Sarah Lavanburg Straus: African Expedition
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p>Sarah Lavanburg Straus (1861-1945), widow of Oscar S. Straus, went to Africa in 1929 at the age of 68 on a group bird collection expedition for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Some of the territory traveled through was so remote that they had to build their own roads and trestle bridges along the way. Sarah, and her grandson Edward Schafer, accompanied ornithologist Rudyerd Boulton and his ethnomusicologist wife Laura on a four month, 15,000 mile, adventure through Uganda, Kenya and Nyasaland (now Malawi). They collected 900 bird specimens, some of them never before documented. Then, in 1935, at the age of 74, Sarah returned to Africa on a second expedition, this time for the Field Museum of Chicago.</p>
<p>After her second African adventure, Sarah reported with a chuckle, “We got lost in the Sahara on our way back to Dakar after the expedition and it was days before we could find our bearings again. We had planned our return trip so that we’d be back before the stormy weather but our calculations went wrong and we ran into a series of sandstorms that buried our station wagon. There was nothing we could do but sleep on the hard sand in blankets and dig our way out in the morning. None of us were strong enough to dig out the car, and, besides, we didn’t have any shovels. Luckily, another party of hunters came along and got us out of our predicament after the storm had passed.”</p>
<p>The 1935 expedition collected 700 small mammals, 300 phonograph recordings of native African music, 1000 still pictures, 15,000 feet of motion pictures and 700 varieties of birds. These specimens are used for study and remain accessible, even today, to scientists from all over the world.</p>
<p>Boulton named a small African warbler with a chestnut throat for Sarah Straus: <em>apalis chapini strausae</em>. This warbler species lives at 5,600 to 8,000 feet above sea level. It is a small insect eating bird with blackish feathers and a chestnut colored throat.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr204.pdf"><strong></strong></a>
Boulton, R.
https://lbry-web-007.amnh.org/digital/files/original/28315fb7e80e7754eba784be4434c765.jpg
American Museum of Natural History Research Library
1929
American Museum of Natural History Research Library
Sarah Lavanburg Straus: African Expedition <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a><br /><br />See also: <a href="https://lbry-web-007.amnh.org/digital/index.php/items/show/47978">American Museum of Natural History</a>
<p>Links:</p>
<p>“The Straus African Expedition of 1929” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 2 (New York: February 2004); pp. 8-9.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr204.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr204.pdf</strong></a>
Medium: Photograph
English
Figures
Sarah Lavanburg Straus, Straus Family, Africa, Mammals, Music, Birds
Historic
Oscar S. Straus: International Court of Arbitration at The Hague
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Oscar S. Straus wanted to be appointed to the court of arbitration at The Hague. The court had been established at the 1899 peace conference but existed only as a panel of judges appointed by each nation. He was finally appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 and held this position until his own death in 1926. Naomi Cohen wrote, "Of all the positions Straus filled this was the one he held in greatest esteem. For him personally the appointment meant recognition as a jurist, an office of international dignity, and the kind of respect usually reserved for elder statesmen. Far more important, it meant his participation in an institution, "the crowning act of the nineteenth century," which could help lead the world to everlasting peace."</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">The peace movement was gaining ground all over the world and Oscar took a prominent role in many new peace organizations. He wrote, "Let the nations exact the same standard from one another that they exact from their subjects, substituting international morality for international expediency, and they will have, instead of the arbitrament of war, the arbitrament of law." He advocated for a stronger role for the Court of Arbitration at The Hague and felt that domestic policy and international concerns should be linked.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"></p>
<p></p>
ICJ
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/International_Court_of_Justice.jpg
ICJ
2006
ICJ
Oscar S. Straus: International Court of Arbitration at The Hague <br /><br />Source: Public Domain
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Links:</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Straus – Minister to Constantinople, 1887 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 (New York: August 1994); pp. 4-8.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Solomon Straus – Minister to Constantinople, Letters 1888 – 1889” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 1 (New York: February 1995); pp. 2-5.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Rededication Ceremony, Oscar S. Straus Memorial, October 26, 1998” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 7 No. 1 (New York: February 1999); pp. 1-2.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Solomon Straus - Lawyer, Author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: August 2003); pp. 1-7.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf</span></b></a></p>
Medium: Photograph
English
Court
Oscar S. Straus, Straus Family, The Hague, Peace, Peace Movement, International
Netherlands
Roger Williams Straus (1891-1957)
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Roger Williams Straus (1891-1957) was involved in charitable endeavors like his parents, Oscar S. and Sarah Lavanburg Straus, and his in-laws, Daniel and Florence Guggenheim, who set such a good example. He was president of the Fred L. Lavanburg Foundation, which concerned itself with the building of model homes for the underprivileged. He was also a trustee on the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation which gave fellowships to artists and scholars abroad.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Roger Williams Straus was one of the founders in 1928 of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. This organization’s mission is to fight bigotry, racism and bias through conflict resolution, advocacy and education. The national conference was set up as an outgrowth of “a violent brand of bigotry” in the 1928 presidential campaign. Roger served along with co-chairs Newton D. Baker, a Protestant, and Professor Carleton J. H. Hayes, a Catholic. In 1929 he proclaimed: “It is now in your hands in the new, less dramatic, but equally difficult warfare, that of the spirit and intellect, to combat the corrosive, brutal theory of materialism, and thereby to serve again our religion, our country and humanity.”</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">He was co-chair of many conferences held at the new Williamstown Institute of Human Relations. The program of the institute was under the auspices of director Dr. Everett R. Clinchy.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">In 1939, Gladys Guggenheim Straus (1895-1980), Roger’s wife, representing New York City, attended this conference whose central theme was “Citizenship and Religion: A Consideration of American Policy with Regard to the Relations of Church and Synagogue to the State.” Roger spoke about the “need for strengthening the moral and spiritual values of the nation’s people as a means for saving democracy in a world fraught with antagonism and false standards.”</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"></p>
<p></p>
The Straus Historical Society
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/594104_orig.jpg, http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/2575825_orig.jpg
The Straus Historical Society
Circa 1950s
The Straus Historical Society
Roger Williams Straus (1891-1957) <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Links:</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Roger Williams Straus and Gladys Guggenheim Straus” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 12 No. 2 (New York: February 2011); pp. 1-6.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr211.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr211.pdf</span></b></a></p>
Medium: Photograph
English
Figures
Roger Williams Straus, Charity, Model Homes, Anti-Racism, Antisemitism, Religion, Straus Family
Historic
Oscar S. Straus: Minister to Constantinople
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p>Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926) served as Minister to Constantinople from 1887-1889 at the pleasure of President Grover Cleveland. In 1898 President William McKinley requested an interview with Straus, suggesting that Oscar once again become Minister to Constantinople. In his autobiography, <em>Under Four Administrations: From Cleveland to Taft</em>, Oscar wrote about his meeting with McKinley, “He said the situation had worried him so that it interfered with his sleep, and he begged me to accept again the appointment of minister to Turkey, declaring with conviction that he regarded me as the only man who could adjust the situation. I explained to him frankly how I was situated in regard to my business obligations and that it was very difficult for me to drop them at this time; but under the circumstances as he had stated them to me I felt I had no right to interpose my personal affairs as a reason for refusing, for I certainly regarded no sacrifice too great to make in the service of the country when it was needed, as in this instance. I said I had been too young to shoulder a gun in the Civil War as he had done, but with a full understanding of my situation if he should feel it necessary to call upon me I should be at his service.”</p>
<p>When, on May 27, 1898, McKinley telegrammed Oscar Straus to let him know he was going to nominate him before the Senate, Oscar responded, “Your request that I should accept the post of Minister to Turkey, with which you honor me, I regard as a command, and deem it my patriotic duty to you and to the country to accept.”</p>
<p>Oscar served as Minister to Constantinople for a second time from 1898-1899.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf"><strong></strong></a>
The Straus Historical Society
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/594104_orig.jpg, http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/5165222_orig.jpg
The Straus Historical Society
Circa 1887
The Straus Historical Society
Oscar S. Straus: Minister to Constantinople <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p>Links:</p>
<p>“Oscar Straus – Minister to Constantinople, 1887 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 (New York: August 1994); pp. 4-8.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf</strong></a></p>
<p>“Oscar Solomon Straus – Minister to Constantinople, Letters 1888 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 1 (New York: February 1995); pp. 2-5.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf</strong></a></p>
<p>“Rededication Ceremony, Oscar S. Straus Memorial, October 26, 1998” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 7 No. 1 (New York: February 1999); pp. 1-2.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf</strong></a></p>
<p>“Oscar Solomon Straus - Lawyer, Author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: August 2003); pp. 1-7.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf</strong></a>
Medium: Photograph
English
Figures
Oscar S. Straus, Straus Family, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, Turkey
Historic
Oscar S. Straus: Henry Ward Beecher Letter to Grover Cleveland
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926) was the youngest of Lazarus and Sara Straus’ four children; Isidor, Hermine, Nathan and Oscar. His career as a public servant has been well documented. He was America’s two-time Minister to Constantinople and Ambassador to Turkey. He was Secretary of Commerce and Labor. He served under four presidents; Democratic and Republican. Although many Jews have served as ambassadors and cabinet members, Oscar S. Straus was the first Jew to ever serve in these roles. Throughout his very public professional life, Oscar S. Straus consistently advocated political reform; seeing it as an issue of morality rather than politics. He campaigned for the use of arbitration to resolve differences between politicians, labor leaders and unions, and nations. He was supporter of the Monroe Doctrine and an advisor to all the United States presidents beginning with Grover Cleveland until his own death in 1926. Known best for his public service, Oscar S. Straus’ service to the people and nations of the world goes far beyond his ministry, ambassadorship and cabinet posts. This letter was written by Henry Ward Beecher, an American religious figure and social reformer, to President Grover Cleveland to recommend Oscar S. Straus for the position of Minister to Turkey.<br /><br /></span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">July 12th, 1887</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Brooklyn, N.Y.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Grover Cleveland</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Dear Mr. President</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Some of our best citizens are solicitous for the appointment of Oscar Straus as Minister to Turkey. Of his fitness there is a general consent that he is personally, and in attainments, eminently excellent.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">But I am interested in another quality – the fact that he is a Hebrew. The bitter prejudice against Jews, which obtains in many parts of Europe, ought not to receive any countenance in America. It is because he is a Jew that I would urge his appointment as a fit recognition of this remarkable people, who are becoming large contributors to American prosperity, and whose intelligence, morality, and large liberality in public measures for the welfare of society, deserve and should receive from the hands of our government some such recognition.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Is it not, also, a duty to set forth, in this quiet, but effectual method, the genius of American government? – which has under its fostering care people of all civilized nations, and which treats them without regard to civil, religious, or race peculiarities as common citizens? We send Danes to Denmark, Germans to Germany. We reject no man because he is a Frenchman. Why should we not make a crowning testimony of the genius of our people by sending a Hebrew to Turkey? The ignorance and superstition of medieval Europe may account for the prejudices of that Dark Age. But how a Christian in our day can turn from a Jew, I cannot imagine. Christianity itself suckled at the bosom of Judaism. Our roots are in the Old Testament. We are Jews ourselves gone to blossom and fruit. Christianity is Judaism in evolution, and it would seem strange for the seed to turn against the stock on which it was grown.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Henry Ward Beecher</span></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
The Straus Historical Society
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39144/39144-h/images/illus068.jpg
The Straus Historical Society
July 12, 1887
The Straus Historical Society
Oscar S. Straus: Henry Ward Beecher Letter to Grover Cleveland <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Links:</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Straus – Minister to Constantinople, 1887 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 (New York: August 1994); pp. 4-8.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Solomon Straus – Minister to Constantinople, Letters 1888 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 1 (New York: February 1995); pp. 2-5.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Solomon Straus - Lawyer, Author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: August 2003); pp. 1-7.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p></p>
Medium: Photograph
English
Letters
Oscar S. Straus, Straus Family, Letter, Henry Ward Beecher, Grover Cleveland, Presidents
Historic
Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926)
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926) is noted for his brilliant professional life. He was one of America's first career diplomats; serving his country under four administrations including Cleveland, McKinley, T. Roosevelt and Taft: both Democrat and Republican. He was Minister to Constantinople and then Ambassador to Turkey between 1887 and 1910. He served as Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 through 1909 under President Theodore Roosevelt. Oscar Straus was Minister to the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague and was instrumental in having the Covenant of the League of Nations written into the Treaty of Versailles. He was one of the founders of the Young Men's Hebrew Association in 1874, a founder and first president of the American Jewish Historical Society from its inception in 1892 to 1898 and was the author of several books including his autobiography, <em><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under Four Administrations: From Cleveland to Taft.</span></em></span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Oscar S. Straus wrote, "Had diplomacy been a career, nothing would have pleased me more than to continue in such service of my country."</span></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
The Straus Historical Society
https://cdn4.picryl.com/photo/1912/01/01/oscar-solomon-straus-head-and-shoulders-portrait-facing-left-640.jpg
The Straus Historical Society
Circa 1920s
The Straus Historical Society
Oscar S. Straus (1850-1926). <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Links:</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Straus – Minister to Constantinople, 1887 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 2 (New York: August 1994); pp. 4-8.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr894.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Solomon Straus – Minister to Constantinople, Letters 1888 – 1888” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 1 (New York: February 1995); pp. 2-5.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_______nwsltr295.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Rededication Ceremony, Oscar S. Straus Memorial, October 26, 1998” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 7 No. 1 (New York: February 1999); pp. 1-2.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr299.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Oscar Solomon Straus - Lawyer, Author, Merchant, Philanthropist” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 1 (New York: August 2003); pp. 1-7.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_____nwsltr803.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p></p>
Medium: Photograph
English
Figures
Oscar S. Straus, Straus Family, Biography, Diplomacy, Presidents, Turkey, Commerce, Labor, Jewish
Historic
Sissie Straus Lehman (1879-1950)
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p>Sissie Straus Lehman (1879-1950) was the daughter of Nathan and Lina Gutherz Straus. In 1901 she married Irving Lehman (1876-1945). In 1940, Irving became the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York State. He served in this capacity until his death in 1945.</p>
<p>During World War II Sissie Straus Lehman created detailed family trees to document the relationship of her family members who remained in Europe. She worked tirelessly to provide affidavits of support to all those who wanted to immigrate to the United States. A family story is that the United States Department of State told Sissie she could sponsor no more people, commenting that no one person could have so many relatives. It is not uncommon today to find family members who believe they and their entire family were saved because of Sissie’s largess.</p>
<p>Sissie's generosity did not end there. She and Irving arranged for housing for the newly immigrant families, provided milk for their children and helped them find employment. During the summer Sissie and Irving created a summer camp on their Port Chester property where children from immigrant families could enjoy fresh air, sports and healthy food as they learned English. Most of the children came to this camp for two weeks but the children of family members enjoyed the entire summer in this lovely rural environment.</p>
<p>When Irving Lehman died in 1945, Sissie donated his prayer book with a silver binding to the Judaica Collection at Temple Emanu-El in New York City.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr807.pdf"><strong></strong></a>
The Straus Historical Society
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/8396904_orig.jpg, https://web.archive.org/web/20160402072349im_/http://www.vmps.us/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/Sissie%20Straus%20Lehman.jpg?itok=RdJ68W36
The Straus Historical Society
Circa 1920s
The Straus Historical Society
Sissie Straus Lehman (1879-1950)<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p>Links:</p>
<p>“Beth El and Salem Fields Cemeteries Walking Tour – Sunday, June 3rd, 2007” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 9 No. 1 (New York: August 2007); pp. 8-9.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr807.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/_________nwsltr807.pdf</strong></a>
Medium: Photograph
English
Figures
Sissie Straus Lehman, Immigration, World War II, Jewish, Summer Camp, Straus Family
Historic
Nathan Straus Jr. (1889-1961)
