Guide to the Patricia K. and Ralph L. DeRoy Papers and Photographs c1890-19966, MSS1200
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Patricia K. and Ralph L. DeRoy Papers and Photographs
- Collection Number
- MSS1200
- Extent
- 7.5 linear feet
- Date
- c1890-1996
- Abstract
- Ralph Lionel DeRoy, a descendent of one of the oldest Jewish families in Pittsburgh, was a partner at Joseph DeRoy and Sons jewelry store. With the success of the jewelry store, Ralph and his wife Patricia K. DeRoy lived a comfortable life with their two children in the Squirrel Hill and Churchill neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pa. The family was able to establish itself in the business sector, social circles, and within the local Jewish community. Patricia K. and Ralph L. DeRoy Papers and Photographs documents the personal and professional lives of the Patricia K. and Ralph L. DeRoy family and the associated Cohen, Goldston, Kreimer, and Weinberg families. The collection includes 18 scrapbooks created by Patricia Iris Kreimer DeRoy and loose papers.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
Ralph Lionel and Patricia K. DeRoy were married on October 2, 1946 and had two children, Al (b.1948) and Diane (b.1953). Ralph, a descendent of one of the oldest Jewish families in Pittsburgh, was a jeweler and partner at Joseph DeRoy and Sons jewelry store. With the success of the jewelry store, the DeRoys lived a comfortable life with their two children in the Squirrel Hill and Churchill neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pa. The family was able to establish itself in the business sector, social circles, and within the local Jewish community.
Abraham DeRoy (1808-1889) and his wife Saartje Israel "Sarah" van Baalen DeRoy (1812-1896) immigrated to Pittsburgh from Amsterdam in the 1850s with their seven children, Sam, Levy, Emanuel, Betsy, Israel, Joseph, and Kate. According to city directories, Israel and Joseph DeRoy started DeRoy Brothers, a pawnbroking business at 49 Smithfield Street, around 1870. The brothers split in 1898, each starting separate jewelry and pawnbroking businesses downtown with their respective sons. Joseph DeRoy and Sons relocated to 307 Smithfield Street and, by 1948, had expanded into three locations, 311 and 544 Smithfield Street in downtown Pittsburgh and 6111 Penn Avenue in East Liberty.
Joseph DeRoy (1850-1918) and his wife Lydia Isaacs DeRoy (1852-1911) had eight children, Abraham, Louis, Al, Catherine, Sarah, Isaac, Israel, and Julia. Al J. DeRoy (1874-1963) worked for his father at Joseph DeRoy and Sons. Al was married twice—to Flora Kuttnauer and Edna Lyons. Al and Flora had one child, Edwin K. DeRoy (1901-1957). Flora died in 1907. He and his second wife Edna Lyons DeRoy (1888-1967) had one child, Ralph. Ralph L. DeRoy (1918-2000) graduated from Allderdice High School and the Babson Institute School of Business Administration in Wellesley Hill, Mass. before returning to Pittsburgh to join the family business.
Prior to World War II, Ralph DeRoy served for one year in the U.S. Coast Guard and patrolled the rivers of Pittsburgh. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served for three years. During his time in the service, he met his future wife Patricia Iris Kreimer (1925-2006), the daughter of Mildred and Isadore B. Kreimer of Pittsburgh.
Mildred Weinberg was the daughter of Clara Goldston Weinberg and Louis Weinberg. She had a brother, Arnold Weinberg, and a sister, Emily Weinberg, who later married E. Milton Cohen. E. Milton Cohen was president of the National Retail Furniture Association. The Goldston family was originally from Russia. Branches of the family immigrated to England and eventually the United States. Clara Goldston was born in England to Eli and Leah Goldston before the family immigrated to Pittsburgh. Louis Weinberg was also born in England and immigrated to Pittsburgh in 1902. Louis was co-owner of Weinberg Brothers' Place furniture store on Fifth Avenue in downtown.
Isadore Kreimer immigrated to the United States from Russia. He served in the U.S. Army in the 80th Infantry Division (1917-1919) during World War I before becoming a U. S. citizen in 1927. Mildred and Isadore Kreimer were married in 1924 and settled on Woodmont Street in Squirrel Hill. That same year, Isadore opened Royal Credit Clothing Company on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. The store allowed customers to purchase clothing on credit. They had one child, Patricia. Patricia Kreimer graduated from Allderdice High School in 1942. She attended Northwestern University until 1943, when she transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. She graduated from its Retail Training Bureau in 1946.
After his tour of duty, Ralph DeRoy returned to Joseph DeRoy and Sons. He remained with the store until it closed in 1963. During his time with the company, he oversaw the building of a new and modernized store at 408 Smithfield Street in 1957 and became a certified gemologist. He also received recognition for his watch designs in 1956 from the Elgin National Watch Company. Joseph DeRoy and Sons closed in 1963, and Ralph sold life insurance for Phoenix Mutual, before retiring in 1971. The DeRoys frequently traveled across the country for jewelry conventions and were members of the 24 Carat Club, representing leading jewelers. The family vacationed all over the world, including trips to Washington D.C. in 1958, Hawaii and Los Angeles in 1967, Williamsburg, Va. in 1973, and the United Kingdom in 1985.
The DeRoys were members of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Al DeRoy attended Deer Creek Day Camp and Camp Lynnwood as a child in the 1940s and 1950s. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1970 and received a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1975 and an MPA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1983. He spent most of his career at the University of Pittsburgh. He was married twice—to Shelley Levy in 1971 and to Wendy Gertsen Rosenberg in 1988.
Diane graduated from Churchill Area High School and Northwestern University. She later worked as a sales representative for the Xerox Company in the 1970s. Diane married Harley Michelson of Illinois in 1981. The Michelsons settled in Illinois and had two children, Aaron and Rachel.
Ralph and Patricia DeRoy moved to Pompeo Beach, Fl. in 1973 and purchased a home in Boca Raton, Fl. in 1985 before returning to Pittsburgh in 1994, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Scope and Content Notes
Patricia K. and Ralph L. DeRoy Papers and Photographs documents the personal and professional lives of the Patricia K. and Ralph L. DeRoy family and the associated Cohen, Goldston, Kreimer, and Weinberg families. The collection contains 18 scrapbooks created by Patricia Iris Kreimer DeRoy and loose papers documenting a century of family history. The collection provides a lens into the life of a middle-class Jewish family in Pittsburgh. Fifteen of the scrapbooks have been removed from their binding while the remaining three have been left intact. The scrapbooks contain materials such as photographs, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, assorted ephemera from travel and social events, greeting cards, and other materials. Given the prominence of the DeRoy family within the Jewish community and broad civic community, the collection provides many opportunities to those researching the Jewish community and the local business world in Pittsburgh in the mid-to-late 20th century.
Box 1 contains a single scrapbook documenting the DeRoy family from 1890 through the 1976. The scrapbook is divided into seven chapters focusing on the Goldstons, the Weinbergs, the Cohens, the Kreimers, Patricia K. DeRoy, the DeRoy family, and Ralph L. DeRoy. The scrapbook contains photographs, correspondence, family trees, newspaper clippings, birth certificates and marriage licenses. It includes photographs and promotional materials from Joseph DeRoy and Sons on Smithfield Street. Also included are marketing materials and a credit book from the Royal Credit Clothing Company. The scrapbook documents the many various organizational affiliations of the DeRoy family, including Rodef Shalom Congregation and its West View Cemetery, Tree of Life Congregation and the National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section. It also documents Isadore Kreimer's service in the 80th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army during World War I through official military documnents, insignia, newspaper clippings and correspondence. Other materials include marriage certificates in both English and Hebrew, the last will and testaments of Sarah and Abraham DeRoy and Joseph DeRoy, photographs, hankerchifs, and correspondence.
Box 2 contains seven scrapbooks covering events from 1954 through 1990. The first two scrapbooks cover events from 1954 to 1958. They contain documentation of various birthdays, holidays, wedding anniversaries and other significant family events; Al K. and Diane DeRoy's early childhoods, their secular and religious education at Linden School and Rodef Shalom Congregation, and their summer activities at Camp Lynnwood and the Hebrew Institute day camp; a family trip to Atlantic City; various business trips to New York for jewelers' conventions and ephemera from various New York City locales, particularly the Waldorf Astoria hotel; civic events involving the Community Chest and the American Cancer Society; ticket stubs from sporting events and other leisure activities; newspaper clippings about Joseph DeRoy and Sons and other family members; and Jewish communal activities at Rodef Shalom Congregation and the Concordia Club. Of note is a series of photographs and correspondence between the DeRoy family and a Hungarian family in the year following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
The third scrapbook covers events from 1962 to 1990. It is divided into two sections. The first section includes events from 1962 to 1964. Its contents are similar to those of the first two scrapbooks and includes documentation of Philment Scout Ranch, the Sports Car Club of America, West Penn Hospital and the Medical Libraries Association. The second section runs from 1984 to 1990. It contains documentation of Al K. and Wendy DeRoy's courtship; Al K. DeRoy's career at the University of Pittsburgh; correspondence between members of the DeRoy family; photographs of family celebrations involving Patricia and Ralph DeRoy; family pets; Al K. DeRoy and Wendy Gertsen Rosenberg's wedding; family trips to Chicotigue Island, Kennywood Park and Key West, Florida; and assorted articles and magazine clippings.
The fourth scrapbook covers events from 1966 to 1969. It includes documentation of Diane DeRoy's childhood, including her time at Wilkins Junior High School; Al K. DeRoy's years at Franklin and Marshall College; family and personal trips to Camp Echo, Fort Ligonier, White Sulphur Springs, Hawaii; souveniers from numerous restaurants; family events including bar mitzvahs, birthdays and obituaries; Ralph DeRoy's career with Phoenix Mutual; and family pets.
The fifth scrapbook covers events from 1971 to 1975. It includes souvenirs from Al K. and Shelly DeRoy's honeymoon to New York City and Niagara Falls in 1971; family and personal trips to Montreal; Washington D.C., Williamsburg, and Florida; documentation of an Association of American Medical Colleges conference; Valentine's Day, Chanukah, birthday and anniversary cards, both store-bought and homemade; Pittsburgh Pirates ticket stubs; Wightman School events and class portraits; events at the Park Schenley restaurant, Gateway Clipper fleet, Congregation Beth Shalom, the Carnegie Institute, North Park and Klein's Restaurant.
The sixth scrapbook covers events from 1985. It contains obituary materials for Mildred Kreimer; family correspondance; family photographs; birthday cards; a certificate from the Jewish National Fund; and Al K. DeRoy's correspondance with the American Human Society.
The seventh scrapbook documents Patricia and Ralph DeRoy's trip to the United Kingdom in September and October 1985 through planning documents, postcards, clippings and receipts.
Box 3 contains a single scrapbook documenting a DeRoy family vacation to Los Angeles and Hawaii in 1967 through itineraries, maps, photographs, postcards and newspaper clippings.
Box 4 contains a single scrapbook documenting a DeRoy family vacation to Hawaii in 1969. The scrapbook consists entirely of photographs of various locales, as well as a family visit with Betty and Richard DeRoy and their children.
Box 5 contains a single scrapbook documenting the DeRoy familyfrom 1969 to1971 through photographs, greeting cards, travel materials and assorted correspondance and documents. The scrapbook includes an article by Mildred Kreimer in the June 1969 issue of the Jewish Digest titled "My Grandfather and the Millionaire;" Mildred's work as a school administrator at Temple David; family functions such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, home repairs, and the wedding of Al K. DeRoy and Shelley Levy at Olde Yorke Road Temple-Beth Am in Abington Pennsylvania in 1971; local theatrical events; and milestones in the life of Diane DeRoy including her prom, . The scrapbook also contains documentation of trips to the Statue of Liberty, Hawaii, the Meadows Racetrack, and the Baha'I House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. A European vacation to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ralph and Patricia DeRoy in 1971 documents locations in various countries. Of note is a brochure from the Anne Frank House. The scrapbook documents milestones in the lives of the DeRoy children including the engagement, wedding and education of Al DeRoy and the prom, theatrical life and college search of Diane DeRoy. The scrapbook also documents Western Pennsylvania locales including Fallingwater, the Duquesne Incline, the Park Schenley restaurant, the Heinz plant, the L. E. Smith Glass Company plant, Point State Park, and Three Rivers Stadium.Other notable subjects include the 1969 Moon Landing, which is documented with a photograph of a television projecting the scene, the Alpha Epsilon Phi Alumni Birthday Dinner Dance, and the American College of Life Underwriters from which Ralph DeRoy graduated. Also included is a a tentative letter of acceptance to The University of Tennessee's College of Medicine sent to Al.
Box 6 contains a single scrapbook created by Shelley Levy in 1970, documenting her courtship with Al K. Deroy from their initial meeting at a Hillel luncheon at Franklin and Marshall College through their engagement. The scrapbook includes correspondence and photographs, and ephemera collected on their dates. Objects include ticket stubs, corsage ribbons, menus and matchbooks. Pages are annotated with memories and historical notes.
