Callomon Family Photographs Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Callomon Family

Moses and Cecile Callomon of Ostrow, Germany, had two sons, Jacques and Bernhardt. Jacques Callomon settled in Berlin. After completing his military service, Bernhardt Callomon (1855-1933) sailed to New York City in 1877. He settled in old Allegheny City where he worked for a relative in the jewelry business. In 1901, he became the superintendent of Rodef Shalom Congregation at Eighth Street, downtown, serving as an assistant to Rabbi J. Leonard Levy and occasionally leading services.

“He was the Information Bureau for everyone, and was obliged to exercise the greatest patience and tact in meeting the frequently unreasonable attitude of some members: on him was laid the burden of all complaints,” the Jewish Criterion wrote after Bernhardt died. “And it is a tribute to his character and his disposition that he was able to serve so many years and maintain until the very end the goodwill and esteem of his fellows.”

In 1890, Bernhardt Callomon married Bertha Bickart, the daughter of a retired clothing merchant. They had three sons, Clarence, Verner, and Irvin. Clarence nad Irvin left for California and Cleveland, respectively, and Verner Callomon stayed in Pittsburgh.

Verner Callomon (1892-1977) graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1915 with a degree in medicine. He served as a junior lieutenant in World War I and returned to Pittsburgh to practice internal medicine. He was a pulmonary disease specialist and researcher at Allegheny General Hospital and Montefiore Hospital for nearly 60 years and was the chief of medicine at both institutions at different times during his long career. His research contributed to changes in the treatment of pneumonia. He was known both for his professionalism and for his compassion. In order to visit weather-bound patients, he rowed down Liberty Avenue during the 1936 St. Patrick’s Day flood and secured an Army jeep during the November 1950 snowstorm.

Verner Callomon married Florence Schoenthal in 1927. They had two children, Jane Lee and James. Jane Callomon (b.1929) was a creative director with the Lando Inc. advertising agency. She later married Leon Arkus, the fifth director of the Carnegie Museum of Art. James Callomon worked in sales in various fields, and spent most of his career working as a national manufacturer’s representative in the furniture industry.