Ephraim Lederer (January 24, 1862 – September 11, 1925) was a Jewish-American lawyer from Pennsylvania.

Life

Lederer was born on January 24, 1862, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the son of Leopold Lederer and Fannie Weyl. His father immigrated to America from Meseritz, the

Grand Duchy of Posen The Grand Duchy of Posen (german: Großherzogtum Posen; pl, Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following th ...

, while his mother immigrated Petchau, Bohemia. Lederer attended Philadelphia public schools and graduated from the Central High School when he was sixteen. He then studied law in the office of Judge F. Amedee Bregy and took a two-year course in the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1883. In 1913, President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He resigned from the office in 1921 to resume his private law practice. A prominent Democrat, he became an assistant in the office of Sheriff Charles F. Krumbhaar in 1888 and served as first vice-president of the Democratic Club of Philadelphia. Lederer was vice-president and secretary of the

Young Men's Hebrew Association A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations ...

, director and assistant secretary of the

Jewish Publication Society of America The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by reform Rabbi Joseph Krausko ...

. He was associate editor of ''

The Jewish Exponent ''The Jewish Exponent'' is a weekly community newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the second-oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States. History ''The Jewish Exponent'' has been published continuously since Apri ...

'' from 1901 to 1904 and wrote a number of lectures and essays on Jewish subjects that were published in Jewish journals. He continued to write for ''The Jewish Exponent'' from 1905 to 1925. In 1911, he was appointed chairman of the education committee of the Philadelphia Kehillah. He was also a trustee of the Jewish Publication Society, president of the board of trustees of

Gratz College Gratz College is a private Jewish college in Melrose Park, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origins to 1856 when banker, philanthropist, and communal leader Hyman Gratz and the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia (established in 184 ...

, the Philadelphia secretary of the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studi ...

for over thirty-five years, secretary and board of governors member of Dropsie College, director and solicitor of the Jewish Hospital Association of Philadelphia for almost forty years, first committee chairman of the Lucien Moss Home for Incurables, a trustee of the Rothschild Memorial (Beth-El) Congregation, a director of the Philadelphia branch of the ''

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU; he, כל ישראל חברים; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jew ...

'', vice-president of the Hebrew Education Society, and a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the American Jewish Committee. He attended the

Congregation Mikveh Israel Congregation Mikveh Israel ( he, קהל קדוש מקוה ישראל), "Holy Community Hope of Israel", is a synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that traces its history to 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portuguese synagogue that follo ...

. In 1901, Lederer married Grace Newhouse. Grace was teacher, principal, and president of the Hebrew Sunday School Society. She was also president of the

Female Hebrew Benevolent Society of Philadelphia Female Hebrew Benevolent Society of Philadelphia is an American non-profit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlanti ...

, an honorary director of the Federation of Jewish Charities and the Jewish Aid Society, treasurer of the Women's Democratic Luncheon Club, and editor of the Pennsylvania Democratic women publication ''Survey''. Lederer died from a heart attack on September 11, 1925.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lederer, Ephraim 1862 births 1925 deaths Lawyers from Philadelphia American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Czech-Jewish descent Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers American Jews American lawyers 20th-century American newspaper editors Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers Pennsylvania Democrats Jews from Pennsylvania