Why Vineland?

Did you ever wonder what brought so many of our relatives to South Jersey and the communities of Vineland, Norma, Rosenhayn, and Brotmanville?

In a word: farming.

Russian Pogrom

In the spring of 1881, a year after Czar Alexander II was assassinated in Russia, his successor, Czar Alexander III cracked down on revolutionaries and Jews in Kiev and other Russian Jewish cities were targeted.

This was known as the second "pogrom." A pogrom is a violent riot aimed at the massacre or expulsion of an ethnic or religious group, particularly one aimed at Jews. The first pogrom in Russia took place in 1821.

During the second pogrom, many Jewish families, including many of our relatives, fled Russia for the U.S. These relatives included:

• Leah Mezeritsky Levinson

• Israel "Hirsch" Levin & Esther Mezeritsky Levinson Levin

• Samuel Spiegel and Betty Sussel Spiegel

The Levinson's, The Levin's, and The Spiegel's

On May 10, 1882, forty-three Russian families, including the Levinson's, and Levin's, arrived in Pittsgrove Township (also known as Norma) in Salem County, New Jersey and founded the first successful Jewish farming colony in America, the Alliance Colony.

Located approximately 5 miles from the city of Vineland, Alliance was named after the Alliance Israelite Universelle of Paris and was funded by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society of New York and Philadelphia, and The Baron De Hirsch Fund.

The Russian immigrants chose to establish their farming colony in what would be known as Alliance because Alliance was located on the New Jersey Central Railroad with New York City just 100 miles away and Philadelphia only 50 miles.

As word about Alliance spread among the New York and Philadelphia Jewish communities, Samuel Spiegel & Betty Sussel Spiegel moved their young family from New York City to Alliance in 1888. Like the early Alliance settlers, the Spiegel family had each fled Russia during the second pogrom in 1881.

The Bloomenstein's and The Freedman's

Eventually, more farming communities sprouted up around Alliance. One of those colonies was in Rosenhayn, New Jersey.

Sixteen years later, on March 15, 1898, the Bloomenstein family immigrated to the U.S. from Romania and settled in Rosenhayn, one of the Alliance Colonies. While it does not appear that Samuel Bloomenstein was a farmer, the census lists his occupation as "clothes presser," the community also included various craftsmen, such as cabinetmaking, blacksmithing and masonry. Eventually a clothing factory was established, which is still in existence.

In 1900, Israel Freedman immigrated to the U.S. from Russia. Several years after Israel Freedman and Pearl Bloomenstein Freedman married (some time between 1913 and 1916), the Freedman's moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the Vineland area. It's possible that Pearl may have wanted to be closer to her family. Eventually, Israel Freedman opened a successful bakery in Vineland. The business lasted nearly 100 years.

The Kronheim's

In 1913, William Kronheim moved his family from Newark, New Jersey to Vineland, New Jersey. His younger brother, Murt, had bought a poultry farm in Vineland and had persuaded William to go into business with him. Unfortunately, The venture did not go well and within a year, William left the poultry business and started the first auto supplies and tire business in Vineland. But after William retired, he went back to farming helping his son-in-law, Alfred Stern, on his farm.

The Stern's

Nearly 45 years after the Alliance Colony was founded, in 1929, Samuel Stern and Esther Goldschlager Stern, along with nine of their 12 children, moved to Vineland from South Bay, St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. Samuel had grown tired of the short farming season in Canada and heard that South Jersey was great place for farming. The Stern farming business, known as Samuel Stern & Sons, became one of the largest produce farms on the East Coast, with more than 200 acres land. Several of Samuel's sons also started successful poultry businesses in the area.

Stockton University is preserving the history of Alliance and will be creating the Alliance Heritage Center. You can read about the historic project below.

Below are several interesting articles on the Alliance colonies.