Solomon Seligman Society, 1887-1956

Seligman Solomon Society (1887-1956)

Seligman Solomon (1822-1884) was a beloved benefactor of the Hebrew Orphans Asylum (HOA). A German immigrant who made a huge fortune in real estate in New York, he retired at age thirty-eight to devote his life to charity. He spent much of his time at the Orphanage, paying daily visits to give food and moral support to the orphans. Known as “Papa Solomon” he did anything in his power to help the residents, including following up with discharged orphans, helping to find them work and adjust to their new life. When he died in 1884, Hebrew Orphans Asylum residents, alumni, and friends erected a monument over his grave. In March 1887, a group of Hebrew Orphans Asylum alumni formed the Seligman Solomon Society in the desire to carry on in Solomon’s footsteps.

The Society dedicated itself to perpetuating Solomon’s memory, providing moral and financial assistance to discharged orphans, aiding Society members in distress, and performing works of charity. Membership requirements included paying initiation fees, membership dues, and were dependent upon an election process. In return, Society members were given financial security through illness and death benefits. Society members could also look forward to several social engagements each year, such as annual balls, reunion days, and social meetings. A major event in the Society’s history was a relocation of the annual ball from Opera Halls to the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel . The Society held its ball there from 1922-1926.

In 1939 a second alumni association was created, the Academy Alumni that offered open membership. Both alumni groups continued after the Hebrew Orphan Asylum incorporated into the Jewish Child Care Association of New York in 1940. In October 1956, the Seligman Solomon Society and the Academy Alumni voted to merge their organizations to form the HOA Association.

References

Compiled from the Records of the Seligman Solomon Society, Ref. #I-6; and the Records of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of New York, Ref. #I-42, Boxes 78-81.

Bogen, Hyman. The Luckiest Orphans: A History of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York . Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992.

From the guide to the Seligman Solomon Society Records, 1912-1922, (American Jewish Historical Society)