FREIBERG

FREIBERG, U.S. family, prominent from the mid-1800s to the 1930s. JULIUS FREIBERG (1823–1905), who was born in Neu Leiningen, Germany, arrived in Cincinnati in 1847. In 1855 he established a distillery with Levi J. Workum. The business, which became quite successful, continued under family management until the passage of the Prohibition Amendment in 1918 forced it to close. Freiberg served as president of the Bene Israel (Orthodox) congregation for 25 years. Yet, when isaac m. wise of Bene Jeshurun founded the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1873 and the Hebrew Union College two years later, Freiberg enthusiastically supported him. He served as vice president of the UAHC from 1873 to 1889, and as president from 1889 to 1903. Freiberg was a member of the Board of Governors of the HUC from 1875 to 1904, and a vice chairman for 26 years. He was a delegate to the Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1873 and held numerous other positions of public trust. In 1856 he had married Duffie Workum, the first Jewish female child born west of the Alleghenies. They helped found and support a number of Jewish charitable agencies. His son JULIUS WALTER FREIBERG (1858–1921) also served as president of UAHC and served on the Cincinnati Charter Commission and several national Jewish organizations. His wife STELLA (née Heinsheimer; 1862–1962) was one of the nine founders in 1894 of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. One of the founders of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, she served as its president from 1923 to 1929. J. Walter's brother MAURICE J. FREIBERG (1861–1936), who was president of the family business from 1905 to 1918, was also known as a philanthropist and public servant. He donated the maternity wing of Cincinnati's Jewish Hospital in memory of his wife, served as vice president of the HUC Board of Governors, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and in many other Jewish and civic offices. ALBERT HENRY FREIBERG (1868–1940) and his son JOSEPH A. FREIBERG (b. 1898) were noted orthopedic surgeons and served as faculty members of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. (Kenneth D. Roseman)