Helena's Pioneer Jewish Community 1864-1899
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1981 Voice from the Rocky Mountains: Helena's pioneer Jewish community 1864-1899 Delores J. Morrow The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Morrow, Delores J., "Voice from the Rocky Mountains: Helena's pioneer Jewish community 1864-1899" (1981). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5374. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5374 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th is is an unpublished manuscript in which copyright sub - . s is t s , Any further r e p r in t in g of it s contents must be approved BY THE AUTHOR, Ma n s fie l d L ibrary Un iv e r s it y of Montana A VOICE FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS: HELENA'S PIONEER JEWISH COMMUNITY, 1864-1889 by Delores J. Morrow B.A., University of Montana, 1970 Presented in partial fulfillm ent of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1981 Approved by: / S c - Uv4.— Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School UMI Number: EP40838 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages; these-wil! be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dtesertittofl PUbfisWng UMI EP40838 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT Morrow, Delores J., M.A., August 14, 1981 History A Voice From the Rocky Mountains: Helena's Pioneer Jewish Community, 1864-1889 (162 Director: K. Ross Toole This thesis analyzes the occupations and civic involvements of Helena's pioneer Jewish community (1864-1889) and their relation ship to the growth and prosperity of Helena. Primary research sources were city directories and newspapers and the records of the Hebrew Benevolent Association. Jews played an influential role in Helena's development because of the important positions they occupied in the community. They were involved in mining and trading, two business activities that fostered Helena's in itia l settlement and encouraged the town's permanent growth. As businessmen, Jews served as distributors of manufactured goods, financiers, and promoters of Helena. Jews gained acceptance in the community on the strength of their voluntary associations and their prominent achievements in both merchandising and banking. The thesis concludes that the number of Jews in Helena was an indication of economic conditions in the town. Between 1864 and 1889, Helena's Jewish population fluctuated according to the changing economic conditions of the community. The thesis further concludes that Jews influenced life in Helena and that life in Helena influenced the Jews. The ease with which individual Jews participated in business and social activities in the town determined the character of Jewish religious life . Jews struggled to make a place for themselves in the community and s till to maintain their Jewish identity. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................ iv INTRODUCTION..................... ................................................... ......................... I CHAPTER I. MINERS AND MINING PROMOTERS. ........................................... 4 CHAPTER I I . MERCHANTSs BANKERS, AND ENTREPRENEURS..................... 14 CHAPTER III. COMMUNITY BOOSTERS ...... ..... 62 CHAPTER IV. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL................................................................ 109 EPILOGUE........................ ........................................................................ .... 131 APPENDICES ' . ......................................... 136 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 148 i i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my appreciation to my advisor and committee chairman, Dr. K. Ross Toole, fo r his encouragement and patience during the course of th is work. Dr. William Lang and Dr. Gordon Browder also served on my committee and offered helpful sugges tions and advise. I owe special thanks to Dr. Lang fo r his valuable guidance and constructive criticism . I also would like to thank my friends and colleagues at the Montana Historical Society for their assistance with my research and with the editing ar.d proofreading of my manuscript. Without their cooperation and support, this work might never have been completed. I am deeply indebted to the Winestines, Norman and Belle, for their help in gathering and interpreting information. Their unfailing interest in my work was a constant source of inspiration. Ms. Lois Lebahn typed my rough drafts and Ms. Lori Davidson typed my fina l, manuscript, and both deserve special thanks for their efforts. Lastly, 1 wish to thank my family and friends fo r th e ir encouragement, understanding, and patient counsel. Their confidence sustained my efforts. INTRODUCTION Despite Montana’s diverse ethnic heritage, little has been w ritten about the important role foreign-born immigrants played in the i settlement of the state. Indeed, considering the fact that Jews were one of the numerically less significant ethnoreligious groups to settle Montana, it is surprising that this group's history has not been overlooked. There are two histories on Jews in Montana, one which gives an overview of Jewish settlement in general and the other which focuses on the Jewish community in Helena.between 1866-1900. These histories are important because they identify significant events and personalities and they offer clues for understanding the important position that Jews played in the development o f Montana,^ This historical study intends to explain further the Jewish experience in Montana. I t focuses on the- emergence of Helena's Jewish community and its concurrent development with the town. Rather than *H. G. Merriam, "Ethnic Settlement of Montana,'1 Pac ific . Historical Review 12 (June 1943):157-168; Frederick C. Luebke, "Ethnic Group Settlement on the Great Plains," Western Historical Quarterly 8 (October 1977):405-430. William L. Lang, ""The Nearly Forgotten Blacks on Last Chance Gulch, 1900-1912," Pacific Nor t hwest Quar te rly 70 (April 1979):5p-57; Larry D. Quinn, "'Chink, Chink Chinamen:' The Beginning of Nativism in Montana," Pacific Northwest Quarterly 52 (April 1967):82-89. 2 Benjamin Kelson, "The Jews of Montana," (M.A. thesis, Montana State University, 1950); Patricia L. Dean, "The Jewish Community of Helena, Montana: 1866-1900," (B.A. thesis, Carroll College, 1977). spotlighting on certain individuals, it analyzes the occupations and civic involvements of Jews as a group and their relationship to the growth arid prosperity o f Helena. The discovery in 1862 of sizable gold deposits on Grasshopper Creek touched o ff Montana's f ir s t placer rush. This strik e and la te r, richer ones at Alder Gulch and Last Chance Gulch attracted thousands of goidseekers to the territory. Included in this migration were hundreds of Jews "attracted by the potentialities of the new region, by the rumors of wealth or motivated by the spirit of adventure."0 Next to Alder Gulch, Helena (Last Chance Gulch) had the richest gold deposits in Montana. This camp drew many Jewish immigrants and Jews settled in Helena in surprising numbers. Several Helena Jews were prospectors or miners, but many more were merchants who "sought to dig not riches from fl the earth but p ro fits from the diggers."T Indirectly and directly, Helena's Jewish residents provided some of the incentives that the town needed for its successful transi tion from gold camp to stable community. They'were individuals who figured prominently in Helena's economic and social history. As busi nessmen and private citizens Jews served as distrib uto rs of manufactured goods, financiers and promoters o f the community. Helena benefited from th e ir unique religious and ethnic, heritage. '1 "Benjamin Kelson, "The Jews of Montana," Western_States Jewish Histori cal Quarterly 3 (January 1971), p. 114. ’ ............ & 'Peter R. Decker, "Jewish Merchants in San Francisco: Social M obility on the Urban F rontier." American Jewish History 68 (June 1979): 396. ............. When Montana’ s placer mines played out and the glamour of the gold rush wore o ff, Helena avoided the fate of numerous other gold camps. The town survived with the assistance of its Jewish citizens and evolved into a permanent community. Jews played a sig n ifica n t role in the growth of Helena and in the sta b iliza tio n of the te rrito ry . Jews were in flu e n tia l in the development of Helena and other towns in Montana. Their presence was an important factor in the rise of urban society in the West. CHAPTER