Collection #

M 0802,
OMB 0112,
BV 3607–3614

oppenheim’s dry goods store
records, 1874–2000

Collection Information

Historical/Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Series Contents

Cataloging Information

Processed by

Anton Korenevsky & Molly K. Fausset
October 2003

Revised by
Monica Casanova
July 5, 2007

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION:	Manuscript Materials: 17 document cases, 1 OMB box, 8 bound volumes, Visual Materials: 1 OVA folder of photographs, 1 negative Printed Materials: 3 books Artifacts: 12 artifacts
COLLECTION DATES:	1874–2000
PROVENANCE:	Patricia Oppenheim, Leesburg, Indiana, January 2001; February 2001
RESTRICTIONS:	None
COPYRIGHT:
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS:	Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS:
RELATED HOLDINGS:
ACCESSION NUMBER:	2001.0183; 2001.0334
NOTES:	This collection forms part of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society Collection.

historical/BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

The Oppenheim family can be traced back to Oppenheim, Germany, where they were first listed on the tax register in 1241. Based on death certificates and naturalization papers, it is believed that the American Oppenheim family originated from Vistytis, Lithuania. As there were only 230 Jews still living in Vistytis at the commencement of World War II, it is also believed that the Oppenheims from that region had died or immigrated before the start of the war. The Oppenheim family can be traced back to Solomon Oppenheim and Bessie Weinstein. Oppenheim and Weinstein were married around 1830 and their four children, Jacob, Joseph, Samuel, and Rose immigrated to the United States in the mid to late 1880s. Many Oppenheims founded dry good stores located in Goshen, Milford, and North Manchester, Indiana, as well as in Detroit, Kalamazoo, Jackson, and Dowagiac, Michigan.

Solomon’s first-born son, Jacob, was born in East Prussia and immigrated to the United States in 1870. He first lived in Detroit, Michigan, where he made a living as a peddler. In 1873, Jacob and Louis Jacobs opened the New York Store in Paw Paw, Michigan; in 1875, the partnership was dissolved. In 1875, Jacob opened his own store, Oppenheim’s New York Cheap Store, in North Manchester, Indiana. The store motto was and remained, “. . . the best place to trade, after all.” In the beginning, Jacob offered men’s, boys’, and women’s clothing, as well as groceries. The store went through several name changes from Oppenheim’s New York Cheap Store to B. Oppenheim & Co. by the 1930s the store was simply called Oppenheim’s.

The town of North Manchester which Oppenheim’s called home sits in Wabash County, Indiana. When Jacob Oppenheim first opened his dry goods store the town boasted about 1,600 inhabitants. Oppenheim faced competition from other dry goods stores populating the downtown commercial area. Besides dry goods, a pharmacy, and The DeWitt High Wheel Auto Buggy factory operated until 1910 when a fire destroyed the building.

Jacob and his wife, Pauline, had five children: Ben, who was born in Germany, and Ike, Fanny, Ida, and Etta, all born in North Manchester. Jacob died in March 1883.

After his father’s death, Ben and Ike took over the family business. They also shared ownership in a wholesale business, and when Ike left the family business in 1922, he became the sole owner of the wholesale business. Ben’s son, Jean, a Columbia University graduate, entered the family business in 1922 and remained there until his death in 1949.

Jean and his wife, Valery, had two children – Barbara and Phil. Phil graduated from Notre Dame in 1948 and entered the family business shortly after. After Ben’s death in 1950, Phil became the owner and manager of Oppenheim’s. The store closed in 2000.

Sources:

From Peddlers to Merchants . . . history of four Jewish owned stores founded in Indiana

more than one hundred years ago and owned and operated by the same families.

Joseph Levine. Indiana Jewish Historical Society: July 1979.

http://www.nmanchester.org/history.php “A Brief History of North Manchester.”

Written for the Historical Society By The Center for History. Last accessed 5 July 2007.

Materials in collection.

The Oppenheim Family History 1750–1995. Bert Oppenheim. Robert Reed Publishers.

