Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

Series

Fonds

64

Series

5

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

architectural drawing

Date

1859-1980

Physical Description

35 cm of textual records

10 photographs

41 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

Series contains reference materials created by and written about the synagogues. Primary records include commemorative booklets, a small number of newsletters, brochures, and programs from special events. There are also newspaper clippings and copied articles providing histories of synagogues. There is a small number of photograph prints and negatives, but many of the files also include photographs from books, magazines or photocopies. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by city, then by synagogue. Not every synagogue the project team researched has a reference file, and there may be reference files for shuls for which no photographs survive.

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

64

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1859-1980, predominant 1977-1979

Physical Description

ca. 5178 photographs and other material

Admin History/Bio

The “Shuls Project” was the work of three University of Toronto architecture students, who in 1977 wrote a research paper on the eight Toronto synagogues built before World War II. Concerned at the lack of resources on these synagogues, Sidney Tenenbaum, Lynn Milstone and Sheldon Levitt foresaw the loss of communities’ recorded history as membership dwindled and elders passed on. The students conceived a project that would photograph and document every synagogue in Canada, gathering visual evidence, memorabilia, plaques and stories before they disappeared and history was lost. The students’ goal was to document synagogues’ architecture, art, and historical development through research, interviews and site visits.

The students secured a large portion of the required funding for the project from the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation in Montreal, funding which was matched by the Canadian Jewish Congress. This financial support enabled Levitt, Milstone and Tenenbaum to begin their study, named “Shuls… A Study of Canadian Synagogue Architecture.” They began in the summer of 1977, traveling through the Western provinces. The next summer, they visited eight Maritime cities, Montreal and other Quebec communities. Financial support in the project’s second year was again provided by the Bronfman Family Foundation, along with the Canadian government and donations in kind from businesses, including Benjamin Photo Finishers in Toronto, and Polaroid. The summer of 1979 was spent in Ontario, with an added grant from Wintario. In total, the Shuls project team traveled over 24,000 kilometres, taking thousands of photographs and conducting several hundred interviews. Photographs were taken by Tenenbaum, with Levitt and Milstone assuming primary responsibility for researching synagogues’ history and gathering historic records. Interviews were conducted by all three researchers, in both English and Yiddish.

With no handy index of every shul in Canada, the researchers located small shuls by word of mouth. They spread word of their project and solicited assistance using press releases, letters to known communities, and slideshow presentations as they traveled. They would first examine a building to get an idea of a community’s character and heritage, then conduct interviews with designers, architects, rabbis and other prominent community members.

With the research and photographs created, the team compiled three catalogues of the Western, Eastern/Quebec, and Ontario phases of the project. These catalogues have entries on each synagogue that include historical summaries highlighting the founding, growth, mergers and decline of Jewish communities, their changing needs, changing architectural expressions and trends, and the evolving uses of synagogues over the course of the twentieth century. There are also building descriptions, some with critical comments by the authors, and lists of the photographs and slides produced.

The compilation of materials and preparation of these catalogues took place at the Project’s offices at 26 Ava Road in Toronto, and continued through the summer of 1980 when the Ontario catalogue was completed. In 1985, Tenenbaum, Milstone and Levitt published a book highlighting their work, called Treasures of a People: The Synagogues of Canada.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of the records created and collected by the team of students conducting the Shuls study from 1977 to 1980. The majority of the fonds is made up of graphic material, in the form of 35mm colour slides and black-and-white Polaroid prints and (print-size) negatives. There are approximately 5110 photographs in the fonds. Fonds also consists of notes and inventory forms of buildings' architectural features. There are no interview transcripts, but the fonds does include three audio cassettes with recorded interviews and shul tours. Reference materials used in researching the history of the shuls include dedication and anniversary commemorative books and programmes, newsletters, articles and newspaper clippings. In addition the fonds contains 47 blueprints, the majority from Montreal synagogues. The fonds is arranged in the following series: 1. Quebec synagogues; 2. Ontario synagogues; 3. Western Canada synagogues; 4. Eastern Canada synagogues; 5. Reference.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 92 cm of textual records, 42 architectural drawings, 3 audio cassettes, and 1 drawing.

Physical extent note: many of the slides were culled because they were felt to be reproductions. Some of the synagogue images in the research book may therefore not be included in the fonds.

Name Access

Shuls Project

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Creator

Levitt, Sheldon

Milstone, Lynn

Tenenbaum, Sidney T.

