Pittsfield (Mass.)

This collection contains photographs, correspondence, news clippings, vital records, genealogical materials, sheet music, recordings, and manuscripts documenting the Freedman family of Springfield, Massachusetts. Included are materials on Joseph and Lena (Sakowitz) Freedman, and their children Jacob Freedman, a rabbi, scholar, translator, and writer; Samuel Freedman; Martin Freedman; and Sarah (Freedman) Aizenstat.

The Hebrew Free Loan Association was formed circa 1935 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to offer interest-free loans to dues-paying members of the organization in need of temporary financial relief. The records of the Association consist of two bound ledgers, one containing minutes from meetings of the organization’s officers, and the other holding a list of account holders and their transactions between 1949 and 1970.