Finding Aids | The Breman Museum

Summary/Abstract: Dr. Julius Edward Sommerfield achieved success in both the Atlanta Jewish community and the general community. He was chief of staff at the Morris Hirsch Clinic and the Atlanta Tuberculosis Association.  He was also on staff at Piedmont Hospital and had privileges at Grady Hospital. The papers consist of correspondence, autograph books, newspaper articles relating to Margaret Mitchell and Gone With The Wind, postcards, and yearbooks from Tech High School.

Quantity/Physical Description: .6 linear feet

Language(s):  English

Repository: Cuba Family Archives for Southern Jewish History, The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, 1440 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30309.

Restrictions on Access:  There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.

Restrictions on Use:  Copyright restrictions may apply.  Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.  Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder. Copyright privileges for the Gone With The Wind photographs must be obtained from donor.

Preferred Citation:  Box #, Folder #, Mss 19, Julius Edward Sommerfield Family Papers, Cuba Family Archives, The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, 1440 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30309.

Separated Material:  Photographs removed to visual arts collection 

Processed by:  Sandra Berman (December, 1989)

Arrangement:  The Julius Edward Sommerfield Family Papers are arranged alphabetically by folder and chronologically within each folder.

Biographical/Historical Note:  Julius Edward Sommerfield (1865-1937) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of William and Esther Kohn Sommerfield.  In 1886, he graduated from the Medical College of Ohio and subsequently did post-graduate work in Vienna and Berlin.  He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he met and married Clara Rosenfeld (1870-1958), the daughter of Abraham and Emilie Baer Rosenfeld.  Dr. Sommerfield achieved success in both the Atlanta Jewish community and the general community, and was chief of staff at the Morris Hirsch Clinic and the Atlanta Tuberculosis Association.  He was also on staff at Piedmont Hospital and had privileges at Grady Hospital.

Clara Rosenfeld Sommerfield was an honor graduate of Girl's High School in Atlanta, the Chairman of the Atlanta Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations, honorary President of the Atlanta Section of National Council of Jewish Women; Secretary of the Atlanta Federation of Jewish Social Service and the Director of the Community Home for Girls.  Clara Rosenfeld's parents, Abraham and Emilie Baer Rosenfeld, share the distinction of being the first Jewish couple to be married in Atlanta, and the couple whose pending marriage provided the impetus to establish The Hebrew Benevolent Congregation (The Temple), Atlanta's first synagogue.

Scope and Content:  The researcher should also be aware of the Sommerfield photograph collection which contains a series of unpublished photographs from the opening of the Gone With The Wind movie.  The social historian interested in early Jewish community life in Atlanta will find this collection of special interest. Of special interest are the autograph books which contain the signatures of a significant number of Jewish people living in Atlanta from 1879-1888; the large postcard collection which was collected by various members of the Sommerfield family from 1894-1976; and several items of memoribilia, e.g., a report card and commencement program from Girl's High School, 1887.  The Julius Edward Sommerfield Family Papers are arranged alphabetically by folder and chronologically within each folder.

Collection Inventory