An Inventory to the Iphigene Bettman Papers. 1900-1964.

Manuscript Collection No. 667


Title:
Iphigene Bettman Papers
Repository:
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
Creator:
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives Bettman, Iphigene, 1892-1978
Dates:
1900-1964
Quantity:
Quantity: 0.8 linear feet;
Quantity: (2 Hollinger boxes)
Abstract:
The Iphigene Bettman Papers contain the writings of Iphigene Bettman, a newspaper columnist, Republican Party worker, and granddaughter of Isaac Mayer Wise. Included are her journals from various trips overseas, correspondence with her family, and articles, stories, and speeches that she wrote. Of special interest are writings from her time in England at the end of World War II and reminiscences of her grandfather's farm in North College Hill.
Identification:
MS-667
Language:
Collection material in English.

Biographical Sketch

Iphigene Bettman (1892-1978) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to James and Helen Wise Molony. She was well known as a newspaper columnist, Republican Party worker, and radio show moderator, though she primarily considered herself a writer. Bettman was the wife of Gilbert Bettman, Sr., a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court and a vice mayor of Cincinnati. She was also a granddaughter of Isaac Mayer Wise, the founder of Hebrew Union College and an important figure in Reform Judaism. Bettman had three children, Carol Lazar, Alfred Bettman, and Judge Gilbert Bettman, Jr..

Bettman was a consultant for the Office of War Information during World War II in the United Kingdom. Her account of that assignment appeared in the New York Times and the Cincinnati Times Star . After the war she was the moderator for the radio forum, "What's on Your Mind?" in New York. She later was a columnist for the Cincinnati Times Star where her column "Hearabout" appeared for more than a decade. She also occasionally contributed an article for the Cincinnati Enquirer .

Bettman was the president of the Republican Women's Club and state and local chairperson of the education committee of the League of Women Voters. She was the state legislative chairperson for the American Association of University Women, member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and volunteer for the Department of Welfare.

In 1940 she ran for the Cincinnati Board of Education unsuccessfully. It was her only campaign, though she was a writer and organizer for the Republican party in eight state campaigns.

The Bettman family's ties to Cincinnati began in 1861 when Isaac Mayer Wise brought his family to a farm in North College Hill. Upon his death in 1900, Adolph S. Ochs, publisher of the New York Times and uncle to Bettman, bought the farm for his wife, Effie Wise Ochs. Since they were living in New York they asked James and Helen Wise Molony to live on the farm. Bettman wrote extensively on the importance of the farm to her during her formative years. The farm is now a park.

Scope and Content Note

The Iphigene Bettman Papers (1900-1964) contain the writings of Iphigene Bettman, a newspaper columnist, Republican party worker, and granddaughter of Isaac Mayer Wise. Included are her journals from various trips overseas, correspondence with her family, and articles, stories, and speeches that she wrote. Of special interest are writings from her time in England at the end of World War II and reminiscences of her grandfather's farm in North College Hill.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in 3 series:
Series A. Correspondence. 1900-1958.
Series B. Writings. 1915-1955.
Series C. Miscellaneous. 1964, Undated.

Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the American Jewish Archives's online catalog.

Subjects

Jewish women -- Ohio -- Cincinnati
Journalists -- Women
Wise, Isaac Mayer, 1819-1900

Preferred Citation

Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Iphigene Bettman Papers and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:

[Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-667. Iphigene Bettman Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Provenance

The Iphigene Bettman Papers were donated in August 2001 by Helen Cohen, Houston, Texas

Processing Information

Processed by Christine A. Crandall, October 2001


Accruals and Additions

No further accruals are expected to this collection.

Terms of Access and Use

The Iphigene Bettman Papers are open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the Barrows-Loebelson Reading Room of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

Property and Literary Rights

Helen Cohen, by the act of donating the Iphigene Bettman Papers to the American Jewish Archives, assigned all property rights to the American Jewish Archives. Literary rights are retained by the Iphigene Bettman heirs. Literary rights may also be retained by specific creators of materials.

Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information see the American Jewish Archives
copyright information webpage.

Box Folder Listing



Series A. Correspondence.

Scope and Content
Scope and Content Note: Contains letters written to her family and friends. Important in this series is correspondence with her children written while on a journalistic tour of England in 1943.

Box 1 / Folder 1
Bettman Family. 1910-1945 ,




Box 1 / Folder 2
Bettman Family. Letters from England. 1943 ,




Box 1 / Folder 3
Bettman, Gilbert, Sr. Engagement letters. Undated ,




Box 1 / Folder 4
Bettman, Gilbert, Jr. 1918 ,




Box 1 / Folder 5
General. 1900-1921 , Undated ,




Box 1 / Folder 6
General 1939-1958 ,





Series B. Writings.



Arrangement Note: This series is arranged in two subseries: Journals and Articles and Speeches




Subseries 1. Journals.

Scope and Content
Scope and Content Note: Contains Bettman's journals while on various trips overseas, including Asia, Europe, and Casablanca.

Box 1 / Folder 7
Asia. 1955 ,




Box 1 / Folder 8
Camping. 1955 ,




Box 1 / Folder 9
Casablanca. 1943 ,




Box 1 / Folder 10
England. 1915 ,




Box 1 / Folder 11
England. 1943 ,




Box 1 / Folder 12
European travel with Ochs Family. 1931 ,




Box 1 / Folder 13
Post World War II. 1947 ,







Subseries 2. Articles and Speeches.

Scope and Content
Scope and Content Note: Contains articles and speeches written throughout her career as a columnist.

Box 1 / Folder 14
Bettman, Gilbert, Sr.. Speech. Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 1
Contemporary Club. Stories and articles. Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 2
England. Articles. Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 3
K.K. Bene Israel (Rockdale Temple) 125th Anniversary. Article. Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 4
Poems. Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 5
Published articles. 1948-1954 ,




Box 2 / Folder 6
Radio addresses. 1944 ,




Box 2 / Folder 7
Stowe, Harriet Beecher Memorial. Speech. 16 June 1944 ,




Box 2 / Folder 8
Walnut Hills High School writings. Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 9
"Women of Asia." 1955 ,




Box 2 / Folder 10
"Women's Suffrage." Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 11
Writings. Undated ,





Series C. Miscellaneous.

Scope and Content
Scope and Content Note: Includes a tribute to Bettman's uncle, Adolph S. Ochs on his seventieth birthday and reminiscences of her grandfather, Isaac Mayer Wise, and his farm. Also included is Bettman's scrapbook which contains some of her published articles, articles describing her and her noted family, and personal mementos.

Box 2 / Folder 12
Autobiographical Questionnaire. 1964 ,




Box 2 / Folder 13
Ochs, Adolph S. 70th Birthday tributes. Undated ,




Box 2 / Folder 14
Wise, Isaac Mayer. Tributes. Undated ,




Box X-441
Scrapbook. Undated ,