Lynne and Blair Jacobson Family Papers and Photographs, 1902-2018
Arrangement
Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Lynne and Blair Jacobson Family Papers and Photographs
source
Jacobson, Lynne S.
Creator
Jacobson, Lynne S.
Creator
Jacobson, Blair.
Collection Number
MSS 1221
Extent
8.50 Linear Feet6 boxes and 3 oversize folders
Date
1902-2018
Abstract
The Lynne and Blair Jacobson Family
Papers and Photographs documents the professional, communal, and personal lives of the
Eisenfeld, Piltz, Swartz, Friedlander, Jacobson, Litman, Roth, and Kaufman families through
assorted correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia.
Language
English , Hebrew ,
Polish , Yiddish .
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Catelyn Cocuzzi.
Lynne and Blair Jacobson each came from Jewish families with differing backgrounds and
experiences throughout various parts of the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding towns.
Eisenfeld Family
Eleazer "Louis" Eisenfeld (1880-1956) immigrated to the United States from his native
Austria-Hungary in 1912. Once in Pittsburgh, he worked as an egg candler for Irving
Somerman. In 1920, Eisenfeld sent for his wife, Feige "Fannie" (Piltz) Eisenfeld
(c.1882-1976), and their sons Hershel "Harry" and Joseph. Joseph died before making the
trip. A third child, Shifra "Sylvia" "Shiffie," was born after the Eisenfeld family settled
in Pittsburgh. The Eisenfeld family lived in half of a duplex on Adelaide Street, in the
upper Hill District, known as Herron Hill or Sugartop.
Harry Eisenfeld (1905-1981) graduated from Fifth Avenue High School in 1925. He married
Bessie Ruben. They had two children, Arnold and Lenny. Arnold Eisenfeld and his wife Nancy
had two children, Michael and Susie. Lenny Eisenfeld was a doctor. He married Vicki Port in
1969, a jewelry designer. Their son Matthew was killed in a bus bombing in Jerusalem in
1996.
Shiffie Eisenfeld (1921-1979) graduated from Madison Elementary School, Schenley High
School, and the University of Pittsburgh. She met her future husband, Howard Swartz
(1920-2004), during her freshman year of college. Originally from Cleveland, Swartz was the
son of Joseph Swartz and Elizabeth Krammer. He had two sisters, Eleanor and Mildred. Howard
attended Roosevelt Junior High School in Cleveland, Ohio before transferring to Taylor
Allderdice High School. Joseph Swartz worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was
transferred to Tulsa, Ok. around the time Howard graduated from high school. Howard stayed
in Pittsburgh for college, living with cousins. He graduated from the University of
Pittsburgh. His sister Mildred Swartz served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II.
Howard and Sylvia Swartz had two daughters, Lynne (b.1943) and Eileen (1949-1985). Lynne
Swartz graduated from Colfax Elementary School, Taylor Allderdice High School, and Chatham
College. She married Blair Jacobson in 1965. They had two children, Larry and Teddi. Larry
Jacobson graduated from the Wightman School, Shadyside Academy, and Clark University. Teddi
Jacobson graduated from the Ellis School, Taylor Allderdice High School, and Washington
University in St. Louis.
Lynne Jacobson was a lifelong member of Rodef Shalom Congregation and its Sisterhood and
served as a trustee of the congregation. She was a longtime member of the National Council
of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section and served a term as its president, as did her daughter
Teddi. They were the first mother-daughter presidents in the chapter's history. Lynne was
the president of the Ellis School PTA and a member of the board of trustees of the school.
She was also involved with local Race for the Cure. Like her father, Lynne was an amateur
pilot.
Eileen Swartz attended Taylor Allderdice High School before graduating from the University
of Pittsburgh. She lived in Regent Square and worked for Johnson and Higgins of Pennsylvania
Inc.
Jacobson Family
Berchik Friedlander was born in Grinkishok in present-day Lithuania. He married Frieda
Bonn. Their son Benjamin Friedlander immigrated to the United States. Friedlander opened the
Busy Bee Hive clothing store on Fifth Avenue in Homestead in 1899. The business later moved
to 221 E. 8th Avenue in Homestead. After marrying Annie Lebovitz, Benjamin Friedlander sent
for his parents, his three brothers, and his younger sister Reva. They immigrated around
1901.
Alex Friedlander operated a grocery store on Dickson Street. Reva (Rebecca) Friedlander
married Louis Jacobson before leaving Lithuania. They had six children, Lena, Meyer, Samuel,
Sarah, Pauline and Fannie. Louis and Rebecca Jacobson entered the grocery business with Alex
Friedlander. The Jacobson children also worked at the Dickson Street grocery store.
Fannie Friedlander married Sam Gordon, who went into business with his brother-in-law Meyer
Jacobson. They operated Jacobson-Gordon Automobile Dealers, also known as Liberty Garage, on
Amity Street in Homestead. The dealership later moved to 8th Avenue. They sold Willys and
Hudson cars. Meyer's brother, Samuel Jacobson (1905-1979), owned Morgan Garage on E. 11th
Avenue in Homestead. After Jacobson-Gordon filed for bankruptcy, Meyer left the partnership.
Samuel Jacobson went into business with Sam Gordon as Gordon and Jacobson Dealership.
Samuel Jacobson married Marion Hechtman. They had two children: Alan Louis Jacobson
(1935-2002) and Blair George Jacobson (b. 1939). Alan and Blair Jacobson grew up in the
Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and spent summers at Camp Machigon in Maine.
