EISENMAN, CHARLES

EISENMAN, CHARLES (1865-9 March 1923), clothing manufacturer and organizer and first president of the Fed. of Jewish Charities, was born in New York City, son of Isadore and Caroline (Rosenblatt) Eisenman. He moved to Cleveland as a young man, and cofounded the K & E Co. (later the Kaynee Co.), manufacturing shirts and blouses. Eisenman believed good working conditions and fair treatment of employees encouraged productivity, and opposed trade unions as an infringement on the rights of employers. After accumulating considerable wealth, Eisenman retired in 1906 to devote himself to PHILANTHROPY.

In 1903, Eisenman was one of 9 who formed the Fed. of Jewish Charities, organizing the local Jewish organizations to facilitate fundraising and curtail duplication of services. He was elected president, remaining that until his death. Eisenman opposed including organizations in the FJC that could not demonstrate an ability to raise funds from their constituents, and proposed including only "matured" immigrant organizations. Eisenman was a principal supporter of the establishment of a MT. SINAI HOSPITAL; and was active in the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Relief Committee, created to assist European Jews who suffered during WORLD WAR I. He was an organizer and active member of the Cleveland Community Fund Council until his death. During World War I, he chaired the Council of the Natl. Defense Committee on Purchases & Supplies and was awarded the District Service Medal for his work.

In honor of his charitable works, the Charles Eisenman Award for Outstanding Community Service was inaugurated in 1924 by the JEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION. Eisenman married Bertha Hays on 16 Sept. 1891. They had no children. Eisenman died in St. Augustine, Florida, and was buried in Mayfield Cemetery.


Eisenman, Charles. Everybody's Business: A Businessman's Interpretation of Social Responsibility (1916).


Finding aid for the Joseph Hays Family Papers. WRHS.

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