Guide to the Photographs of the Strassburger Family, c1875-1981
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Photographs of the Strassburger Family
- Creator
- Strassburger Family
- Collection Number
- PFF#2
- Extent
- .15 cubic feet (3 folders)
- Date
- c1875-1981
- Abstract
- The Strassburger Family was a prominent German-American Jewish Family from Allegheny City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family was one of the earliest Jewish families to settle in the Pittsburgh area. These photographs primarily include family photographs, portraits and photographs of William Strassburger's paintings.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- 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 Strassburger Family
The Strassburger Family was a prominent German-American Jewish Family from Allegheny City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family was one of the earliest Jewish families to settle in the Pittsburgh area. Samuel Strassburger (1842-1922) came to the United States from Baden, Germany, in 1867. He settled in Allegheny City (Pittsburgh's North Side) and went into business with Charles Falk, operating a store on Federal Street. In 1876, Samuel Strassburger married Julia Morganstern (1854-) and they had four children: William, Edwin, Eugene B., and Harvey. William Strassburger attended the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University in New York. William Strassburger became president of the Grant Building Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and maintained an interest in art and oil painting throughout his life. Eugene B. (1886-1978) graduated from Pittsburgh Central High School and then attended Harvard undergraduate and Law School. After graduating from law school, he returned to Pittsburgh and joined the firm of William H. Lemon. Strassburger served some time in the armed services during World War I. In 1919, after the death of Lemon, Strassburger and another associate of the firm, J. Frank McKenna, reorganized the firm as Strassburger and McKenna. In addition to his law practice, Strassburger was also a professor at the Duquesne University Law School from 1920 until 1940. Strassburger married Constance Black and they had three children: Eugene Jr., Joan, and Martha. Eugene B. Strassburger, Jr. (1917-1984) also attended Harvard Law School and after graduation in 1941, joined his father's firm. Eugene B. Strassburger, Jr. served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. He married Jane Schanfarber and they had three children: Elaine, Eugene B. III, and Edwin. Eugene B. Strassburger III (1943-) was the third member of his family to graduate from Harvard Law School (1967) and he joined the firm started by his grandfather. He left the firm for a seat as judge of the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
Scope and Content Notes
These photographs primarily include family photographs, portraits and photographs of William Strassburger's paintings. The early family photographs include several portraits of Samuel and Julia (Morganstern) Strassburger and their son Eugene B. Strassburger. The photographs of Eugene B. Strassburger include several childhood portraits, his Harvard Law School graduating class (1910), a portrait taken while in service during World War I, and photographs of his wife, Constance. Also among the early photographs is one taken of the Board of Directors of the Rodef Shalom Congregation (1934) in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood. Other photographs include portraits of William and Harvey Strassburger, two photographs of Leon Block, and photographs taken during the unveiling of a mural by artist Edward Trumbull for the Grant Building (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in 1931. One group portrait from this event includes Eugene B. Strassburger, Edward Trumbull, architect Henry Hornbostel, and Director of the Carnegie Institute, Homer Saint-Goudens. The general photographs primarily include later portraits of Eugene B. Strassburger and William Strassburger, but also include photographs of Charles McKenna and Judge (Sammy) Weiss and group portraits from the Harvard Law School Reunions of 1910 and 1941. Photographs of William Strassburger's artwork do not provide detailed documentation of his work on exhibit. These photographs document the artistic, social and professional interests of a prominent Pittsburgh Jewish family, particularly the career of Eugene B. Strassburger and Eugene B. Strassburger, Jr.
Arrangement
The Strassburger Family Photographs are housed in three file folders and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in one accession in 1989.
Acc# 1989.11 Gift of Mrs. Jane Strassburger, (Photographs and papers. Mrs. Strassburger married Eugene B. Strassburger, Jr.).
Preferred Citation
Photographs of the Strassburger Family, c1875-1981, PFF# 2, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Rachel Balliet on July 18, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on July 20, 2001.
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.
Subjects
- Concordia Club (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Harvard University (Cambridge, Ma.)
- Pittsburgh Central High School (Pa.)
- Rodef Shalom Congregation (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Strassburger Family
- Block, Leon (-1922)
- Hornbostel, Henry (-1961)
- Morganstern Family
- Saint-Gaudens, Homer (1880-)
- Strassburger, William
- Trumbull, Edward
- Grant Building (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Buildings
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Education
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Religion
- Art -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Clubs -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Jews, Social Life and Customs -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Jews, German -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Law schools -- Massachusetts
- Lawyers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Lawyers, Jewish -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Synagogues -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh