Malcolm H. Stern

Malcolm Henry Stern (January 29, 1915 – January 5, 1994) was an American rabbi, historian, and genealogist. Through the work he did that supported secular genealogical communities and resources, as well as created what is the structure and backbone of current Jewish genealogical societies, Stern's efforts created long-lasting, far-reaching cooperative organizations. For these reasons, Stern has been described as the dean of American Jewish genealogy.

Early life Stern was born in Philadelphia, to Arthur Kaufman Stern and Henrietta Stern (née Berkowitz). In his early childhood, his family moved from Philadelphia to a farm in Fox Chase, Pennsylvania, where he grew up. He had one brother, Edward Stern.

Stern's family was from the early German Jewish community of Philadelphia. His father and grandfather worked at the family business, Jacob Stern & Sons, where they were hides and tallow processors. In the 1920s, Stern's father sold his share of the business to retire to the farm in Fox Chase; Stern described this as his father's attempts to be a bit of a gentleman farmer, as well as author, playwright, and painter. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Stern's father became an independent real estate agent.

Career

Rabbinic career

Philadelphia As did many of his family members, Stern attended Hebrew Union College, where he studied to be a rabbi. where his great-uncle, Joseph Krauskopf had previously served as rabbi. After the war, from 1946 to 1947, Stern returned to work as a rabbi at Keneseth Israel.

In 1942, Stern was one of 90 Reform rabbis to sign a statement in support of aid to Jews in Palestine, but that did not endorse Zionism. The published statement said that the signatories were "opposing growing secularism and favoring greater emphasis on transcendent moral and religious values and principles in American life."

In 1943, Stern took a sabbatical from his position at Keneseth Israel to serve a Chaplain in the US Army Air Corps. During this time, during World War II, Stern almost died when his plane crashed at Casablanca during a flight to India; During his time there, he completed his Doctor of Hebrew Letters in 1957 in American Jewish History under the tutelage of Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus.

In 1960, Stern served as editor in chief of the Union Songster for Reform Judaism and coordinated the revision of the Union Hymnal, both of which are considered by Reform Jews to be the commonly used hymnals for religious services.

Stern's interest in genealogy, he said, "started in grade school when he traced the descendants of Charlemagne for an assignment."

From 1949 to 1994, Stern was the genealogist for the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.

In 1960, Stern published Americans of Jewish Descent, in which he created extensive, fully sourced, family tree diagrams of all Jewish families who lived in American pre-1840. The work contained 26,000 names. Two more editions of the book followed: 1978's First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654–1977 and 1991's First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654–1988, which had over 50,000 surnames. The book was groundbreaking because of the volume of names and the thoroughness of the research. Many pre-1840, non-Jewish families discovered they had Jewish roots. It was considered one of the most valuable research tools in American Jewish genealogy and history. Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky said that Stern "fought for the civil rights of African Americans at a time and a place where such a stand was both unpopular and dangerous." NARA Independence (1981-1984) In 1981, when President Ronald Reagan's budget threatened the National Archives, Stern spearheaded efforts of genealogy and historical communities to support Archives Independence Bill S1421, in order to make NARA independent. On June 21, 1984, the United States Senate voted unanimously to S. 905, a bill that would separate NARA from the General Services Administration. On August 2, 1984, the House of Representatives passed similar legislation. In 1989, Stern testified before the United States Congress, where he stated that the Archivist of the United States should not be an administrator, but rather a scholar.

Honors 1986: "Living Treasures," by View From the Torch, an organization devoted to promoting New York's cultural, ethnic and artistic diversity. People who have made significant contributions to New York City. Certificate of recognition from the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry 1987: Jewish Genealogical Society (New York), Testimonial Brunch 1988: Federation of Genealogical Societies' George E. Williams Award for outstanding contributions to the FGS and to the genealogical community Stern was and is the only Jewish Fellow of both the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the American Society of Genealogists Ongoing: IAJGS' Rabbi Malcolm Stern Grant

Personal life In 1941, Stern married Louise Steinhart Bergman. They had no children. In 1994, Stern died in New York City of a heart attack.

Stern's maternal great uncle is the Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf.

Works and publications Chronological order

Archival papers Stern, Malcolm Henry. Malcolm H. Stern Papers, 1882-1994. New York, NY: American Jewish Archives.