Places

Canada

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

12

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains photocopied pages from the synagogue's 1949 Dedication program.

Name Access

Beth Isaiah Congregation (Guelph, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Guelph (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

23

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

[ca. 1910]-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 photographs : b&w prints (2 negatives) ; 12 x cm

Scope and Content

File contains notes, lists, clippings, copied pages from directories and 4 unidentified photographs (2 negatives).

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

33

Material Format

architectural drawing

Date

1947

Physical Description

7 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

File contains 7 blueprints for the 1947 extension and alterations to the shul.

Name Access

Congregation Ahavath Shalom

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

41

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1859-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 architectural drawings

Scope and Content

File contains photocopied articles, a newspaper clipping, photocopied photographs, a greeting card with photograph on cover, copies of the 1859 contract commissioning the erection of the synagogue as well as a list of specifications for the masons, and blueprints for the 1967 extension.

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

45

Material Format

textual record

Date

1932-[ca. 1965]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains dedication book for new building (1960), copied articles, assorted pamphlets and programmes.

Name Access

Temple Emanu-El (Montréal, Quebec)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

48

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1949, 1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 architectural drawing

Scope and Content

File contains a form letter from the congregation regarding High Holiday services (17 July 1978), and a blueprint for the auditorium building (1949).

Name Access

Young Israel of Montreal

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

49

Material Format

textual record

Date

1925, 1945

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains one copied newspaper article and several other transcribed newspaper articles.

Name Access

House of Israel

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Moose Jaw (Sask.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

54

Material Format

textual record

Date

1944, [1975?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains two short historical overviews.

Name Access

Temple Israel

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Ottawa (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

66

Material Format

textual record

architectural drawing

Date

1920-1977

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 architectural drawing

Scope and Content

File contains a copied photograph from The Jewish Post, the congregation's constitution adopted in 1920, and a blueprint from 1955.

Name Access

Agudas Israel

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Saskatoon (Sask.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

75

Material Format

textual record

Date

1935-1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a 1979 newsletter, "Voice of Radom," and copies from the 10th and 30th anniversary booklets.

Name Access

Beth Radom Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

The Shuls Project fonds

Reference series

Level

File

Fonds

64

Series

5

File

96

Material Format

textual record

Date

1930-1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains the shul's dedication programme from 1930, the 25th (1954) and 49th anniversary programmes (1978).

Name Access

Congregation Shaar Hashomayim

Subjects

Anniversaries

Synagogues

Repro Restriction

Copyright is not held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Places

Windsor (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Bliss family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

8

Item

4

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1943]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Helen Bliss as a young girl in Toronto.

Name Access

Bliss, Helen

Subjects

Children

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.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Bliss family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

8

Item

5

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1946

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Helen Bliss as a young girl in Toronto. She is standing outside of a home and is wearing a tutu.

Name Access

Bliss, Helen

Subjects

Children

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

There is a tear at the bottom of the photograph

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Bliss family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

8

Item

6

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1946

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Helen Bliss as a young girl taken in Toronto. She is standing outside a home and is wearing a costume with a heart shape on her chest and a matching head piece in her hair.

Name Access

Bliss, Helen

Subjects

Children's costumes

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.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Abe Levine family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

4

Item

6

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1940]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 15 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Frances Levine Bederman taken at a studio in Hanover, Ontario.

Notes

Mounted in cardboard frame.

Photographer: N. Lorenz, Hanover, Ontario.

Name Access

Bederman, Frances Levine

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.

Places

Hanover (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Harry Levine family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

5

Item

4

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[194-]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photographic portrait of Richard Levine, which may have been taken in San Francisco.

Name Access

Levine, Richard

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.

Places

San Francisco (Calif.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Harry Levine family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

5

Item

3

Material Format

graphic material

Date

May 1941

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 22 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a school photograph from Prince School in Boston, Massachusetts. The photograph is of the third grade class taken in May 1941. Richard Levine is in the last row, fourth from the left.

Name Access

Levine, Richard

Subjects

Students

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.

Places

Boston (Mass.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

10

Item

13

Material Format

graphic material

Date

24 June 1945

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photographic portrait of Lee and Bud Soskin taken in California in June 1945.

Notes

Photographer: Austin Studios, California.

Inscription on inside of card frame: "Love, Lee and Bud 6-24-45".

Name Access

Soskin, Bud

Soskin, Lee

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.

Places

California

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

10

Item

18

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[194-]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a wedding portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Irving Liss in Los Angeles in the 1940s.

Notes

Photographer: Hoffman-Luckhaus Studio of Photography, Los Angeles.

Name Access

Liss, Irving

Subjects

Married people

Portraits

Weddings

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.

Places

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

10

Item

14

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1946

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Lee Soskin feeding her new born baby with a bottle. The picture was taken in Los Angeles in 1946.

Name Access

Soskin, Lee

Subjects

Mother and child

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.

Places

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Thuna family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

7

Item

12

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1942

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 15 x 10 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Mortimer and Alvin Thuna wearing their scout uniforms taken at a studio in Montreal in 1942. Mortimer is wearing a Seascout uniform while Alvin is wearing a Boyscout uniform.

Notes

Photographer: Art Studio of Montreal, 23 St. Catherine W.

Mounted in card frame

Inscription on card frame: "To Grandma with love Morty and Alvin"

Name Access

Thuna, Alvin

Thuna, Mortimer

Subjects

Scouts (Youth organization members)

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.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

25

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Date

[188-]-1973

Physical Description

188 photographs : b&w, some sepia toned ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

3 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Aaron and Sarah (née Snider) Levine (1832-1915) were from Minsk. Sarah immigrated to Toronto with her children in 1887. In 1892, Abraham (1940-1897) and Rachel Cass (1838-1903) came to Toronto with their younger chilldren, following their elder children who had immigrated before them.

The Levine children consisted of the following individuals: Annie (m. Salamansky) (1861-1931); Moses (Moishe) Joseph (1864-1919); Michael (1869-1918); Abraham; Sam; and Rebecca (m. Samuels) (b. 1875).

The Cass children consisted of: Fayge (m. Sax) (1861-1942); Anna (Hannah) (m. Segel) (1863-1930); Martha (m. Soskin) (1866-1946); Dave Cass (1869-1959); Dora (m. Levy) (b.1870); Sarah (m. Levine) (1876-1978); Annie (m. Smith) (1880-1952); Bill Cass; and Phillip Cass.

Sarah Snider Levine lived with her son, Moses, and daughter-in-law Sarah for thirteen years. The couple first lived on Chestnut Street and then moved to Centre Avenue. They later relocated to Spadina Avenue near Dundas around 1903, and finally, moved to 224 Beverley Street near College.

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of family photographs that document the Cass and Levine families of Toronto. The records were donated by Mary Soskin, who was the daugher of Moses and Sarah (née Cass) Levine. The records document the donor's matriarchal and patriarchal families. In turn, the records also include photographs of her own family, as well as families related to her or her parents through marriage, such as: the Salamansky (Salem), Thuna, Bliss, Samuels, Soskin, Cass, Segel, Sax, Weiner, Levy, and Rosenbes families. The photographs date from the late nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. The fonds also contains one file of textual records

The fonds has been arranged into 18 series by family, as well as one series for photographs that cannot be linked to an individual family and another for images that could not be identified. The series consist of the following: Series 1, Moses Levine family; Series 2, Michael Levine family; Series 3, Abraham Levine family; Series 4, Abe Levine family; Series 5, Harry Levine family; Series 6, Salamansky (Salem) family; Series 7, Thuna family; Series 8, Bliss family; Series 9, Samuels family; Series 10, Soskin family; Series 11, Cass family; Series 12, Segel family; Series 13, Sax family; Series 14, Weiner family; Series 15, Levy family; Series 16, Rosenbes family; Series 17, Miscellaneous family members; Series 18, Unidentified photographs.

The items have been arranged chronologically within each series.

Name Access

Cass (family)

Levine (family)

Subjects

Families

Related Material

1982-8-3

AC 1: Soskin, Mary (Levine)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

10

Item

15

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1946

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Lee and Bud Soskin's newborn baby. The baby is crying.

Name Access

Soskin, Bud

Soskin, Lee

Subjects

Infants

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.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

10

Item

16

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1946

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Lee and Bud Soskin's newborn baby taken in 1946.

Name Access

Soskin, Bud

Soskin, Lee

Subjects

Infants

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.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

10

Item

17

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1946

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of Lee Soskin holding her newborn baby. The photograph was taken in 1946.

Name Access

Soskin, Lee

Subjects

Mother and child

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.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Thuna family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

7

Item

11

Material Format

graphic material

Date

14 Jul. 1941

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 17 x 11 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of the Thuna family taken for Mortimer Thuna's bar mitzvah. Included are Jack and Anne Thuna with their sons Mortimer and Alvin. The portrait was taken on 14 July 1941 by the Society Studio in Montreal.

Notes

Photographer: Society Studio, Montreal

Mounted in card frame

Inscription on frame, bottom righthand corner: "The Thuna's Bar Mitzvah July 14, 1941"

Name Access

Thuna, Anne

Thuna, Jack

Thuna, Mortimer

Subjects

Bar mitzvah

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.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Thuna family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

7

Item

10

Material Format

graphic material

Date

14 Jul. 1941

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph of family and guests of Mortimer Thuna's bar mitzvah, which was held at the Tic-Tac Club in Montreal on 14 July 1941. Mortimer is seated in the center, with his father Jack on his right and his mother Anne on his left. Sarah Levine is in the front row, seventh from the left. Abe Levine is the second from the left, his daughter is next to him, and his wife next to her.

Notes

Photographer: Society Studio, Montreal

Name Access

Levine, Abe

Levine, Sarah

Thuna, Jack

Thuna, Mortimer

Subjects

Bar mitzvah

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.

Places

Montréal (Québec)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Bliss family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

8

Item

7

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[194-?]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 15 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photographic portrait of Henry Bliss.

Notes

Photographer: Haynee Studio.

Mounted in card frame.

Name Access

Bliss, Henry

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.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Unidentified photographs series

Level

Series

Fonds

25

Series

18

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[188-?]-[195-?]

Physical Description

42 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

Series consists of unidentified photographs primarily of members, relatives, and/or friends of the Levine and Cass family.

Source

Archival Descriptions

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Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Moses Levine family series

Level

Series

Fonds

25

Series

1

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[189-]-1976

Physical Description

28 photographs : b&w and sepia toned (3 negative) ; 28 x 18 cm or smaller

3 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Moses (Moishe) Joseph Levine (1864-1919) immigrated to Toronto from Minsk in 1887. He was the son of Aaron and Sarah Levine (née Snider) (1832-1915). He began working as a peddler and later became a grocer. Sarah Levine (née Cass) (1876-1978) emigrated from Russia to Montreal around 1891, with her younger brother, Phillip. She then came to Toronto and initially lived with her sister, possibly Annie Smith, on York Street. Her first employment in the city was as a dressmaker. She was the daughter of Abraham Cass (1840-1897) and Rachel Rebecca Cass (née Cowart?) (1838-1903), who both immigrated to Canada in 1892.

Moses and Sarah met in Toronto and were married in 1895. They went to Midland with Moses' brother, Michael, and opened a store there. Their first daughter, Mary Soskin (1895-1990), was born in Midland that same year. However, after a few years, Moses and Sarah decided to move back to Toronto while Michael stayed in Midland with his wife, Anne Woods, and their children.

Moses and Sarah Levine first lived on Chestnut Street, then moved to Centre Avenue, then 115 Spadina Avenue near Dundas around 1903, and finally to 224 Beverley Street near College. Moses' mother, Sarah, lived with them for thirteen years. They had six additional children: Fanny (1898-1923), Anne Thuna (1899-1964), Abe (b. 1901), Harry (b. 1903), Rita (1905-1975), and Dorothy Bliss (1909-1992).

In the 1910 Toronto City Directory, Moses is listed as a grocer at 115 Spadina Avenue at Adelaide. Once he was able to, he moved into a larger wholesale grocery at 25 Jarvis Street in Toronto and is listed there in the 1920 Toronto City Directory.

The Levine family belonged to Goel Tzedec Congregation, which was located in a small church building purchased for the synagogue on University Avenue at Elm Street. A larger building was later built on University Avenue.

Moses died in 1919 after accidentally falling down an elevator shaft at his grocery store. The family closed the business shortly thereafter and the family continued to live on Beverley Street.

Scope and Content

Series consists of photographs which include the immediate family members and friends of the Moses Levine family. Series also contains one file of textual records relating to Sarah Levine's 90th and 94th birthdays and life membership in the Baycrest Women's Auxiliary.

Name Access

Levine, Moses

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Abe Levine family series

Level

Series

Fonds

25

Series

4

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[192-]-[ca. 1940]

Physical Description

6 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 15 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Abe Levine (b. 1901) was the son of Moses and Sarah Levine. He was married to Emma Ciglen Levine (b. 1903), an actress, originally from Meaford, Ontario. Emma was born in Wellington County to Jacob and Minnie Ciglen. Abe and Emma lived in Hanover, Ontario and had a daughter in 1925 named Frances. They eventually moved to Toronto. Frances' married name was Bederman. She became a drama teacher.

