MS042
Solis-Cohen Family Collection
1838-1960

I. Solis-Cohen Family Genealogy, 1894-1959
5.75 Linear Feet (6 Boxes)

Historical Note
The 1827 marriage of Myer David Cohen (b. 1811) and Judith Simha de Silva Solis reunited the Sephardic and Ashkenazic branches of the European Jewish community separated by the dispersions of the Spanish Inquisitions which began in 1492.

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of genealogical research materials compiled and written by members of the Solis-Cohen family from 1903-1960. Chiefly collected by Myer and Rosebud Solis-Cohen, the collection contains correspondence, family trees, reproductions of historical documents, manuscript notes, typescript copies of genealogies, materials from and correspondence with genealogical societies, biographies, necrology files, and privately printed genealogies.

The materials document the family’s European history, including the Sephardic Jewish origins of the Fonseca family of medieval Iberia and the Mendoza family. Information on the family's American ancestry focuses on the Binswanger, Etting, Hays, Jacoby, Levy, and Teschner families as well as Rabbi Gershom Sexias. The story of Aaron Levy includes documents, publications, and photographs detailing the events commemorating the "Aaronburg Story;" the establishment of the town of Aaronsburg (PA). Selected Jewish publications, which provide historical perspectives on the Jewish community in America, and hence on the family, are also included here.

Organization and Arrangement
Materials are organized into the following four series. Genealogies are arranged in each series by family name.

1. European ancestry (1400-1754)
2. American ancestry (1754-1830)
3. Solis-Cohen genealogies (1830-1960)
4. General biographical and historical notes
   1. General genealogical correspondence (includes societies and record sources)
   2. Genealogical and historical notes in manuscript form
   3. Jewish historical publications

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