Memories of Migration: Gender, Ethnicity, and Work in the Lives of Jewish and Italian Women in New York, 1870-1924

258 Pages·1996·30.065 MB·English

by  Kathie Friedman-Kasaba

MEMORIES OF MIGRATION
SUNY Series on Women and Work
Joan Smith, Editor
MEMORIES OF
MIGRATION
Gender, Ethnicity, and Work
in the Lives of Jewish and Italian Women
in New York, 1870-1924
Kathie Friedman-Kasaba
5TA TE UNIVERSITY
OF NEW YORK
PRESS
Front cover photo:
Regina Haimowitz poses with her two brothers, Yzzo and Ben, in Szeged, Austria
Hungary. They will join her father, older sister, and brother'in the United States
after World War 1. Courtesy of the author.
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 1996 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Production by Susan Geraghty
Marketing by Dana Yanulavich
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
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For information, address State University of New York Press,
State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Friedman-Kasaba, Kathie, 1954-
Memories of migration: gender, ethnicity, and work in the lives
of Jewish and Italian women in New York, 1870-1924/ by Kathie
Friedman-Kasaba.
p. cm.-(SUNY series on women and work)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-2761-7 (alk. paper). - ISBN 0-7914-2762-5 (pbk. :
alk paper)
1. Women immigrants-New York (N.Y.)-History. 2. Jewish women
New York (N.Y.)-History. 3. Italian American women-New York
(N.Y.)-History. 4. New York (N.Y.)-Emigration and immigation-
History. 1. Title. II. Series: SUNY series on women and work.
F128.9.AIF75 1996
305.48'85107471 '09034-dc20 95-6566
crr
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS
Illustrations IX
Acknowledgments Xl
Introduction
Starting from Home 1
Chapter 1 Women and International Migration:
Moving Beyond Unproductive Polarizations 7
Chapter 2 "Why Did We Have to Leave?":
The Shifting Patterns of Jewish Women's
Lives in Russia at the Turn of the Century 31
Chapter 3 "Take Me to America":
The Origins of Italian Women's Migration to
the United States at the Turn of the Century 63
Chapter 4 "So, We Have Crossed Half the
World for This?":
The Incorporation of Immigrant Wives and
Mothers in New York, 1870-1924 91
Chapter 5 "The Right to a Personality":
The Experiences of Young Single Immigrant
Women in New York, 1870-1924 135
Conclusion 175
Notes 195
Bibliography 211
Index 235
VII