Collection # M 1327 DVD 1228-1232 "JEWS OF ATTICA" RESEARCH MATERIALS, 1860-2017 Collection Information Historical Sketch Scope and Content Note Contents Processed by Melanie Hankins October 2017 Manuscript and Visual Collections Department William Henry Smith Memorial Library Indiana Historical Society 450 West Ohio Street Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269 www.indianahistory.org
COLLECTION INFORMATION VOLUME OF COLLECTION: COLLECTION DATES: 2 manuscript boxes, 1 colored photograph folder, 2 black and white photograph folders, and 5 DVDs. 1880-2017 PROVENANCE: Sybil Mervis, Danville, Indiana, June 2017. RESTRICTIONS: None COPYRIGHT: REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. ALTERNATE FORMATS: RELATED HOLDINGS: ACCESSION NUMBER: 2017.0171 NOTES:
HISTORICAL SKETCH The earliest Jewish residents of the village of Attica, Indiana arrived in the 1840s. Most came overland, on foot, horseback, wagon or canal boat. The canal throughout Indiana was completed in 1847. It allowed the population of the small village of Attica to expand in the years to come. The early Jewish population emigrated from Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, seeking new financial opportunities and social freedoms along the canal and river traffic in Attica, Indiana. By 1867, the Jewish community in Attica formed the congregation of Bene Jeshurun and purchased a burial ground to form the Jewish section of Riverside Cemetery. The congregation built their own synagogue in the 1880s, when approximately 120 Jewish people lived in Attica. The synagogue was located on 404 Main Street. Women in the Bene Jeshurun congregation formed a Ladies' Educational Aid Society. The Jewish population in the area could not support an active congregation, and the synagogue disbanded in 1910. During the early to mid twentieth century, the business district was located on Perry Street in Attica, Indiana. Many of the businesses were owned by Jewish families in the community like Loeb's Merchatile Store, Max Newmark's Store, Zeigler Dry Goods, Powers Hardware Store, Levor's Store, Lauman's Store, and Economy Grocery. The prominent Jewish families living in Attica, Indiana include the Adler, Blout, Hirsch Lauman, Levor, Loeb, Nathan, Newmark, Pearlman, Plaut, and Schwartz families. The Jewish community in Attica has dramatically decreased towards the end of the 20th century. Sources: Materials found in the collection. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE This collection was compiled by Sybil Mervis in preparation for her manuscript and forthcoming book titled The Jews of Attica: A Community Long Gone. Her research materials include newspaper clippings, interviews, photographs, email correspondence, and obituaries. The collection also includes genealogical records of the following Jewish families that lived in Attica, Indiana: Adler, Blout, Herzog, Lauman, Levor, Loeb, Nathan, Newmark, Pearlman, Plaut, Schwartz, and Weinburg. These records include newspaper articles, obituaries, census records, and other miscellaneous materials related to the families.
CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTAINER Jewish Cemeteries in Attica, Indiana records, n.d. Box 1, Folder 1 Jewish Cemeteries in Attica Indiana Photographs Lafayette Orthodox and Temple Israel Cemetery records, n.d. Color Photos: Folder 1 of 1 Box 1, Folder 2 Attica Jewish Cemetery Registry and Photographs DVD 1228 Census Records of Attica, Indiana, 1860-1900, 1930. Box 1, Folder 3 Jewish Residents of Attica obituaries, 1880-1940s. Box 1, Folder 4 Business History of Perry Street in Attica, Indiana, n.d. Research files on Bene Jeshurun, Attica, Synagogue, 1871-2011 Box 1, Folder 5 Box1, Folder 6 General Information about Attica, Indiana, n.d. Box 1, Folder 7 Adler family research and files, 1860-1880s. Box 1, Folder 8 Blout family files, 1910-1949. Box 1, Folder 9 Blout family files, 1860s-1910s. Box 1, Folder 10 Herzog family files, 1907-1940s. Box 1, Folder 11 Lauman family files, 1879-2015. Box 1, Folder 12 Levor family files,1883-2000. Box 1, Folder 13 Loeb family files, 1871-2012. Box 1, Folder 14 Loeb family files, n.d. DVD 1229 Robert Keys death files, 1939. Box 1, Folder 15 Nathan family files, 1880-1939. Box 1, Folder 16
Newmark family files,1938-2000. Box 1, Folder 17 Pearlman family files, 1905-2012. Box 1, Folder 18 Plaut family files, 1887-2012. Box 2, Folder 1 Schwartz family files, 1883-2012. Box 2, Folder 2 Weinburg family files, 2012. Box 2, Folder 3 Reference Material for Jewish population in Attica, Indiana. Research libraries for Jewish community in Attica project. Indiana Jewish Historical Society Publication No. 31, August 1996. "The Attica Jewish Story," Fountain County, Indiana, n.d. Attica Newspaper Clippings from a scrapbook by Ivan Himmel, 1880-1940. Sybil Mervis miscellaneous correspondence, 2007-2016. Box 2, Folder 4 Box 2, Folder 5 Box 2, Folder 6 Box 2, Folder 7 Box 2, Folder 8 Box 2, Folder 9 Handley receipts, 2012. Box 2, Folder 10 Obituaries and History of Attica Jewish Population, collected by Sybil Mervis and Joanne Koenkenburg, 2011. Box 2, Folder 11. Sybil Mervis research correspondence, 2011-2016. Box 2, Folder 12 "Jews of Attica: A Community Long Gone," manuscript, 2017. Box 2, Folder 13 Digital Images for book Disc 1, 2012. DVD 1230 Digital Images for book Disc 2, 2012. DVD 1231 USB Drive, Research Materials, 2016. Box 2, Folder 14
Images for "Jews of Attica: A Community Long Gone," 2017. Box 2, Folder 15 Photographs for "Jews of Attica: A Community Long Gone," 2017. Photographs of Jewish Families. Photographs: Folder 1 Photographs: Folder 2