- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Protest activities sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-5
- File
- 113
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- Feb. 1982-Mar. 1982
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 36 photographs ; b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence, programme, promotional materials, and photographs concerning the award given to Flora MacDonald at a ceremony held in Queen's Park, Toronto, on 29 April 1982.
- Notes
- Photographs are by Ben Lechtman.
- Name Access
- MacDonald, Flora, 1926-2015
- Subjects
- Awards
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Queen's Park (Toronto, Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Protest activities sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-5
- File
- 123
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- Dec. 1983-May 1984
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 4 photographs ; col. ; 9 x 13 cm
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence, programme, promotional materials, newspaper clippings and photographs concerning the award given to Sister Mary Jo Leddy at a ceremony held in Queen's Park, Toronto, on 3 May 1984.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Protest activities sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-5
- File
- 102
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1980-1981
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence, programmes, and newspaper clippings concerning the inaugural award of the Scharansky Lectureship to Professor Irwin Cotler, 29 April 1980 at Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto.
- Name Access
- Beth Tikvah Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)
- Cotler, Irwin
- Subjects
- Awards
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 15
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- 1892-1980
- Physical Description
- 60 cm of textual records and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- Ida Lewis Siegel (1885-1982) was instrumental in the founding and development of several prominent Jewish organizations, such as the Daughters of Zion, Hadassah-Wizo Organization of Canada, the Hebrew Ladies' Maternity Aid Society and the YM-YWHA She was also particularly active in the educational sector and in campaigning for the rights of female educators. She was internationally known for her devotion to Jewish learning and for her contributions to the development of the Toronto Jewish community.
- Ida was born to Samuel Lewis (b. 1859) and Hannah Ruth (Ticktin) Lewis (b. 1864) on 14 February 1885 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the first child to be born in the United States after her parents immigrated from Lithuania. She had two brothers, Abe Lewis (b. 1880) and Charles S. Lewis (b. 1883). She attended elementary school in Pittsburgh, and in 1894, she and her family moved to Toronto.
- On 14 February 1905, Ida married Isidore Hirsch Siegel at the Elm Street Synagogue. Isidore was a travelling peddler, and later, owner of a store in Cochrane, Ontario. Together, they had six children: Rohama Lee (1905-?), Leah Gittel (Labovitz) (1907-2004), David Isar (1909-2004), Sarah (Sontag) (1912-1942), Avrom Fichel (1916-2010), and Rivka Hadassah (Gurau) (1923-2001).
- Ida is credited with helping to found a large number of Jewish philanthropic and social organizations including the Daughters of Zion, the first ladies' Zionist society in Canada (1899); the Herzl Girls' Club (1904); Hadassah-Wizo Organization of Canada (1916); the Hebrew Ladies' Sewing Circle, which developed into the Hebrew Ladies' Maternity Aid Society (1907); the YM-YWHA (1919); the Women’s League of the United Synagogues of America in Toronto (192-); the Goel Tzedec Sunday School (1914); and the Goel Tzedec Sisterhood (192-). She was also named honorary president of the Beth Tzedec Sisterhood in 1953. With the help of her brother Abe, Ida formed the first free Jewish Dispensary in Toronto, located on Elizabeth Street in the Ward, which was the forerunner to the Mount Sinai Hospital.
- Ida also helped form a unified fundraising body for the Jewish community known as the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies (1917), which would become the current UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. However, Ida was denied a seat on the executive after campaigning for a female representative.
- Always involved in the field of education, Ida was one of the original founders of the Home and School Association in 1919. In 1930, she became the first Jewish woman to be elected to the Toronto Board of Education, a post which she held for six years. She was later named honorary secretary of the Toronto Board of Jewish Education. In 1937, she ran unsuccessfully for alderman in Toronto, but remained politically active with the Association of Women's Electors. She was active in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom from 1915 onward and was an outspoken opponent of both world wars. Throughout her lifetime, Ida held the position of national vice-president of the Zionist Organization of Canada, sat on the executive board of the Canadian Jewish Congress and was a member of the Jewish Historical Society.
- Her religious affiliations were with Goel Tzedec, Beth Tzedec, Shaar Shomayim and the Beach Hebrew Institute.
