The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent Obituary Database

This database is an index of more than 57,000 obituary notices which appeared in the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, compiled by volunteers from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia.  Upon completion of the project, data spanning from April 1887 to the present will be available.  Data is currently available in the database for the following dates: 1887-1911, 1914-1936, 1946, Jul-Dec 1947, 1948, Sep-Dec 1950, 1951-1953, 1955-1957, (Jan-Jun 1958 not available), Jul-Dec 1958, 1959-1964, Jan-Sep 1970, 1973, 1979, 1992-1994, Mar-Dec 2003, 2004, Sep-Nov 2005, Mar-Dec 2006, and 2007-2012.

Database Contents

For each entry, the index contains the following information:

• Name — The deceased's surname and given name.  The maiden name (if given) is added in parenthesis.
• Age — The age at death, as listed in the obituary notice.
• Birthplace — The deceased's birthplace: City / State / Country.  This information is rarely present.
• Other Surnames — Surnames of related family members mentioned in the obituary.
• Issue — The date of the issue of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in which the obituary appeared, in month/day/year format.
• Page — The page number within the issue.
  Note: The notation "Nerc'y" appears in the Page column in a number of early-year entries (circa 1915-1936).  These were were provided to us by a volunteer without an issue page number.  This indicates that the obituary came from a necrology entry.  For a period of time, the Jewish Exponent published the obituaries as an inclusive list, once a month.  If one scrolls thru the microfilm, it is fairly easy to find the desired obituary based on the date of issue.

The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent is published weekly, by the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia.

Viewing the Obituaries

To view the actual obituaries which this database indexes, consult back issues of the Jewish Exponent in hardcopy or on microfilm, at the following locations:

• Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center
  Temple University, Urban Archives, Paley Library, 1210 Polett Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19122.  Tel.: (215) 204-8257.
  Has: Bound copies of the Jewish Exponent (1887 to 1999), individual copies of the Jewish Exponent (2000 to present).

• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
  Albert M. Greenfield Microform and Media Center, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.  Tel.: (215) 732-2680.
  Has: Microfilm of the Jewish Exponent, v. 1, no. 1 (Apr. 15, 1887) – v. 125, no. 47 (June 24, 1955).

• Free Library of Philadelphia – Logan Circle
  1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.  Tel.: (215) 686-5322.  Newspaper & Microfilm Center: Tel.: (215) 686-5431 or -5432
  Has: Microfilm of the Jewish Exponent:
  4/15/1887 - 3/31/1891, 4/18/1895 - 12/31/1912, 1/1/1914 - 12/31/1922, 1/1/1924 - 12/26/1969, 8/5/1977 - 12/31/1979, 1/2/1981 - 4/30/1982, 7/1/1982 -12/31/1982, 6/3/1983 - to present.
  and six months of current issues.

• University of Pennsylvania – Center for Judaic Studies
  420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.  Tel.: (215) 238-1290.
  Has: Microfilms: Call Number: AP2.J4952 (microfilm).
  v.1:no.1 (1887:Apr.15) - v.1:no.26; v.7:no.1 (1890:Apr.10) - v.125:no.47 (1955:Jun.24); v.147:no.18 (1970:May.1) - v.204:no.27 (1998:Dec.31).
  Note: They do not have a microfilm reader.  Our volunteer requested that the microfilm be sent over to the main campus library, Van Pelt Library.  Patrons interested in the microfilm should contact the Center for Jewish Studies for a similar request.

• Jewish Exponent
  2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.  Tel: (215) 832-0700.
  Has: Hardcopy, depending on age of paper, which can be viewed and/or copied in person.  This is a working newspaper.

Other locations also exist.  Check with your local librarian.

Acknowledgements

Current Project coordinator: James Gross.  Past Project coordinator: Leonard Duboff.  Special thanks to: Selma Neubauer, Co-president JGSPA.

Data input was done by the following volunteers: Lenard Duboff, David Brill, Al First, Helen Gusoff, Martin Gusoff, Michael Levin, Joan Rosen, Steve Schecter, Harold Waitsman, Tracey Rich, Steve Bolef, Ruth Kuschner, Bernard Cedar, David Mink, Joan Gross.

The data was checked by James Gross for duplications and errors.