I. Silverstone, S. Levi, S. Stix, L. Loeb, Sr., and A. Cohn, Sr. Opening his discourse, which followed the sealing up of the cornerstone, Dr. Wise used these significant and prophetic words : "It consecrates this spot to the sanctuary of the congregation Bene Yeshurun for centuries to come, and coming generations will glory in the privilege of being members of this body, and descendants of those who selected and consecrated this spot to a house of the Lord of Hosts. . . . No rude hand, of either fanaticism or the foreign invader, will dare to desecrate this spot, holy to God and truth. Therefore, let CINCINNATI- THE QUEEN CITY also the congregation Bene Yeshurtin exclaim, This is my resting place forevermore !' " On August 24, 1866, the magnificent structure, which had been completed during a period of terrible unrest and uncertainty in the country, was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, an event of such great importance in Cincinnati that the daily papers gave columns of their then most valuable space to an elaborate account of the proceedings and published in full the long history of the congregation and the addresses of Dr. Wise and Dr. Lilienthal. Curiously enough the only printed description of the temple extant appears in the daily papers of May 13, 1865, the day after the laying of the cornerstone. The most elaborate account is from the Cincinnati Commercial, probably from the pen of Murat Halstead himself "The new temple will be the largest and most important structure of the kind in the United States, and if carried out as at present contemplated by the congregation, it' will be exceedingly unique and elegant. The size upon the ground is about 130 feet by 125 feet, and the entire height will be about 90 feet to the top of the roof. . . .” After moving into the new home the influence of congregation Bene Yeshurun became national and was felt in all questions of congregational reform. Its fame was spread abroad by the fearless, energetic, enthusiastic work of its indefatigable and conscientious rabbi. During the years 1866-1900, he traveled in all parts of the country, dedicating new temples, delivering popular lectures, attending conventions and conferences. In these assemblies, Dr. Wise was always the moving spirit and his personality and that of the congregation became inseparable. Aided and encouraged by the congregation, Dr. Wise established The Union of American Hebrew congregations and The Hebrew Union college. In 1873, Dr. Wise received a call from the congregation Ansche Chesed, of New York, which elected him for life, but his congregation would not pet-mit him to leave. His salary waspermitsed to $6,000, and he continued to serve at that salary until his death, March 25, 1900. In 1889, the congregation dispensed with the services of the cantor and elected as assistant rabbi, Rev. Charles S. Levi, who served until 1898, when he was called to Peoria. In November, 1898, Dr. Wise selected one of his most favored and promising pupils, Rev. Dr. Louis Grossman, who had been at Detroit, Mich., for fourteen years. After Dr. Wise's death the congregation unanimously elected Dr. Grossman as the Successor of Dr. Wise, which position he has been filling with the utmost .satisfaction. The value of the consatisfactionoperty is in the neighborhood of $350,000 and the annual expense of sustaining the temple and Sabbath schools is about $20,000. There are 400 members. The present officers are : Rev. Dr. Louis Grossmann, D. D., rabbi ; I. Weinstock, cantor; president, Jonas B. Frenkel ; vice president, Meyer Oettinger ; secretary, Max B. May ; treasurer, B. Bettmann ; warden, B. Kahn ; trustees, Nathan Drucker, Felix K;n, Jos. A. Friedlander, Louis J. Goldman, Albert Moch, Elias Moch, Jacob Ottenheimer, Emil Pollak. Sidney E. Pritz, Fred Rauh, Sam Straus and Charles Shohl. VoI II-3 34 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY CONGREGATION BENE ISRAEL. The dedication of the new temple "Kahl ha Kodesh Bene Israel, which took place on the 14th and 15th of September, 1906, marks an important epoch in the annals and development of Judaism in Cincinnati and in the West. The history of the congregation dates practically from the first coming to the territory west of the Alleghanies of any who bore the standard of Israel, when, in the year 1819, Joseph Jonas, David I. Johnson, Lewin Cohen, Barnet Levi and Jonas Levy united and held the first Jewish worship in this western country in the holy days of the fall of 1819. On the 4th of January, 1824, a meeting composed of a majority of the Jews dwelling within the town took place, and two weeks later ( January 18, 1824), there was laid the foundation of the present Bene Israel congregation in the adoption of a constitution and by-laws and the election of Joseph Jonas as president, and Phineas Moses and Jonas Levy as vestrymen. Of those named above Phineas Moses lived until June 20, 1895, and he was the last survivor connecting the present generation with the noble band of Jewish young men who had, in 1824, united (in the language of the resolution then adopted) "for the purpose of glorifying our God." In 1826 a frame building west of Main street, between Third and Fourth, was used as a synagog; in 1828 worship was held on Front street, between Main and Sycamore ; in 1830 on Fourth street, between Sycamore and Broadway, and until 1836 the congregation assembled in some room rented for the purpose, the services being read by the members, who were also empowered to perform, and did perform the marriage ceremony in lieu of any regularly appointed minister. On January 8, 1830, the general assembly of Ohio granted a charter to the society, thus incorporating the religious body under the name which it has since borne. In July, 1829, the congregation purchased a lot on Broadway, between Fifth and Sixth, and in 1834 a committee was appointed to build a synagog, with authority to raise funds, etc., and within a year of their appointment (on June II, 1835), the cornerstone of the synagog was laid with appropriate ceremonies. Up to the year 1842 the history of the congregation may be considered as the history of the Jewish community at large, but in that year another congregation, its sister temple, "Bene Jeshurun," was organized. Bene Israel congregation, in 1846, had a membership of one hundred and fifty, and in 1847 the property adjoining the synagog was purchased. In 1851 the lot on the other side of the synagog, on the corner of Sixth and Broadway, was acquired. The original charter limited the value of the property which the congregation might own, and on February 