San Francisco: 1995.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Oppenheim store records are broken down into seven series based upon the various aspects of the operation primarily from 1874–1979:

Series 1: Business/accounting journals of Oppenheim’s dry goods (later department) store for the period from about 1874 to 1895. The main feature of these journals is that first of them dated back to 1870’s are written in Hebrew but in very strange way – pages go the same way as in non-Jewish tradition – from right to left and words are written from right to left as it should be in Hebrew. Some of the ledgers during this time period are fragile and have been stored separately in phase boxes.

Series 2: Receipts from different manufacturers with whom Oppenheim’s store had business contacts, payroll and bank checks and 11 bankbooks, 1874–1979.

Series 3: Operational records such as employee hours, lease contract, and retail merchandise certificate, 1877–1979.

Series 4: Big books with advertisement clippings of Oppenheim’s store, various booklets and coupons of the store including advertisement of “Capitan Gizmo’s boys shop.” The ads stored in the manuscript boxes have been clipped out and glued on college ruled paper. The bulk of these advertisements and catalogs come from the 1950s.

Series 5: Correspondence and Newspaper clippings. Miscellaneous materials-Knights of Honor certificate from 1881, a draft of a plaque, and radio transcript-are contained in this series. Also included are a community development plan and a jobber’s list and ephemera materials.

Series 6: Visual Materials. Of the nine photographs and postcards only one is in color and this is a postcard of West Main Street in North Manchester, Indiana. Pictures date from ca. 1900 to ca. 1950. Photographs are of front exterior of Oppenheim’s. Two of the photographs have people standing in front of the store. No one is identified.

Series 7: Printed Materials and artifacts. A family history is included in this series as well as artifacts such as printing blocks, notary seal, and small store signs.

series CONTENTS

Series 1: Business/Accounting Journals, 1874–1974

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Jobbers Invoice Ledger, 1876	BV 3608
Invoice of Goods Ledger, 1876–1887	Box 11, Folder 13
Register of Invoices, 1877–1884	Box 11, Folder 14
Register of Invoices, 1890–1894	Box 11, Folder 15
Purchases Ledger, 1949–1952	Box 12, Folder 1
Customer Accounts Ledger, 1874–1886	BV 3607
Account Records Ledger, 1877	Box 1, Folder 1
Sales Ledger, Aug. 1882–June 1883	Box 1, Folder 2
Sales Book, 19 June 1883–25 Jan. 1884	Box 1, Folder 3
Sales Book, 26 June 1884–26 Aug. 1884	Box 1, Folder 4
Sales Book, 1884–1885	Box 1, Folder 5
Sales Book, 16 Jan. 1885–15 June 1885	Box 1, Folder 6
Sales Book, 16 June 1885—31 Oct. 1885	Box 1, Folder 7
Sales Book, 31 Oct. 1885–20 Mar. 1886	Box 1, Folder 8
Sales Book, 23 June 1886–4 Oct. 1886	Box 1, Folder 9
Sales Book, 4 Oct. 1886–10 Jan. 1887	Box 1, Folder 10
Sales Book, 10 May 1887–30 July 1887	Box 1, Folder 11
Sales Book, 4 Aug. 1887–5 Nov. 1887	Box 2, Folder 1
Sales Book, 1887–1888	Box 2, Folder 2
Sales Book, 21 Feb. 1888–21 May 1888	Box 2, Folder 3
Sales Book, 21 May 1888–7 Sept. 1888	Box 2, Folder 4
Sales Book, 7 Sept. 1888–27 Nov. 1888	Box 2, Folder 5
Sales Book, 27 Nov. 1888–25 Mar. 1889	Box 2, Folder 6
Sales Book, 25 March 1889–22 June 1889	Box 2, Folder 7
Sales Book, 24 June 1889–28 Sept. 1889	Box 2, Folder 8
Sales Book, 4 Jan. 1890–4 May 1890	Box 2, Folder 9
Sales Book, 18 Oct. 1890–17 Jan. 1891	Box 2, Folder 10
Sales Book, 23 Jan. 1897–23 Apr. 1897	Box 2, Folder 11
Sales Book, 24 Apr.–26 June 1897	Box 3, Folder 1
Sales Account Ledger, 1886–1887	BV 3609
Sales Account Day Book, May 1888–July 1890	BV 3610
Sales Account Day Book, Aug.1890– Feb.1893	BV 3611
Sales Account Day Book, Feb. 1893–Nov. 1895	BV 3612
Sales Account Day Book, Nov. 1895–Jan. 1898	BV 3613
Sales Record Ledger, 1947–1974	Box 3, Folder 2
Bad Account Loss Log, 1920–1952	BV 3614

