The Jewish community in Savannah is almost as old as the Georgia colony itself! Jewish settlers arrived in Savannah aboard the ship William and Sarah in 1733. The Savannah Jewish Archives represent some of the oldest Jewish history in the South, with material dating back to the 1750s. The archives were transferred from the Georgia Historical Society to the Cuba Family Archives for Southern Jewish History at the Breman Museum in July of 2015.
This substantial collection consists of approximately 175 linear feet of material, 6,000 photographs, and 150 oral histories all pertaining to Savannah and the greater Chatham County Jewish Community from the 1750s to the present.
Among these collections are:
- Family papers such the Minis Family Papers, which document one of the first Jewish families to settle in Georgia.
- Organization records such as the Jewish Education Alliance Records, which document the first social organization in Savannah.
- Synagogue records such as Congregation B’nai B’rith Jacob Records, which document the first orthodox synagogue in Savannah.
- Cemetery records such as the Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery Trustees Records, which is the second oldest Jewish burial ground in Savannah.
- A general photograph collection and oral histories with prominent members of the Jewish community in Savannah.
Please note that much of this material pertaining to Jewish history in Georgia is still being processed and will be made available in the coming months. If you have any questions, please Ask the Archivist.
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