Identity area
Type of entity
Family
Authorized form of name
Jewish citizens of Saint John
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
Jewish immigrants first arrived in Saint John in 1858
History
This fonds has three sections. The first is composed of family trees. Many of the family trees have been prepared by professionals. Others have been compiled by family members using computer software. There are also some personal family trees filled out by participants in the Koom Ahaim reunion in 1984.
The second section chronicles the lives of individuals, e.g. births, marriages, obituaries, personal accomplishments, etc., through newspaper articles, letters, curriculum vitaes, programmes, and personal memorabilia. Many noted and colourful people have come from Saint John's Jewish community, including Louis B. Mayer, Nathan Cummings, Mayor Samuel Davis, Senator Erminie Cohen, Hon. Myra Freeman and Diana Meltzer Abramsky, founder of the Thyroid Foundation.
The third section is made up the oral interviews conducted by Marcia Koven and others with members of the Saint John Jewish community about their lives and their memories of life in the city's Jewish community. Most of these interviews were recorded on audiocassette. In 2011, these cassettes were converted to MP3 files for improved access. Other interviews have been recorded on videocassette. The interviews have been transcribed in summarized form and photographs of the subject accompany many of the early interviews. Beginning in 2004, more detailed transcriptions were being produced for the interviews and will be added to the files as completed.