5, 1847, a new or amended charter was granted by the legislature, extending this limit. Previous to 1847 the congregation was without a preacher. Its cantor performed the duties connected with that office, but in 1847 the Rev. James K. Gutheim, who later became the leading rabbi in the South, was elected as lecturer for six months. He had a short time before founded the Hebrew institute for the instruction of children, at this time the congregation was the central point CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 35 of all charitable local endeavor. In 1849, for the first time, a choir was organized. In preparation for the erection of a new synagog the congregation temporarily, in 1851, worshiped in a room on Vine street, occupied by a small congregation known as the "Shaare Shomayim," which, in 1852, became merged in Bene Israel. The month of May, 1855, inaugurated a new and most important era in the history of the congregation by the election of Rev. Dr. Max Lilenthal as its religious leader; under whose guidance the congregation, which had been strictly orthodox, began and prosecuted its movement toward reform. In September, 1855, a minority of its members who adhered to the orthodox policy seceded and formed the congregation Sheerith Israel. On April 8, 1863, the board of trustees recommended the erection of a new temple, with family pews, organ, choir, etc., and at a congregational meeting held on November 8th of that year, these recommendations were approved. On November 13, 1864, a building committee was appointed, and in January, 1865, the lot on the corner of Eighth and Mound streets was purchased, the majority of the congregation then living in the western portion of the city. It was not, however, until the 5th of June, 1868, that the cornerstone was laid, and on August 27, 1869, the new structure was dedicated with inspiring solemnity, impressive sermons being preached by Rev. Drs. Max Lilienthal and Isaac M. Wise. On April 5, 1882, death brought the work of Dr. Lilienthal to a close, but the influence of his example survived to encourage and inspire in like work. In October, 1888, Rev. Raphael Benjamin was elected rabbi of the congregation and continued in that position and as its earnest religious leader for six years, when he was succeeded by Rabbi David Philipson, the present incumbent, under whose guidance the progress of the congregation has been ever upward and further upward. The names of those whose labor has been generously given to the advancement of the congregation, who have served it in offices of trust are prominent upon its records and in the memory of its members—and among those whose work lives after them is Morris Goldstein, who served as its cantor from 1881 until death closed his earthly career, in 1906, one of whose beautiful compositions the choir rendered at the dedication of the new temple. Victor Abraham, Esq., president of the congregation in 1900, in the course of his report to the congregation, called the attention of the members to the necessity of a change of location of its temple, and thus gave the first official sanction to the movement which culminated in the splendid structure on Harvey avenue. The congregation meeting to which the report of President Abraham was submitted (held on the evening of October 28, 1900), concurred in the foregoing suggestion of his report and authorized and directed the appointment of a committee to investigate the advisability and practicability of the proposition and to report to a special meeting of the congregation. The committee submitted to a meeting of the congregation held on October 27, 1901, a report finding that a change of location of the temple was advisable and practicable, and the meeting by unanimous vote adopted the report. On November 1, 19o1, Sol. Fox, Esq., then president, announced the appointment of the committee to solicit subscriptions for the new temple. 36 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN. CITY The next general meeting of the congregation was held on October 12, 1902, and in his report President Fox reported the progress made by the committee and recommended the appointment of a committee of nine on sites and construction, which was promptly done. On March I, 1903, a meeting of the congregation was held to consider the report of the committee, and the purchase of the present lot at Rockdale and Harvey avenues was authorized. On July 28, 1904, ground was broken on the site of the new temple with proper services. On April 16, 1905, the cornerstone of the new temple was laid. Beginning at 3:30 o'clock on Friday afternoon, September 14th, and continuing throughout the Saturday and Sunday following, the temple was dedicated, the program being one of the most elaborate and memorable of any similar occasion in the country. The lot on which the building is located covers an area equal to a city block, which gives the temple a park-like surrounding, and also affords means for landscape gardening, trees, shrubbery and flowers. The congregation has 475 members. The value of the property is about $250,000 and the annual expenditure is $26,000. The officers of the congregation are : David Philipson, D. D., rabbi ; Rev. Joseph Mandelberg, cantor. CONGREGATION BETH TEFFILA. Kehilah Kedoshah Beth Tefilla (House of Prayer) congregation was founded in 1869, by Schachne Isaacs and several associates, who were dissatisfied with the unorthodox tendencies shown by the congregations then existing in Cincinnati. It has ever since adhered closely to the orthodox standards of its founders, and is at present the largest and one of the oldest congregations west of the Alleghanies still adhering strictly to these tenets. The first place occupied was in two small rooms, on Richmond street and Central avenue, where the congregation met regularly for its three daily prayers, for about two years. At .about this time the number of orthodox Jews in Cincinnati was greatly increased through immigration, and accordingly the congregation sought more suitable quarters at Eighth street and Central avenue. In July, 1881, through the efforts of Schachne Isaacs, it was enabled to move into a house of worship on Carlisle avenue, between Central avenue and John street, that had formerly been a Baptist church. It so happened that after the building was purchased its former occupants asked for and received permission to use it one Sunday. When the leaders of the congregation were severely criticised for granting the permission, they replied, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations" (Isaiah 56, 7). This inscription was