By the early 1900s Jewish religious services were being organized in Ashtabula County. These services were held in private homes or rented spaces. In 1906 the Jewish Independent, a newspaper out of Cleveland, recorded that observances for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, were being held in Ashtabula.14 By 1913 some Jewish residents of Ashtabula were organizing to raise funds for the construction of a synagogue. This early collection of individuals would call itself Tifereth Israel and it appears that they affiliated themselves with the Reform Jewish movement.15 There is also evidence to suggest that a more orthodox group existed in the city of Ashtabula around this time. Not much is known about this religious organization. The name of one rabbi, Nathan Rabinowitz, has however been preserved. Nathan left Ashtabula in 1919 to take a position with an Orthodox Jewish congregation in Warren, Pennsylvania.16 He was married to Freda, and the couple had at least two children, Ruben and Simon. By 1924 the Orthodox Jewish group in Ashtabula had a formal space dedicated to religious services. This is known because at this time the Ashtabula Sisterhood collected $200 to assist the group in paying off the debt it took on to secure the space.17 The location of the synagogue may have been 66 Main Avenue which is listed in the 1926 Ashtabula city directory as being the site of a synagogue under the direction of Rabbi Morris Ersher. It is also possible, however, that this synagogue was supported by the Reform group since no denomination is listed in the directory.
The years between 1900 and 1920 represented the peak period for Jewish immigration to Ashtabula County. This immigration was driven in part by severe anti-Jewish persecutions in Eastern Europe, particularly in areas controlled by the Russian Empire. Burger, Berman, Feldstein, Fettman, Galinsky, Lishner, and Weiner are some of the Jewish families who lived in the city of Ashtabula during these two decades. This same period was also a time of growth for Ashtabula overall. Ashtabula was incorporated in 1891 with approximately 8,300 residents. Between 1900 and 1920 the city’s population grew by over 9,000 people. Many of these newer residents were drawn to the area due to the development of shipping and other industries which relied on immigrant laborers. Jewish immigrants also settled in towns and rural areas outside of the city of Ashtabula. The area around Geneva in particular was home to around 20 Jewish farming families by 1910.18 These farmers included Albert Cohen, Bessie and Morris Cohodas, and Alice and Louis Orkin. Jewish farmers settled in Ashtabula County in part because of financial support provided through the Baron de Hirsch Fund. Baron Maurice de Hirsch was a German-Jewish banker whose namesake fund supported philanthropic efforts across Europe, Southwest Asia, and North and South America to alleviate poverty within Jewish communities. One initiative of the Baron de Hirsch Fund was called the Jewish Agricultural Society. This group sought to encourage Jewish immigrants in the Americas to take up agricultural work in several regions including Ashtabula County. Jewish families would play a significant role in the development of vineyards in Ashtabula County. Other fruits were also grown by farmers such as Henry Berkowitz, Anna and Morris Brody, and Samuel Eisenberg. The Brody Fruit Farm was especially large, comprising 118 acres south of Geneva. It was in operation from 1923 to 1953.19
Most of the families involved in farming, however, were not born into the line of work. For example, Albert Cohen, who arrived in Ashtabula County around 1909, was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he studied medicine. He practiced medicine for a time before deciding to take up farming and move to Ohio.20 In addition to his work on the farm, Albert also served on the Harpersfield Township School Board. In this role, he helped to ensure that the school district’s seven Jewish students were not compelled to sing Christian religious songs around Christmastime.21 This occurrence also helps to reveal some of the tensions that Jews, particularly those who lived in more rural parts of Ashtabula County, navigated at the turn of the 20th century. While Albert’s election to the Harpersfield Township School Board demonstrates the acceptance Jews had in the wider community, anti-Jewish sentiment could also be found. For example, some hotels in the Geneva area refused to provide Jews with service.22 Evidence also exists of Gentile landlords discriminating against Jewish renters.23 During the 1920s, Ashtabula County would be the home of a Ku Klux Klan chapter.24 Jews, however, would not be the primary target of Klan activities. Rather, the group focused primarily on Catholic immigrant groups who comprised a larger, and more visible, percentage of the local population. Anti-immigrant sentiment on the national level led to the enactment of the Johnson-Reed Act in 1924, which barred immigrants from Asia and significantly limited the number of new arrivals from eastern and southern Europe. The law effectively ended most Jewish immigration to the United States and by the late 1920s, far fewer Jewish immigrants were finding their way to Ashtabula.
During World War I, six years before the enactment of the Johnson-Reed Act, Jews, along with many other ethnic and religious groups in Ashtabula, demonstrated their patriotism. Known Jewish veterans from Ashtabula County include Arthur Louis, Abraham Mendelsohn, Morris Mendelsohn, and Hyman Mohilewsky. Arthur was the son of Cecelia and Herman Louis, who were both immigrants from Europe. After settling in Ashtabula around 1900, Herman established the Ashtabula Junk Company and he would be an active member of the Masons, Loyal Order of Moose, and Knights of Pythias.25 Arthur also worked at the Ashtabula Junk Company, and he created the Arthur Louis Supply Company in 1905. This company remains in Ashtabula County well into the 21st century. Arthur also created the Arthur Louis Steel Company in the late 1940s. This company operates out of Geneva into the 21st century.26 Abraham and Morris were likely brothers and the sons of Max and Rachel Mendelsohn. Max was a rabbi in Ashtabula during the mid-1910s. Morris, who was wounded while serving in France, appears to have left Ashtabula by 1920 along with his relatives. Hyman was a younger relative of Abraham and Mary Mohilewsky, who had both immigrated from Kyiv in 1911. Hyman would serve in France during the war, and he worked in a railroad yard after returning to Ashtabula.
It is also of note that another relative of Hyman’s, Tillie Mohilewsky, lived in Ashtabula during the early 20th-century. Tillie’s experiences early in her life illustrate the dangers Jews faced in Europe during the time period and the success many found in the United States. Tillie was the daughter of Abraham and Mary and she was born in Kyiv in 1903. As a child, she was injured in a pogrom, or riot against Jews, when she was struck by a wagon fracturing her knee.27 This injury caused a handicap that affected Tillie at least into her late teenage years. The pogrom that injured Tillie may have occurred in 1905, which was an especially violent year in Kyiv and surrounding areas. Tillie excelled in school and graduated valedictorian of her class in 1921. She was also a skilled debater and violin player.28 After high school, she attended The Ohio State University to study journalism. While on campus, she served as vice president of the Menorah Society, a Jewish student organization.29 After returning to Ashtabula, she worked as a Society Editor for the Star-Beacon. By 1937, Tillie had moved to Zanesville to continue her career.
Before moving further into the 20th century there is another area of economic activity taken up by many contemporary Jewish immigrants in Ashtabula that merits further comment. As has already been recorded for the Loeb family, numerous Jewish immigrants in the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s found work as clothiers. During the first decade of the 20th-century Jewish clothing merchants in Ashtabula included: Otto Finklestein, Nathan Goldberg, Max Karpel, Joseph Kornfeld, Morris Pickard, Ignatz Rosenblith, and Reuben Russack. In 1910, at least seven out of the ten clothing stores in Ashtabula were owned by Jews.30 Conneaut’s clothiers also included at least two Jews, Morris Feldstein and Benjamin Galinsky. In a similar way to the scrap metal industry, the disproportionate involvement of Jews in the American clothing business was a product of accessibility and timing. Before the Civil War, most clothing in the United States was made by hand in private homes. During the following three decades, however, mass-produced ready-to-wear clothing became increasingly common due to technological advances in sewing. As the market for factory-produced clothes expanded, so too did job opportunities in the clothing manufacturing and retail industries. These jobs were also open to newer immigrants, such as Jews, at a time when many other professions offered only limited access.31 Family connections also allowed many newer immigrants to enter the clothing business. As an example, it was not uncommon for a brother to emigrate to the United States and send money back to pay for the voyage for his other siblings after establishing a stable business. These siblings would also work in the business after arriving in the United States creating a chain of immigration.
14 Jewish Independent, September 28, 1906, p 5.
15 “Our Own County,” Jewish Independent, November 07, 1913.
16 "Jottings," American Israelite, August 14, 1919.
17 “Sisterhood Aids Orthodox Organization,” Reform Advocate (Chicago), August 23, 1924.
18 “Representative of a Fund of a Great Many Millions,” Jewish Independent, October 07, 1910.
19 Howard Brody, “Life and Times of a Jewish Farm Boy,” Cleveland Jewish News, July 29, 1996.
20 "Farmer Cohen, of Ashtabula County and the School," Jewish Independent, November 04, 1910.
21 Ibid.
22 “Only Gentiles Taken,” Jewish Independent, June 16, 1916.
23 “Offensive Advertising on Circulars of Hotels,” Jewish Independent, November 01, 1907.
24 Howard Brody, “Life and Times of a Jewish Farm Boy,” Cleveland Jewish News, July 29, 1996.
25 Goodkind, S. B. Eminent Jews of America, 187 - 188.
26 “History,” Arthur Louis Steel Company, 2021, http://www.arthurlouissteel.com/history.
27 "Ashtabula High School Student Wins Many Honors at Graduation," Jewish Independent, June 03, 1921.
28 Ibid.
29 "Rabbi Jacob Tarshish to Address Menorah Sunday, February 17," Ohio Jewish Chronicle (Columbus), February 15, 1924
30 Ancestry.com. U.S., Ashtabula, Ohio, City Directory, 1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
31 Johanna Neuman, “Modern Jewish History: From Ghetto to Glamour - How Jews Redesigned the Fashion Business,” Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/from-ghetto-to-glamour-how-jews-redesigned-the-fashion-business.