Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Max Furchgott and Dale Dreyfoos

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OralHistoryResource

Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Max Furchgott and Dale Dreyfoos

1995

https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:64121

Cousins Max Furchgott and Dale Dreyfoos review their family history. Dale's maternal grandmother Lillian Furchgott married Pincus LeRoy Pinkussohn (he changed the spelling of the family name to Pinkerson during World War II), whose grandfather settled in Charleston, South Carolina, around 1850. Lillian's father, Herman Furchgott, and his brother Max, grandfather of interviewee Max, opened a dry goods store on King Street in Charleston in the 1860s. Max describes growing up in Charleston and recalls the moves his family made during the Great Depression to Orangeburg, South Carolina; Goldsboro, North Carolina; and Florence, South Carolina, before returning to Charleston. The Furchgotts have been members of Reform Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) since the first generation in Charleston. Max discusses the conflict that arose among members of the congregation in the 1960s during Rabbi Burton Padoll's tenure, and notes how KKBE has changed over the years. Max married Marcelle Kleinzahler and they raised three children in Charleston. Both interviewees discuss Jewish identity - Max, in terms of how he believes his children view themselves, and Dale, in terms of his relationship to his ancestors. Dale tells the story of his great-great-grandparents fleeing Atlanta during the Civil War in anticipation of General Sherman's arrival with Union troops. Other family surnames mentioned in the interview include Brown, Sorentrue, Foote, Ritzwoller, and Dreyfoos. For related information, see also Marcelle Furchgott's May 14, 2014 interview, Robert Furchgott's February 28, 2001 and April 18, 2001 interviews, the Arthur C. Furchgott papers (Mss 1043), and Furchgott and Brothers department store newspaper advertisement, 1910 (Mss 1034-090), Special Collections, Addlestone Library, College of Charleston.

Sound recording : 2 sound cassettes : digital.Video recording: 1 videocassette : sd., col.Transcript : 52 p. ; 28 cm.

eng, Latn

College of Charleston, Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7611667

College of Charleston, Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library

Related Entities

There are 13 Entities related to this resource.

Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, S.C.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6912wrb (corporateBody)

Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim was organized in 1749 in Charleston, SC, following the Sephardic ritual. The current 1841 synagogue was built by enslaved African descendants owned by David Lopez Jr, a prominent slaveowner and proponent of the Confederate States of America, after the original synagogue was destroyed in a fire in 1838. ...

Padoll, Burton L.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jw9ws7 (person)

Furchgott, Max, d. 1921.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b35hm4 (person)

Foote family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69q2cdj (family)

Furchgott family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67b3gf6 (family)

Furchgott, Arthur C., 1884-1971.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hq7bmk (person)

Arthur Clarence Furchgott (1884-1971) was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He married Pena Sorentrue in 1910 and had three sons, Arthur (b. 1912), Robert (b. 1916) and Max (b. 1917.) Furchgott joined Charleston's Friendship Lodge No. 9 in 1906 and served as Master from 1911-1913. In 1908 he was made a 32nd Degree Mason in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and in 1915 he was honored by the Supreme Council with the rank and decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honor. Furchgott wa...

Dreyfoos, Dale LeRoy

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66q9k62 (person)

Pinkussohn, Jerry.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g8130j (person)

Furchgott, Herman.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fc2r0h (person)

Dreyfoos family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s27d99 (family)

Furchgott, Max, 1917-1998.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67d66kh (person)

Photographer, Max Furchgott was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1917. Originally interested in painting and drawing, Furchgott took art classes at the University of South Carolina and later moved to New York City. While in New York, he earned a living making water color portraits from photographs. Furchgott returned to Charleston during the late 1930s and continued to pursue the portraiture trade. While inquiring about job opportunities, a local photographer offered to sell Furchgott a st...

Pinkussohn family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62g709z (family)

Rosengarten, Dale, 1948-...

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m04dd8 (person)