Jewish Communities on the Ohio River: A History

Ohio River Valley Series

by Amy Hill Shevitz

“An engaging regional history with immense national significance . . . An excellent chronicle of the minority experience in small town America.” —Ava F.  Kahn, author of Jewish Voices of the California Gold Rush   In Jewish Communities on the Ohio River, Amy Hill Shevitz chronicles the settlement and development of small Jewish communities in towns along the river. In these small towns, Jewish citizens created networks of businesses and families that developed into a distinctive, nineteenth-century middle-class culture. As a minority group with a vital role in each community, Ohio Valley Jews fostered American religious pluralism as they constructed a regional identity. Their contributions to the culture and economy of the region countered the anti-Semitic sentiments of the period. Shevitz discusses the associations among the towns and the big cities of the region, especially Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Also examined are Jewish communities’ relationships with, and dependence on, the Ohio River and rail networks. Jewish Communities on the Ohio River demonstrates how the circumstances of a specific region influenced the evolution of American Jewish life.   “Far better composed and contextualized than most local histories of smaller Jewish communities now in print, Amy Shevitz’s book does a commendable job of detailing local developments in terms of the broader picture of both American Jewish history and Ohio Valley history.” —Lee Shai Weissbach, author of Jewish Life in Small-Town A History   “Shevitz’s study provides both corroboration, and corrective, to the standard historiography of American Jewry . . . Shevitz provides a fascinating glimpse into the nature of small-town Jewish life, and the role Jews played in shaping their world.” —Ohio Valley Quarterly

Genres: History

428 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2007

Reviews

[Babs M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but I was hoping on more personal stories.

[Joan Eisenstodt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still reading .. making my way slowly through. I'm fascinated by who came before my family in the Ohio River Valley and disappointed it didn't take Dayton into account. I was hoping to find our family and those I knew who were early to the area. So far.. not only am I learning about the settlement of Ohio (as I did in Conrad Richter's fiction trilogy) I am learning about how the Jewish communities formed and the changes in how Judaism was practiced.

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Finally finished and it was fascinating. I saw my state and the religion into which I was born so differently. It made me long for the knowledge of my grandparents, born in the 1800s, and their early lives about which I know bupkis. Even if you aren't Jewish, the history of the state of Ohio and the history of religion is superb.

[Stan DeGroote · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book originated as a PhD dissertation, so it has a lot of detail. That makes it a 'rich resource' more than a 'light read'. But if you have ancestors who lived in one of these communities, this is well worthwhile.