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CHAPTER V.

SULLIVAN AND ULSTER COUNTIES, NEW YORK GENERAL FARMING AND SUMMER BOARDERS.

INTRODUCTION.

Sullivan and Ulster counties lie in the southeastern portion of the State of New York. According to the last census Sullivan County had a population of 34,795 and Ülster County 86,660. Along the line of the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad, traversing the two counties, numerous Russian Hebrews have settled in recent years and have engaged in farming and other pursuits. The towns in and near which Hebrews reside in considerable numbers are Liberty, Ferndale, Fallsburg, Centerville, Parksville, Summitville, Mountaindale, Hurleyville, and Monticello, in Sullivan County, and Ellenville, Greenfield, and other places in Ulster County.

In Sullivan and Ulster counties there are perhaps from 500 to 700 Hebrew farmers, while a large number of Hebrews are engaged in running summer hotels and boarding houses, and each town and village has Hebrews in all lines of business. In most cases these people are Russian born, although very few families have come directly from that country. It may be accurately stated that they are practically all from New York City, where they had been engaged in various pursuits for several years before coming to this section.

On account of the altitude, the summers are cool and pleasant, and for this reason the section is very popular as a summer resort, and the farmers are doing a profitable business in taking summer boarders. The following table, taken from the annual report (1909) of the Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society, will show the approximate number and distribution of Hebrew farmers in Sullivan and Ulster counties, according to estimates made by the society:

TABLE 14.-Number and location of Hebrew farmers in Sullivan and Ulster counties, N. Y.

[Compiled from annual report of the Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society, 1909.]

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The number of farmers shown in the above table is considered too high, some boarding-house keepers who own a few acres of land, but who make no pretense of farming, and laborers on Hebrew farms evidently having been enumerated. It is safe to say that at least 200 individuals shown in the preceding table are not actual farmers.

The general contour of the country in the section under consideration is very rugged, the two counties being traversed by the ranges and foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The soil, as a general thing, is poor and worn and not very productive, being covered with stones and badly eroded. Nearly all the farms and fields are inclosed by stone fences, built of material gathered on the land. The winters are long and severe, and it is impossible to produce a diversity of crops on account of the shortness of the season. The principal crops are hay, buckwheat, rye, oats, corn, millet, and potatoes.

On account of these adverse conditions, the yield per acre is small and the quality of the crops produced poor. Dairying was formerly carried on to a considerable extent, but in recent years this branch of farming is on the decline and little live stock is kept. Because of the low production of the farms, farmers are augmenting their meager incomes by taking summer boarders, who come to the section in large numbers from New York City.

HISTORY OF THE SETTLEMENT.

The first Hebrews to settle in the section under consideration came as early as 1837 and formed a small colony in Wawarsing, Ulster County. Within a year the settlement grew to 10 families, but they soon became discouraged and returned to the city. In 1899 a few farms were owned by Hebrews in Ulster and Sullivan counties, but not until about five years ago (1904) did they begin to come in large numbers; from then until the present time (1909) they have increased each year, and now in many localities all of the farms are owned by Hebrew people. The counties in question have always been popular as a summer and health resort, and many Hebrews from New York City had been in the habit of spending their vacations there. One or two families bought farms and began to take summer boarders. Their success was so great that many other Hebrews at once began to purchase property. Each Hebrew on becoming a resident immediately engaged in the real-estate business and got the neighboring native farmers to list their property with him for sale; eager purchasers were found in New York City, and the country rapidly filled with Hebrews, the native farmers moving either to the cities or to other farming sections. As the Hebrew population increased, there was a demand for Hebrew storekeepers, physicians, lawyers, and men of this race in all branches of trade. The newcomers settled in the small towns throughout the two counties, and now many of the villages have an almost exclusively Hebrew population.

Various reasons have been given for the migration of the Hebrews in Sullivan and Ulster counties. On account of the altitude, the locality is considered very beneficial to those who suffer from weak lungs or tuberculosis, and it is said that many Jewish families have come to the locality on that account. Some have been attracted by the opportunity to take boarders during the summer; others have sought the country because of the belief that their children would be more healthy there than in the crowded tenements of the city, while many have settled with the sole purpose of farming in view. The Hebrews have not confined themselves to any particular locality, but have

settled all along the line of the Ontario and Western Railroad, usually not more than 3 or 4 miles from a town or railroad station.

TERMS OF PURCHASE.

In nearly all instances the land has been purchased and very few leases are made. It is said that the price paid has usually been very much in excess of the true value of the land. On account of the high prices offered by Hebrews the American farmers have been eager to sell and values have advanced steadily for the past five years, owing to the demand created. The terms of purchase have been peculiar. The native farmers, because of the high prices they were receiving for their land, were often careless of the terms given and many have had cause to regret their hastiness in selling their farms. Hebrews in buying property have usually made a small cash payment, the balance being payable after long or indefinite periods. The native, who was usually unfamiliar with any line of business other than farming, was often ruined by selling out. The cash payment received was not enough to purchase a farm in any other locality, and the annual interest was not sufficient to support his family; consequently some men who were formerly property owners and independent farmers in this section are now employed as farm laborers.

In several instances, Hebrews in making a purchase bought the farm with all stock, machinery, farming implements, poultry, etc., included. In some of these cases, it is asserted, American farmers have neglected to take a chattel mortgage, and the purchaser, after holding the farm through the boarding season, has sold all the live stock, poultry, machinery, and other personal property for more than the cash payment; so that the native has been left with a farm, much run down for lack of cultivation, but without his live stock, machinery, and equipment; meantime the Hebrew has disappeared from the locality. Only in rare instances have Hebrews paid cash for their farms, and most of the property to which they hold title is mortgaged heavily.

The Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society, which has been mentioned in several preceding chapters, is doing all in its power to establish immigrants on farms throughout different sections of the country. To the efforts of this society, the Hebrew farmer owes in a great measure whatever success he may have attained. One of the greatest benefits is the granting of loans to enable the farmer to purchase land; 51 farm loans were granted in New York in 1908, amounting to $27,750, while in 1909 Hebrew farmers in the same State secured 56 loans, amounting to $20,554.15. A total of 242 loans have been granted by this society to Jewish farmers in New York, amounting to $100,274.15; 212 of these loans have been closed, amounting to $89,860.44; the principal outstanding is $53,677.65, and interest in arrears amounts to $190.63.o

The following table, made up from information secured from 24 Hebrew farmers in the region under discussion, will give a clear idea of the prices paid for farms by immigrants; also of the size and condition of farms when first purchased. One farm was not tillable, 5 were tillable but at the time of purchase were not under cultivation,

"Annual Reports, 1908 and 1909, Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society.

and 17 were cultivated in whole or in part. As previously stated the prices paid were in excess of the true value of the land from an agricultural standpoint, but on account of the demand for farms on which to establish boarding houses, prices have advanced and are advancing steadily.

TABLE 15.—First purchase of land, condition, size of farms, and price paid, 24 Hebrew families, Sullivan and Ulster counties, N. Y.

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All immigrants in the section are Russian Hebrews and the great majority of them lived in New York City before engaging in farming. Their previous occupations have been various; the majority have owned some kind of business, either clothing stores, second-hand stores, pawn shops, or furniture stores; some have been real estate agents, one or two were contractors, and several owned restaurants. Those who had formerly worked for wages were clerks in stores, traveling salesmen, workers in garment manufacturing establishments, etc. None have been general or farm laborers in the United States, and very few had had any farming experience in Europe.

Most of the settlers had been in some line of business which was closely confining, so that only a small number were physically fit to endure field labor in the hot sun or the generally hard work on the farm. In consequence, the first years of farm life were hard for many. Not having a thorough knowledge of farming, and being unable to do the work themselves, they were obliged to employ hired help; this was a necessary expense, which added greatly to the financial burden of the settlers. In many instances, crops failed, live stock died owing to ignorance and lack of proper attention, dairy and poultry products fell off greatly for the same reason, and very often the settler expended more money in producing a crop than it was worth in the market after being harvested. If it had not been for the revenue derived from summer boarders, it is scarcely probable that the Hebrews could have retained their farms, for the crops they raised were entirely inadequate to support their families.

ECONOMIC HISTORY OF REPRESENTATIVE FAMILIES.

In the settlements of Sullivan and Ulster counties a special study was made of 24 representative families. They represent families that have engaged in farming at different times since the settlements were first made. The heads of all the families were foreign-born, 22 being natives of Russia and 1 each of Roumania and Austria-Hungary. Immediately prior to engaging in farming, 23 families were located in the United States, 21 were residents of New York City, and 2 of Brooklyn. Only 1 family came to the locality direct from Russia.

The great variety of occupations followed by immigrants both in Europe and the United States before engaging in farming is noteworthy. The 24 heads of families from whom information was secured reported 12 different occupations abroad and 15 in the United States. In Europe 5 men were engaged in farming for themselves, 1 worked on the farm of his father-in-law, and 1 was a farm laborer. One was a baker, 1 a clerk in his father's shop, 1 a cattle trader, 1 a common laborer. There were also a butcher, a painter, a salesman, a watchmaker, a tailor, a peddler, and a contractor. In the United States, 4 worked in factories, 5 were proprietors of stores. There were also a contractor, a manufacturer, a baker, a restaurant keeper, a saloon keeper, a street vender, a painter, a butcher, a furrier, a tailor, a peddler, and a real-estate agent. Six followed the same occupations in the United States that they had been engaged in abroad.

No supplementary occupations were entered in by the 24 heads of families from whom information was secured; after purchasing farms a living was made from the start either from the farm or revenue derived from summer boarders.

PROGRESS OF COLONY.

The progress of the Sullivan and Ulster County settlement from an agricultural standpoint has been slow. The art of farming can not be acquired in a short period of years, and the Hebrew farmer is slowly learning through adverse experiences the proper care, preparation, and cultivation necessary to success. Each year a little progress is made, and a few families are now depending upon the farm alone for support, but the vast majority must still look to boarders to supply a livelihood.

From time to time many families have deserted the different settlements. It is impossible to state the number, as each year farms are changing hands and new families are coming in. In all cases, as far as can be learned, the deserters have returned to New York City and have taken up their old pursuits. The usual cause of desertion is lack of success as farmers or dissatisfaction on account of their isolated condition in the country. Many who own boarding houses or hotels go to the city in the fall and return in time for the boarding season the following summer. Very few of those who have deserted the settlements retain their land; they have usually turned it over to some other Hebrew family, who assume the mortgage. Others have left the locality when the payments fell due, and in consequence the land has reverted to the original owner.

As before stated, at the present time there are in the two counties from 500 to 700 Hebrew farmers, the total population engaged in farming being approximately 2,500, including men, women, and children. Besides those who own farms, there is a considerable village population of Hebrews in different lines of business, sufficient to bring the total number of Hebrew inhabitants in Sullivan and Ulster counties close to 5,000.

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