Canonsburg

Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pa. It was settled in the late 1780s and incorporated in 1802. Canonsburg became a cultural center with the establishment of Jefferson College, the first institution of higher education west of the Allegheny Mountains. The borough grew following the addition of a station of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1870s, and the expansion of coal and steel industries in the area.

Although early records are spotty, the first Jewish settlers in Canonsburg are believed to have arrived in the late 1880s and 1890s. Included in the 1900 U.S. Census are Morris Bernstein, Joseph Auerbach, Louis and Jesse Markowitz, and Jacob and Julia Morris. By 1905, a small Jewish community was meeting for services at the McNary Building at West Pike Street and Jefferson Street under the name B’nai Israel. They began using the name Canonsburg Hebrew Association as early as January 1909 and launched a building campaign. The association officially incorporated as Tree of Life Congregation in 1914 with approximately 35 families and dedicated a $12,000 synagogue on Ashland Avenue the following year. Tree of Life Congregation renovated this synagogue in 1928.^[1]Cushner, Arnold. “…from Genesis to Exodus,” Jefferson County Times, March 2009 (online).

Tree of Life Congregation never established a cemetery. Jewish families in Canonsburg typically purchased plots in the cemetery of Beth Israel Congregation of Washington, Pa.

Organizations

Sometime before 1919, the Canonsburg Religious School opened under the auspices of the Southwestern District of Pennsylvania Jewish Religious Schools program. The weekly Sunday school included lessons on the Bible, Jewish history, and Jewish customs.

The community also supported a traditional daily afternoon cheder, or Hebrew school.

The Canonsburg Ladies Aid Society was established sometime before World War I. It evolved after the war into the Tree of Life Congregation Sisterhood. The community also supported a local chapter of Junior Hadassah by the 1920s and an adult chapter by 1939.

A Young Men’s Hebrew Association of Canonsburg was established in January 1917 but quickly disbanded due to the demands of World War I. A short-lived Young People’s Zionist League began in 1919. The Canonsburg A. Z. A. Chapter No. 24 was established in September 1926 and was the first A.Z.A. chapter east of the Mississippi River.

The B’nai B’rith Canonsburg Lodge No. 1323 was installed in January 1939 and pursued many interfaith initiatives in the borough. The Jewish community also supported various regional Zionist initiatives over the years, including the Zionist District and Israel Bonds.

Throughout its existence, the Jewish community of Canonsburg regularly joined together with the larger community in nearby Washington, Pa. for organizational activities.

Clergy

Spiritual leaders of Tree of Life Congregation of Canonsburg include Rabbi Hyman Lebeau, Rabbi B. Newmark, Rabbi Julius Ginsberg, Rabbi Simon, Rabbi Lamb, Rabbi A. M. London, Rabbi Plotkin, Rabbi Glyn, Rabbi Goodman, Rabbi Benjamin Cantor, and Rabbi Schuvalsky. Members who led services include Sam Finkel and Sam Rosenberg.^[2]Katz, William. “Reminisces of the Jewish Community of Canonsburg,” Canonsburg, Pa.: Jefferson College Historical Society, 1991. [F157.W399 C22 1991q] (online).

Population

The Jewish population of Canonsburg peaked in the 1930s. Tree of Life Congregation remained active through the 1940s but “by the 1950s it became more a place for nostalgia than worship,” according to a 2009 history in the Jefferson College Times by Arnold Cushner. Tree of Life sold its synagogue to a janitorial supply company in the early 1960s. the building was demolished during a redevelopment campaign in the 1980s.

The Jewish population of Canonsburg was largely Litvak with a sizable Galitzianer minority. Tree of Life Congregation maintained Orthodox practices and followed Nusach Ashkenaz for its prayer services.

With the closure of the Tree of Life synagogue, the memorial board and other furnishings were transferred to the Beth Israel Congregation synagogue in Washington, Pa.

Jewish families known to have lived in Canonsburg include Abraham, Adler, Bales, Benowitz, Berman, Bernstein, Blaustein, Brand, Burg, Cahan, Chertoff, Cohen, Cohn, Cushner, Davis, Deemer, Devon, Fargotstein, Feld, Feldhorn, Fickman, Fink, Finkel, Friedfeld, Friedfeld/Friedfelt, Galtz, Goldberg, Graditor, Green, Greenberg, Greenberg, Harris, Hirsh, Hoffman, Horwitz, Kantor, Karwan, Katz, Klahr, Klee, Klein, Kletzk, Kornfield, Lebeau, Lebovitz, Lebowitz, Leiner, Levi/Levy, Levin, Levine, Mankowitz, Marcus, Marcus, Margolis, Markowitz, Miller, Mintz, Morris, Moscov, Pearlman, Penner, Penner, Petchenik, Pickholtz, Piechenic, Pinsker, Popover, Potashman, Rosenberg, Safran, Sheffler, Shomfeld, Simon, Skirble, Slone, Sukolsky, Tabac, Tabeck, Todder, Weiner, Weisman, Williams, Zeman, and Zucker.

Bibliography

Rauh Jewish Archives

Collections

• Arnold Cushner Research Collection [MSS 1114] (catalog record).
• Arnold Cushner Genealogical Collection [2018.0146]
• Canonsburg Jewish Community materials, from Synagogue Documentation Project Records [MSS 317] (catalog record).
• Tree of Life Congregation (Canonsburg) Photographs [PFF 29] (catalog record).
• Finkel Family Papers [2001.0254] (catalog record).
• Ilene Cohen Papers [2020.0068].

Books and Articles

• Feldman, Jacob. “The Jewish Experience in Western Pennsylvania,” Pittsburgh: Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, 1986 (catalog record).
• Katz, William. “Reminisces of the Jewish Community of Canonsburg,” Canonsburg, Pa.: Jefferson College Historical Society, 1991. [F157.W399 C22 1991q] (catalog record) (online).
• Potashman, Ilene. “A family history: A Look at the Potashman and Weinstein families,” 1978 [MFF 4936] (catalog record) (online).
• Lidji, Eric. “Following the Majority,” Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, Sept. 21, 2023 (online—Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle).

University of Pittsburgh Archives & Special Collections

Oral histories

• Nathan Deemer oral history, 1968, from National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section Records [pitt:ais196440.097] (online—Historic Pittsburgh).
• Elliot Finkel oral history, 1977, from National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section Records [pitt:ais196440.127] (online—Historic Pittsburgh).
• Harry L. Katz oral history, 1984, from National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section Records [pitt:ais196440.223] (online—Historic Pittsburgh).
• Jesse Cohen oral history, 1995, from National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section Records [pitt:ais196440.078] (online—Historic Pittsburgh).
• Morris Klahr oral history, undated, from National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section Records [pitt:ais196440.239] (online—Historic Pittsburgh).

Exhibit History

• Author: Eric Lidji
• Created: April 26, 2017
• Current: September 27, 2023