Box 7 contains a single scrapbook documenting the DeRoy family between 1972 and 1975. It documents vacations including trips to Cleveland, to East Africa, and to California and Las Vegas in 1972. It contains numerous greeting cards celebrating special events and holidays, especially birthdays and Valentine's Day. It includes invitations to various social functions, including weddings, bat mitzvah ceremonies and the 30th reunion of theTaylor Allderdice High School Class of 1942, as well as social events at the Churchill Rotary Club and the Pittsburgh Ski Club Other items and subjects of note include a newsletter from the Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association and Irene Kaufman Centers of Pittsburgh, ephemera related to Patricia DeRoy and Taylor Allderdice High School, a report card from Northwestern University and a score report from the National Board of Medical Examines. The scrapbook also includes an article from The Pittsburgh Press titled "Mental Health Gets A Push,"which sheds information on the treatment of mental health in the 1970s. Included are birthday cards sent to Patricia DeRoy that examine the societal views held on the role of women duirng the 1970s. Also of note are photographs and literature related to the purchase of a condominum in the Reniassance in Pompano Beach, Florida by Patricia and Ralph Deroy.
Box 8 contains a single scrapbook documenting the professional, social, and personal lives of Al K. DeRoy and Shelley (Levy) DeRoy from 1975-1976, with particular attention paid to Al K. DeRoy's career at the Univrsity of Pittsburgh. Items of note include a letter from the Education Department at the University of Pittsburgh granting Al the Student Reasearch Award, an invitation to present a paper at the First Annual Educational Colloquium at the University and a Certificate of Merit given to Al after the presentation. This scrapbook also contains a letter to Al confirming the completion of requirements to receive his PhD in Higher Education at the University as well as correspondence detailing his involvement with the United Way of Pittsburgh and its 1975 Campaign. Also included is an invitation and program from Confirmation Services at Old York Road Temple Beth Am in Abington Pennsylvania.
Box 9 contains a single scrapbook documenting events between 1978 and 1982., including the DeRoy's growing family, the professional advancements of Al and Diane DeRoy, and the family's ties with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh and within the State of Israel. Several sections of the scrapbook document show dogs acquired by the DeRoys, and the associated world of animal pedigrees and dog shows. A selection of greeting cards mark birthdays, anniversary and convalescence. Throughout the scrapbooks are documents from the educational and professional life of Al K. DeRoy, including his work at the University of Pittsburgh and the Outstanding Young Men of America award. Of note are announcements and newspaper clippings from The Jewish Chronicle detailing the Pittsburgh Council of B'nai B'rith, its Martyrs' Forest-Jewish National Fund Brunch in 1979. Also of note is a photograph showing Ralph DeRoy modeling a t-shirt from the Pittsburgh Stealers.>
Box 10 contains two scrapbooks documenting the DeRoy family in the 1990s. The first scrapbook covers events from 1990 through 1993, and the second covers events in 1994 and 1995. They include documentation of various family celebrations, a European vacation, Al K. DeRoy's carrer as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Patricia DeRoy's correpondence on Taylor Allderdice High School's Class of 1942's 50th Reunion, a letter from Rabbi Mark Staitman of Rodef Shalom welcoming Patricia and Ralph DeRoy back to the congregation, an article clipping about Rodef Shalom Congregation, a flyer from a show at the Masonic Temple in Oakland, a copy of Al K. DeRoy's Curriculum Vitae, and a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on the Wightman School.
Box 11 contains a single scrapbook covering events between 1994 and 1996. It includes documentation of family events including birthdays and holidays; photographs and newsletter of the Michelson family; articles about a fire at Congregation Beth Shalom in 1996; correspondance about the transition from Rabbi Walter Jacob to Rabbi Mark Staitman at Rodef Shalom Congregation; and other communal activities.
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Al K. DeRoytype="acquisition" normal="2016 " >2016
Archives accession # 2016.0225
Gift from Al K. DeRoytype="acquisition" normal="2018 " >2018
Archives accession # 2018.0053
Preferred Citation
Patricia K. and Ralph L. DeRoy Papers and Photographs, c1890-1996, MSS 1191, Rauh Jewish Archives, Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Processing by Catelyn Cocuzzi on 01/23/2020.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Separated Materials
To the museum: Loupe, Tie/Money clip, 2 Cardholders, wallet, and watch, 2018.58.
Related Materials
Other collections including materials about the DeRoy family include: Aaronel deRoy Gruber Papers and Photographs, MSS 335 Aronson Family Papers and Photographs, 2019.0112
Subjects
- West View Cemetery (Ross Township, Pa.)
- Downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- East Liberty (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Boca Raton (Fl.)
- Pompeo Beach (Fl.)
- Jews--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh
- Merchants--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh
- Immigrants--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh
- Jewelers--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh