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Abner H. Cohan papers, 1973
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Cohan, Abner H
- Title
- Abner H. Cohan papers
- Dates
- 1973 (inclusive)19731973
- Quantity
- 2 sound cassettes (ca. 95 min.); partial transcript: 4 pages; speech: 9 pages
- Collection Number
- 2093 (Accession No. 2093-001)
- Summary
- Oral history with Cohan, a Seattle businessman, in which he covers the formation and early years of the Young Men's Hebrew Association in Seattle.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Open to all users.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Abner H. Cohan was born near Ostrov, Poland. His family left for the U.S. circa 1893 and arrived in New York. They then went from New York to Denver where his father was a teacher and Cohan went to school. He learned to be a harness maker but had difficulty finding employment since he refused to work on Saturday. After working at several places in Colorado and Utah, he came to Seattle. The Seattle Harness Company was his first employer in Seattle. It was owned by one of the Olswangs. In addition, he started selling real estate on Sunday. When the harness company went out of business, he went to work full time for Realty Loan and Banking. He went into business for himself circa 1915 . He sold homes from the Ship Canal to Mt. Baker and sold some property on the tidelands.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Tape recorded interview conducted by Meta Kaplan and Karyl Winn on February 5 and February 9, 1973, and covering the period 1893-1940. The accession also includes a speech.
The only portion of the tape transcribed is the last third of side 2, tape 106B. It covers the formation and early years of the Young Men's Hebrew Association in Seattle. About 15 minutes at the beginning of side 1 is a conversation with Jacob Kaplan and then Mr. Cohan's interview follows. There is an approximately 10 minute gap in the middle of side 2. In the second tape Mr. Cohan describes his real estate business in more detail. He mentions the beginning of the Seattle Real Estate Board and the founding of the Young Men's Hebrew Association.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
Listen to the audio recording and view the transcript of this interview on the Libraries Digital Collections site.
Restrictions on Use
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Jews--Washington (State)--Seattle
- Jews--Washington (State)--Seattle--Interviews
Personal Names
- Cohan, Abner H.--Archives
Corporate Names
- Young Men's Hebrew Association (Seattle, Wash.)
Other Creators
-
Corporate Names
- Washington State Jewish Archives (University of Washington)
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
Other Creators
-
Corporate Names
- Washington State Jewish Archives (University of Washington)
