Comment

Post a comment

Leave a comment below or email dmj@mindspring.com with corrections.

1930 US Federal Census Data Sanford

Families with one East European immigrant


NameSingle/MarriedRoleappx DOBPlace of BirthStreetemploymenttitle
Abraham ShalitMarriedHead1870Lithuania14 Clork StMachinistProprietor
Gussie ShalitMarriedWife1875Lithuania14 Clork St  
Myer / Miah ShalitSingleSon1894Maine14 Clork StMerchantLadies Clothing
Saul ShalitSingleSon1899Maine14 Clork StDrugistProprietor
Edith B ShalitSingleDaughter1910Maine14 Clork StLadies ClothinngClerk
Bernard ColeMarriedHead1893Russia3 Clark StClothing StoreManager
Doris P ColeMarriedWife1893Massachusetts3 Clark St  
A J [Abraham] SerotickMarriedHead1899Russia3 Clark StShoe StoreManager
Alice SerotickMarriedWife1901Maine3 Clark StShoe StoreSales Lady
Evelyn SerotickSingleDaughter1925New York3 Clark St  
Louis B NalilowMarriedHead1878Russia8 Mousam StreetJunkDealer
Annie NalilowMarriedWife1881Russia8 Mousam Street  
Sam NalilowSingleSon1906Maine8 Mousam StreetShoe ShopShoe Worker
David I NalilowSingleSon1914Maine8 Mousam Street  
Rachel KutnerDivorcedHead1889Poland32 River StreetGeneral StoreProprietor
Zelma KutnerSingleDaughter1917Massachusetts32 River Street 

Methodological note :

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."


NB : In the census tables below ‘POB’ means ‘place of birth’ and ‘YOI’ means ‘year of immigration’.
There is a bit of historical difficulty with the answers to the questions about 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 : Feb 6, 2012

Organizations: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;