placed above the door, and from it the congregation received its name. For twenty-five years the regular services were held daily in this building. In September, 1906, the building at Eighth and Mound, formerly occupied by the B'nai Israel congregation, was purchased and rededicated. The building was erected twenty-eight years ago at a cost of $180,000, and stands on .a lot CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 37  by 135 feet. Several changes were made in its arrangement to adapt it for the orthodox services, including the erection of an Almemar, and the arrangement of a separate place for the women. The congregation owns a cemetery of four acres, near Lick Run, west of Price Hill, which they have held for the past thirty-five years. The total prop, erty of the congregation, including buildings, cemetery, Sefer Toras, etc., amounts to $100,000, on which there is a mortgage of $15,000. Several other organizations have grown up in connection with the congregation and meet regularly at the synagog. These include a Chevrai Mikrah (Bible class), Chevrai Shas (Talmud class), and a Chevrai Kadisha. The present rabbi is Abraham J. G. Lesser. The present organization of the congregation consists of a board of trustees, elected annually. The officers are : Abraham Isaacs, president ; Abram Baer, vice president; Louis Fridman, secretary ; Chas. Shaengold, treasurer ; M. Fein-gold, financial secretary. CONGREGATION AHABETH ACHIM-SHERITH ISRAEL. Toward the end of the year 1847 a number of Jewish men of Cincinnati expressed themselves as believing that there should be a congregation in the upper (west end) part of the city, and in spite of the numerous difficulties these men set to work earnestly to carry into effect such a plan, with the result that in a short time the idea became an established fact. Several preliminary meetings were held, and on February 18, 1848, it was finally agreed to incorporate the congregation under the name Ahabeth Achim, "Society of Brotherly Love." At that meeting were present L. Goldsmith, Samuel Weil, Chas. Kahn, Henry Kahn, M. W. Fechheimer, H. Winter, I. Bloch and M. Westenberger. The first step was to provide a place in which to hold services, and after a short interval a hall on the second floor of a building on the northwest corner of Pleasant and Fifteenth streets was secured and furnished. S. Eppinger presented the new congregation with a Scroll of the Law, and on the following Friday evening the first services were held. Leopold Goldschmidt was the first cantor, giving his services free for the first year. Even before there was any thought given to the question of a new building the matter of a cemetery was brought up, and on May 15, 1848, Chas. Kahn, Simon Kahn, Samuel Kahn, Henry Winter and Moses Westberger, on behalf of the congregation, secured three acres of land, to be used as a burial place, on Ludlow avenue, in Clifton. Later more land was acquired, and finally the cemetery was improved, until it is now one of the finest in the country. The membership of the new congregation increased so rapidly that in the following year (1849) it was found absolutely necessary to have better quarters, and accordingly a piece of property, 40 feet front on Race street, between Fifteenth and Liberty, was purchased for a building site upon which, owing to the strained finances of the members there was erected a frame building, which was shortly afterward dedicated as a place of worship. From 1849 to 1864 there is little to record in the history of the congregation, as the records themselves chronicle nothing of importance. However, the his- 38 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY torian of the congregation, Joel H. Steinberg, vouches for the statement that during that period the congregation was strictly orthodox and the daily lives of the members in strict conformity to orthodox rules of living. The watchword of that time was "Young man, go west," and many followed the instruction. This would have seriously impaired the membership had it not been that still more moved into the city. Indeed the membership increased to such an extent that in 1864 a lot was leased on the cover of John and Melanchton streets (now Bauer avenue), and two years later the temple was erected which up to the time of the consolidation was known as the John street temple. The new building cost $47,000, which, together with the ground lease, proved a very heavy burden to the congregation, and it required many years of active work to cancel these heavy obligations. But it was done in time, and in 1898, the time of the 50th anniversary celebration, the congregation had all its obligations paid and was free from debt. At first the women were seated in the gallery of the temple and other strictly orthodox customs were followed, but the spirit of progress as expounded by Dr. 'Wise entered into the services, and by degrees many of the more important reforms were introduced. In June, 1872, the organ was heard for the first time in the temple, and the choir was composed of fifty children, under the direction of Wm. Eckert. This children's choir was at once followed by the Sabbath school. From that time forward congregation Ahabeth Achim continued in a course midway between Reform and Orthodox, until it was merged with Sherith Israel into the new congregation. Among the rabbis who officiated at various times were such well known names as Goldammer, Illiowitzi, Eppstein, Rosenstein, Mandel, Zirndorf and Deutsch. The members of Ahabeth Achim began moving away from the West End years ago, and as was the case with Sherith Israel it became apparent that neither organization would exist by itself. This led to the consolidation. K. K. SHERITH ISRAEL. Congregation Sherith Israel was organized September 3, 1855, in Gerson's hotel, then on Walnut street, between Fourth and Fifth streets. Following is a list of the original members : The officers were : President, Leopold Melius ; vice president, P. Bamberger ; treasurer, M. Weiler ; secretary, Nathan Moses ; warden, Hyman Moses. Members, Cerf Lehman, L. Uhlf elder, S. Statthagen, Jonas Hirsh, A. Wertheimer, Jacob I. Samuels, Eph Levy, Henry Hart, Bernard Michael, A. Klein, Wolf Lublin, Jos. Steinauer, Simon Flohr, Isaac Cohen, Gabriel Beitman, Levy Spelman, Hess Kaufman, Simon Weiler, Solomon Loewenthal, Mayer Hoffman, Eph. Bloch, Simon Cohen, Sam Bruel, Nathan Malzer, Hyman Moses, Leopold Meats, Michael Daniels, Nathan Moses, Gerson Landsberg, Philip Bamberger, Michael Weiler, P. Potsdam, M. A. Cohen, Lipman Marks, Simon Bamberger, Isaac Jacobs, Nathan Bing, Jacob