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Nathan Straus Jr. (1889-1961) was the son of Nathan and Lina Gutherz Straus. He was not interested in going into the family's business of merchandising. He graduated from Princeton University in New Jersey in 1910 and, with his father's help, secured a position on the newspaper, <em><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;">New York Globe</span></em>, where he learned everything from compositing to reporting. In 1913 he bought the periodical <em><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;">Puck</span></em>, which he envisioned could become similar to today's <em><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Yorker Magazine. </span></em>Puck published articles about women's suffrage, financial and social assistance, and medical science.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">By 1920, with a wife and four sons to support, Nathan Jr. began thinking about public service. He ran for, and won, a seat in the New York State Legislature in 1920 and was reelected in 1922 and 1924. The Citizen's Union, a non-partisan organization, reported that Nathan Straus Jr. was the member with the best record on votes in either House.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Nathan Jr. inherited a 24 acre tract of land on the Boston Post Road in the Bronx following his parent's death. In 1934 he turned it into the country's first housing project, Hillside Homes. As a result of his involvement in this project, he became interested in housing. People in the United States knew little about modern housing techniques as practiced in many countries in Europe. He created a report for Mayor LaGuardia of New York on the housing practices in England. As a result of his interest and increasing expertise in this area, LaGuardia appointed him to the New York City Housing Authority. Nathan Jr. felt this experience prepared him for his later role as administrator of the United States Housing Authority in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration. He served with distinction from 1937 until February 1942.</span></p>
<p></p>
The Straus Historical Society
https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2019/91/95315846_ee0a743b-e46d-49ed-8f9a-38479189a05c.jpeg
The Straus Historical Society
1937
The Straus Historical Society
Nathan Straus Jr. (1889-1961) <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">Links:</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“Otto Frank and Nathan Straus, Jr.: Their Letters Discovered at New York’s YIVO” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 9 No. 1 (New York: August 2007); pp. 1-6.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____________nwsltr807.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____________nwsltr807.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;">“For the Sake of the Children: The Letters between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus, Jr” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 14 No. 2 (New York: February 2013); p. 1.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr213.pdf"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#c51b35;">http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr213.pdf</span></b></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#000000;"></span></p>
<p></p>
Medium: Photograph
English
Figures
Nathan Straus Jr., New York, NY, Housing, NYC, FDR, Straus Family
Historic
Nathan Straus: Milk Depot
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p>After the Civil War, there was some recognition that the quality of the milk sold to the city's poor was substandard. Small, but unsuccessful, efforts were made to improve sanitary conditions. Milk continued to be an agent that carried diphtheria, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, tuberculosis and the "summer complaint," diarrhea. Thousands of children died each year, especially during the summer months, as a result of drinking unsterilized milk.</p>
<p>Nathan Straus (1848-1931) became interested in milk pasteurization for several reasons. Two of Nathan and Lina Straus' six children, Sara and Roland, died in early childhood. Although the family could avail themselves of the best and most modern medical treatment of the day, there was nothing that could be done to save either child. The Strauses owned farm animals, including cows from which the family's milk was obtained. When a seemingly healthy animal died suddenly, Nathan wondered if the germs that caused the animal's death could be transferred to her milk. This led to his conviction that pasteurization was essential.</p>
<p>Nathan's first pasteurized milk depot opened at the foot of the East Third Street Pier on June 1, 1893. It was a small building containing a refrigeration unit, storage rooms, a pasteurization laboratory and salesrooms. The goal was to distribute low cost, high quality pasteurized milk to the city's poor. Milk was sold in bottles, by the glass and in cans. Modified formulas were also sold for babies. These formulas were devised by Nathan's medical advisors and often contained barley water, milk sugar, white sugar, lime water and salt. Modified milk was sold in deposit bottles provided with a nipple, both being sterilized in the pasteurizing laboratory. Ice was also supplied so that people keep the milk from spoiling once it was brought home. The milk bottles had rounded bottoms so that no uncorked bottle could be left standing, thereby becoming contaminated by unsanitary conditions in the homes. Lectures were provided in the many languages of the city's residents to educate them about the benefits of pasteurized milk. Nathan had coupons printed so that doctors could "prescribe" the milk which would then be given at no cost.</p>