Marion Hechtman Jacobson (1906-1970) was born in Farrell, Pa. but raised in Braddock, Pa.
She was the daughter of Jacob (1877-1945) and Lena Hechtman (1879-1957). Jacob and Lena
Hechtman had five children: Melvin (1900-1970), Sylvia (1902-1953), Leonard (1904-1943),
Marion (1906-1970), and Howard (1910-1984). Lena Hechtman was elected Republican
committeewoman in 1924 and 1928. She was also a founder of Braddock Hospital. Howard "Hub"
Hechtman married Muriel "Babe" Kaufman. Muriel Kaufman Hechtman grew up in the South Hills
and graduated from Dormont High School. She was in the Women's Army Corps. Sylvia Hechtman
married Herman Litman of Braddock. Their son Alan Lee Litman was an inventor and developed
chemical mace.
Content Description
The Lynne and Blair Jacobson Family Papers and Photographs documents members of the
Eisenfeld, Piltz, Swartz, Friedlander, Jacobson, Litman, Roth, and Kaufman families. It
contains personal materials, as well as documentation of family events, businesses, and
communal affairs.
Documents include money orders and remittances sent by Louis Eisenfeld to his wife Fannie
in Austria-Hungary, naturalization and travel papers, correspondence and clippings. Of note
are several money orders obtained from Max Schamberg & Co., which later became the
Foreign Exchange Department of the First National Bank of Pittsburgh. Max Schamberg (d.
1895) established his company, a foreign exchange and steamship agency in Pittsburgh in
1867. Also of note are correspondence between Harry Eisenfeld and his distant cousin Bernie
Pitz and his mother, Olga de Bucki. Olga's mother, Klara Wasserman, was Fannie Eisenfeld's
cousin. The Wasserman family emigrated to Argentina from Berlin. The papers document the
family life, education and communal activities of Lynne Jacobson, her grandfather Joseph
Swartz, her parents Howard and Sylvia Swartz, her aunt Mildred Swartz, her uncle Harry
Eisenfeld and Cousin Lenny Eisenfeld, her husband Blair Jacobson and their two children, her
sister Eileen Swartz and other extended members of the family, such as Howard's girlfriend
Micki Fielder.
Family life is represented through photographs and memorabilia from special occasions such
as weddings, anniversaries, and milestone birthdays. They offer insight into the planning
for Jewish ceremonies such as a bat mitzvah, a wedding and a funeral. Of note are flying
certificates and pilot's logs for Lynne Jacobson and her father Howard Swartz. Also, of note
are several folders containing genealogical research compiled by Harry and Lenny Eisenfeld
and by Lynne Jacobson on the Eisenfeld and Piltz family. There is also a "scroll" containing
a poem created by Eileen Swartz for Lynne Jacobson's birthday. A folder of photographs and
correspondence documents a friendship between Lynne and Blair Jacobson and the politician
Frank Lucchino. A noteworthy series of photographs document Camp Machigon in Maine, which
had many Jewish campers and counselors from Pittsburgh. Alan and Blair Jacobson both
attended the summer camp. A related organization is the Woodbine Boys Club, an informal
youth organization based at Colfax Elementary School. Photographs also include notable
locations including the University of Pittsburgh and Kennywood Park, as well as locations in
Oklahoma and other states.
Educational activities include materials from Fifth Avenue High School, Schenley High
School, Taylor Allderdice High School, the University of Pittsburgh, and other educational
institutions. Documents include yearbooks, as well as student, alumni and ongoing education
materials. There are educational documents from Chatham University including a thesis Lynne
Jacobson wrote about Jewish life in Pittsburgh. Also included are yearbooks and report cards
from Rodef Shalom Congregation, photographs from the Hebrew Institute, and diplomas from
various schools. Lynne Jacobson organized reunions for the Taylor Allderdice Class of 1961
in 1971, 1986, 1993, 2006 and 2011. The communal activities included in the collection
documents from Rodef Shalom Congregation, the National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh
Section and the Race for the Cure, among other organizations. There is also a cassette tape
of an interview Lynne Jacobson conducted with Sarah Hiedovitz and Sylvia Melnick in
1987.
Arrangement
The Lynne and Blair Jacobson Family Papers and Photographs are housed in six boxes and
three oversize folders. The collection has been arranged into three series. Each series
documents one branch of the family and is further arranged by generation within each branch.
Series I: Eisenfeld Family 1902-1996
Series II: Swartz Family 1921-2016
Series III: Jacobson Family c1900-2019
Conditions Governing Access
Some materials from the collection are in fragile condition. Original are located in Box 6,
which is restricted. Physical reproductions of these materials can be found in their proper
place within the arrangement. These materials include photographs from Box 1 Folder 76,
documents from Box 1 Folder 78 and Folder 79, and a diploma from Box 1 Folder 91. Digital
reproductions are available.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Lynne Jacobson in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Archives accession 2017.0169,
2017.0238, 2018.0054, 2019.0149, 2021.0021
Gift from Blair Jacobson in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Archives accession 2015.0054, 2016.0076,
2017.0239
Preferred Citation
Lynne and Blair Jacobson Family Papers and Photographs, 1902-2019, MSS 1221, Rauh Jewish
Archives, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History
Center
Processing Information
Processing by Catelyn Cocuzzi in November 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.
