In 1919, Ashtabula’s Jewish population was estimated to number around 209 individuals.32 By the mid-1920s, a chapter of B’nai B’rith and an affiliated Ladies’ Auxiliary existed in Ashtabula alongside the previously referenced Ashtabula Sisterhood.33 The Sisterhood was created in 1923 with 25 members and Harriet Pickard served as the organization’s first president.34 One of the first activities undertaken by the Sisterhood in its first year was to establish a Sunday school, which enrolled thirty children. A teacher from Cleveland was hired to visit each week.35 By 1926 the Sisterhood also conducted a daily Hebrew school that held classes from 4 to 6 p.m.36 Families from the Geneva area were also active in supporting the Ashtabula Sunday school. Additional aid came from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations based out of Cincinnati.37 The Sisterhood affiliated with the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods and joined in supporting the organization’s charitable goals. These included a scholarship fund at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and aiding the Jewish Orphan Home in Cleveland. The Sisterhood also raised funds to support flood victims in Czechoslovakia during its inaugural year and contributed to a scholarship at The Ohio State University.38 By the late 1920s, the Sisterhood was calling itself the Ashtabula Temple Sisterhood. In 1937, the name Tifereth Israel Sisterhood was adopted, reflecting the existence of a new, formal synagogue in Ashtabula. By this time the Sisterhood’s membership had grown to around 31.
While the roots of Tifereth Israel Congregation date back to at least 1913, it appears that weekly Shabbat services were not regularly organized until 1928.39 Services were led by visiting rabbis including Joseph Gitin and Michael Aaronsohn. A synagogue was constructed by the congregation in 1930 and formally dedicated on Sunday, March 01, 1931. Rabbi Harry Davidowitz of the Cleveland Jewish Center was a guest speaker at the occasion.40 Fred Hogue, city manager of Ashtabula, and Rabbi Philip Jaffa of Hebrew Union College also spoke at the dedication.41 Following the dedication service, a banquet was held for attendees. At the time of its dedication, Tifereth Israel Congregation was affiliated with the Reform movement of Judaism. The congregation has also affiliated with the Conservative Jewish movement during some parts of its history such as the late 1940s, and from the late 1950s, to the 1970s.42 While not as traditional as Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism incorporated aspects of religious law that Reform Judaism generally did not practice in the mid-20th century. In the 21st century, the division between Conservative and Reform Judaism is less distinct. In addition to maintaining a synagogue, the members of Tifereth Israel also purchased a portion of Ridgeview Cemetery on Austinburg Road for use as a Jewish burial ground around 1934. This site, located southwest of Ashtabula, continues to be used by Tifereth Israel into the 21st century.
Families from Conneaut and Geneva also affiliated with Tifereth Israel at the time of its dedication. Members in Conneaut included Meyer and Pearl Goldsmith, Max and Sadye Goldstein, and Bessie and Harry Rubenstein. Members in Geneva included Bessie and Wiliam Kauvar and Bertha and Joseph Ornstein. An autonomous Jewish community also existed in Geneva during the 1920s and early 1930s. For example, there is evidence that some families in the area came together to organize Orthodox religious services in private homes.43 This group called itself Ahavath Zion and it is listed in the 1931 Ashtabula city directory. For a brief period of time, a rabbi also lived in Geneva and a kosher butcher visited the town regularly.44 Jewish farmers also organized to form a social group called the Jewish Farmers Association of Geneva which existed around 1926.45 Several families in Ashtabula played leading roles in the establishment of Tifereth Israel. These families include Krohngold, Legomsky, Livingston, Pickard, and Schultz. Joseph and Emil Krohngold were both immigrants from Austria who arrived in Ashtabula during the late 1910s or early 1920s. Joseph, who was the elder brother, established the M-K Boot Shop on Main Avenue before 1921. He would manage the store until his retirement in 1957.46 In addition to helping to establish Ashtabula’s B’nai B’rith chapter and synagogue, Joseph was active as president of the Retail Merchants Association. He would also help to create a local chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews which promoted interfaith dialogue.47 Emil initially worked with his brother at M-K, but by 1926 he established Khrongold’s Jewelry Store on Main Avenue, which he operated for over 40 years.48 Emil was also a member of the Elks and Masons and served terms as president of B’nai B’rith and Tifereth Israel.