Monographs Stern, Malcolm H. The Jews of Norfolk. Norfolk, Va: M.H. Stern, 1950. Stern, Malcolm H. Two Studies in the Assimilation of Early American Jewry I. Endogamic. II. Exogamic, Based on Tentatively Complete Genealogical Tables of All Jewish Families Settled in America Prior to 1840. Thesis/dissertation. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion, 1956. Stern, Malcolm H. The Descendants of Salomon Jaroslawski. S.l: s.n., 1956. Stern, Malcolm H. The Function of Genealogy in American Jewish History. Cincinnati: (Hebrew Union College Press), 1958. Postal, Bernard, and Malcolm H. Stern. Tourist's Guide to Jewish History in the Caribbean. [New York]: American Airlines, 1975. Stern, Malcolm H. Jewish Family Genealogies and Histories. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977. Stern, Malcolm H. Death Notices, Mostly from Charleston Newspapers, from Elzas Papers. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977. Stern, Malcolm H. Tracing Your Jewish Roots. Cincinnati, OH: American Jewish Archives on the Cincinnati Campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1977.

Jewish Families Series Stern, Malcolm H. Americans of Jewish Descent: A Compendium of Genealogy. Publications of the American Jewish Archives, 5. New York: Ktav Pub. House, 1960. Stern, Malcolm H. First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654-1977. Cincinnati: American Jewish Archives, 1978. Stern, Malcolm H. First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654-1988. Baltimore, Md: Ottenheimer Publishers, 1991. First American Jewish Families at American Jewish Archives

Articles Stern, Malcolm H. "Monticello and the Levy Family". The Journal of the Southern Jewish Historical Society. Vol. 1, no. 2 (October 1959). pp. 19–23. Stern, Malcolm H. What Shall We Sing: Music in Our Worship. 1960. Stern, Malcolm H. "New Light on the Jewish Settlement of Savannah." 1963. Reprinted from American Jewish Historical Quarterly, v.52, no. 3, Mar. 1963. pp. 169–199. Stern, Malcolm H. The Descendants of Moses Son of Naphtali of Hofheim or Moses Hofheimer. 1964. Hofheimer Family, Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, Swem Library, College of William & Mary. Stern, Malcolm H. "The Sheftall Diaries: Vital Records of Savannah Jewry (1733-1808)." 1965. Detached from American Jewish Historical Society, American Jewish Historical Quarterly, New York, v. LIV, No. 3 (March, 1965). pp. 243–277. Stern, Malcolm H. "Two Jewish Functionaries in Colonial Pennsylvania." Philadelphia, PA: Maurice Jacobs, Inc., 1967. Reprinted from American Jewish Historical Quarterly, v.57, no. 1. pp. 24–51. Stern, Malcolm H. "Necrology: Thomas Jefferson Tobias (1906-1970)." Philadelphia, Pa: Press of Maurice Jacobs, 1971. Reprinted from American Jewish Historical Quarterly, v. 60, no. 3 (March, 1971). pp. 304–305 Stern, Malcolm H. '"A Successful Caribbean Restoration: The Nevis Story." Reprint from American Jewish Historical Quarterly, Vol. 61, Nov. 1, 1971. pp. 19–32. Stern, Malcolm H. "Reforming of Reform Judaism - Past, Present, and Future." Reprint from American Jewish Historical Quarterly, Vol 63, No. 2, 1973. pp. 111–137. Stern, Malcolm H. "South Carolina Jewish Marriage Settlements, 1785-1839." Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society, 1978. Detached from National Genealogical Society Quarter. v.66, no. 2 (June 1978). pp. 105–111. Stern, Malcolm H. "New Sources of Jewish Genealogy." From National Genealogical Society Quarterly, v. 66 (1978). pp. 281–284. Stern, Malcolm H. "The Role of the Rabbi in the South." Kaganaff, Nathan and Melvin I. Urofsky, Editors. Turn to the South, Essays on Southern Jewry, 1979. pp. 21–32. Stern, Malcolm H. "Jewish Genealogy: An Annotated Bibliography." Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1981. Technical leaflet (American Association for State and Local History), #138. Detached from History News. v. 36, no. 5 (May 1981). Stern, Malcolm H., and A. Stanley Dreyfus. "Jews of Texas: Some Sources for Their Genealogy." Houston, Tex.: Texas State Genealogical Society, 1982. From Stirpes, v.22 no. 4 (Dec. 1982). Peck, Abraham J., and Jonathan D. Sarna. Biz Hundert Un Tsvantsik!: A Tribute Volume for Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday. Cincinnati, Ohio: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1986. - Stern contributed a tribute to his teacher, Dr. Marcus, in this volume.