Scope and Content

Series consists of photographs of members of the Abe Levine family.

Name Access

Levine, Abe

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Harry Levine family series

Level

Series

Fonds

25

Series

5

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1933]-[194-]

Physical Description

4 photographs : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Harry Levine (b. 1903) was the son of Moses and Sarah Levine. He was married, possibly in 1929, to Doris (b. 1905?) and had a son named Richard. The family lived in Massachusetts in 1930 and later moved to Los Angeles.

Scope and Content

Series consists of photographs of members of the Harry Levine family.

Name Access

Levine, Harry

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Thuna family series

Level

Series

Fonds

25

Series

7

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1942

Physical Description

12 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Jack Edward Thuna was an herbalist who owned and operated a health food store in Toronto. The business dates back to 1888 and was started by his father, Dr. Max H. Thuna. The store was originally located at 436 Queen Street West and was called Thuna's Balsam Remedies, Limited. Jack and Max were also listed as chiropractors in the 1925 Toronto Jewish City and Information Directory. The store later moved to 298 Danforth Avenue and its name was changed to Dr. Thuna Nature Remedies. It still exists today on Danforth as Thuna Herbals.

Jack Thuna was married to Anne Levine in 1925, and they had two sons: Mortimer, born in 1928, and Alvin, born in 1934. Mortimer and Alvin also became master herbalists and helped run the family business. Alvin's son, Joel Thuna, is also a master herbalist who currently lives in Toronto.

Scope and Content

Series consists of photographs of members of the Thuna family.

Name Access

Thuna family

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Series

Fonds

25

Series

10

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[189-]-1951

Physical Description

23 photographs : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

Martha Soskin (née Cass) (1866-1946), Sarah Levine's sister, was married to George Soskin (b.1858), a storekeeper in Waubaushene, Ontario. George was born in Poland and had been previously married. Martha and George were already married when they immigrated to Canada in 1888, via the U.S., where their first child was born, in St. Louis, Missouri. They had as many as ten children: Isaac (1886-1976); Libby (m.Rothbart) (b.1888); Minnie “Hannah” (m.Rotenberg) (b.1891); Benjamin (1894); Beulah (m.Cole) (1896-1953); Sarah Mary (m.Mendel) (b.1898); Lobe Yente “Tesa” (m.Narrol) (b.1900); Abram Benjamin (b.1902); Aaron (b.1905); and “Ralph” Ruben (b.1907). The family moved from Waubaushene after 1901, and were listed as residents at 16 Lansdowne Ave. in the Toronto West region in the 1911 Census.

Isaac married Channah Aungene Abramson (d.1979) in Saskatchewan in 1913. They lived in Los Angeles, where Isaac worked as a clothing merchant, and the couple later moved to San Francisco, where they lived until their deaths. Libby married Maurice Rothbart in 1912 and they moved to Chicago. Beulah married Al Cole in 1916, and the younger Soskin daughters, Sarah and Tesa, were both married in 1919, to Paul Mendel and Albert Narrol respectively. George retired and moved with Martha and the other adult children to Los Angeles, where Benjamin worked in the real estate business. The 1930 US Census record also lists Aaron, Tesa (then divorced), and her son, Albert Narrol (b.1921) as residing in the same Los Angeles household.

Mary Levine (1895-1990), daughter of Moses and Sarah Levine, married Saul Soskin (d.1953), George Soskin's son from his first marriage. They lived in Toronto and later moved to Los Angeles. They had three children: Morton “Bud”, Estelle (b.1922), and Fred (1929-2000). Estelle was married to Irving Liss and worked as a secretary. They were married in Los Angeles in 1946 and lived in Toronto, while the other members of the family remained in California. Bud married Lee and had a son. Fred worked in production control for an aircraft company. He married Diane [?] and had four children: Scott, Christopher, Robin (m.Barnes), and Maria.

Scope and Content

Series consists of photographs of members of the Soskin family.

Name Access

Soskin family

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Levine and Cass family fonds

Soskin family series

Level

Item

Fonds

25

Series

10

Item

20

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[1946?]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

This photo appears to be a match with the other photos of Bud and Lee's baby.

Name Access

Soskin, Bud

Soskin, Lee

Subjects

Infants

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.

Source

Archival Descriptions