Hirschberg, M. Isaacs, Felix Hirsch, H. Bloch, Alex. Straus, Dr. J. Mayer, Jacob Hilp, M. Bloom, Jos. Goldberg, S. Bing, Wolf CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 39 Gerson, Moses Hirsch, Solomon Wechsler, H. Hess, M. A: Wartcki, Joseph Holzman. On January 13, 1856, the hall at the corner of Seventh and Walnut streets was leased for four years at an annual rental of $400 per annum, and on February 29th it was duly consecrated as a synagog. M. Lasker was at this time elected cantor of the congregation. Almost immediately plans were made for a proper place of worship, but it was not until September, 1860, that the new synagog on Lodge street, between Sixth and Seventh, was dedicated. September 3, 1865, Dr. Illoway was elected rabbi for a term of five years, and continued in that capacity until his death, caused by an accident to the buggy in which he was driving to his home. On December 2, 1882, the building in Lodge street was sold for $13,500, and on April 15, 1883, the lot on the corner of Richmond and Mound streets was purchased, and on March 27, 1885, the handsome new temple of stone was dedicated. In the same year Dr. David Davidson, of the Hebrew Union college, was elected rabbi, and on April 27, 1890, Dr. Grodsky was elected cantor. The latter holds the same position in the consolidated congregations. On April 12, 1905, the Richmond street temple was sold to congregation Ohave Sholem (Orthodox). AHABETH ACHIM-SH'RITH ISRAEL. For a long time the question of consolidation had been debated by both congregations, but the real fusion did not take place until May, 1906. The new congregation, which bears the name of both its constituents, is worshiping temporarily under the ministration of Rabbi Jacob Mielziner, son of the late lamented Dr. M. Mielziner. Property for a new temple has been purchased at the corner of Reading road and Ridgeway avenue, Avondale. The lot is 100 by 240 feet deep, and a very handsome structure is to be erected. The plans are now under consideration. At present the congregation numbers 160 members, but that number will be increased to 200 as soon as the new temple is completed. The value of the congregational property is between $60,000 and $70,000, and the annual expenditure is about $5,000 at present. Since the consolidation the new congregation has two cemeteries, as detailed elsewhere. CONGREGATION OHAVE SHOLEM. Congregation Ohave Sholem was founded in 1882 at the old Spencer House on Broadway, with a membership of twenty. B. Davidove was the first president. The congregation remained at the Spencer House for one year, and then rented a little room on Sycamore street. After three years the membership band increased to twenty-five and better quarters were secured on Fourth street. The congregation at this time had three scrolls of the law. In three years more the Fourth street room proved too small for the growing membership and a hall was secured 40 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY on George street, between Central avenue and John. The organization now . numbered thirty members and had five Torahs, so they felt able to incur increased expenses. The congregation remained here four years and then moved to 615 West Court street. Here they remained seven years and purchased 'the property they occupied for $9,000. The membership was now sixty, and in four years more it had grown to ninety. At this time the synagog on the corner of Richmond and Mound streets, the present home of the congregation, was purchased from Congregation Sherith Israel for $25,000. The congregation now numbers one hundred and thirty members, has twelve scrolls and owns both its present synagog and the property it formerly occupied on Court street. The annual expenditures of the congregation are $2,500. The officiating rabbi is Rev. S. Lipshitz, who is very popular with his people. The congregation has a cemetery on Price Hill.. CONGREGATION ANSHE POLAND. Congregation Anshe Poland was organized about 1894 by t. Augustus, Abr. Berg and A. Gold, the latter now dead. The first place of worship was in a hall on Central avenue. After three years the building on Elm street, near Findlay, was rented and four years ago the property was purchased for $5,500, and is now the permanent home of the congregation. The building is moderately large and of good appearance, but the congregation, composed of but twenty-two members, finds it difficult to keep the organization going and quite unable to make any improvements. The congregation uses the Kenyon avenue congregation's cemetery. SMALLER CONGREGATIONS. There are several congregations in what may be called the transition period, passing from an indefinite organization to something like a promising association like the ones described above. Among them are : Jad Charuzim (Austrian-Hungarian), Clinton street ; Agudas Achim, Apple and Vandalia streets ; Anshe Chesed, George street. In addition there, are a number of scattered societies that make it a practice to get together around the Holy day and use temporary places of worship. CONGREGATION BETH HAMEDRASH HAGODOL. Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagodol (Orthodox) was founded August, 1886, and its first place of worship was in an upper floor on Fifth street, between Plum and Central avenue.. The original founders were Dan and Max Bloch, and the first officers were : President, J. M. Berman, and. vice president, J. Leyy. The original quarters were occupied for nine years, and in January, 1895, the Protestant church at 718 Kenyon avenue was purchased and remodeled in the same year at a cost of $8,500. Since 1895 the congregation has been in the new Temple, with Rabbi J. G. Lesser as its spiritual leader. Beginning with twelve or fifteen members, the congrega- CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 41 tion has grown in the ten years since its foundation to a membership of one hundred and fifty, with an annual expenditure of $3,500. The cantor is Mr. Funk, whose salary is $1,000 per annum. In connection with the synagog there are several Chevras (societies for study), as follows : Chevra Mishna, Chevra Hisdom (Ethics), Chevra Mikra. There are daily sessions in the synagogue in addition to the three services held daily in the vestry, which is open all day. Each Chevra has its own library. The congregation owns twelve Toras (scrolls of the law), four of which are in daily use, and have been decorated with silver crown and plates by Chevra Mikra at a cost of $400. The congregation has its cemetery on Price Hill. CONGREGATION ADATH ISRAEL. About sixty years ago, somewhere around 1846, a