Series 2: Finances (Receipts, Checks, Payroll, Taxes and Bankbooks),
1874–1979

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Bank Book, April–Dec. 1874	Box 3, Folder 3
Bank Book, 1874–1876	Box 3, Folder 4
Bank Book, 1876–1878	Box 3, Folder 5
Bank Book, 1883–1885	Box 3, Folder 6
Bank Book 1885–1886	Box 3, Folder 7
Bank Book, 1886–1887	Box 3, Folder 8
Bank Books, 1890–1891	Box 3, Folder 9
Bank Book, Sept.–Dec. 1891	Box 3, Folder 10
Bank Book, 1891–1892	Box 3, Folder 11
Bank Book, 1892–1893	Box 3, Folder 12
Bills/Receipts/Checks, n.d.	Box 3, Folder 13
Bills/Receipts, 1870s	Box 3, Folder 14
Bills/Receipts, 1874–1875	Box 3, Folder 15
Bills/Receipts, Mar. –Aug. 1876	Box 3, Folder 16
Bills/Receipts, Sept.–Oct. 1876	Box 3, Folder 17
Bills/Receipts, Nov. –Dec. 1876	Box 3, Folder 18
Bills/Receipts, Jan.–Feb. 1877	Box 3, Folder 19
Bills/ Receipts, Mar.–May 1877	Box 4, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, June–Aug. 1877	Box 4, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, Sept.–Oct. 1877	Box 4, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, Nov.–Dec. 1877	Box 4, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, Jan.–Mar. 1878	Box 4, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, April 1878	Box 4, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, May–Aug. 1878	Box 4, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts, Sept.–Dec. 1878	Box 4, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, Jan.–Mar. 1879	Box 5, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, April 1879	Box 5, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, May–June 1879	Box 5, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, July–Aug. 1879	Box 5, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, Sept. 1879	Box 5, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, Oct. 1879	Box 5, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, Nov. 1879	Box 5, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts, Dec. 1879	Box 5, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, 1880s	Box 6, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, Jan. 1880	Box 6, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, Feb. 1880	Box 6, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, Mar. 1880	Box 6, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, April 1880	Box 6, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, May 1880	Box 6, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, June 1880	Box 6, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts, July 1880	Box 6, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, Aug. 1880	Box 6, Folder 9
Bills/Receipts, Sept. 1880 (1 of 2)	Box 6, Folder 10
Bills/Receipts, Sept. 1880 (2 of 2)	Box 6, Folder 11
Bills/Receipts, Oct. 1880	Box 6, Folder 12
Bills/Receipts, Nov. 1880	Box 6, Folder 13
Bills/Receipts, Dec. 1880	Box 7, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, Jan. 1881	Box 7, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, Feb. 1881	Box 7, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, Mar. 1881	Box 7, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, Apr. 1881	Box 7, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, May 1881	Box 7, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, June 1881	Box 7, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts, July 1881	Box 7, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, Aug. 1881	Box 7, Folder 9
Bills/Receipts, Sept. 1881	Box 7, Folder 10
Bills/Receipts, Oct. 1881	Box 7, Folder 11
Bills/Receipts, Nov. 1881	Box 7, Folder 12
Bills/Receipts, Dec. 1881	Box 8, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, Jan.–Feb. 1882	Box 8, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, 1–24 Mar. 1882	Box 8, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, 24–31 Mar. 1882	Box 8, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, April 1882	Box 8, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, May 1882	Box 8, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, June–July 1882	Box 8, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts, 3–19 Aug. 1882	Box 8, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, 22–31 Aug. 1882	Box 8, Folder 9
