Joe Williams Family [Beaumont, TX] papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 1012

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Forms part of the South Texas Jewish Archives. Materials are open for research. Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Content Description

Thirteen boxes of materials from Joe Williams time as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston and Congregation Emanu El, correspondence - including love letters between Lizabell Williams Baer and Ludwig "Ludie" Baer, family photographs, slides, property deeds, post cards, VHS recordings, audio of bar mitzvah, newsletters, news clippings, membership cards, and scrapbooks document the lives of Joe Williams and his family from 1908 to 2012.

Forms part of the South Texas Jewish Archives.

Dates

Creation: 1908 - 2012

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open for research. Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Joe Williams Family [Beaumont, TX] 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

Joe Williams is a native of Beaumont, Texas, where his family had lived for generations before him. Joe spent much of his youth heavily involved in Jewish organizations in Beaumont, such as at Congregation Emanuel Beaumont, where his father served as president of the congregation. The son of a life insurance salesman, Joe became involved in the industry shortly after his father passed away in order to help his family make ends meet. Joe attended Lamar University in Beaumont, and moved to Houston, Texas, shortly thereafter initially to invest in an acquaintance's company, but soon transitioned back into the life insurance industry. Joe has remained heavily involved in Jewish life, not only becoming the president of Congregation Emanu El in Houston, Texas, but also the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.

Extent

7.5 Linear Feet (13 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection contains correspondence, family photographs, slides, property deeds, post cards, VHS recordings, audio of bar mitzvah, newsletters, news clippings, membership cards, and scrapbooks spanning the years 1908 to 2012.

Arrangement

The materials in this collection have been arranged in six series as follows:

Series I: Joe and Rose Lederer; Series II: Lizabell and Ludwig Baer; Series III: Leo Williams; Series IV: Joe Williams; Series V: Newspaper Clippings; Series VI: Media