Rebecca Gratz died on August 27, 1869.
Although she outlived all but her youngest sibling,
Benjamin, most of her friends, and many of her nieces
and nephews, she remained actively involved on the
boards of the Philadelphia Orphan Society, Female Hebrew
Benevolent Society, Hebrew Sunday School and Jewish
Foster Home well into her eighties. Gratz's enduring legacy
can be measured by the success and longevity of the many
institutions she founded. The Philadelphia Orphan Society
and Female Association provided material sustenance to
thousands of women and children. The Jewish Foster Home
thrived until it eventually merged with other
institutions to create the Philadelphia Association for
Jewish Children. The Female Hebrew Benevolent Society
and Hebrew Sunday School continued their work for almost
150 years. In 1986, the flourishing School merged with
the Talmud Torah Schools of Philadelphia and continues
to provide coeducational Jewish learning for thousands
of young students. As historian Dianne Ashton writes,
“By training younger
Jewish women in administering the agencies she founded,
Gratz ensured that the FHBS, HSS and JFH would continue
to flourish long after her death. In their work, these
organizations continued to provide Jewish women and
children a way to be both fully Jewish and fully
American.”
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