Bills/Receipts, 1–8 Sept. 1882	Box 8, Folder 10
Bills/Receipts, 11–30 Sept. 1882	Box 9, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, Oct. 1882	Box 9, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, Nov. 1882	Box 9, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, Dec. 1882	Box 9, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, Jan. 1883	Box 9, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, Feb. 1883	Box 9, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, Mar. 1883	Box 9, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts, Apr. 1883	Box 9, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, May 1883	Box 9, Folder 9
Bills/Receipts, June 1883	Box 9, Folder 10
Bills/Receipts, July 1883	Box 9, Folder 11
Bills/Receipts, Aug. 1883	Box 9, Folder 12
Bills/Receipts, Sept. 1883 (1 of 2)	Box 9, Folder 13
Bills/Receipts, Sept. 1883 (2 of 2)	Box 9, Folder 14
Bills/Receipts, Oct. 1883	Box 10, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, Nov. 1883	Box 10, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, Dec. 1883	Box 10, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, Jan. 1884	Box 10, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, Feb. 1884	Box 10, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, 1–19 Mar. 1884	Box 10, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, 22–25 Mar. 1884	Box 10, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts 26–30 Mar. 1884	Box 10, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, April 1884	Box 10, Folder 9
Bills/Receipts, May 1884	Box 10, Folder 10
Bills/Receipts, June 1884	Box 10, Folder 11
Bills/Receipts, Aug. 1884	Box 11, Folder 1
Bills/Receipts, 1–4 Sept. 1884	Box 11, Folder 2
Bills/Receipts, 5–9, 1884	Box 11, Folder 3
Bills/Receipts, 10–27 Sept. 1884	Box 11, Folder 4
Bills/Receipts, Oct. 1884	Box 11, Folder 5
Bills/Receipts, Nov. 1884	Box 11, Folder 6
Bills/Receipts, Dec. 1884	Box 11, Folder 7
Bills/Receipts, 1885	Box 11, Folder 8
Bills/Receipts, 1887	Box 11, Folder 9
Bills/Receipts, 1888	Box 11, Folder 10
Bills/Receipts, 1890s	Box 11, Folder 11
Bills/Receipts, 1895	Box 11, Folder 12
Checks, 1882	Box 12, Folder 3
Checks, 1883	Box 12, Folder 4
Checks, Feb. , Nov., Dec. 1888	Box 12, Folder 5
Checks, 1889	Box 12, Folder 6
Checks, 1890	Box 12, Folder 7
Checks, 1891	Box 12, Folder 8
Checks, Jan.–June 1892	Box 12, Folder 9
Checks, July–Nov. 1892	Box 12, Folder 10
Checks, Jan.–June 1893	Box 12, Folder 11
Checks, July–Dec. 1893	Box 12, Folder 12
Check book stub, 1893	Box 12, Folder 13
Checks, Jan.–June 1894	Box 13, Folder 1
Checks, July–Dec. 1894	Box 13, Folder 2
Checks, Jan.–Mar. 1895	Box 13, Folder 3
Checks, Apr.–June 1895	Box 13, Folder 4
Checks, July–Sept. 1895	Box 13, Folder 5
Checks, Oct.–Dec. 1895	Box 13, Folder 6
Checks, Jan.–Mar. 1896	Box 13, Folder 7
Checks, Apr.–June 1896	Box 13, Folder 8
Checks, July–Sept. 1896	Box 13, Folder 9
Checks, Oct. –Nov. 1896	Box 13, Folder 10
Checks, 1923–1936	Box 14, Folder 1
Bank Deposit Book, 1944–1950	Box 14, Folder 2
Tax Return, 1933	Box 14, Folder 3
Tax Return, 1934	Box 14, Folder 4
Tax Return, 1936	Box 14, Folder 5
Tax Return, 1937	Box 14, Folder 6
Tax Return, 1940	Box 14, Folder 7
Tax Return, 1941	Box 14, Folder 8
Tax Return, 1942	Box 14, Folder 9
Tax Return, 1943	Box 14, Folder 10
Tax Return, 1944	Box 14, Folder 11
Tax Return, 1945	Box 14, Folder 12
Tax Return, 1949	Box 14, Folder 13
Payroll, Oct. 1949–Aug. 1953	Box 14, Folder 14
Payroll, Aug. 1953–Apr. 1956	Box 14, Folder 15
Payroll, May 1956–Apr. 1959	Box 14, Folder 16
Payroll, Apr. 1959–June 1962	Box 14, Folder 17
Payroll, July 1962–Aug. 1964	Box 14, Folder 18
Assessed Value, 1943–1948	Box 14, Folder 19
Account Records, 1972–1973	Box 14, Folder 20
Account Records, May–Nov. 1973	Box 14, Folder 21
Account Records, 1972–1979	Box 15, Folder 1

