Moses A. Dropsie account books, 1840-1848. Volume 1.

Name:

Dropsie, Moses A. (Moses Aaron)

Date:

1840-1848

Description:

These volumes comprise account books kept by Moses A. Dropsie of Philadelphia spanning the years from 1840 to 1848. The volumes were kept by Dropsie during his early career as a watchmaker. Each volume is arranged chronologically. Volume 1 spans the years from 1840 to 1847. A chronological account of daily sales, cleaning, and repairs of clocks, watches, and jewelry was entered in the volume. Recorded for each entry was the name of each customer, service provided and amount paid. Several leaves at the end of the volume are blank. On the cover of Volume 1 is a sketch of a man's face in black ink.; A Philadelphia lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist who was the eldest of four children born to Angeniet Engel, an American Christian and Aaron Moses, a Dutch Jewish immigrant. Dropsie's siblings included a brother Gabriel and two sisters Elizabeth and Eshter. Dropsie converted to Judaism at the age of fourteen along with his brother and his sister Elizabeth. He apprenticed and worked as a watchmaker and in the jewelry business until the age of twenty-eight. Dropsie then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851. He had a successful practice and worked in the development of the Philadelphia railway system. Dropsie also published several books including edited translations on Roman Law and a biography of Isaac Lesser. His commitment to Jewish education led to Dropsie to become president of Maimonides College from 1867 to 1873 and president of Gratz College from its founding in 1893. Dropsie never married and lived with his brother Gabriel and sister Elizabeth Lazarus and her children. At his death in 1905, Dropsie bequeathed a large portion of his estate to establish a college dedicated to Hebrew and Cognate languages and literature. The result was the formation of Dropsie College now the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies.

Identifier:

2006.12.26.00884

Language:

English

Form/Genre:

Manuscripts

Physical Description:

v.1 of 2

Rights:

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Physical Location:

MS 56, Codex 033.1 v.1

Collection:

Arnold and Deanne Kaplan Collection of Early American Judaica (University of Pennsylvania)