number of German Polish Jews united to establish the Adath Israel Congregation, known today even as the "Polish Shule." Among the founders were Harris, M. Haas, Newman, the Tuch brothers and other well-known Cincinnati Jewish names. Their first place of worship was in Lodge street, near Seventh and Walnut, in the same vicinity where all the earlier places of worship were. That section of the city was the. Jewish quarter as near as there ever was one in this city. Something like twenty years ago Nathan Feld, H. Franklin, S. L. Mode, Philip Dene, F. Soloshin, Martha Cohen, I. Hirshberg and a few others, with more progressive ideas, secured temporary quarters at Seventh and Cutter streets, but could not retain the hall for some reason, and after two months held services in the house of Nathan Feld. Eight years later a fund was secured by subscription, donation and in other ways for the purpose of building a synagog. The residence property on the corner of Ninth and Cutter streets ryas purchased and converted into the present temple at a cost of $15,000. At present the congregation has eighty-five members and is in the most flourishing period of its existence. The old debt is almost paid, and the congregation has a beautiful cemetery, all paid for, on Price Hill. It was this cemetery, indeed, which kept the congregation together until the present time, when the young men are joining and following in the footsteps of their fathers. There is in addition the Ladies' Benevolent Society of Adath Israel Congregation, which works for the good of the organization. The dues are $3 per annum for each member, and the society has other sources of income, all of which is devoted to the congregation. For many years Rabbi Kuttner was at the head of the congregation, and following him came Dr. Berg. Some ten years ago Rev. Joseph Magrill was chosen rabbi and cantor, which offices he still fills in a most acceptable manner. BETH T'VILLAH— ( HOUSE OF PURIFICATION). The two Orthodox congregations, Beth Tefilla and Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, have united, to establish a Beth T'villah, a house of purification for women. The original intention was to have such an institution only, but the younger men be- 42 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY came interested in the matter and the first plans were changed to permit of a bathing establishment for both sexes as well. A long lease has been secured on a plot of ground on Mound street, between Eighth and Ninth streets, and a suitable building is now in the course of construction. The structure will be modern in every respect, and the bathing facilities and appliances of the most approved kind. SABBATH SCHOOLS. TALMUD YELODIM INSTITUTE. At a general meeting of the Congregation Bene Yeshurun, held on December 26, 1848, forever to be considered among the most memorable meetings of the numerous history-making ones of that congregation, the late Henry Mack advocated the establishment of a school where the ordinary subjects might be pursued and religious subjects taught as well, and a committee was appointed to draft a plan. At the end of January, 1849, this committee reported a plan which provided that each member of the congregation pay two dollars per annum; tuition for the children 0f members twelve dollars a year, non-members sixteen dollars; indigent members six dollars, and indigent outsiders free. The school was, therefore, to be general in its scope, and it is worthy of note that inability to pay the tuition fee should not bar the children of indigent non-members from receiving the benefits of the school. The report further set forth that two teachers were to be appointed, one for English and one for Hebrew and German branches, the school to be located in the vestry rooms of the synagogue and to be under the immediate control of a separate board. On February 7 the report, slightly amended, was adopted, and, on the 14th, the board organized as follows : President, J. H. Heinsheimer ; secretary, Louis Goldsmith ; treasurer, Simon Shohl ; trustees, Dr. A. Bettmann, Henry Mack, Nathan Bing and L. H. Wisebart. Owing to the prevalence of cholera this school, from which sprang the Talmud Yelodim Institute (now the Plum Street Temple Sabbath school), did not open until April 13, 1849. The English department was in charge of Mr. Long, who received $400 a year, and the Hebrew and German department under the care of Mr. Freund, who received $450 annually.. The school continued in the vestry rooms of the Lodge street synagog until 1856, when it removed into its own three-story brick building, on the adjoining lot, which had been erected out of the $5,000 bequeathed for the purpose by the generous Judah Touro, of New Orleans, who doubtless had been influenced in favor of the school by the noted rabbi, the late Dr. J. K. Gutheim, then in New Orleans, and later the most prominent rabbi in the entire south. The school was chartered in 1851 under the name, The Talmud Yelodim Institute, and remained a day school, with five or six classes, until 1868, at which time the excellent public school system made the institute unnecessary and impracticable by attracting the children away from the old school. An attempt had been made to preserve the school by a union of the congregations, but it had outlived its usefulness, and in 1868 it became the Sabbath school for the Bene Yeshurun Congregation, although it still retains its separate organization. CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 43 The institution continued to increase and expand as a Sabbath school, but as most of the members of the two congregations had moved to the hilltops, it was deemed feasible some eight years ago to open a joint Sabbath school on the hill, and the building on June street was rented for the purpose. Three years ago Congregation Bene Yeshurun erected the splendid structure on Reading road, Avondale, at a cost of $35,000, and established therein its Sabbath school. In addition to the eight class rooms, there is an auditorium, with a seating capacity of five hundred, also used for Friday evening lectures and services ; a directors' room, janitor's quarters and other departments. The fine organ in the auditorium is the gift of Mrs. A. J. Friedlander, in memory of her husband, who for thirty years was the honored president of Talmud Yelodim Institute. BENE ISRAEL SABBATH SCHOOL. The new Harvey Avenue Temple has an addition in the rear for the accommodation of the Sabbath school constructed for the purpose. There are entrances from the main building, as well as from the exterior, and in addition to the six class rooms there is a large auditorium, with a seating capacity of four hundred. Rev. Dr. David Philipson is superintendent, and is assisted by ten teachers. The average number of pupils is three hundred and fifty. In addition to the Sabbath school in the temple the congregation maintains another in the Pulte Medical College 'building, on the corner of Seventh and Mound streets, down town. COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN. The force of example would naturally compel any organization in Cincinnati to be systematic, progressive and effective. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the Cincinnati section of the Council of Jewish Women is a success. Not only is it great in numbers, counting nearly seven hundred and fifty members, but it is great in its aims and achievements. Once each month, from October to May, there is a meeting, at which is presented a valuable paper or address, prepared for the occasion by some one competent to speak authoritatively on the subject chosen. CLUBS. PHOENIX CLUB. The Phoenix, the oldest and most prominent Jewish club in Cincinnati, and probably in the entire west, was organized in May, 1856, as a "German Organization of Jewish Men," and the by-laws provided that all proceedings, records and entertainments be in the German language, a rule that was observed up to a very few years ago. The first clubrooms were in the Fischer block, on Walnut street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. Of the original members, forty-three in number, Bernhard Bettman is the only survivor still belonging to the club. Some of the charter members are still living, but have either moved away or withdrawn from the organization years ago. 44 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY For two years the club remained in its .original quarters, and then moved into National Hall, the building which the Lyric theatre now occupies. Several years later the club moved into the Elsas block, opposite the present home of the club, but only remained a short time, because the building was to be torn clown and replaced by a more pretentious one. The next move was to the corner of Court street and Central avenue, where the club remained for twenty years, until its splendid new home, on the corner of Ninth and Race streets, had been completed, eleven years ago. The present building is a spacious, convenient and handsome structure, and the interior arrangements are sumptuous and highly artistic. The great banquet hall has been the scene of many notable affairs, and its walls have reechoed with the voices of some of the greatest men of both hemispheres. This building is now the home of the Business Men's Club, by lease. The Phoenix Club anticipates a new home, soon to be built. The first officers of the club were as follows : President, Leopold Pappenheimer ; vice president, Bernhard Bettmann ; secretary, H. Myers ; treasurer, A. Fatman. CINCINNATI CLUB. The Cincinnati Club was founded December 12, 1889, and incorporated the following May, for social and literary purposes. It is the only Jewish club on the hilltops, and its first permanent home was in the beautiful building which the club erected and now occupies. It was dedicated on April 19, 1894. FREE LOAN SOCIETY. The Gemilath Chesed Society was founded in 1891 by A. Isaac, M. Miller, S. Tennenbaum, and associates interested in helping Jewish immigrants attain to self-help. These men subscribed $500 with which to begin the work. Their-object was to lend deserving people enough money to start them in business without charging any interest ;whatsoever, and without pauperizing them by necessitating their appeal to regular charity organizations. Under ordinary conditions loans were not to exceed fifty dollars, and were to be paid back in weekly installments of from one dollar to five dollars. In order not to impair the capital of the organization, collaterals or security were demanded from borrowers. The business of the organization was transacted in such a way that only the secretary and treasurer knew who the borrowers were. As no salaries were paid to the officers, the expenses were merely nominal. At present the capital amounts to something over $2,500, and this is loaned out and taken in about four times in the course of a year, in from three hundred to three hundred and fifty loans. In the fifteen years of its existence, although the society has always been liberal in making loans, less than one hundred dollars has been lost. UNITED JEWISH CHARITIES. To alleviate immediate want, poverty and suffering called into existence the various charity and relief societies ; to PREVENT these evils and effectually and sys- CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 45 tematically guard against their reappearance, by removing the cause, is the basis of federated charity work. With this for the main point, reinforced by a score of scarcely less important considerations, the United Jewish Charities of Cincinnati was organized ten years ago, April 14, 1896. The scope of this remarkable institution can best be comprehended by a glance at its nine constituent members : The Hebrew General Relief Association. The Jewish Ladies' Sewing Society. The Ladies' Society for the Relief of the Sick Poor. The Jewish Foster Home. The Jewish Kitchen Garden Association. The Kindergarten Association. The Plum Street Temple Industrial School. The Industrial School for Boys. The Jewish Settlement. FOSTER HOME. Fourteen years ago the Foster Home was founded to care for Jewish children deprived for the time being of a mother's care by sickness, desertion or misfortune, in a Jewish home. During last year the average for day and night care was twenty-seven children each week ; for day care alone, seven children each week. KITCHEN GARDEN. The work of the past year has been carried on, along the same lines as before, with only such changes as seemed expedient for its furtherance and the welfare of the school. In addition to the various classes in sewing, millinery, cooking, dining and bedroom work, and stenography, we have added to our curriculum a class in "First Aid to the Injured." The object of this class is primarily to prepare the girls for any emergency that may arise in the home, before medical attention can be secured ; also to impress upon the mind of the child the importance of cleanliness, proper ventilation, and general sanitary conditions. As substitute for work done at the old Sabbath school at Mound Street Temple, classes have been formed under the guidance of several of the students of Hebrew Union College. The Kitchen Garden children are not compelled to take this course. Most, though, have voluntarily joined these classes. The enrollment numbers 185, with an average attendance of one hundred and sixty-three. There are two cutting classes on Sunday morning, instead of one, as formerly, and the graduates of the future will have learned, not only the art of cutting, but fitting. KINDERGARTEN. It is most significant of the interest of the Jewish parents in their children, and of their appreciation of the advantages offered them, that the attendance in the Kindergartens is larger than that of other kindergartens in the city. 46 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY In the Jewish Kindergartens, which deal almost entirely with foreign children, the work of Americanizing, the most important of all work, is begun. The results are apparent in the awakened interest of the children, their contentment and happiness, their skill, their love for flowers and animals, and the pride in their personal appearance. It is now seldom necessary to give a bath at Kindergarten. PLUM STREET TEMPLE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. There was an attendance of 260 pupils daily, from 9 to 12 a. m. Girls under ten years of age were sent to other vacation schools. THE JEWISH HOSPITAL. The Jewish Hospital Association is one of the pioneer charities of the city, dating from the middle of the last century, probably 1849. At the outset its scope was limited to a very small field, but it has grown steadily to its present great proportions. Today it is one of the finest institutions of its kind in the country, and has a national reputation for efficiency. It was one of the first institutions to educate trained nurses, and in that branch is one of the most important and thorough in the land. For some reason, psychological or otherwise, Cincinnati has always had an international reputation for thoroughly efficient and eminently scientific physicians and surgeons. That there should be hospitals in keeping with the reputation of its medical men is a natural consequence, the more so that these leading practitioner's are represented in the clinics and on the medical staff of every institution, especially the Jewish Hospital. Something like forty years ago the Hospital Association secured a building on Third and Baum streets, then far out on the hills, which served for a hospital and also a Home for the Aged and Infirm Jews. From the time of the opening of the Home until the hospital had a building of its own, a floor of the Home was devoted to hospital use. Previous to that time the Home had been for many years enjoying the hospitality of the hospital. The first building, which was occupied in 1890, was the original structure of the magnificent group which the seven buildings of the hospital make. And the end is not yet, for the demand for more room is growing with the increase of population and the flood of emigration. There are other reasons why the capacity of the hospital has been increased and why it will continue to be increased almost indefinitely. The federating of the Jewish Charities has resulted in a materially increased number of patients being sent to the hospital. Formally many persons, either beyond the reach of the charities or at that time not considered proper subjects, found their way to the public and other hospitals. Now they are all sent to the Jewish hospital. This noteworthy group of buildings stands on the 350-foot-front lot on Burnet Avenue, Avondale, adjoining the beautiful property of the Home for Jewish Aged and Infirm. Indeed, it was from the latter institution that the first hundred feet of property for the hospital was purchased. The buildings are in a row, facing Burnet avenue, except the surgical pavilion and the power house, CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 47 which are in the rear, on the ample lot which extends through to Harvey avenue in part. The cost of grounds, buildings and equipments amounts to fully $250,000. The history of the Nurses' Hall is concisely told in the annual report of 1905, by David J. Workum, the efficient president of the Jewish Hospital Association : "On November 9, 1904, Joseph Joseph, with pious resignation, answered the final summons. "Joseph Joseph was a valued member of the Board of Directors, deeply interested in all charity, and especially sympathetic with the indigent sick. "The offer was made to build a 'Nurses' Hall' at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. The final estimates were made, and though the bids largely exceeded the limit, with modest generosity he authorized that it be built. Death came, and he did not have the satisfaction of seeing the building which is now completed. "His sons continued the good work commenced by their father, and authorized that the building be completely furnished and equipped. That has been done, and the building is now ready for dedication and inspection. "It is a model for the purposes intended—well designed, substantially built, and furnished most beautifully. "The Nurses' Hall accommodates thirty-five nurses, has library, reception room, study rooms, gymnasium, lavatories, and every accessory needed for the care and preservation of the health of these good women, who while students at our school are under our care, and for whom we stand sponsors." The officers of the Jewish Hospital are as follows : David J. Workum, president; Samuel Straus, vice president ; A. J. Seasongood, treasurer ; Samuel Mayer, recording secretary ; L. J. Mack, financial secretary. THE JEWISH HOSPITAL SCHOOL FOR NURSES. Like everything else connected with the Jewish Hospital, the School for Nurses ranks at the head of the list of kindred institutions. Following is given the first part of the "Circular Information" in order to indicate the severe test candidates are subjected to and the remarkably high character of mental, moral and physical requirements : "The Jewish Hospital School for Nurses, established to give instruction to women desirous of learning the art of caring for the sick, and opened to students in January, 1891, is now beginning its fifteenth year. It is an integral part of the Jewish Hospital, and under the same government. The school building is within the hospital grounds, but separated from the hospital buildings. It is of suitable size, comfortable, well heated, lighted and ventilated. Lecture and class rooms, equipped with facilities for teaching, and a reference library, are provided, also a well appointed gymnasium for the physical training of the pupils." The superintendent, Miss Mary Hamer Greenwood, for more than fifteen years in charge of the hospital, and head of the Training School for Nurses, is a grand and gifted woman. Well educated, skillful, a rare disciplinarian and a good lecturer, she is deeply sympathetic and has a broad conception of the duties of the nurse, so that she thoroughly fills that most important position between the physician or surgeon and the patient. 