Series 3: Operational Records (Employee Hours, Lease, Permits), 1877–1979

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Lease Contract, 1877	Box 12, Folder 2
Retail Merchandise Certificate, 1965–1968	Box 14, Folder 20
Income and Expenses, 1922–1950	OMB 0112, Folder 5
Employee hours, 1964–1967	Box 15, Folder 2
Employee hours, Feb. 1967–Mar. 1970	Box 15, Folder 3
Employee hours, Mar. 1970–Apr. 1973	Box 15, Folder 4
Employee hours, May 1973–Apr. 1976	Box 15, Folder 5
Employee hours, May 1976–Apr. 1979	Box 15, Folder 6

Series 4: Advertisements and Catalogs, 1874–1975

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Anniversary Sale Advertisements, 1925–1975	OMB 0112, Folder 1
Sales Advertisements, 1874–1949	OMB 0112, Folder 2
Sales Advertisements, 1950–1976	OMB 0112, Folder 3
Sales Ads, 14 Aug. 1952–2 Oct. 1952	Box 16, Folder 1
Sales Ads, 2 Oct. 1952–26 Feb. 1953	Box 16, Folder 2
Sales Ads, 5 Mar. 1953–14 May 1953	Box 16, Folder 3
Sales Ads, 18 May 1953–24 Sept. 1953	Box 16, Folder 4
Sales Ads, 24 Sept. 1953–31 Dec. 1953	Box 16, Folder 5
Sales Ads, 4 Jan. 1954–20 May 1954	Box 16, Folder 6
Sales Ads, 24 May 1954–9 Aug. 1954	Box 16, Folder 7
Sales Ads, 9 Aug. 1954–25 Oct. 1954	Box 17, Folder 1
Sales Ads, 28 Oct. 1954–20 Dec. 1954	Box 17, Folder 2
Catalogs, 1953–1959	Box 17, Folder 3
Store Event Calendar, 1950s	Box 17, Folder 4
Captain Gizmo materials, 1950s?	Box 17, Folder 5
Price List and Inventory, 1951	Box 17, Folder 6

Series 5: Correspondence, Newspaper Clippings, and Miscellaneous,
1875–2000

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Community Development Plan, 1964	Box 17, Folder 7
Correspondence, 1875–1895	Box 17, Folder 8
Correspondence, 1921–1995	Box 17, Folder 9
Newspaper Clippings, 1943–2000	Box 17, Folder 10
Newspaper Clippings, 1995 and 1997	OMB 0112, Folder 4
Jobbers’ Price List and Ephemera, 1840–1954	Box 17, Folder 11
Miscellaneous, 1881–1975	Box 17, Folder 12

Series 6: Visual Materials, ca. 1900–ca. 1950

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Exterior views of the store, a fire next to the store, West Main St. in North Manchester, Ind., photographs and postcards, [ca. 1900–ca. 1950]	OVA Photographs: Folder 1
“Quick Sales and Small Profits, and Never to be Undersold by Anyone. B. Oppenheim & Company. North Manchester, Indiana.” [store motto]	35 mm acetate negative, Folder 1

Series 7: Printed Materials and Artifacts

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
From Peddlers to Merchants by Joseph Levine	General Collection:
Tales of the Old Days by W.E. Billings	General Collection:
The Oppenheim Family History: 1750–1995	General Collection:
2 printing blocks both inscribed “Oppenheim’s…in North Manchester since 1875”	Artifacts: 2001.0183
Wood printing block inscribed “Captain Gizmo’s Boys Shop Oppenheim’s”	Artifacts: 2001.0183
2 printing blocks show Oppenheim store (ca. 1890)	Artifacts: 2001.0183
Metal printing plate with two impressions: ‘NRA member we do our part” and “We support the U.S. economic program. We fight inflation.”	Artifacts: 2001.0183
2 signs with chain glued back to back: “North Manchester Chamber of Commerce member 1999”; “1996—Manchester Main Street, Inc. Indiana’s 101^st Main Street Community organized for the betterment of downtown since 1989”	Artifacts: 2001.0183

CATALOGING INFORMATION

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