Repository

Heinz History Center

Title

Aaron Family Papers

Creator

Aaron Family

Collection Number

MSS#248

Extent

7.5 cubic feet (15 boxes)

Date

1848-1978

Date

1920-1970

Abstract

The Aaron Family is a prominent family in Pittsburgh. These papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, financial material, reports, ledgers, scrapbooks, and other sundry items. The materials primarily document the work of Marcus Aaron and his daughter-in-law, Maxine Goldmark Aaron, on the Pittsburgh Board of Education.

Language

The material in this collection is in English.

Author

This guide to the collection was originally prepared by Craig Moore on November 1, 1996. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Summer, 1999.

Sponsor

This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project, a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.

Publisher

Heinz History Center

Address

1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical Sketch of the Aaron Family

Louis Israel Aaron was born on October 18,1840 in Moschin, Germany. A prominent businessman in Pittsburgh, Aaron began his own company, the Louis I. Aaron Company, which manufactured malt. The company was incorporated on September 1, 1894 in West Virginia. He was also president of the Homer Laughlin China Company of East Liverpool, Ohio, the Newell Street Railway Company, and the North American Manufacturing Company of Newell, West Virginia. On his 70th birthday in 1910 Aaron gave $59,800 to various charities including the Hebrew Union College, the J.M. Gusky Orphanage and Home, the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, and the United Hebrew Relief Association. His $25,000 contribution helped lay the cornerstone of the Hebrew Institute of Pittsburgh. Louis was very involved with the Jewish community in Pittsburgh through his work with the United Hebrew Relief Association and the Hebrew Benevolent Society.

Marcus Aaron, born on December 14, 1869, was the son of Louis Israel Aaron and Mina M. Lippman. Educated at the Conway School and the Preparatory Department of the University of Western Pennsylvania, Aaron received an honorary degree as a Doctor of Laws from the University of Pittsburgh in 1924. Marcus Aaron was president, and later chairman, of the Homer Laughlin China Company in Newell, West Virginia, which manufactured semi-vitreous tableware. He also worked as treasurer of his father's company, the Louis I. Aaron Company. He was selected to be one of the first members of the Board of Education for the Pittsburgh School District in 1911 by the Board of Judges of the Common Pleas Court. He served on the board until his retirement in 1947 and was president from 1922 until 1942. Aaron was instrumental in the passage of the Edmunds Act in 1933 which established salary schedules for teachers. In addition, Aaron was a member of the State Board of Education from 1916 to 1921 and the State Council of Education from 1921 to 1923. Marcus was active in the Jewish community as a member on the board of governors for the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. He was also president of the Rodef Shalom Congregation. He was a trustee of the Carnegie Institute, the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the Carnegie Library. He married Stella Hamburger on November 23, 1893 and had two children, Marcus Lester and Fannie Hamburger.

Maxine Goldmark Aaron was the wife of Marcus Lester Aaron, son of Marcus Aaron. Maxine attended the Horace-Mann School for Girls in New York and graduated from Vassar College in 1924 with a degree in History and Economics. She married Marcus Lester Aaron in 1926. She was a member Rodef Shalom congregation. Like her father-in-law, Marcus Aaron, Maxine shared an ardent interest in public education. She served as president of the Pittsburgh Council of the P.T.A. and was appointed to the School Board in 1948. Maxine served on the School Board until 1975, as vice president from 1953 to 1956 and as the first female president from 1966 to 1969. As president of the School Board, Aaron dealt with such issues as inadequate funding, racial integration, and a teacher's strike in 1968. She was the mother of one son, Marcus Aaron II, and three daughters, Maxine G. A. Rosston, Frances A. Hess, and Elinor G. A. Langer.

Scope and Content Notes

The papers consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, financial material, printed material, certificates, reports, scrapbooks, and other sundry items. he Aaron Family Papers primarily document the Pittsburgh Board of Education from the time of its inception in 1911 until the late 1960s through the service of Marcus Aaron and later his daughter-in-law Maxine Goldmark Aaron. Louis I. Aaron's papers contain abundant data on his various finances and business ventures. Lacking, however, is biographical material related to him or descriptive material related to his businesses. Although Louis Aaron served as president of the Homer Laughlin China Company there is very little documenting the history of the Company. The majority of material related to Maxine Aaron pertains to the Pittsburgh Board of Education.

Arrangement

The Aaron Family Papers are arranged in five series which have been designated for Louis Israel Aaron, Marcus Aaron, Maxine Goldmark Aaron, Other Aaron Family Members, and Printed Material.

The Aaron Family Papers are housed in 15 archival boxes.

Conditions Governing Access

Portions of this collection were previously restricted at the request of the donor. The restriction expired on June 30, 2021, and the entire collection is currently open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These materials came in one accession, 1996.

Acc# 1996.0156 -- Gift of Marcus Aaron II (Son of Maxine Goldmark Aaron and Marcus Lester Aaron).

Preferred Citation

Guide to the Aaron Family Papers, 1848-1978, MSS #248, Rauh Jewish Archives, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Processing Information

Papers were arranged and inventory was written by Craig Moore on November 1, 1996

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Jennifer Marshall on August 13, 1999.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

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