Collections
University Records Collections – URC
Records created by employees or entities of the university and its predecessor schools. University records date from 1895 to the present, and represent a wide range of administrations, offices and organizations on campus. Most importantly, we preserve the records of the board of trustees of SMTI, SMU and predecessor schools.This is the official record of UMD's history.
Manuscript collections are those collected, compiled or created by from individuals and groups in the local community, such as those in the Portuguese American Archives or the Archives of the Center for Jewish Culture. Under manuscript collections is the Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives Collection, the most complete collection of documents relating to this crime's investigation and Sirhan Sirhan’s court trial.
Archives and Special Collections has over 6,000 photographs and postcards. Most are in the Photographic Collections (click on link above for list), but many are in scrapbooks, and are therefore located within the records of an organization or individual.
Artifacts Collection
The Archives has a sizeable collection of artifacts, which include textile samples and equipment, pennants and logo items. A complete list may be viewed in the Archives reading room.
RFK Assassination Archives
The Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives Collection is the world's largest, most complete compilation of materials relating to this event. Established in 1984, the archives contains thousands of copies of government documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act public disclosure process as well as manuscripts, photographs, audiotape interviews, video tapes, news clippings and research notes complied by journalists and other private citizens who have investigated discrepancies in the case.
Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese American Archives
In partnership with the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture, the Archives and Special Collections identifies, collects, preserves and provides access to historical material documenting the experience of Portuguese-Americans in the United States, with a particular regional focus on southeastern Massachusetts.
Documentation includes records of fraternal, religious and social organizations; family photographs, scrapbooks and oral histories which illustrate the collective experience of immigration, settlement, and life in the United States; the records of prominent individuals of Portuguese descent; and records of local business and other institutions that either serve or were created by Portuguese-Americans.
The university is located at the heart of a region with the nation's largest concentration of Portuguese-Americans and those of Portuguese descent. Highlights of the collection include an original run of the Portuguese daily newspaper, Diario de Noticias (1919-1973), a Portuguese Oral History Collection, records of the Portuguese American Historical Foundation, records of the Portuguese Alliance Benevolent Association (Fall River), papers of the Sylvia and Garcia families, and the papers of New Bedford musician João Cordeiro, Jr.
The Archives of the Center for Jewish Culture
The Archives of the Center for Jewish Culture is an extensive collection of manuscript records and artifacts documenting many aspects of the Jewish communities of Fall River and New Bedford. Highlights include records of social and philanthropic organizations, personal memorabilia, religious artifacts, photographs, family papers and oral histories that document Jewish immigration and settlement in the Fall River and New Bedford areas from the turn of the 19th century. Also documented are the local congregations, Jewish businesses, women's organizations and Veteran's groups.\
Historical Tour of a Jewish New Bedford
Online tour of important sites in the history of the Jewish community of New Bedford compiled by Judy Farrar and Cindy Yoken includes locations of early synagogues, merchants and community centers, as well as current sites. If you would like a printed copy sent to you, contact Judy Farrar or Cindy Yoken.
Also available in PDF format.
Link to a Historical Tour of Jewish New Bedford
Oral History Project
In 1981 Carol Marlin and Professor Robert Waxler interviewed community leader Fisher Abramson. This interview became the inspiration for an oral history project that is now in its third decade. Through the efforts of a team of dedicated volunteers, the collection now preserves the oral memories of about 170 individuals in the community. Interviewees include Bertha Leen, Samuel Ades, Roberta Barnet, Edward Morse, Morris Sederholm, Phyllis Mayer and Janet Freedman. At least 72 of the interviews are of noted women leaders of the community.
Alphabetical list of interviews and selected full text transcriptions.
Holocaust Studies
The Archives includes a number of collections and oral history interviews that shed a personal light on the experience of the Holocaust, including interviews of Abraham Landau, Sam Seif, Rachel Levinson and Rose Juda. Dr. Julius Picard, a Fall River medical doctor, fled Germany in 1938.We also have a lot of interviews of former GIs, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who helped liberate the concentration camps at the end of World War II.