<p>The program was an immediate success among the city's poor. Nathan set up his laboratories and milk depots as a demonstration model to prove to governmental officials and the medical establishment that the large scale distribution of pasteurized milk would make a difference in public health. He wrote, "The tragedy of needless infant slaughter, desolating so many homes and wringing the hearts, lies like a dark shadow on our boasted civilization. It is nothing more or less than permitted murder, for which the responsibility must lie at the door of the agencies of government that fail to recognize its existence and demand its prevention."</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/nwslttr814.pdf"><strong></strong></a>
The Straus Historical Society
https://imgs.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/14124417/Nathan-Straus-Milk-Depot-e1505407901391.png
The Straus Historical Society
1893
The Straus Historical Society
Nathan Straus: Milk Depot <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p>Links:</p>
<p> “Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 1 (New York: February 1998); pp. 4-8.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr298.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr298.pdf</strong></a></p>
<p>“Nathan Straus 1848-1931” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 6 No. 2 (New York: August 1998); pp. 4-7.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr898.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr898.pdf</strong></a></p>
<p>“Nathan Straus Pasteurized Milk Laboratory” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2002); pp. 4-9.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr202.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____nwsltr202.pdf</strong></a></p>
<p>“Nathan Straus, Public Servant” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 2 (New York: February 2003); pp. 4-8.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr203.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/________nwsltr203.pdf</strong></a></p>
<p>“The Nathan Straus Soup Kitchens in Palestine” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 16 No. 1 (New York: August 2014); pp. 1-5.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/nwslttr814.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/nwslttr814.pdf</strong></a>
Medium: Photograph
English
Health
Nathan Straus, Milk, Milk Depot, Anti-Poverty, Public Health, Health, Straus Family
New York
Nathan Straus: Loving Cup
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/straus-family/straus-family">Return to The Straus Family: A History of Public Service and Philanthropy</a></h4>
<p>From the New York Times, August 6th, 1911</p>
<p>“Honor for Nathan Straus – Six Hundred Guests Give Him a Loving Cup at Hotel Kaaterskill.</p>
<p>Six hundred admirers of the philanthropic work of Nathan Straus of New York presented him with a silver loving cup at a surprise farewell dinner held in his honor at the Kaaterskill Hotel tonight. Mr. Straus starts Monday for Europe on a philanthropic mission.</p>
<p>The entertainment began when Mr. and Mrs. Straus entered the big dining room, which was decorated with American flags and greens. Immediately after them came fifty small children carrying dolls and signing…</p>
<p>A large silver loving cup on which was inscribed: ‘To Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Straus as a token of esteem and love by the guests of the Kaaterskill Hotel, Aug. 5, 1911,’ was then presented. The presentation was made by Moe H. Grossman, who paid a warm tribute to Mr. Straus’s work.</p>
<p>In responding, Mr. Straus said: ‘When I came here I should have called you ladies and gentlemen. Now I call you friends. Anything I may say won’t show how deeply I feel your kindness. I cannot help turning to the Rev. Madison C. Peters, who has done so much for our cause. If there were forty more like him then there would be justice to the Jew. But remember, if you are suffering injustice, there is a power above that will stand for our cause.’</p>
<p>The Rev. Madison C. Peters, who was the next person to speak, said in part: ‘The first man to give me encouragement when I first preached my sermon ‘Justice to the Jew,’ was Nathan Straus. There are many millionaires in the world today, but any one of them would give a million of it to see as Mr. Straus may see tonight, the happy faces of children all about him. He does good while he is alive and he has the pleasure of seeing the results of his good. He has saved millions of helpless and innocent babies.’”</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____________nwsltr800.pdf"><strong></strong></a>
The Straus Historical Society
http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/6670329_orig.jpg
The Straus Historical Society
Unknown
The Straus Historical Society
Nathan Straus: Loving Cup <br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org">The Straus Historical Society</a>
<p>Links:</p>
<p>“Surprise to Nathan Straus” Straus Historical Society Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 1 (New York: August 2000); p. 15.</p>
<a href="http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____________nwsltr800.pdf"><strong>http://www.straushistoricalsociety.org/uploads/1/1/8/1/11810298/____________nwsltr800.pdf</strong></a>
Medium: Photograph
English
Event
Nathan Straus, Straus Family, Honor, Loving Cup, Celebration, Philanthropy
New York