48 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY HOME FOR JEWISH AGED AND INFIRM. Early in 1883 the Board of Control of the Jewish Hospital Association addressed a circular letter to the prominent Jews of Cincinnati, containing the result of their deliberations with reference to a Home for Aged and Infirm, as follows : "Resolved, That the Board of Control of the Jewish Hospital Association consider the creation of a Home for the Jewish Aged and Infirm of Cincinnati a necessity, and that such an asylum ought to be established without unnecessary delay. "Resolved, That the President appoint a. committee of seventeen Jewish citizens of Cincinnati, who shall be requested, in the name of the board, to proceed to organize an association for the purpose of establishing and managing such a charity." Accordingly, the following-named gentlemen were appointed : Harmon Mack, Jas. Lowman, B. Stern, Henry Stix, A. J. Friedlander, Alex. Straus, Henry Loewenstein, Jacob Elsas, Jacob Shroder, Wm. Stix, Jacob Seasongood, Marx Leon, N. Menderson, Julius Freiberg, Albert Levy, Louis Levi, A. Ackerland and Louis Kramer.  The late James Lowman was chairman of the committee and entered upon the work of finding means for the establishment of a home and tangible plans and a nucleus for the required funds were reported. It was at this juncture that the Hebrew Beneficent Society, the oldest Jewish charity of Cincinnati, and, with-the exception of Bene Israel Congregation, the oldest Jewish organization west of the Alleghany Mountains, came to the rescue: The society was founded in 1831, and incorporated seven years later, at which time the following were members: Solomon Menkin, Moses Hassan, Simon Cohen, Alexander Levy, Whillop Symmonds, Morris Symmonds, Nathan Levy, Judah Hart, Moses Wartcki, David Land, David Goldsmith, Henry Hart, Jacob Hilp, B. Bareshans, Samuel Bruel, David Saif, Levy May, Menkin Goldberg, Joseph Joseph, Joseph Simon, M. Weiler, B. Simonds, Julius Goodheart, Simon 'Cramer, Lipman Faulk, Adam Weller, Samuel Kahn, Abraham Wolf, Jr., Joseph Alexander, Morris Moses, Jacob L. Workum, Benjamin Moses, Hart Judah, Jacob Grogenheimer, Z. Auer, A. D. Goldstone, Leopold Melins, Moses Hirsch; Isaac Marks, Emanuel Hursk, Simon Greenebaum, Abraham Hyams, Mordecai Levy, Alexander Franks, Ferdinand Melins, E. Wexler, Daniel Raphael, Wm. Krouse, Joseph Ritzenburger, Wolf Trost and Alexander Rosenthal. The last member to be admitted to the society was Jacob Trost, who succeeded his father on May 22, 1870. The society owned property on Court street valued at about $8,000 and had some $2,000 in its treasury. This property and money were to be turned over to the new home as soon as there should be a corporate body for such an institution. On Saturday evening, May 18, 1883, the Home for Aged and Infirm was launched- upon its career, in the hands of the committee on ways and Means. At the same meeting officers- were elected as follows : President; James Low- CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 49 man; vice president, Julius Freiberg; treasurer, A. J. Friedlander ; secretary, Louis Kramer. At the meeting on October 25, 1883, the constitution was adopted and the first large donation announced, that of $3,000 from the Michael Reese Charity Fund. At a subsequent meeting, on September 9, a donation of $5,000 from the late Jacob Seasongood was announced amid cheers. The donations now commenced to come in as the result of the work of the officers and committee. Among them are $1,000 each from James Lowman, Stix, Krouse & Co., Lewis Seasongood, Julius Freiberg, J. M. Brunswick, A. J. Seasongood, S. Kuhn, Charles Seasongood, Solomon Loeb and others, and many more who contributed lesser sums. At the meeting, December 30, 1883, a committee was appointed to secure a proper site for a new home building, as follows : James Lowman, ex officio ; Jacob Elsas, Henry S. Fechheimer, Julius Freiberg, A. J. Seasongood and Louis Kramer. At a special meeting, on June 11, the proposition to purchase land adjoining the hospital was voted down and the committee instructed to look for a site in the suburbs, either in Mt. Auburn, Walnut Hills or Avondale. At a special meeting on April 26, 1888, the committee reported the purchase of the "Neimeyer Homestead," in Avondale, 334 feet on Burnet avenue and 354 feet on Union street, for $25,700. At a board meeting, held on the same date, the offer of the Hebrew Beneficent Society to donate its property to the Home, made at the first meeting of the original committee, was acted upon and the property accordingly transferred. At the same meeting President Lowman appointed a building committee, the members being James Lowman, Julius Freiberg, Jacob Elsas, A. J. Seasongood and H. S. Fechheimer. On May 8, 1888, the Jewish Hospital Association offered to purchase one hundred feet of the property which the Home had secured. This sale was afterward consummated and this 100 feet was the first holding of the magnificent property belonging to the hospital. On June 26 the building committee was authorized to make contracts for the erection of the new building. The old homestead still forms the rear of the beautiful home building. From this time until June, 1889, the money for the new building and for maintainance flowed slowly, but constantly, into the hands of the officers. The building was finally completed, and on May 9, 1889, the inaugural services took place in the presence of as many people as could get within earshot 0f the various speakers. After the completion of the Home, and pending the erection of the new hospital building, the patients of the hospital were cared for at the Home, thus repaying, in part, the debt the Home had contracted when its inmates were dependent upon the hospital for care and shelter. On June 16, 1889, the first applicants were admitted, viz., Baruch Friedland, 77 years ; Regina Goodman, 78 years, and Isaac Cohen, 74 years. All are now dead. At the same meeting there was received the fine library and bookcases from the late Simon Obermayer. Dr. Jos. C. Marcus was the first resident physician, giving his services gratuitously, and the late Rev. M. Goldstein, cantor of Bene Israel Congregation, con- Vol. II-4