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Living Waters, Living History: A Twentieth-Century Mikveh in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

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Abstract

The Puddle Dock neighborhood was home to many Eastern European Jewish families at the turn of the 20th century. One of the cultural and religious traditions they brought to the United States was immersion in a mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath. A mikveh constructed for community use between ca. 1912 and 1926 had been mentioned in Portsmouth oral histories, but the ca. 1901 house in which it was built and used was demolished, and there was no documentation. Today the neighborhood where that house and mikveh were constructed is part of Strawbery Banke Museum, an outdoor history museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A museum-directed archaeological field school, in collaboration with the local stakeholder community, set out to locate and document the mikveh and its source of living water. Its excavation provided material evidence of an important historical practice. This article also gives an overview of other mikvot excavated in the eastern U.S. and considers the importance of archaeological investigation and recognition of these features for research on the Jewish Diaspora.

Resumen

El barrio de Puddle Dock fue el hogar de muchas familias judías de Europa del Este a principios del siglo XX. Una de las tradiciones culturales y religiosas que trajeron a los Estados Unidos fue la inmersión en una mikve, un baño ritual judío. Una mikve construida para uso comunitario entre ca. 1912 y 1926 se había mencionado en las historias orales de Portsmouth, pero ca. 1901 se demolió la casa en la que se construyó y se usó, y no existía documentación. Hoy en día, el vecindario donde se construyeron esa casa y mikve es parte del Museo Strawbery Banke, un museo de historia al aire libre en Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Una escuela de campo arqueológica dirigida por un museo, en colaboración con la comunidad local de interesados, se propuso localizar y documentar la mikve y su fuente de agua viva. Su excavación proporcionó evidencia material de una práctica histórica importante. En este artículo también se ofrece una descripción general de otras mikvot excavadas en el este de los EE. UU. y se considera la importancia de la investigación arqueológica y el reconocimiento de estas características para la investigación sobre la diáspora judía.

Résumé

Le quartier de Puddle Dock accueillait de nombreuses familles juives d'Europe de l'Est au début du 20ème siècle. L'une des traditions culturelles et religieuses qu'elles ont apportées aux États-Unis était l'immersion dans un mikveh, un bain rituel juif. Un mikveh construit pour une utilisation communautaire approximativement entre 1912 et 1926 avait été mentionné dans les histoires orales de Portsmouth, mais la bâtisse datant de 1901 dans lequel il avait été construit puis utilisé a été démolie, et aucune documentation n'existait. De nos jours, le quartier où cette demeure et le mikveh avaient été édifiés font partie du Strawbery Banke Museum, un musée d'histoire en extérieur à Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Une école d'archéologie dirigée par le musée, en collaboration avec la communauté locale intéressée, ont entrepris de localiser et documenter le mikveh et sa source d'eau naturelle. Les fouilles ont permis de mettre à jour des preuves matérielles d'une pratique historique importante. Cet article est également une présentation d'un autre mikvot découvert dans l'est des États-Unis et il examine l'importance de l'enquête archéologique et la reconnaissance de ces caractéristiques pour la recherche sur la diaspora juive.

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Notes

  1. “Hooz” and “Goose” were different spellings of the same family name (Ingersoll 1971:137).

  2. Water Street was renamed Marcy Street in the 1930s.

  3. Kate Levi was the secretary for the Portsmouth Hebrew Ladies’ Society (Sherman 1998:112). Her husband David Levi was a shoemaker (W. A. Greenough & Co. 1912:147) as well as a founding trustee of Temple Israel who served on multiple committee for the new synagogue, including search committee for locations for the congregation’s cemetery and for the synagogue itself (Sherman 1998). Perhaps the Levis played a role in locating the space to establish the mikveh as well. Rose Cohen appears in Temple Israel records working with Kate Levi to organize a benefit concert for the National Jewish Relief Committee in 1917 (Sherman 1998:113), in 1918 meeting a train passing through Portsmouth to offer refreshments and money to Jewish men joining the British Army in Palestine (Sherman 1998:30), and becoming chairman of the Jewish National Fund (Sherman 1998:143). Her husband was Harry Cohen, the president of Temple Israel from 1912 to 1913 (Sherman 1998), i.e., when 90 Jefferson Street was purchased. Max Gelman was a trustee of Temple Israel (Sherman 1998) and a merchant tailor (W. A. Greenough & Co. 1912:119). His wife Minnie Gelman was a director of the Portsmouth Hebrew Ladies’ Society (Sherman 1998:112).

  4. Barney Cohen was another trustee of Temple Israel (Sherman 1998) whose wife Annie also served as a secretary of the Portsmouth Hebrew Ladies’ Society (Friedenwald 1912:253).

  5. Ida (1900–1990) was the daughter of Jacob Cohen (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1920), president of Temple Israel 1910–1911 (Sherman 1998:16).

  6. Fannie (1907–1989) was the daughter of Ida and Samuel Shapiro (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1910), elected president of Temple Israel in November 1911 (Sherman 1998:21).

  7. Frances (1910–1993) was the daughter of Temple Israel religious leader Harry and Esther Liberson. She married Abraham Samuel Leavitt in 1940 (New Hampshire Marriage Records 2011).

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Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Strawbery Banke Museum staff, including president Larry Yerdon, chief curator Elizabeth Farish, director of special projects and facilities Rodney Rowland, and restoration carpenter John Schnitzler. Many thanks to Strawbery Banke’s field-school students, volunteers, interns E. Nadia Kline and Laura Martin, and previous museum archaeologists, including Sheila Charles, Dan Ingersoll, Martha Pinello, and Steve Pendery. Members of the Temple Israel community provided assistance and perspective, including Alissa Holmes, Bob Bradbard, Harvard Sitkoff, George Sherman, Elissa Senter, and Rabbi David Senter. Former Puddle Dock residents Ronnie Pecunies, Kaye Pecunies, Sherm Pridham, and Burt Wolf shared valuable personal histories. Marley R. Brown III, Derek Miller, and Adrian Praetzellis provided advice and support. Special thanks to Celia Bergoffen, Esther Doyle Read, and Stuart Miller for sharing their experiences. Thank you to the Museum at Eldridge Street Synagogue staff and to Lisa Berman at Mayyim Hayyim’s Paula Brody and Family Education Center. Thank you to former Historical Archaeology editor Christopher Matthews, several anonymous reviewers who made many helpful suggestions, and to Sharon Finley and Jerry Martin for their edits.

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    Alexandra G. Martin

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Martin, A.G. Living Waters, Living History: A Twentieth-Century Mikveh in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Hist Arch 56, 49–71 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-021-00310-7

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