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Samuel B. Finklestein Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MG NWK Finklestein

Scope and Contents

Samuel B. Finklestein was a lifelong Newarker who worked for the City for 50 years. His Papers are a collection of clippings, photos, plaques, diplomas, and other items that document his work for the city, his family life, and his volunteer work with various organizations in Newark and Essex County. Also included is a scrapbook of his travels.

Dates

  • 1900 - 2016

Creator

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission.

Biographical / Historical

Samuel B. Finklestein was born in Newark on February 1, 1894. He was the eldest of three sons of Herman Finklestein and Rose Lehrhof Finklestein. Herman was a Romanian immigrant who worked as a butcher, and Rose an immigrant from Austria-Hungary.

By 1920, he had married Hattie Klein, with whom he had two daughters, Frieda and Julienne. Hattie Finklestein died in 1956. The following year, he married Edna Klein Lowitz. Edna Finklestein died in 1980.

After receiving a law degree, Samuel Finklestein began working for the Newark Police Department in 1917. Finklestein worked for the City of Newark for 50 years, until his retirement in 1967. Until the 1950s, he worked for the Police Department as a clerk. In 1954, he was appointed the Personnel Director for the City of Newark, a job he held until retirement.

He helped take testimony from witnesses after aviator Charles Lindbergh's baby son was kidnapped from his home in Hunterdon County in 1932. The papers donated to the Newark Public Library contain a photo of Finklestein and others taken in Lindbergh's home during this time.

Finklestein was photographed with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover when he visited Newark during the 1930s. This collection features many photos from that visit, several of which include Finklestein.

He was active in many community groups, including the Shriners, the Essex County Israel Bond Committee, the Labor Zionist Alliance of Essex County, and the Lambskin Club Masonic group. A folder in the collection includes photos of Shriner events.

Samuel B. Finklestein died on July 11, 1982. He is buried in the Congregation B'Nai Jeshurun Cemetery in Elizabeth.

Extent

5.75 Linear Feet (4 Hollinger boxes, 1 oversize box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection was donated in March 2021 by Arthur Feller. Feller is the grandson of Samuel B. Finklestein (1894-1982), the compiler of the material. It consists of photos, clippings, plaques, diplomas and other material from the career of Finklestein, who worked for the City of Newark for 50 years before retiring in 1967. For much of the 1930s and 1940s, Finklestein was a clerk in the city's Public Safety department. After 1954, he served as Personnel Director for the City of Newark.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Arthur Feller (Finklestein's grandson) in March 2021. More material donated by Barbara Feller Bassano (Finklestein's granddaughter) in July 2021 and July 2022.

Separated Materials

Cunningham, John T. Newark. Newark, NJ: New Jersey Historical Society (1st ed.), 1966. [Signed by author; added to NJRAI Collection]

Urquhart, Frank J. A Short History of Newark. Newark, N.J.: Baker Printing Co., 1953. [Sent to book sale]

Processing Information

The material was received in cardboard boxes. Many of the photos were framed, as were several of the diplomas. Other diplomas were rolled up. Many of the clippings were extremely brittle.

The framed items were all taken out of frames. Clippings were photocopied, and then discarded. Rolled up diplomas were flattened. Oversize items were separated, and placed in flat boxes. Oher items were divided by type (photos and clippings) and put in Hollinger boxes.

Clippings and photos were mostly kept separate. Clippings were divided by date, with undated clippings placed in a separate folder.

Photos were divided by subject and date. Folders were created for family photos, those from the visit of J. Edgar Hoover to Newark during the 1930s, some from the Public Safety Standardization Committee, and photos of the Shrine Club. A small number of water-damaged photos were kept in a separate folder.

Three scrapbooks were placed in a Hollinger box together.

Author
Thomas Ankner
Date
June 2021
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center, Newark Public Library Repository

Contact:
3rd Floor
Newark Public Library
5 Washington St.
Newark NJ 07102 United States
973-733-7775