MS 36 Mlynover Verien and Maryland Free Loan Society Records
Financial records don’t offer us much in the way of pretty pictures, but they can tell researchers a great deal about the activities of an organization as well as its members or supporters. The numbers, names and addresses tell stories to those patient enough to weed through pages and columns. The following collection is made up almost entirely of ledger books.
Mlynover Verien (1930-c.1945) and
Maryland Free Loan Society (1935-unknown)
Records and Papers (n.d., 1930-1972, 1985)
MS 36
The Jewish Museum of Maryland
ACCESS AND PROVENANCE
The Mlynover Verien and Maryland Free Loan Society papers were donated to the Jewish Museum of Maryland in 1975 and 1985 by Ida Fishman as accession 1975.10 and 1985.110. The collection was processed by Jennifer Pollack and Jonathan Roscoe in July 2007.
Access to the collection is unrestricted and is available to researchers at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the Jewish Museum of Maryland before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library’s usual procedures.
HISTORICAL NOTE
The donor, Mrs. Ida Fishman, was active in both Mlynover Verein and the Maryland Free Loan Society. Mlynover Verein formed in 1930 by Jewish refugees fromMlynov,Poland. The purpose of this organization was to raise funds to be sent to Mlynov in order to help the Jews who in an increasingly desperate situation. Ida Fishman served as the secretary for the Mlynover Verein from 1930-1935 because she was the only one who could write in Yiddish. Before Mlynover Verein dissolved after World War II, it attempted to help those in Displaced Persons Camps after the war.
In 1935, Mrs. Fishman formed the Maryland Free Loan Society, a woman’s group, unlike Mlynover Verein which included both women and men. The Maryland Free Loan Society was an offshoot of Mlynover Verein. It is unclear as to the exact function of the organization. It seems to have helped European Jews move toAmerica. There are also some records that link to the organization toIsrael. It is unclear when this organization ceased to exist but the records stop in 1972.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Mylnover Verein Papers (1930-1939) contain many of the financial records of the organization including loans given out as well as dues and repayment records. There are also correspondence papers as well as a brief history of the organization and other miscellaneous materials. The file also contains a membership list for the Mlynov Israel Herman Society. It is unclear as to whether this is a different name for the same group or a different group.
The Maryland Free Loan Society records (1935-1972) contain mainly financial records including loans, dues and repayment records, expense records as well as minutes for select years.