Local History Collections

(Description ID: 595784)

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

The Danziger Family

 LH-412

Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory 

Introduction
This collection was donated to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums by Nathan and Samuel Danziger in 2015. 

Biographical Sketch
Louis Danziger was born on 29 April 1894 in New York, NY.  As a young child Louis moved to Michigan with his family and attended the local schools.  After graduating from high school he obtained a law degree from the College of Law in Detroit, Michigan.  Danziger remained in Detroit to practice law before moving to Columbus and then Fremont, Ohio in 1931 to manage Joseph’s Department Store. 

On 29 July 1936 he married Helen Rosner in Detroit, Michigan.  The couple had two children; Samuel and Nathan. 

While living in Fremont Louis remained very active within the community.  He was chairman of the Fremont Flood Wall committee, trustee of the YMCA and participated in various downtown projects.  He was also a member of the Thurston-Zwir Post of the American Legion, the Fremont Rotary Club and the Elks Lodge of Columbus.  Louis Danziger died on 21 September 1986.           

Scope and Content
The collection spans the years from 1931 – 2004 with the bulk of the material dating from the 1950s and 1960s.  It contains the Danziger family business correspondence, as well as several family photographs. 

The remaining parts of this collection are devoted to Joseph’s Department Store.  The original Joseph’s Department Store was established in 1864 by Jacob Joseph.  After the death of Jacob, his sons, Barney and Isaac, successfully operated the store until 1929.  The three-story brick building on the northwest corner of Front and Garrison Streets was then leased and eventually sold to the Danziger family of Columbus, Ohio. 

The store suffered two major fires in 1948 and 1950.  After each fire the family made the decision to rebuild and expand the structure.  Construction blueprints of the building are included in the material. Louis Danziger, along with his associates, managed the department store for several decades, making it a fixture of the Fremont business community.  The material contains a history of the department store, newspaper articles and advertisements.  Also included are interior and exterior photographs of the store during various time periods.  A list of the executive staff (undated) employed at Joseph’s Department Store completes the collection.  

Inventory
Ac. 5923, Ac.6014

Box 1

Folder:

1. Danziger Family Business Correspondence  1952 - 1980
2. Danziger Family – Newspaper Articles
3. Danziger Family Photographs
4. Danziger vs. Specialty Retailers – Court Case (Rental Agreement Dispute)
5. Danziger vs. Luse – Court Case (Shareholder Dispute)
6. Joseph’s Department Store – History
7. Joseph’s Department Store – Executive Staff (undated)
8. Joseph’s Department Store – Newspaper Articles/Advertisements
9. Joseph’s Department Store – Lease Agreements
10. Joseph’s Department Store – Scrapbook
11. Joseph’s Department Store – Interior Photographs
12. Joseph’s Department Store – Exterior Photographs
13. Joseph’s Department Store – Fire Photographs
14. Joseph’s Department Store/Alice Department Store (Findlay, Ohio) – Photograph

Construction blueprints (12) 1946 - 1960 - transferred to Map Cart #2 located in Oversize

Danziger Family Genealogy – transferred to the library (ORR) 

Ac.6014

Danziger Family Genealogy - flash drive (1)