Some interesting data on the family history of Albert Ottinger, Republican candidate for New York State governorship, are given in an article by Max Bhim in the current issue of the “Jewish Tribune.”
The man honored by his fellow Republicans is a son of Moses Ottinger, who was born in Wittemberg, Germany, immigrating to this country with the parents at the age of three. His mother was Amclia Ottinger, a New York City girl who was in the first graduatng class of Normal, now Hunter College.
Attorney-General Ottinger’s grandfather was Nathan Ottinger, a Sofer, writer of Holy Scrolls. He was a pious Jew and very learned, a publisher of religious books who was consulted because of his scholastic attainments.
Moses Ottinger, Albert’s father, was one of the founders of the Jewish Theological Seminary, donating the Nathan Ottinger library in honor of his paternal parent. Moses also was one of the guiding spirits in the establishment of Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hebrew Free School, now the Educational Alliance, and a large contributor to each.
Moses’ brother, Marx Ottinger, the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s uncle was long a director of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and treasurer of the Baron de Hirsch Fund. None of the Ottinger family ever labored on Saturday, and the Attorney-General’s father never failed to carry a supply of maitzos with him during the week of Passover when he had to leave his home.
For generations the Ottingers had great rabbis in the family, extending back to Rabbi Meir the Great Rabbi of Rothenburg who played a striking part in the history of Jewish martyrdom.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