Abraham Legomsky served as president of Tifereth Israel at the time of the synagogue’s dedication in 1931. An immigrant from Russia, Abraham arrived in the United States around 1907 at the age of 15.49 He lived in Ashtabula by 1918 and owned Legomsky's Market, which sold meats and groceries. This store would eventually pass to his brother, Jack who renamed it Legomsky's Superette. The business would remain open until at least the late 1950s. Carolyn and Henry Livingston lived in Ashtabula by 1929, and Henry made a living as a plumber. While Henry’s level of involvement with Tifereth Israel is not known, Carolyn served as president of the Sisterhood. Morris and Harriet Pickard operated M Pickard & Company, a men’s clothing store located at 177 Main Avenue. Morris was born in Emmendingen, Baden, while Harriet was born in Ohio.50 Samuel and Ray Schultz were both immigrants from Eastern Europe who operated the Style Center Shop, a women’s clothing store located along Main Avenue. Samuel was president of Tifereth Israel in 1926.51
During the 1930s, Ashtabula County’s Jewish population continued to grow and Tifereth Israel was the site of several bar mitzvah ceremonies. Individuals celebrated at these coming of age ceremonies included Robert Bernstein, who was the son of Dorothy and Jacob, Stanley Brody, the son of Anna and Morris, and Herbert Kauvar, the youngest son of Bessie and William.52 By the late 1930s, however, many of the Jewish farmers in Geneva had moved away and that area’s Jewish community merged completely into Tifereth Israel. In 1940, a charitable organization was created called the Ashtabula County Jewish Welfare Fund. Individuals involved with this group included Nathaniel Barsky, Jacob Bernstein, William Kauvar, Harold Louis, Jack Myers, Joseph Paschloss, and Abraham Sniderman. The group existed until at least 1944 and a large part of its work appears to have been assisting in the resettlement of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. A small number of these refugees from Europe found their way to Ashtabula, and the Jewish Welfare Fund may have played a role in supporting them. Edith and Siegfried Koppel arrived in Ashtabula in 1939 from Cologne, Germany after the family was targeted during Kristallnacht. During this night of violent anti-Jewish rioting that took place on November 9th and 10th, over 90 people were killed across Austria and Germany. Edith and Siegfried also brought three children with them to the United States.53 Siegfried, who had been a physician in Germany, practiced medicine in Ashtabula before the family moved to Cleveland in the early 1940s. While the Koppels were in Ashtabula they lived with Dorothy and Heinz Oppenheim who were also refugees from the Nazis. Heinz was Siegfried’s uncle, and before their emigration, Dorothy and Heinz lived in Tübingen located in southwest Germany. After arriving in Ashtabula in 1939, Heinz opened a medical practice that specialized in treating ailments in the ears, nose, and throat. The couple had come to the United States four years earlier and settled in Cleveland.54 With the outbreak of World War II, however, immigration from Europe, which continued to be heavily restricted by the Johnson-Reed Act, dwindled further.
32 Samson Oppenheim, “The Jewish Population of the United States,” American Jewish Yearbook, p 70, http://www.ajcarchives.org/ajcarchive/DigitalArchive.aspx.
33 "Hold Joint Chanukah Event," Jewish Independent, December 17, 1926.
34 Women of Reform Judaism Records, MS-73, Box 1, Folder 1, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio, p 163.
35 “Sisterhood Aids Orthodox Organization,” Reform Advocate, August 23, 1924.
36 "Hold Joint Chanukah Event," Jewish Independent, December 17, 1926.
37 "Ohio Jewish Farmers Supplied Literature," Jewish Independent, September 09, 1921.
38 “National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods,” American Israelite, June 28, 1923.
39 “Union Active Along Many Lines,” Reform Advocate, August 11, 1928.
40 “Rabbi Davidowitz to Speak at Ashtabula Synagogue Dedication Sunday,” Jewish Independent, February 27, 1931.
41 "Jottings," American Israelite, March 12, 1931.
42 “National Head to Address Conservative Women,” Jewish Review and Observer, October 25, 1957.
43 Howard Brody, “Life and Times of a Jewish Farm Boy,” Cleveland Jewish News, July 29, 1996.
44 Ibid.
45 Arnold Berger, “The Geneva Ohio Jewish Farmers,” Cleveland Jewish History, https://www.clevelandjewishhistory.net/places/geneva-farmers.htm.
46 Obituary of Joseph Krohngold, Cleveland Jewish News, May 07, 1971.
47 Ibid.
48 Deaths in the News, Dover Daily Reporter (Dover, OH), June 02, 1962.
49 Goodkind, S. B. Eminent Jews of America, 169.
50 Goodkind, S. B. Eminent Jews of America, 218-219.
51 "Hold Joint Chanukah Event," Jewish Independent, December 17, 1926.
52 Herb Kauvar, interview by Avi Master, Maria Rogers Oral History Program, Boulder Public Library, September 07, 2012.
53 Douglas Guth, "Remembering," Cleveland Jewish News, October 31, 2008.
54 "Doctor Opens Office in Ashtabula," Jewish Review and Observer, May 12, 1939.