Daily / Hart Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0893

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Forms part of the Houston Jewish History Archive. Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586. Allow 24-hours to recall boxes from offsite.

Scope and Contents

Four boxes containing certificates, construction contracts and blueprints, correspondence, school materials, reports, photographs, scrapbooks and memory books, and memorabilia spanning the years 1911 to 2015 document the lives of the Daily / Hart family. Of particular interest is the 1944 Annual Report from Congregation Beth Israel that douments a split in the congregation after Beth Israel announced that people who expoused Zionist ideals were not allowed to be members, which caused members who disagreed with that decision to splinter off and form Congregation Emanu El. Also included in the collection is the complete Beth Israel information packet regarding the "Basic Principles" -- or the exclusion of members with Zionist ideals -- to be voted on by the congregation.

Dates

Creation: 1911 - 2015

Conditions Governing Access

The material is open for research. Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586. Allow 24-hours to recall boxes from offsite.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Daily/Hart Family Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.

The Woodson Research Center use policy is that researchers assume sole responsibility for any infringement of privacy, literary rights, copyrights, or other rights arising from their use of the archival materials. In addition to any restrictions placed by donors, certain kinds of archival materials are restricted for the life of the creator plus 50 years. These materials include, but are not limited to, student grades, transcripts, and any job applications or recommendations.

Biographical / Historical

Abe Daily was born January 17, 1927, in Simonton, Texas, to Lizzie and Abe Daily, Sr. Abe grew up in Simonton and graduated from San Jacinto High School. He went on to attend summer classes at Texas A&M where he learned to classify, buy, and sell cotton to work in the family business in Simonton. Abe was stationed at Fort Ord and Fort Lawton while he was serving in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947. Able later graduated from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1961.

Cacilie Daily was born October 31, 1931, in Houston to Elsie and Hyman Hart. She grew up in the Southampton neighborhood of Houston and graduated from Lamar High School. She started a small business in 1980, called Miscellany.

After meeting on a blind date in 1948, and the two married in December 1950, and settled in Simonton. The couple had four children, traveled extensively after retiring, and were married for 68 years. Cacilie died in April 9, 2019, and Abe followed on July 24, 2019. They were interred at Emanu El Memorial Park in Houston.

Congregation Beth Israel was founded in 1854 as an Orthodox Jewish kehilla and is the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas. In 1874 the congregation voted to change their affiliation to Reform Judaism, sparking the foundation of Congregation Adath Yeshurun, now known as Congregation Beth Yeshurun.

In 1943 Temple Beth Israel announced that people who espoused Zionist ideals were not allowed to be members, so Congregation Emanu-El was formed by people who disagreed with that decision. As of 1967 Beth Israel accepts people with Zionist beliefs.

Excerpted from: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198258553/cacilie-emma-daily https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/houston-tx/abe-daily-8789203 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_Beth_Israel_(Houston)

Extent

2.25 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection consists of four boxes containing family materials and synagogue/organization materials from Congregations Beth Israel, Emanu El and B'nail B'rith, including certificates, contracts, correspondence, school materials, reports, photographs, scrapbooks and memory books, and memorabilia spanning the years 1911 to 2015.

Arrangement

The materials in this collection have been arranged in five series as follows: Series I: Hart Family; Series II: Daily Family; Series III: Synagogue/Organization Materials; Series IV: General; Series V: Oversize Series VI: Ironwork designs (small) Series VII: Drawings from Weber Iron & Wire Company

Immediate Source of Acquisition

William Daily donated the materials in August 2019.

Related Materials

Congregation Emanu El Collection, MS 726

Separated Materials

The following books were removed from this collection and catalogued separately: The Jews in Texas by Rabbi Henry Cohen - F395.J5 C627 1895 In Good Taste - TX724 .I5 1956 Better Than Take Out: Easy Recipes for Busy Families - TX724 .B484 2004 The Jewish Texans - F395.J5 I57 1974 Talmud-Spruche - BM517.M77 G4 1906 The Scripture Stories Retold for Young Israel - BS551 .S49 1918 Introduction to the Bible: Ten Commandments and Holydays - BM105 .A47 1926 El Oroso (1944) - LD7501 .S26 076