Jewish Newspapers and Periodicals of the Greater Philadelphia Region and South Jersey, 1875-2019
Local and regional Jewish community newspapers and periodicals often contain notices of various life cycle events including births, bar/bat mitzvahs, engagements, marriages, deaths, and burials of members of the Jewish community in and around Philadelphia as well as information on organizations, businesses, historical events, and topics. The bulk of the Jewish newspapers are printed in English with a few titles in Yiddish. Depending on the title, newspapers and periodicals are accessible in print, on microfilm, or via subscription databases.
Our most requested periodical is The Jewish Exponent. The Jewish Exponent, first published on April 15, 1887, is the second-oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States. See “FAQ Jewish Exponent” for detailed description of available issues.
SCRC staff can search available databases containing The Jewish Exponent:
ProQuest Historical Newspapers, 1887-1990
Access to the subscription databases is also available to patrons via our reading room computers.
If the patrons request falls outside of the time periods that have been digitized, staff may find print volumes that have not been digitized that might fill in the gaps. SCRC staff can provide either print or digital copies to be mailed to researchers.
The Jewish Times Records, 1947-1975
Morgue of The Jewish Times includes photographs, clippings, press releases, and reference files related to people, organizations, events, and subjects of interest for the newspaper’s readership. The Jewish Times Records also includes photographs by issue for the years 1966 to 1974, as well as copy for editions from 1975. Although the newspaper was first published in 1925, the morgue only includes photos, clippings, etc. produced between 1947 and 1975.
The Vertical Files on the Jewish Community of Greater Philadelphia can serve as a potential starting point for genealogy research. The files provide background information on cultural and historical events, businesses, as well as members of the Jewish community in the Greater Philadelphia region including southern New Jersey. A file level alphabetical inventory of the collection’s contents is searchable in the online finding aid.
