The Jewish Historical Society of Delaware (JHSD) is located in the Delaware Center for Jewish History at the Coxe House, on the Delaware Historical Society campus in Willingtown Square on North Market St., Wilmington. Founded in 1974 and incorporated in 1975, JHSD’s mission is to acquire, preserve, and publish material pertaining to the history of Jewish settlement and Jewish life in the State of Delaware.
Jewish Delaware
Although there were Jews in Delaware from the earliest days of Dutch settlement in the 17th century, Jewish life did not flourish in the state until the second half of the 19th century. Delaware was the last of the original 13 state to have an organized Jewish community. with the establishment in 1879 of the first Jewish organization in the state, the Moses Montefiore Society, Jewish life began to take on a more permanent and established nature and evolved into our present day community. The Jewish Historical Society of Delaware has documented this history and, with the necessary support, will do so for years to come.
Who We Are
The Jewish Historical Society of Delaware was founded in 1974 and incorporated in 1975 for the purpose of acquiring, preserving and publishing material pertinent to the history of Jewish settlement and Jewish life in the State of Delaware. Our collections contain organizational records, family papers, memoirs and photographs.
The Society publishes a newsletter, creates exhibits and displays, produces educational materials and serves as a resource center for genealogists, researchers, organizations and other interested persons.
As we approach our 50th year, we are delighted to be establishing a new home in the Thomas A. Coxe House on the Delaware Historical Society campus in Willingtown Square on North Market St. The building will be known as the Delaware Center for Jewish History at the Coxe House. In addition to our collections, the Center will house the records of the Halina Wind Preston Holocaust Education Committee and the Jewish War Veterans of Delaware.
Through preserving and understanding our community’s past, the JHSD helps ensure a strong and healthy future. Our collections contain resources relating to Delaware synagogues, Jewish organizations, Jewish-owned businesses, and Jewish families and individuals in all three Delaware counties. The collections include a wide range of materials: correspondence, imprints, minute books, personal papers, memoirs, photographs and slides, motion picture film, video and audio recordings, and artifacts and artwork. The bulk of the collection spans the period from 1879 to the present but also includes material from earlier decades in the nineteenth century, when Jewish settlement was more limited.
The collections are most frequently accessed for historical and genealogical research, and we field inquiries from across the United States. Accessioned items are processed and cataloged by a professional archivist and stored in a climate-controlled environment. Materials in the archive can be accessed at our premises by appointment, and many of our digitized holdings are freely accessible on our website. We create exhibits, make presentations, produce videos, and publish a newsletter, pamphlets and books.
Notable exhibitions:
From Al’s to Zutz: Celebrating a century of Delaware’s Jewish Business Tradition (1999) explored the role of the Jewish community in the commercial and business life of Delaware. Presented at the Delaware History Museum, included walking tours and other programming.
Half a Chance: Stories of Jewish Delawareans (2004) commemorated the 350th anniversary of Jewish settlement in North America. At the Delaware History Museum, with lectures and other programming.
Recent presentation topics at our annual meetings have included:
The Sports Scene, Trotters, and the Delaware Jewish Community, A Tribute to Toni Young (2016); Hagley and the Jewish Connection (2017); Remembering Jewish Delaware’s Greatest Generation (2018); and Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue: Delaware’s Jewish Judges (2019).
JHSD-published books include:
Rabbi David Geffen, Delaware Jewry: The Formative Years 1872–1889 (1975).
Rabbi David Geffen, editor, et al., Jewish Delaware: 1655–1976, History, Sites and Communal Services (1976).
Marvin S. Balick, A Social History of the West Second Street Jewish Community — Wilmington, Delaware, 1930–1940 (1997).
Marvin S. Balick, The Letters of “Dear Mollye” a.k.a. Mollye Sklut a.k.a. A Person Who Made a Difference (2003).
Rabbi Edward Zerin, A Tribute to my Teacher Rabbi Simon Krinsky: His Poetry until 1936 (2014).
Richard D. Levin, Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue: Delaware’s Jewish Judges (2019).
The JHSD is proud to partner with numerous cultural, educational, and philanthropic organizations and agencies, including the Delaware Historical Society, and the Jewish Federation of Delaware.
Preserve Your Heritage
Through our efforts to preserve the records and papers of Jewish community life in Delaware, we continue a vital link between past, present and future generations. Your donations of treasured family or business papers and photographs can help preserve your family’s place in Delaware’s history.
Plan on becoming a member of the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware to help this important work continue. Your donation will enable us to pass the gift of history to future generations.
For more information on how you can preserve your family’s heritage, please contact our archivist at (302) 655-6232 or send us an email.
What We Collect
Materials housed within the archives include photographs, documents, oral histories, audio-visual materials, private papers, newspapers, memorabilia, and artifacts that record and document the organizational, cultural, religious, educational, business and family activities of the Jewish Community in Delaware. All collections are housed in state-of-the-art climate controlled surroundings and are processed according to strict archival principles. A number of large collections documenting the lives of prominent Jewish Delawareans are features of the archives. Among them are the Harry Bluestone Collection (prominent Social Worker and Community leader); the David Geffen Collection (noted Rabbi and Historian); and the Mollye Sklut Collection (noted World War II personality). An extensive biographical collection contains information about many other Delaware Jews and Jewish Families.
In addition the holdings of the archives include records from the Jewish Community Center of Wilmington; the Jewish Federation of Delaware; and the Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth Congregation, the oldest enduring congregation in the state. New acquisitions include the papers of William Penn Frank, a nationally known Delaware journalist, an extensive photograph & correspondence collection of the Greenbaum family; Montefiore Mutual Benefit Society records; Vaad Hakashruth records; Holocaust related materials; and Minute and Membership books from the Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth Congregation. Many of these books date to the 1890’s and are among the oldest surviving records of the Jewish Community. In addition, our family and genealogical collections are continually growing.