- Custodial History
- The records were created by Ida Siegel and were in her possession until 1982. After her death, her son Avrom and daughter Rivka took possession of the records until they were donated to the archives in 1998 and 2004.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of the records created and accumulated by Ida Siegel, documenting her personal and professional life, along with her philanthropic work. The types of records include personal reminiscences, diaries and memoirs, family correspondence, professional correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, newsclippings, oral histories and photographs.
- Notes
- Includes 30 photographs, 2 scrapbooks, 13 audio cassettes and 7 audio reels.
- Name Access
- Siegel, Ida Lewis, 1885-1982
- Siegel, Isidore Hirsch
- Siegel, Leah Gittel (Labovitz) (Sadker)
- Siegel, Rohama Lee
- Siegel, David Isar
- Siegel, Sarah (Sontag)
- Siegel, Avrom Fichel
- Siegel, Rivka Hadassah (Gurau)
- Access Restriction
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Related Material
- 1979-1-3
- 1980-3-4
- MG2 O1l
- MG2 O1m
- National Council of Jewish Women fonds 38
- Arrangement
- Records had previously been placed in acid free boxes and file folders and labeled according to their contents.
- Creator
- Siegel, Ida Lewis, 1885-1982
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- 2004-5-129
- 2004-5-163
- 2005-5-3
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Protest activities sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-5
- File
- 107
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- Apr. 1981-June 1981
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 49 photographs : b&w on contact sheets ; 3 x 4 cm
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence, transcripts, and promotional materials concerning a rally in support of refusnik Ida Nudel held 22 June 1981 at Nathan Phillips Square. Photographs of the event are also included on two contact sheets in the folder.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 17
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [ca. 1971]
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph is a portrait of Ida Siegel, possibly taken at the Dewson Street Public School.
- Subjects
- Portraits
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 20
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [ca. 1905]
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 12 cm
- Scope and Content
- Item is a studio portrait of Ida Siegel in a profile position.
- Notes
- Photo by Milne Studios Limited, Toronto.
- Subjects
- Portraits
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Physical Condition
- Photograph is in very poor condition. It has become brittle and cracked and is torn is several areas.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 27
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [ca. 1901]
- Physical Description
- 3 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 14 x 10 cm on matte 21 x 14 or smaller
- Scope and Content
- Item is a portrait of Ida Lewis at the age of sixteen. The photograph was taken for Ida's high school graduation. She is dressed in a gown and hat and is standing next to an ornate chair in a studio setting.
- Subjects
- Portraits
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 2005-5-3
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 21
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [197-]
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 21 x 13 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- For ten years, during her 80s, Ida volunteered her time to teach civics classes to immigrant children at the Dewson Street Public School in Toronto. She spoke with the children about her own experiences as an immigrant in Canada and arranged for special field trips.
- Scope and Content
- Item is a portrait photograph of Ida Siegel in a children's library. It was likely taken at the Dewson Street Public School in Toronto.
- Subjects
- Portraits
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 25
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- 1933
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 13 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- Always involved in the field of education, Ida Siegel became the first Jewish woman to be elected to the Toronto Board of Education in 1930. She held this post for six years. She was later named honourary secretary of the Toronto Board of Jewish Education.
- Scope and Content
- Item is a studio portrait of Ida Siegel. She is in formal dress. The photograph was used for the Board of Education composite portrait for 1933.
- Notes
- Stamp, verso:
- Photograph by Ashley & Crippen
- Please give credit line
- Subjects
- Portraits
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 5
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [ca. 1933]
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 8 x 12 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- The Mothers' and Babes' Rest Home was established by Ida Siegel in the mid-1920s under the auspices of the Hebrew Ladies' Maternity Aid Society. The camp was created for poor women or women of modest means with children younger than nine years of age. It was located in Bronte and then moved to Lake Simcoe during the late 1930s and became a pay camp, attracting mostly newcomers from Europe.
- Scope and Content
- Item is a photograph of Ida Sigel speaking at a meeting at the Mothers' and Babes' Rest Home in Bronte, Ontario. There are several men and women seated around her.
