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1870 US Federal Census Data Waterville
Data extracted by the Colby Jewish History Project (2012)

Jews in Waterville in 1870

DMJ-ID	Surname	First name	age	birthplace	parents	occupation	page	notes
36530	Bonna	Fannie	39	Bavaria	f	keeping house	44	nj?
36301	Bonna	Hannah	19	Maine	f	at school	44	nj?
36529	Bonna	Laura	15	Maine	f	at school	44	nj?
COL110	Bleyer	Jacob	45	Bohemia	f	clerk RJ Dry Goods	44	nj? Lives with Bonnas	no independent evidence that Bleyer was Jewish	note: p. 56 family of 3 NJ Germans, he's a peddler from Prussia
36183	Peavy	Jacob	51	Posen	f	clothing dealer RJ	70	nj??
36186	Peavy	Rose E	38	Posen	f	keeping house	70
COL101	Peavy	Rebecca	15	Maine	f	at school	70
30148	Peavy	Gustavus	13	Maine	f	at school	70
30149	Peavy	Silas	11	Maine	f	at school	70
36182	Peavy	Henry	9	Maine	f	at school	70
36181	Peavy	Esther	7	Maine	f	at home	70
36184	Peavy	Leopold	5	Maine	f	at home	70
36185	Peavy	Minnie	3	Maine	f	at home	70
COL111	Waterman	Gustavus	21	Brandenburg	f	clerk in dry goods store	70	lives w/ Peavy	there were Bangor Jewish Watermans at this time
COL112	Tallou	Mary	17	Canada	f	domestic	70	nj; lives w/ Peavy	probably not Jewish
33377	Blumenthal	Emanuel	35	Bavaria	f	RJ Dry Goods Dealer	76	owns real estate, is a U.S. citizen	no independent evidence that these Blumenthals were Jewish
33378	Blumenthal	Hellen	29	Bavaria	f	keeping house	76		no independent evidence that these Blumenthals were Jewish
33379	Blumenthal	Sarah	1	Maine	f	at home	76		no independent evidence that these Blumenthals were Jewish
33380	Blumenthal	Lewis	0	Maine	f	at home	76		no independent evidence that these Blumenthals were Jewish
33381	Blumenthal	Joseph	0	Maine	f	at home	76		no independent evidence that these Blumenthals were Jewish
COL113	Duslie	Sophia	17	Maine	f	domestic	76	nj	probably not Jewish
COL114	Woods	Lydia	49	Maine	n	nurse	76	nj	probably not Jewish
COL115	Gallert	Mark	26	Prussia	f	dry goods merchant RJ	116	has assets but no real estate (lives at hotel kept by Charles Smith); US citizen	no independent evidence that Gallerts were Jewish

Methodological notes :


	This data was culled from the original U.S. census manuscripts, as found on www.ancestry.com. Jews are understood to constitute an ethnic group of Eastern and Central European origin characterized by common names and occupational pursuits, as well as a distinctive language. This definition lends itself well to analysis of the data preserved in census records.
	Two primary methods were used to identify Jews:
	1. Individuals born abroad whose mother tongue is "Yiddish," "Jewish," or "Hebrew" were automatically included in the spreadsheet, as were all members of their families.
	2. For individuals born abroad whose mother tongue was another Eastern or Central European language (e.g., Russian, Polish, German), or individuals born in the U.S. with one or more parents from Eastern or Central Europe, we examined surnames, given names within a household, and occupations in light of common Jewish characteristics. This method of analysis is, of course, subject to inaccuracy, as we may have excluded Jews with uncommon names or occupations or included non-Jews whose characteristics appear Jewish. Individuals listed with the annotation "nj?" in the far right-hand column are those whose Jewish ancestry is plausible but questionable.
	This method of analysis easily misses Jewish households whose members' parents were all born in the United States. In 1930 Maine, however, such households were quite rare. Special efforts were made to identify households of this nature in Portland, where they constituted less than 1% of identified Jewish households.
	All members of a household containing a Jew are included in the spreadsheet, with the exception of Jewish lodgers and servants, who are listed individually. Household members who are evidently not Jewish (such as non-Jewish servants and some spouses or in-laws) are listed with the annotation "nj."
	Information on place of birth
	Some people replied with the name of the place when they left; others replied with the name of place when the census was taken; in other cases it just seems that it was easier for the census taker to write ‘Russia’ rather than Lithuania, Ukraine or other unfamiliar country names.
	And there is another reason to be skeptical of the accuracy of the place of birth information. Immigrants from the Pale had a very justified fear of the Russian and often local governments. One way to manage this reality was to tell government representatives what they expected they wanted to hear or what they thought would bring them the least trouble. This may well explain why a number of family members, who were clearly from Eastern Europe, may have answered ‘Maine’ or ‘New York’.

Last Updated : Jan 2 , 2021

Thank you to the Colby College Maine Jewish History Project (2011) and David M. Freidenreich for the information

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1870 US Federal Census Data Waterville Data extracted by the Colby Jewish History Project (2012)

Jews in Waterville in 1870

Methodological notes :

Add a Term

1870 US Federal Census Data Waterville
Data extracted by the Colby Jewish History Project (2012)