Report Of The Annual Meeting Of The Hebrew Orphan Asylum Of The City Of New York

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Hebrew Orphan Asylum Band of New York City, 1874–1941 is at the same time the story of a boys’ band and a story of New York City. The band was not only an important educational component of one of the largest Jewish charitable organizations of its time, but also a significant source of music-making and performance in New York. What made the band especially noteworthy was the reputation it developed performing outside of New York’s many concert halls and major musical institutions. The band was ever-present, participating in events ranging from conventional parades to building ground-breakings to celebrations of major figures in New York history. The band was always ready to perform and to be part of New York cultural life. In doing so, they typified the Jewish-American experience of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and illustrated the substantial effort of those that engage in community music-making and the critical role school music played in the lives of its participants and local community. These are the unknown musicians without whom New York’s musical life would have certainly been diminished. As this history explores their numerous performances, successes, and activities, historical events in New York, some lesser known than others, some humorous, some dark, are described in rich detail as well. The legacy of the band – the careers the boys had as they matured and the contributions they and their band directors made during their lives – is also explored in this fascinating history.

This report details the operations and activities of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in New York City, providing insight into the care and education of Jewish orphans during the early 20th century. It includes financial statements, descriptions of special events and programs, and testimonials from former residents. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

An eloquent personal reflection on the fascination of family history and the desire to both discover and escape origins. In Forgetting Fathers, David Marshall weaves together the stories of his grandfather and great-grandfather with his own quest to solve the mystery of his family’s past. Beginning as a search for his lost family name, Marshall attempts to understand the origins of his grandfather, who spent part of his childhood in the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of New York. He also reconstructs the life and death of his great-grandfather, a Russian immigrant tailor who died at age thirty-six in a private sanitarium dedicated to the treatment of mental and nervous diseases. The narrative becomes a detective story that reflects on our ambivalence about origins, the relation between history and mourning, and the compulsion to search for life stories. Forgetting Fathers combines historical accounts based on records, reports, and public documents with autobiographical reflections and speculations. Included throughout are photographs, newspaper clippings, and facsimiles of original documents that provide a sense of both the texture of the times and the fabric of archival and genealogical research. David Marshall is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has published widely on the history of the novel, aesthetics, and autobiography.