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The AJHS Manuscript Catalog
Gratz family Papers |
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| Type / Call # | Personal / P-008 | The collection contains correspondence, legal documents, and
miscellaneous items having to do with the personal lives and
business interests of Barnard and Michael Gratz. Included in the
collection is personal correspondence of Barnard and Michael
Gratz with their brothers Hayim and Jonathan in Europe (1756,
1759) and their cousins, the Henry (originally Bloch) family
(1756-1801) in Europe, as well as correspondence of the Henry
family itself (1754-1760). Also included in this personal
correspondence are letters between Barnard and Michael Gratz
(1760-1787) and to Solomon and Rachel Etting (1794-1798). There
are letters also from Patrick Rice (1787), Eleazar Levy (1778),
and from Moses Michael Hays who announces to Michael Gratz the
forthcoming trip of his son Judah (1786) and responds to Gratz's
financial distress by promising to look for a buyer for some of
Gratz's land (1787). Of special interest are two printed letters
from Palestine to Michael Gratz requesting financial assistance
(1763), the last will and testament of Machael Gratz, written
before he left London for America (1759), and a letter from
Manuel Myers, president of Cong. Shearith Israel in New York, to
Michael Gratz, giving his permission for Gershom Mendes Seixas to
marry Gratz and Miriam Simon in Lancaster (1759). Included in the
business papers and correspondence are letters from Meyer
Josephson, in Yiddish (1761-1767), Nachman Ben Moshe (1764), and
Joseph Simon (1771, 1784); letters from General Augustine Prevost
(1773, 1789), Peter Livingston (1768), and Isaac Hart of Newport
(1769); and various deeds, leases and other legal documents; as
well as the account of Machael Gratz with his sons, Simon and
Hyman (1797-1814). Among the witnesses for the deeds is Aaron
Levy. Of special interest is a waste book (temporary account
book) of accounts, in English and Yiddish, apparently kept by
Michael Gratz soon after his arrival in Philadelphia (1759-1760);
a certificate of Kashrut in Hebrew signed by Abraham I. Abrahams
of Cong. Shearith Israel for meat shipped by Michael Gratz to
Barbados (1767), and papers dealing with the Gratz brothers'
relationship with George Croghan. Among the latter are items
pertaining to the Illinois and Wabash grants (ca. 1779), and maps
of Croghan's Lake Otsego lands (1774), and of Gratzburgh (1786),
both located in New York State. Also included is a map of land
owned by Machael and Barnard Gratz in Montgomery County, Virginia
(1786). Also included are notes on the collection made by Judge
Mayer Sulzberger. A detailed inventory is included in the
collection. Nine letters included in this collection were
transcripted, translated, and published in "Publications of the
American Jewish Historical Society", vol. 34 (1937)
The collection consists primarily of personal letters written by
Rebecca Gratz of Philadelphia to various family members and
friends. Her primary correspondents were her brother, Benjamin
Gratz, of Lexington, Kentucky, and his wives Maria Gist Gratz and
Anna Marie Boswell Gratz. A substantial collection of letters of
her friend, Maria Fenno Hoffman, wife of Ogden Hoffman, attorney
general of New York State, is also included. The collection also
contains several letters to Rebecca Gratz, including one from her
mother (1799); several from Slowey Hays (1805-1832); several
items pertaining to the Jewish Sunday School of Philadelphia, the
Female Hebrew Benevolent Society of Philadelphia, and the Orphan
Society; A receipt for payment of United States income tax, along
with a list of silver on which tax was paid (1862); and papers
relating to Rebecca Gratz's estate. A detailed list of
correspondents, showing the number of letters written to each,
and the inclusive dates, is found in the collection. The
collection also contains correspondence to Benjamin Gratz and his
wives, Maria Gist Gratz (1791-1841) and Anna Boswell Gratz,
describing life in Philadelphia and the activities of members of
the family. Among the correspondents are his mother, Miriam
Simon Gratz, several of his brothers and sisters, and his nieces,
Sara Gratz Moses, Rebecca Gratz Moses, Miriam Gratz Moses, and
Ellen Hays. Of special interest in this group is a letter from
Simon and Hyman Gratz regarding their decision to sell Mammoth
Cave, and a sketch of land involved (1838); a letter from Miriam
Gratz Moses describing the visit of Lafayette to Philadelphia
(1824), and a letter from Ellen Hays describing the fire at the
Philadelphia Orphan Asylum. A calligraphic drawing in an unknown
hand is included among the letters from Miriam Gratz Moses. Also
included are letters from Frank Blair and Agatha Marshall to
Maria Gratz, and assorted letters of a business nature to
Benjamin Gratz. Three undated letters to unknown persons from
Benjamin Gratz, two bills to Benjamin Gratz for a carpet, and his
certificate of membership in the Washington Association of
Philadelphia are found in the collection. The collection also
contains personal and business correspondence of various family
members of the Michael Gratz family of Philadelphia. Persons
included
...
lerk to Barnard and
Michael Gratz (pub. 1764, used by Simon, 1785); a King James
translation of the Bible presented by Simon Gratz to his sister,
Richea, shortly before her marriage to Samuel Hays and which was
subsequently passed down to various family members (1793); a
patent for a piece of land granted to Aaron Levy and Simon Gratz
by the State of Pennsylvania (1796); a notebook compiled by
Rachel Gratz, in her own hand, illustrating various arithmetic
procedures (1798); the administrator's bond for the estate of
David Franks, signed by Simon, Hyman, and Joseph Gratz (1806);
letters to Joseph Gratz in Europe from various family members,
describing family and national events (1810-1811); an indenture
of Samuel Hays transferring trusteeship of the land on which Cong. Mikveh Israel of Philadelphia stood to Simon Gratz, Zalegamn Philips, Abraham Myers Cohen, Isaac Hays, and David Nathans (1825), and photocopies (location of originals unknown) of legal proceedings brought by the executors of the estate of Simon Gratz against the estate of Michael Gratz, relating to the case of Cohen vs. Gratz (1850). | | Years | 1753-1869
| | Locality | PA, Philadelphia | | Size | 719 items |
All AJHS manuscript collections must be accessed
in person on-site at the American Jewish Historical Society. For information on how to research the AJHS archival
collections, essential information about their Reading Room and Regulations can be found at
http://www.ajhs.org/reference/readingrooms.cfm.
The AJHS collections themselves are not available in any electronic form, on this website or elsewhere. The
AJHS has been collecting this material for over 100 years, and preserves it in its archives in the original format,
be it handwritten, typewritten, or printed. For more information on the AJHS' genealogical holdings see the article
"Genealogical Resources at the American Jewish Historical Society".
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