Subject Guide – Business
INTRODUCTION
Many Jewish immigrants came to the United States seeking better opportunities for them and their families. Establishing businesses—whether as peddlers, small shopkeepers, or owners of larger companies—was a common way to build financial security and develop community belonging. In New England, Jews operated dry goods stores, bakeries, clothing, and furniture stores, often in their own communities. On Massachusetts' North Shore, Peabody and Lynn became centers of leather and shoe manufacturing, providing local jobs and economic stability. Throughout the region, Jews founded and ran well-known businesses including Stop & Shop, Building 19, Filene’s, and Charrette.
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Materials
Morris Winer (left), likely with his brother Samuel, outside his storefront, circa 1895.
The Morris Winer Company, established in 1895 in Boston’s North End, provided kosher dairy products and groceries to locals in the heart of a bustling immigrant community, eventually expanding into popular regional supermarket chain Elm Farm Foods. Digitized Item.
Elm Farm Foods Records (I-552), Box 5, Folder 15, part of the Winer, Kane, Snider Family Collections and Records of Elm Farms - American Ancestors Digital Library & Archives.
Workers outside the Boston Matzo Baking Co, circa 1900.
Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Records (I-220), Box 311, Folder 9.
Advertisement for Harry Lipsky Moving Company, circa 1936.
Harry Lipsky owned and operated the company from 1910, relying on horse and carriage to move people’s belongings, until his death in 1926, after which his sons took over until they sold the company in 1988.
Harry Lipsky Company (Lynn, Mass.) Records (JHCI-008), Box 1, Folder 3 and Jewish Community of Lynn (Mass.) Records (I-580), Box 1, Folder 8
Stop & Shop Supermarket employee training and orientation card for checkers, circa 1950s.
The supermarket chain was founded in 1946 by the Rabb family. After immigrating from Russia in the 1890s, the family built a successful grocery business and became known for their philanthropy and active involvement in the Jewish community.
Rabb Family and Stop & Shop Collection (P-679), Box 4, Folder 7
Sydney and Rose (Segal) Selesnick in Syd’s Men’s Shop, 1983.
In 1958, after eighteen years working at a clothing store, Chelsea native Sydney Selesnick (1909–1990) opened Syd’s Men’s Shop at 336 Broadway. Sydney and his wife Rose (1915–2006) ran the store together for nearly 30 years, with her as merchandising manager. Their eldest son, Herb Selesnik, also worked in the family business during holidays. They retired and closed the store in 1987. Sydney was an engaged community member and served as president of the Chelsea Business Merchants Association and of Temple Emmanuel.
Sterling and Selesnick Family Papers (P-1040), Box 1, Folder 6
Advertisement for Building #19, 1989.
Building #19 was a New England-based discount chain store founded by Jerry Ellis (born Gerald Elovitz) and Harry Andler in 1964. The store was known for its surplus stock, caricatures drawn by Scituate-based artist Mat Brown, and self-deprecating humor in its branding and advertisements.
