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Ruth Sarner Libros and Braude Family Papers
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Held at: Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Ruth Sarner Libros was born in 1921, the second of Henry and Bertha Braude's three daughters. She married Joseph B. Sarner in 1942 and they had two children, Joyce and Joel. In 1943, Ruth Sarner Libros joined the SPARS, the United States Women's Coast Guard Reserve, and trained at Smith College in Massachusetts. In 1959 she joined the board of the Hebrew Sunday School Society (HSSS) and served as president from 1966-1970. Libros was also instrumental in establishing the American Jewish History Museum in 1976 and served as President Emerita. Joseph Sarner died in 1975, and Ruth married Harold Libros in 1983.
Henry W. Braude was born in 1889 in Lithuania and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1894. He graduated from Philadelphia Central High School in 1906 and the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1910. He was appointed Assistant U.S. District Attorney in 1920 and served as the U.S. Referee in Bankruptcy from 1929 until his death in 1942. Braude served on the boards of the Jewish Community (Kehillah) of Philadelphia, the Locust Club, and Central High School, and as president of the Brandeis Lawyers' Society, the Homewood School, the Philadelphia Branch of Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Young Men's-Young Women's Hebrew Association (YM-YWHA). He was also a principal of the Hebrew Sunday School Society (HSSS) and actively involved with the Congregation Beth El and Congregation Mikveh Israel.
Henry Braude married Bertha Burstein in 1919. Bertha (1901-1989) graduated from Philadelphia Girls' High School in 1918, and taught classes at the Hebrew Sunday School Society. She served on the board of HSSS, as well as the board of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society (FHBS) for over fifty years. She was also involved with the Adoption Committee of the Homewood School, the Philadelphia Chapter of the Brandeis University Women's Committee, and the Federation of Jewish Agencies.
In addition to Ruth, Henry and Bertha Braude's daughters included Hilda Joy, who married Judge Harry A. Takiff in 1940, and Grace, who married William Gutman in 1949.
This collection contains the papers of Ruth Sarner Libros and her parents, Henry W. and Bertha Braude. The Braude family was active in Jewish charitable organizations in the Philadelphia area, and particularly with the Hebrew Sunday School Society (HSSS). The collection contains documentation related to the family's long involvement with HSSS, as well as with many other local Jewish organizations. Materials include meeting minutes, news clippings, photographs, and audiocassette tapes. This collection also includes family correspondence spanning from the 1920s to1980s. Much of the material was collected by Libros to use as reference for the memorial, "Engraved in our Hearts Forever: Henry W. Braude 1889-1942 and Bertha Burstein Braude 1901-1989."
The collection is arranged into 3 series as follows:
- Series 1: Ruth Sarner Libros Papers, 1906-2005, undated
- Subseries 1.1: Correspondence, 1942-1980
- Subseries 1.2: Hebrew Sunday School Society (HSSS), 1937-1989
- Subseries 1.3: Personal Materials and Collected Memorials, 1939-2005, undated
- Subseries 1.4: Ruth Sarner Libros Collection of Henry W. Braude Papers, 1906-1966, undated
- Series 2: Bertha Braude Papers, 1859-1988, undated
- Series 3: Braude Family Correspondence, 1918-1981, undated
Collection donated by Ruth Sarner Libros in 1989, 1990, and 2006. Collection previously administered by the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center, acquired by Temple in June 2009.
A selection of photographs from this collection has been digitized and is available online on the Temple University Digital Collections website.
Original audiovisual materials, as well as preservation and duplicating masters, may not be played. Researchers must consult use copies, or if none exist must pay for a use copy. Certain digital files may also be inaccessible. Please contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.
Collection processed and finding aid prepared in May 2014 by Jenna Marrone, Project Archivist, Special Collections Research Center.
People
- Braude, Bertha, 1901-1989
- Braude, Henry, 1889-1942
- Lederer, Ephraim
- Lederer, Grace Newhouse, -1942
- Levinthal, Louis E. (Louis Edward), 1892-1976
- Libros, Ruth Sarner
- Sarner, Joel Braude
- Sarner, Joseph B., 1915-1975
- Sarner, Leonard, 1916-
Organization
- Brandeis University. National Women's Committee
- Central High School (Philadelphia, Pa.). Alumni Association
- Female Hebrew Benevolent Society (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia (Pa.)