- Subjects
- Speeches, addresses, etc
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 24
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [ca. 1927]
- Physical Description
- 2 photographs : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm and 14 x 8 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- The Canadian Jewish Farm School was established in 1927 by Morris Saxe, president of the Federated Jewish Farmers of Ontario. It was a training school for Polish war orphans brought to Canada after the First World War. It was owned and operated by Morris Saxe on his Main Street South farm in Georgetown, Ontario. Saxe, along with Eli Greenblatt of Detroit, was responsible for bringing the orphans over from Mezritch, Poland. Greenblatt raised the funds for their transportation and Saxe arranged for their entry permits. The children were allowed to enter the country, provided that they lived and worked on the farm. Their duties involved milking cows, looking after chickens, and harvesting corn and other crops. The Saxe family also owned a creamery business, first in Acton, and then on Guelph Street in Georgetown.
- The Jewish Farm School was the second attempt by Saxe to assist Jewish immigrants with agricultural training. The first was established a year prior in 1926, to help European immigrants gain knowledge of Canadian farm life. However, it succumbed to several problems, mostly related to Jewish interests in the community using the school as a way of gaining entry for immigrants who would otherwise not be eligible -- a plan which Saxe disapproved of, which created dissention within the community. When Greenblatt became involved the following year, the focus shifted to helping Jewish war orphans.
- Edmund Scheuer and Ida Siegel were most likely at the school event because of their mutual interest and involvement in aiding Jewish immigrants and in Jewish education and training.
- Scope and Content
- Item is a photograph of Ida Siegel standing alongside Edmund Scheuer at the Jewish Farm School in Georgetown, Ontario. Edmund is wearing a tuxedo. The photograph may have been taken at the official opening of the school.
- Notes
- One photograph is a copy of the original.
- The writing on the copy photograph indicates that the farm was located in Guelph, which is incorrect. The date is also written as 1923, which is also incorrect, since the first school was not established until 1926, with the likely date of the photograph being 1927.
- The writing on the original photograph states that the photograph was taken in Acton, which is incorrect as the Jewish Farm School was located a short distance away in Georgetown.
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 16
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- 1971
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- For ten years, while in her 80s, Ida volunteered her time to teach civics classes to immigrant children at the Dewson Street Public School in Toronto. She spoke with the children about her own experiences as an immigrant in Canada and arranged for special field trips.
- Scope and Content
- Item is a photograph of Ida Siegel standing in the centre of the back row, with students and teachers at the Dewson Street Public School in Toronto.
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 9
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- Dec. 1945
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 22 cm
- Scope and Content
- Item is a photograph of Ida Seigel flanked by her sons Avrom (left) and David (right), who were both Canadian servicemen at the time. There are several other people standing behind them. The young woman in the front to the left is Ida's daughter Rivka.
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 19
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [191-]
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w (tintype) ; 6 x 5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Item is a photograph of two women and Ida Siegel (standing far right). The three women are all wearing summer dresses.
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 8
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- [190-]
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 7 cm on matte 9 x 11 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- A. Hershop may have been a cousin of Ida's, since she had a cousin named Max Wershop who lived in New York State.
- Scope and Content
- Item is a portrait photograph of the nephew of Ida Siegel and another unidentified man. The handwriting on the verso of the photo reads: From your affectionate nephew [A. Wershop?].
- Subjects
- Portraits
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 34
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1896-1979
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of personal letters written by Ida to her daughter, Rivka. Also included is the bar mitzvah speech written by Ida Lewis to her father's dictation in 1896 for Charles S. Siegel.
- Subjects
- Bar mitzvah
- Speeches, addresses, etc
- Access Restriction
- Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing the records.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Ida Lewis Siegel fonds
- Photographs file
- Level
- Item
- Fonds
- 15
- File
- 37
- Item
- 12
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- 1892
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 4 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- Ida would have been seven years old when this photograph was taken. Rebecca Schaeffer was likely a family friend or relative.
- Scope and Content
- Item is a portrait photograph of Rebecca Schaeffer and Ida Lewis as young girls, posed with a small tea set. The photograph was taken in Pittsburgh. Ida is standing on the right.
- Subjects
- Portraits
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.
- Accession Number
- 1988-2-13
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
