Myer Starr Papers

Collection

Identifier: P-525

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains the unpublished memoirs of Myer Starr, a Jewish immigrant from the Ukraine who owned a laundry service in the greater Boston area. Starr's memoir not only addresses his personal life but the life of Jews living in the Ukraine under the Tsarist government in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Unfortunately, the names of his wife, children, parents and siblings are not mentioned, and little information is known about them.

Dates

undated

Creator

Starr, Myer (Person)

Language of Materials

The collection is in English.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for researcher use. Please contact us to request access or to make an appointment to view this collection at jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of this collection. For more information contact jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Biographical Note

Myer Starr was born in Dmitrovka in the Ukraine, which was then part of Russia. As a child he was apprenticed to a tailor and later a bakery before he began working at a dry goods store at the age of 11. After his mother died, Starr and his younger brother crossed the border into Germany and then immigrated to the United States. They left behind two sisters and two brothers, who were not heard from after 1941, when the Nazis invaded Russia.

Starr and his brother sailed on the "Kleist" into New York in February 1913. From there, they traveled to a sister's house in Malden, Massachusetts. Once settled, he worked in a sugar cone bakery and a shirt shop while he went to night school. Eventually he joined a labor league organization after quitting both his job and night school.

On October 13, 1914, Starr married his wife (possibly Eva, according to the 1930 Census, her name is not mentioned in the memoirs.) On June 10, 1918, Starr's wife gave birth to a boy (possibly Leon David Starr,) who was later educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard College while helping his parents with their laundry business. This son was a veteran of World War II and later married. In 1923, Starr's wife gave birth to their second son, who graduated from Tufts University prior to receiving his PhD from the University of Chicago. This son married in 1951. Unfortunately, his name is unknown.

Chronology

1893
: Myer Starr born in Dmitrovka, Ukraine, Russia.
1913
: Myer Starr and his youngest brother immigrate to the U.S.
October 13, 1914
: Myer Starr and his wife marry.
June 10, 1918
: Starr's wife gives birth to their first son, Leon David (?)
1923
: Starr's wife gives birth to their second son.
1951
: The second son marries.

Extent

0.25 linear feet (1 half manuscript box)

Additional Description

Abstract

Myer Starr was born in Dmitrovka in the Ukraine, which was then part of Russia. As a child he was apprenticed to a tailor and later a bakery before he began work at a dry goods store at the age of 11. After his mother died, Starr and his younger brother crossed the border into Germany and then immigrated to the United States. Starr and his brother sailed on the "Kleist" into New York in February 1913. From there, they traveled to a sister's house in Malden, Massachusetts. Myer later married and had two sons, graduates of Harvard College and Tufts University.