John Schneider Passage and Exchange Business Record Book
Dublin Core
Title
John Schneider Passage and Exchange Business Record Book
Subject
Passage and Exchange Business
Description
During the immigration boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various agencies sold steamship tickets to immigrants and their families, arranging for passage to and from America. As transatlantic migration grew, steamship lines relied on steamship agents to fill their ships by selling tickets on commission. Steamship agents had to represent various shipping lines in order to make enough money. They also acted as “immigrant banks”: patrons deposited their money for safekeeping until enough was accumulated for the purchase of a steamship ticket for either themselves or a family member. These unofficial financial institutions also offered loans, money transfers, and money exchanges; the most common was the advancing of money for steamship tickets. Immigrant Bankers were the economic and social gatekeepers of the American dream. They were important in the networks that coordinated the process of immigrant relocation.
Many of these agencies catered to specific immigrant communities and the neighborhoods they lived in. Immigrants entrusted their money to steamship agents with the same ethnic background. These agents usually had a good understanding of the English language, which enabled them to provide essential services to newly arriving immigrants.
Pictured are pages from a correspondence book, dated 1905-09, belonging to John Schneider. John was born in Russia in the year 1878. He arrived in the United States in 1898 at the age of 20. He owned a Passage and Exchange Business located at 254 Chalkstone Ave. John was an authorized steamship agent for many of the steamship lines including the White Star Line, Red Star Line and Holland-American Line. John Schneider’s letter head shows he not only acted as a steamship agent but also a money broker, real estate and insurance agent, and a notary public.
Many of these agencies catered to specific immigrant communities and the neighborhoods they lived in. Immigrants entrusted their money to steamship agents with the same ethnic background. These agents usually had a good understanding of the English language, which enabled them to provide essential services to newly arriving immigrants.
Pictured are pages from a correspondence book, dated 1905-09, belonging to John Schneider. John was born in Russia in the year 1878. He arrived in the United States in 1898 at the age of 20. He owned a Passage and Exchange Business located at 254 Chalkstone Ave. John was an authorized steamship agent for many of the steamship lines including the White Star Line, Red Star Line and Holland-American Line. John Schneider’s letter head shows he not only acted as a steamship agent but also a money broker, real estate and insurance agent, and a notary public.
Creator
Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association
Source
Beryl and Chaya Segal Archives of the RI Jewish Historical Association
Publisher
Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association
Date
1905-1909
Rights
Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association
Format
Book
Language
English and Yiddish
Type
Ship passage and money exchange
Files
Collection
Citation
Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, “John Schneider Passage and Exchange Business Record Book,” Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, accessed April 26, 2024, https://rijha.omeka.net/items/show/2.