Letter from Louise A. Schneller to New Hope Congregation Regarding Her Family’s Connection to Jewish Cincinnati and Why She Was Donating a Torah Ark Curtain to New Hope Congregation

1951

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MRS. FRED SCHNELLER PRESIDENT 
J. H. LANTER VICE-PRESIDENT 
SCHNELLER AGENCIES, INC. 
INSURANCE • SURETY BONDS AMERICAN BUILDING CINCINNATI 2, OHIO 
PARR WAY 2342 
To the Board of Directors, and Members of NEW HOPE SHUL, on Prospect P1. Avondale, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Gentlemen and friends; 
Nov. 1, 1951. 
CARL B. SCHNEIDER SECRETARY 
STANLEY GORDON TREASURER 
Inasmuch as I am a stranger to nearly all of you, and presenting one of the curtains you use in your services, I feel it is right and proper for me to acquaint you with my reasons for so doing. Personally, I am part Jewish, my mother's grandfather, Phenias Moses and wife were part of a group of English jews who migrated to America, some relatives, others just friends. This particular group, "Sugarmans, Valentines, Johnsons, Moses, Josephs, Lipmans, etc. etc. went to Vincennes, Ind. but after a bit some of them, including the Moses, and relatives came on down to Cincinnati, and later some went on to New Orleans, where I now have distant relatives. This was at a very early date, and our people's names appeared in the first directory pub-lished here. 
The Moses family, very orthodox, did intermarry, including my grandfather Edw. Moses, and his two brothers', and we now have many of us Moses, Members of the Catholic and Protestant churches, all very good citizens. Cincinnati was a german settled city, both gentile and Jewish, and it happened the jews settled in what we always referred to as "the west end." Those streets below Central ave. from 7th on up Richmond, Court and Twelfth, all becoming predominantly jewish. This is the section in which my late husband and myself was raised. Our schoolmates, some gentiles, but more Jewish, were all raised to-gether and friendships were formed among us children, which have lasted unto the next generation. My husband, Fred Schneller was raised by his uncle, and dame up in Republican politics, and was eledted to City Council, in his early 20's. Needless to say many of his ardent supporters were his jewish school mates and neighbors he grew up with. Now in 1914, the Building Commissioner had issued an order on the Shul at 8th and Mount st, to rebuild a wall which he feared might col-lapse, which would cost about $2,000.00, a hardship on the congregation. A Committee of 3 of them, all friends of my husband came to see if he could help them dodge this big job. At this time he was our City Clerk and he was glad to take it up with the Building Commissioner, who had the order changed to "make suitable repairs to bring the wall up into good shape." They were delighted, did the job, costing around $500.00 and the work must have been good, as it was done 37 years ago, and the wall is still O.K. 
Rabbi Lesser, then the leading orthodox rabbi, and a very fine man was the head of this congregation, and many years later, when Mr. Schneller