- Jewish Theological Seminary of America
- University of Pennsylvania. Law School
Subject
- Fraternal organizations
- Jewish families-Pennsylvania-Philadelphia
- Jews--Charities
- Jews--Pennsylvania-Philadelphia
- United States. Coast Guard. Women's Reserve
- World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States
Place
- Publisher
- Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
- Finding Aid Author
- Machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan, Sky Global Services India (P) Ltd.
- Finding Aid Date
- May 2024
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
The Ruth Sarner Libros and Braude Family Papers are the physical property of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.
Collection Inventory
Series 1: Ruth Sarner Libros Papers, 1906-2005, undated, contains personal materials created and collected by Libros, as well as material related to her involvement with HSSS. This series is arranged into four subseries: Subseries 1.1: Correspondence, Subseries 1.2: Hebrew Sunday School Society (HSSS), Subseries 1.3: Personal Materials and Collected Memorials, and Subseries 1.4: Ruth Sarner Libros Collection of Henry W. Braude Papers.
Subseries 1.1: Correspondence, 1942-1980, contains Libros' correspondence with her first husband, Joseph Sarner, and her children, Joyce and Joel. The bulk of this subseries is composed of World War II-era correspondence between Ruth and Joseph, written while Joseph served in the United States Navy Medical Corps. There is also significant correspondence between Ruth and her son Joel from the 1970s. Researchers should note that correspondence between Ruth and her family prior to the 1940s can be found in Series 3: Braude Family Correspondence. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by correspondent's last name.
Subseries 1.2: Hebrew Sunday School Society (HSSS), 1937-1989, contains papers related to Libros' long involvement with HSSS. Materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, news clippings, photographs, programs, and planning materials for HSSS' 125th and 150th Anniversary celebrations. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Subseries 1.3: Personal Materials and Collected Memorials, 1939-2005, undated, contains photographs, notes, travel memorabilia, and memorials for Joseph Sarner, Leonard Sarner, and Harold Libros. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by type of materials.
audiocassette tape
Subseries 1.4: Ruth Sarner Libros Collection of Henry W. Braude Papers, 1906-1966, undated, contains the papers of Henry W. Braude as collected by his daughter, Ruth. The papers served as reference materials for a memorial written by Libros entitled, "Engraved in our Hearts Forever: Henry W. Braude 1889-1942 and Bertha Burstein Braude 1901-1989." In addition to Libros' research materials, this subseries includes correspondence, meeting minutes, news clippings, photographs, and speeches generated during Braude's involvement with HSSS, the Homewood School, the Jewish Community (Kehillah) of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Branch of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and the YM-YWHA. There is also material related to Central High School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. This subseries also contains an audio tape reel of interviews with Henry Braude's friends and family. Researchers should note that Braude's correspondence with his family can be found in Series 3: Braude Family Correspondence. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series 2: Bertha Braude Papers, 1859-1988, undated, contains the papers of Ruth Sarner Libros' mother, Bertha Braude. This series contains correspondence, photographs, programs, and awards. There is also significant documentation related to Braude's fifty years as a board member of HSSS, as well as correspondence, meeting minutes, and news clippings regarding her involvement with the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society (FHBS), the Philadelphia Conference of Jewish Women's Organizations, the YM-YWHA, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Brandeis University National Women's Committee. This series also contains audiocassette tapes containing oral history interviews with Bertha Braude. Researchers should note that Braude's correspondence with her family can be found in Series 4: Braude Family Correspondence. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series 4: Braude Family Correspondence, 1919-1981, undated, contains letters written between Henry W. Braude, his wife Bertha, and their three children, Hilda Joy, Ruth, and Grace. The correspondence predominately spans the 1920s-1960s. The family members were avid letter-writers, and wrote to each other even during short separations. Letters from the 1920s are frequently from Henry to Bertha and their daughters, written while Henry was away on business trips and vacations. Much of the correspondence from the 1930s was written during the summer months, while Hilda Joy, Ruth, and Grace were at summer camp and Henry and Bertha were vacationing in New Jersey and Europe. Henry Braude passed away in 1942, and Hilda Joy and Ruth were married shortly before his death. As a result, most letters from the 1940s-1960s are from Hilda Joy, Ruth, and Grace to Bertha. There is also correspondence from Ruth to the rest of the Braude Family in the 1940s describing her experience training with the United States Women's Coast Guard Reserve at Smith College.